Free Proxy Surfing - Essential In Our Days
Today more and more people use the Internet, because all we need to know is just a click away. The Internet is a very efficient and quick way of finding information about almost everything. However, there is also a bad side to the Internet and that is that you are exposed to hackers and your every step on the net can be monitored.Because privacy, Internet crime, hacking were becoming more and more of an issue and many people were afraid to use the Internet because of the consequences, free proxy surfing sounded like a dream, something that had to be done. If software was designed to insure the privacy, the anonymity of the people using the Internet, then all of these problems would find their ending. With free proxy surfing, people did not have to worry anymore about somebody spying their every move or finding out their address or even their social security numbers.Free proxy surfing is like a buffer between you and the web sites that you want to visit. It allows you to view as many information as you want on the Internet without the concern of being tracked. There are two ways that this can be accomplished: by using a program that can insure your anonymity or by using free proxy sites.Free proxy surfing with the help of programs is a little more complicated and may not always work. On the other hand free proxy sites are v

Power Teams and Information Collection
Power Teams work well when there is an element of trust and integrity. Holding the information for a project is certainly one of those areas where trust is prominent. No one should own the information but all need to have unlimited access to it. Even then, the information needs to be stored and there should be only one or two administrators that look after it. This may seem like a lot of work but the ownership issue can cause problems unless defined ahead of time. If the information is stored in a database, you may want only one or two people to do updates or additions and deletions. If you add too many people to the administration of the data, there can be duplication of effort and even worse, deletion of data that is crucial to the success of your project. Information ownership should not be a matter of territory. It should, however, be a matter of control. One person on the project needs to be responsible. This does not mean that others will not have access; it simply means that they will have limited abilities to manipulate the data. In other words, they may only be allowed to read the information, add to it or make changes. They will not be allowed to delete anything, only the administrator should be allowed to do that. Most projects have data, reports and other things that must be prepared for the company buying the ser

Shredder FAQs
Shredders are devices used to destruct documents such as receipts, bank statements, and other sensitive records.1. What else can a shredder destroy other than receipts and papers?Shredders also destroy cardboard boxes, carbon ribbon cassettes, file folders, plastic bottles, floppy disks, CD?s, aluminum cans, cartridges, and more.2. What are the different types of shredders?Personal shredders, general office shredders, commercial shredders, industrial shredders, multimedia shredders, and cardboard shredders are the different types of shredders.3. What are the two standard configurations of shredders?Strip cut and crosscut versions are the two standard configurations of shredders.4. What is difference between a strip cut and a crosscut shredder?Strip cut models shred lengthwise while crosscut models shred both lengthwise and widthwise. Strip cut machines are less expensive and they require less maintenance. Crosscut machines offer more security. Also, they decrease the volume of shredded paper.5. What is meant by paper capacity?Paper capacity refers to the number of sheets that a shredder can destroy at once. This capacity varies with model. Industrial paper shredders can destroy large volumes of paper, up to 2,000 sheets at a time.6. What are the main shredder supplies?ndividuals are unique and different, but that difference is ‘value added’. It acknowledges that everyone has the right to express their views and beliefs in a manner that is sensitive to those around them (i.e. free from racism, sexism, ageism and other forms of prejudice). Everyone should have the right to contribute to activities and grow within their workplace. A diverse work environment also demonstrates an organisation that it is a caring, inclusive and respectful.

While there is no one specific piece of legislation covering diversity, there are several Acts of Parliament, European laws, Regulations and examples of case law which together make up the legal framework for diversity. (The Equal Opportunities legislation in particular makes it mandatory.) Although the following list is not exhaustive, the key legal frameworks include:

• Pay discrimination (1970)

• Sex discrimination or marital status (1975)

• Race discrimination (1976)

• Positive action [1986]

• Disability discrimination (1995)

• Human Rights Act (1998)

• Gender reassignment (1999)

• Age discrimination (1999 code of practice)

• Genuine occupational qualifications [2000]

• Equality in sexual orientation (2003)

• Equality in religion and belief (2003)

