The Great Human Server

Everything created by God has a purpose to fulfill for human benefit. God wanted to provide humans best possible environment and conditions so that they could live their lives in the best possible manner. While some creations required intelligence and work to be unraveled, some others were very apparent to be made use of. One such creation that stands out due to its impact and advantages is a tree. Immediately after it converts in to tree from a plant it starts serving the humans.

 Starting from providing shade from sun and rain, providing oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide, making environment healthy as well beautiful, its life remains dedicated to human service.  It helps in water, preventing soil erosion and water pollution as well as providing fruit not only as a food, but also a means of livelihood. It provides abode to birds and help in developing wildlife. In short during all its long life it remains an epitome of human service. But, its service does not end here. If it is cut down and converted in to furniture it provides business opportunities to one segment of humans, and comfort to another other segment. Lastly even if it is made to die and burnt, it produces heat and light before disappearing from the world scene.

Tasneem Hameed

Performance Appraisal

                                                          Judge And Be Judged


         Extract                                                                               By: Tasneem Hameed
There has been a consensus among the
HR thinkers and experts that instead
of denying the bias, it is proper to look
for ways to decrease it to the utmost
extent. The best way is to introduce
a method that gets the view of more
people about the personal bias of the
appraiser. These then be put together
to reach definite conclusions about its
existence or otherwise.

First published in 

People Discovery

The Extra MILE E-Zine Issue 6 - October 2013

Tasneem Hameed

Global Oneness Day

With thanks to Humanitysteam
Today is Global Oneness Day. Let us see How it began.

The creation of Global Oneness day began as a simple petition drive by Humanity’s Team in 2008. Members of Humanity’s Team created a Oneness petition with the goal of obtaining 50,000 signatures that could be delivered to the United Nations (U.N.) with a request that the U.N. support the focus on awakening Oneness.  By the time Humanity’s Team approached the U.N. in May, 2010, over 52,000 signatures had been obtained from more than 150 countries.   
When members of the Global Council for Humanity’s Team met with the U.N., the signatures, the Oneness petition and supporting material were presented.  The U.N. was invited to take the Oneness petition up as a discussion.  In addition, Humanity’s Team requested that the U.N. create a Global Oneness Day that could be celebrated around the world. 

Crowdsourcing And HR

To get the job done being the basic function of management, it remains its constant endeavor to find better ways to accomplish the same. From daily wages to  temporary to permanent workers followed by contractual workers employers continued to explore better ways to get the job done efficiently and effectively.  Not so long ago, outsourcing became the buzzword. It was found economically beneficial to outsource different functions of the organization to external specialized agencies. The trend continued and now crowdsourcing has entered the arena. James Surowiecki and Jeff Howe are the two people who discussed and introduced the term crowdsourcing. James Surowiecki in his book “The Wisdom of Crowds” discussed it,  and  Jeff Howe in 2006 introduced crowdsourcing as a method of sourcing people who are willing to help or work on a project. While outsourcing stipulated outsourcing of work to specialized external agencies, crowdsourcing has opened the door for specialized people the world over to give their services to carry out functions, jobs and tasks. The whole process from soliciting help, to offer from interested people, negotiation between the parties, finalization of contract and payment after successful completion of the contract takes place online. oDesk. Kickstarter,  MinuteWorkers, Innocentive, CloudCrowd and Elance are some of the important websites engaged in providing crowdsourcing services to the interested parties.

Travel Tips

The very thought of traveling evokes a mixed feeling of curiosity, exuberance and anxiety. What kind of place it is going to be? How much fun and enjoyment we are going to have? What difficulties lie in store? All these questions come up for consideration immediately after hearing about traveling. Is it possible that the anxiety part is eliminated to make the whole concept of traveling a positive exercise. Perhaps not 100% but to a great extent through a proper planning process . The nature of traveling might vary from family travel to business travel but , the basic requirements mostly remain the same. 

Following are the basic components of any kind of travel for each of which a decision has to be made
Travel budget
Place(s) to travel
Dates of travel
Number of people involved in the travel
Mode of travel
Nature of accommodation
The purpose of this article is not to provide help in making decisions with respect to the above but to provide hints for successful implementation of the decisions made in some of the areas.

WORLD PEACE DAY 2013

"On this International Day of Peace, let us pledge to teach our children the value of tolerance and mutual respect.  Let us invest in the schools and teachers that will build a fair and inclusive world that embraces diversity.  Let us fight for peace and defend it with all our might." - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Today on 21st September 2013 International Day of Peace also known as World Peace Day is being observed.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has declared the focus of this year’s peace day on Peace Education. The concept of focus in on peace education is to build a sense of awareness amongst the people globally towards education and professional skills a diversion from violence and war towards career building and social awareness.

The increasing intolerance and violence in the world is considered only to be overcome by the spread of education and developing skills in individuals to fight unemployment and poverty.

Pakistan which has been a victim of war on terror for the past 12 years is also victimized by unemployment and illiteracy. Only focus on education and right investment in educational and skill development institutions can bring peace and harmony.

Education is the only way to fight against Intolerance, unemployment and poverty, which can bring peace and social development amongst the masses and eradication of war and violence.

THIS IS NO JUSTICE

 A news item on August 23 has reported under the headline 'Not one appointed on merit' about the favoritism that took place in almost every appointment in Islamabad High Court causing a lot of disappointment. The fact that it was done under the nose of The Supreme Court of Pakistan that is not far away makes one wonder why it did not catch its attention. There had been countless appointments that have been annulled by the supreme court on the ground of illegality or irregularity in following the procedure and here we see appointments having made in a superior court in blatant disregard of law and procedure. In almost every grade appointments had been made on the sole criteria of favoritism and even people on deputation have been given higher grades than the one they were holding previously. Islamabad High Court is also unfortunate in having appointments at the judge's level that had been questioned by bars and even the appointment of its Chief Justice was accompanied by criticism as he was not the senior most judge as laid down in different judgments of the supreme court.

We hope that a suo moto action will be taken like it is frequently done in other similar cases. If charity could not start from home it at least must end at home. If it is not done it again will show double standards like in case of refusal of the supreme court in presenting audited accounts before the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee. We are regularly told that no one is above the law and judgments have been given and implemented to prove it, let there be no exception.

Tasneem Hameed

JOB SEARCH TIPS

Finding a job is the goal of a person who is either out of job or not satisfied with his / her present job. In the first case finding a job is very critical as the livelihood of the person may be dependent on the job. In the second case too, it is no less important because either the present job is under threat, not meeting the financial requirements or that job is hazardous or full of tension affecting the health or safety of the job seeker. It is also possible that lack of opportunities for growth in the present job is motivating him / her to look for a better job.
Job search is the only option available for the job seekers to find a job. In the earlier times the only source of finding a job were the personal relations, friends and the neighbors. The job seeker will approach them for help in finding a job. If the person so approached was in the knowledge of some jobs available he will intimate about the same to the job seeker. In other cases if the person approached was also working on some job, he will request the owner or boss to consider or help find a job for the job seeker. The above practice continued up to the time when the need for labour increased and finding people became an employer’s need. Job specialization also convinced the employers to find ways and means to hire the right person for the right job. Employers started with the Job Boards by exhibiting jobs available on the company’s notice boards so that all the people working in the company may know about the vacancies and convey it to their relatives , friends and neighbors. The system had similarities with the earlier one only the initiator changed from job seeker to employer. However, the employer soon realized that task was too big and the scope of the system too limited to meet the purpose. The next step of the employers was to use advertisement in newspaper and magazines regarding the availability of the jobs in their firms . This method continued for a long time and is still being used, but at the same time new ways were found to announce vacancies like employment agencies and professional magazines. The advent of internet has revolutionized the job search methods. Job sites have become one of the most effective means for job search. These sites help an employer finding the right person for the job and also provide advice and services both to employers and the job seekers.