The business benefits of diversity

According to a study published in 2003 by CREATE, an independent research centre (‘Harnessing Workforce Diversity to Raise the Bottom Line’), a more diverse workforce improves business performance. The study, which involved around 500 companies operating in the UK, USA and Europe, uncovered a range of business benefits including:

• Higher staff retention

• Reduced recruitment costs

• More satisfied customers

• Access to a wider customer base

• Better supply chain management

• Access to new ideas on process and product improvements

Diversity is also key to success in global markets – any organisation that wants to expand internationally cannot hope to do so effectively without a detailed understanding of the cultural background of the new markets in which it hopes to succeed. The study did however find that diversity management is a long-term process with no quick fixes. Two obstacles in particular were being widely experienced:

• Ingrained attitudes that make it difficult for senior managers to manage people who are very different from them

• The culture of long working hours, which makes it difficult for women to aspire to senior management positions

The report concluded that diversity produces maximum financial impact when it is linked with business strategy and has the support of senior executives. According to Professor Amin Rajan, chief executive of CREATE and co-author of the report, companies are beginning to see that diversity in the workplace pays. Rajan says “Instead of thinking about diversity as about equality, that is, in terms of the law or compliance, companies are now seeing it as an issue of merit and merit alone”. For instance:

• Customers want to be served by a company they can identify with, so a white male sales force might be too limiting

• Teams made up of mixed ethnicities, backgrounds and genders are likely to be genuinely more creative than teams made up of the same type of people

Other benefits of diversity are that diverse organisations will:

• find it easier to recruit as there will be a far greater market to choose from

• enjoy access to a greater wealth of experience, skills and talent

• gain improved public image – as an employer and as a service provider

• experience increased staff motivation

• encourage and develop entrepreneurs

• develop role models, thus helping future growth in management

• increase their market penetration

• show better overall financial performance

An additional spur has been the rash of multi-million dollar discrimination lawsuits brought against pillars of the US corporate establishment such as Texaco (a racial discrimination case settled for $176 million in 1996), Coca-Cola (a sex discrimination case settled for $192 million in 2000) and Wal-Mart (various disability discrimination cases settled for in excess of $7 million, plus a pending and potentially very expensive case alleging sex discrimination involving large numbers of both past and current female employees).

The keys to diversity

A diverse group inevitably draws on a wider range of experience, background and culture; but also benefits because, in the presence of diversity, the mind is encouraged to stretch and dares to move.

The key to making diversity work is self-esteem. People have to like who they are; they have to take pride in themselves and draw on what they know to be true from their real experience. If they are ashamed of the group from which they come, they will try to blend into the dominant group and nothing interesting will happen. But if, on the other hand, they think and speak proudly as themselves, they will communicate with greater range, depth, freshness and insight.

Diversity is inclusive. It is about ensuring that the ideas, opinions and contributions of all are heard regardless of race, colour, culture, creed, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion or gender. Making diversity pay involves real and difficult choices. For instance, to attract more women, City and consultancy organisations are having to tone down ‘long-hours'-dominated cultures and pay attention to unfamiliar concepts such as mentoring and work-life balance.

Diversity has become a very important and profit-sensitive business issue: research findings such as the above show that well managed diversity potentially has a positive, practical and productive value to almost every business. Every organisation must therefore have a clear understanding of what it intends to achieve in living and working with its own diversity.

Developing a diversity strategy is a central part of this – with commitment from seni

s business performance. The study, which involved around 500 companies operating in the UK, USA and Europe, uncovered a range of business benefits including:

• Higher staff retention

• Reduced recruitment costs

• More satisfied customers

• Access to a wider customer base

• Better supply chain management

• Access to new ideas on process and product improvements

Diversity is also key to success in global markets – any organisation that wants to expand internationally cannot hope to do so effectively without a detailed understanding of the cultural background of the new markets in which it hopes to succeed. The study did however find that diversity management is a long-term process with no quick fixes. Two obstacles in particular were being widely experienced:

• Ingrained attitudes that make it difficult for senior managers to manage people who are very different from them

• The culture of long working hours, which makes it difficult for women to aspire to senior management positions