One Out of Few

“One Out of Few”-by:Tasneen Hameed

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Gina Quarles

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Here is another blog entry that was submitted for my blog contest. After reading this, I must say it encouraged me in my faith that there is more good people doing amazing things for others out there. May this entry give you the same hope it gave me for humanity:). Enjoy!

One Out of Few
By:Tasneem Hameed

He would sleep on the concrete outside the clinic so that he was available to anyone who needed help anytime at night.
He is seen in his ambulance, collecting dead bodies, taking them to police station, if the bodies were not claimed then washing and burying them himself.
He or his people are the first people to reach the place whenever and wherever there is a terror act, accident or natural calamity.
He has donated all his organs so that even after death his organs continue his mission of serving humanity.
A board in front of his organization has the following wordings:
“Do not commit another sin: leave your baby in our care.”
Who is this person?

NEW EQUAL WORLD: PET MANAGEMENT

NEW EQUAL WORLD: PET MANAGEMENT: Pet keeping may be a pastime for some people or hobby for some others, but Pet Management is much more than keeping pets at home and looki...

PET MANAGEMENT

Pet keeping may be a pastime for some people or hobby for some others, but Pet Management is much more than keeping pets at home and looking after them. Only a liking for animals and birds or a desire to have pets is not enough. Pet Management involves a lot of management activities ranging from planning, selecting, monitoring to decision making. However, the basic and most important requirement for Pet Care is the love for the pet and ownership by the whole family. Even animals understand the language of love. A mechanical relationship can never give rise to a caring attitude. Animals and birds have a great sense of discerning attitudes and feelings and any indication of not being liked may create a feeling of not being wanted resulting in alienation. Pets own the family they are living with therefore, their sensitivities must be given importance. I still remember the day when my father expired and the way my pet dog Smart behaved. Smart did not eat anything for two days and remained quiet mostly sitting on the floor looking downward chin touching the floor between the two stretched front paws.
Taking love and ownership of pets for granted the following are some other factors which should be taken care of for Pet Care.

We should all be Idle No More

 FROM RIVERA SUN
              OF
RISING SUN DANCE THEATER
WITH THANKS

Catch this folks: that Indian rights movement, Idle No More? It’s not about deporting non-natives back to   wherever we came from.

 The indigenous are rising up because a greed-motivated, ignorant government broke laws and treaties to poison the air, water and land, and tried to force a fossil fuel pipeline across their land.
You are in the same position.
No one should be idle at this time. No one should sit at home silent as climate change sets temperature records, and worldwide species diversity diminishes. It is time for those of us who are immigrants to follow the example of our indigenous neighbors and get busy on behalf of equal rights, sustainability, and respect of the people by our government. Idle No More began with a First Nations tribe in Canada who faced some serious treaty violations done by the Canadian government, involving the Tars Sands Pipeline. This was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, and indigenous rights groups worldwide rose up in protest.
It is not just the indigenous that corporate powers disregard.
A government that disrespects one minority will disrespect them all. Environmentalists have long been scorned and ignored. The lower classes are continuously abused. Rural populaces have been ‘walked over’ by corporate and governmental powers for so long, we’ve grown disillusioned about that notion called democracy. In the U.S., the wealthy one percent show respect to only one minority group: themselves.

Will You?

FROM  Life, People, Dreams & Me

With SINCERE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Will you wait for the day to end

so you could see me?

Will I be the one to bring you a smile

On a long long day?

Will I be the rock?

Will I be the sun?

Will you find comfort in me,

When the world hurts you?

Will you seek my words,
When nothing makes sense?

                                                     

Will you cherish our moments?

Will you go over my words,

Again and again?

Will you be the constant,

In my ever-changing life?

With special thanks to  Sadaf Fatima

GREAT MEN ----- Maulana Rumi

The name Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi stands for Love and ecstatic flight into the infinite. Rumi is one of the great spiritual masters and poetical geniuses of mankind and was the founder of the Mawlawi Sufi order, a leading mystical brotherhood of Islam.

         Rumi was born on September 30, 1207 in Balkh in what is now known as Afghanistan. It was a period of remarkable social and political turbulence. The 13th Century was the era of the crusades;  also the area where Rumi lived was under constant threat of Mongol invasion. The great upheavals Rumi faced during his life is said to have influenced much of his poetry. 

  Rumi met many of the great Sufi poets. For example, as a young boy he met the Sufi Master, Attar.  Attar is said to have commented about Rumi. “There goes a river dragging an ocean behind it.”

He was introduced into the mystical path by a wandering dervish, Shamsuddin of Tabriz. His love and his bereavement for the death of Shams found their expression in a surge of music, dance and lyric poems, `Divani Shamsi Tabrizi'. Rumi is the author of six volume didactic epic work, the `Mathnawi', called as the 'Koran in Persian' by Jami, and discourses, `Fihi ma Fihi', written to introduce his disciples into metaphysics.

If there is any general idea underlying Rumi's poetry, it is the absolute love of God. His influence on thought, literature and all forms of aesthetic expression in the world of Islam cannot be overrated.

OBAMA, DRONES, LAW, AAFIA AND PAKISTAN

President Obama has put up a defense of latest policy about using drones in a
 speech delivered at National Defense University. Speaking without his familiar conviction he tried to justify it on grounds that looked made up and lacking in substance. Declaring that use of drones was legal and generally moral and was the only option left when it was not possible to arrest terrorists or intervene through armed forces in the absence of lack of support from the local Governments. These strikes according to him save lives although admitting that civilian casualties can serve as a powerful recruiting tool for terrorist groups. So while saving lives of Americans looked to be his top priority he does not look much disturbed about innocent lives lost due to these attacks what to talk about offering apology or compensating the affected families. While warning against the temptation to see drone strikes as "a cure-all-for- terrorism", he asked Congress to help him set modest new safeguards instead of trying to end this dangerous temptation. Those deciding about drone attacks have the discretion to decide about the imminent threat to US without clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons and interests will take place in the immediate future. They have become judge as well as the executioner. If the analogy is taken to its logical conclusion, then every country will have the right to define imminent threat and the corresponding right to use weapons available, drones or others. What about International Law and UN's

DREAMS

When dreams don't come true it does not mean dreams were false or unattainable, it means that there was something we missed out while going for them. Perhaps the time was not right, perhaps we underestimated the obstacles or perhaps we did too little or too much. Whatever the reasons the first step must be to resolve that our inability to achieve what we wanted does not lead either to defeatist mentality or ignoring the reality. As Colin Powell  rightly said; “A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” We must stand up to the challenge and must know that Rome was not built in a day and that a hard-fought battle defeat that test us ferociously is much better than a victory achieved easily. It may lead to complacency. Remember the words of Jesse Owens: We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.

 ALWAYS CONTINUE TO BELIEVE IN YOUR DREAMS, HAVE THE COURAGE TO ACCEPT REALITIES AND SURMOUNT DIFFICULTIES, HAVE THE CONVICTION THAT THEY ARE ATTAINABLE, AND HAVE THE COMMITMENT TO REALIZE THEM.