The report concluded that diversity produces maximum financial impact when it is linked with business strategy and has the support of senior executives. According to Professor Amin Rajan, chief executive of CREATE and co-author of the report, companies are beginning to see that diversity in the workplace pays. Rajan says “Instead of thinking about diversity as about equality, that is, in terms of the law or compliance, companies are now seeing it as an issue of merit and merit alone”. For instance:

• Customers want to be served by a company they can identify with, so a white male sales force might be too limiting

• Teams made up of mixed ethnicities, backgrounds and genders are likely to be genuinely more creative than teams made up of the same type of people

Other benefits of diversity are that diverse organisations will:

• find it easier to recruit as there will be a far greater market to choose from

• enjoy access to a greater wealth of experience, skills and talent

• gain improved public image – as an employer and as a service provider

• experience increased staff motivation

• encourage and develop entrepreneurs

• develop role models, thus helping future growth in management

• increase their market penetration

• show better overall financial performance

An additional spur has been the rash of multi-million dollar discrimination lawsuits brought against pillars of the US corporate establishment such as Texaco (a racial discrimination case settled for $176 million in 1996), Coca-Cola (a sex discrimination case settled for $192 million in 2000) and Wal-Mart (various disability discrimination cases settled for in excess of $7 million, plus a pending and potentially very expensive case alleging sex discrimination involving large numbers of both past and current female employees).

The keys to diversity

A diverse group inevitably draws on a wider range of experience, background and culture; but also benefits because, in the presence of diversity, the mind is encouraged to stretch and dares to move.

The key to making diversity work is self-esteem. People have to like who they are; they have to take pride in themselves and draw on what they know to be true from their real experience. If they are ashamed of the group from which they come, they will try to blend into the dominant group and nothing interesting will happen. But if, on the other hand, they think and speak proudly as themselves, they will communicate with greater range, depth, freshness and insight.

Diversity is inclusive. It is about ensuring that the ideas, opinions and contributions of all are heard regardless of race, colour, culture, creed, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion or gender. Making diversity pay involves real and difficult choices. For instance, to attract more women, City and consultancy organisations are having to tone down ‘long-hours'-dominated cultures and pay attention to unfamiliar concepts such as mentoring and work-life balance.

Diversity has become a very important and profit-sensitive business issue: research findings such as the above show that well managed diversity potentially has a positive, practical and productive value to almost every business. Every organisation must therefore have a clear understanding of what it intends to achieve in living and working with its own diversity.

Developing a diversity strategy is a central part of this – with commitment from seni

d merit alone”. For instance:

• Customers want to be served by a company they can identify with, so a white male sales force might be too limiting

• Teams made up of mixed ethnicities, backgrounds and genders are likely to be genuinely more creative than teams made up of the same type of people

Other benefits of diversity are that diverse organisations will:

• find it easier to recruit as there will be a far greater market to choose from

• enjoy access to a greater wealth of experience, skills and talent

• gain improved public image – as an employer and as a service provider

• experience increased staff motivation

• encourage and develop entrepreneurs

• develop role models, thus helping future growth in management

• increase their market penetration

• show better overall financial performance

An additional spur has been the rash of multi-million dollar discrimination lawsuits brought against pillars of the US corporate establishment such as Texaco (a racial discrimination case settled for $176 million in 1996), Coca-Cola (a sex discrimination case settled for $192 million in 2000) and Wal-Mart (various disability discrimination cases settled for in excess of $7 million, plus a pending and potentially very expensive case alleging sex discrimination involving large numbers of both past and current female employees).

The keys to diversity

A diverse group inevitably draws on a wider range of experience, background and culture; but also benefits because, in the presence of diversity, the mind is encouraged to stretch and dares to move.

The key to making diversity work is self-esteem. People have to like who they are; they have to take pride in themselves and draw on what they know to be true from their real experience. If they are ashamed of the group from which they come, they will try to blend into the dominant group and nothing interesting will happen. But if, on the other hand, they think and speak proudly as themselves, they will communicate with greater range, depth, freshness and insight.