IT IS EARTH DAY

Today is Earth Day! Over one billion people in 192 countries are participating from London to Sao Paolo, Seoul to Babylon City, New Delhi to New York, Rome to Cairo; people everywhere are taking action in their communities and helping depict The Face of Climate Change.
How can you get involved? Attend an Earth Day event in your community, start doing something to lower your carbon footprint, and take a photo of yourself being part of the solution and upload it to The Face of Climate Change Wall.
Wondering what’s happening around the world? Here are just a few of the events taking place:
In Copenhagen, Denmark—as well as in six other cities on five continents—the Danish Cultural Institute is organizing its annual CO 2 Green Drive Project in honor of Earth Day. Runners, walkers, bikers, and skaters are using their cities as canvasses to spell “CO 2“ with GPS devices.
In Argentina, volunteers from the Surfrider Foundation are cleaning up the local beaches and planting evergreens and Tamarisk shrubs to help prevent wind and water erosion.
5,000 miles to the northeast, in Ghana, The Rural Education and Development Programme (REDEP) is hosting a three-part event that includes a community clean-up, a “Face of Climate Change” theatre production, and an environmentally-themed essay contest.
A local organization in Jalandhar, India—in coordination with Earth Day Network India—is distributing free saplings to students and hosting a discussion about the effects of climate change and ways to mitigate it.
In Milan, Italy, thousands of people are gathering for the Earth Day Italia Festival to learn about environmental issues and spur action on local green initiatives.
Meanwhile in Seoul, South Korea, Ecomom Korea is organizing an “Eco-style” Earth Day Flash Mob, a variation of the popular song “Gangnam Style,” as well as hosting an Earth Day Walkathon and an Earth Day exhibition, which will showcase The Face of Climate Change photo display.
In Santa Barbara, California, thousands of people attended the local Earth Day Festival, which included live music, speakers, a Green Car Show, and special awards given to Van Jones and Bill Nye.
In Veracruz, Mexico, Tortugas Fundacion Yepez is mobilizing volunteers to protect the habitat of sea turtles by cleaning up the local beaches and organizing a reforestation campaign.
The Bent Al-Rafedain Organization in Babylon, Iraq—in cooperation with the Department of the Environment—is honoring Earth Day by documenting the sources of pollution in their community and organizing a media campaign to educate residents and encourage government officials to reduce pollution.
In Columbus, Ohio, Green Columbus is mobilizing hundreds of volunteers to pull invasive plants, clean up neighborhoods, and plan trees at over 100 volunteer sites across the state.
Far away in Chuuk, Micronesia, Xavier High School is hosting an Earth Day Conference with the theme “The Face of Climate Change” that will feature a neighborhood clean-up, speakers, educational workshops, and an environmentally-themed school song competition.

Mind And Heart

The age old controversy fails to die down, which is superior Mind or Heart? Although both are important part of the human body there is a tendency to treat them as rivals and find the winner. The functions of mind and heart from biological point of view are clear, but there seems to be some overlapping that has added a new dimension to the debate. There is a general belief that thinking is a function of human mind and logic and rationality are the fundamental principles that act as a guide, but when it comes to feelings and emotions heart comes in to play. It is said that heart is based on inner voice or soul. It is worthwhile to explore different aspects of the debate to at least clarify some basic facts.

We all know that heart supplies blood to the body and failure to discharge this function means end of human life. If however mind ceases to function a person loses thinking process as well as that of memory making a person unable to know even himself or live the life of a normal human being. Thus if seen from this angle heart appears to be more important than mind, but a man without a properly functioning mind also cannot be compared in any way to what a normal human being is.

BAGH-E-JINNAH (JINNAH GARDEN) ; NATURE AT ITS BEST

 Bagh-e- Jinnah is one of the most famous and oldest Public Park of Pakistan. It is situated in the city of Lahore, which is also Pakistan’s cultural capital. Some people call it heaven on earth while others describe it as a haven of nature with all its beauty, serenity and pollution free environment. It isa place to refresh your soul, enrich and energize your mind and body and enjoy the life as it should be. Be it the secluded and nostalgic environment of the hill or the green and expanding lawns, one feels submerged in nature and wishes to remain part of this wonderful place and continue to purify one's soul.

 According to the well-known  Punjabi saying, "One who has not visited Lahore is not even  born yet", it looks proper to add that one who has not visited Bag-e-Jinnah has not seen Lahore.