Diversity is inclusive. It is about ensuring that the ideas, opinions and contributions of all are heard regardless of race, colour, culture, creed, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion or gender. Making diversity pay involves real and difficult choices. For instance, to attract more women, City and consultancy organisations are having to tone down ‘long-hours'-dominated cultures and pay attention to unfamiliar concepts such as mentoring and work-life balance.

Diversity has become a very important and profit-sensitive business issue: research findings such as the above show that well managed diversity potentially has a positive, practical and productive value to almost every business. Every organisation must therefore have a clear understanding of what it intends to achieve in living and working with its own diversity.

Developing a diversity strategy is a central part of this – with commitment from seni

but also benefits because, in the presence of diversity, the mind is encouraged to stretch and dares to move.

The key to making diversity work is self-esteem. People have to like who they are; they have to take pride in themselves and draw on what they know to be true from their real experience. If they are ashamed of the group from which they come, they will try to blend into the dominant group and nothing interesting will happen. But if, on the other hand, they think and speak proudly as themselves, they will communicate with greater range, depth, freshness and insight.

Diversity is inclusive. It is about ensuring that the ideas, opinions and contributions of all are heard regardless of race, colour, culture, creed, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion or gender. Making diversity pay involves real and difficult choices. For instance, to attract more women, City and consultancy organisations are having to tone down ‘long-hours'-dominated cultures and pay attention to unfamiliar concepts such as mentoring and work-life balance.

Diversity has become a very important and profit-sensitive business issue: research findings such as the above show that well managed diversity potentially has a positive, practical and productive value to almost every business. Every organisation must therefore have a clear understanding of what it intends to achieve in living and working with its own diversity.

Developing a diversity strategy is a central part of this – with commitment from senior managers being absolutely critical to success. This could be expressed, for example, through the inclusion of statements related to diversity within an organisation’s corporate values; or the setting-up of special teams to set targets for diversity, drive the process forward, and monitor and feed back the results.

Implementing a diversity policy

Research by Penna Consulting (2002) suggests that organisations that want to be successful in implementing diversity will need to adopt a practical approach including key elements such as the following:

• Analyse your business environment. How diverse is your organisation, and is it representative of the local population? Does your workforce mirror your customer base? If not, you could be missing out on significant business opportunities.

• Define diversity and the business benefits. What will be the tangible benefits of implementing a diversity policy, both for your organisation and its employees?

• Include your policy on diversity within your corporate strategy and values.

• Embed the policy within your core HR processes and systems. Make it part of your everyday operations.

• Ensure leaders implement the policy – and give it their full commitment.

• Involve staff at all levels. Implement awareness training, together with initiatives such as the creation of a diversity handbook, mentoring schemes, diversity councils etc.

• Communicate the content of the diversity policy and success of diversity initiatives.

• Understand your organisation’s needs. Depending on its size, understanding of diversity and ability to change, it may benefit from external support.

• Monitor and evaluate. Benchmark your organisation’s progress and the impact of diversity internally and externally.

How can external organisations help?

Many organisations try to tackle the issues of managing diversity simply by providing their staff with a series of training sessions, as though it were an add-on skill that can be easily absorbed. Managing diversity means more, however, than just training your staff. It has to involve the organisation's culture, processes and systems, and may well involve the need for externally-managed initiatives including:

• diversity audits

• the development of a diversity strategy

• policy writing (an Equal Opportunities policy is mandatory as laid down by the EEOC)

• training and development

• coaching

• recruitment and selection

• practical help and assessment on a continuing basis - to measure the benefits of cultural diversity within the organisation.

Carole Spiers Group

International Stress Management & Employee Wellbeing Consultancy

Gordon House, 83-85 Gordon Ave, Stanmore, Middlesex. HA7 3QR. UK

Tel: +44(0) 20 8954 1593 Fax: +44(0) 20 8907 9290

Email: info@carolespiersgroup.com www.carolespiersgroup.com

If you would like to book Carole as a keynote speaker or conference chair at your next conference - check out www.carolespiersgroup.com/mediaenquirysheet.php