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Are You a Better Person Today Than You Were Yesterday?

By Shobha Srinivas

Shobha Srinivas, CAO Cerebra LPO, India Ltd.

Advice on how to achieve work life balance as we work in an increasingly competitive work environment from the CEO of Cerebra LPO India Ltd.

How many of us try to improve our skills and try to become a better person than we were yesterday?

Many of us are caught in the ‘rat race’ of life, trying to work long hours and make as much money as possible for a ‘safe future’, ‘good life style’ and ‘better prospects’. In running this race of life, we fail to see who and what we have left behind. We fail to see if what we are trying to do has any meaning at all and in working today for our future, are we sacrificing our present? We fail to see the small things that give us so much happiness! We fail to see what we are eating and check how healthy we are.

We envy a happy person and wonder how that person can be so HAPPY! What we fail to understand is how simple his or her life style is.

Adopting a healthy and simple life style is the key to great happiness. The more time we have to mingle with our family, our kids and our friends, the happier we will be.

Adopt a Work – Life balance. Career oriented does not mean you have to forget your family and spend eighteen hours a day at work.  This way you will not be happy nor your family or your boss.

Why wouldn’t your boss be happy if you are spending eighteen hours at work every day? No, your boss wouldn’t be happy because you won’t be happy; you would work all the time with a frown on your face, cursing your boss for making you spend eighteen hours at work. Your work will be average and the boss does not appreciate “‘average work”. You have no time to give your valuable inputs, you are not innovative and you have no time to keep yourself ‘update’ with the recent changes that may have developed in your field.

Hence, you are not the kind of person appreciated by your boss. Then he or she would start looking for fresh faces with innovative ideas, one who could ‘work smart’, not only hard. You may feel dejected with your boss’s attitude and start feeling you have no place in this office, so you start looking for a change of job. You don’t feel that the place you work for is YOUR OFFICE and that it deserves your best. You have over the years changed from a brilliant worker to an average worker.  And you have lost your place and your footing in your own office! Is this what you worked for all your life? Is this what you wanted to happen to you? Surely not. Why then has it happened even though you dedicated yourself to working so hard that you did not care enough for your family?  You don’t even remember which school your children went to or which classes they are taking!

Good habits, healthy life style and positive attitude will make you a better person. Always take time to think if you are giving enough time for your own ‘overall development’.

As you grow and age, your body needs more care and what better way than to eat healthy along with a daily shot of exercise! Not only your body, your brain needs to be exercised too, to keep away from memory loss and other old age problems! Play small brain teaser games which not only keep you busy but also exercise your brain and keeps worries away. Stop stressing with unnecessary things and lead a smarter life!

Go with the technology and learn to use new applications. Keep yourself abreast with current affairs around the world. Remember, you are a learner all through your life and the more you learn the better you are as a person!!

Shobha Srinivas is the Chief Executive Officer of  Cerebra LPO India Ltd.  A graduate in law from Bangalore University with a post graduate degree, a Masters in Commerce from Karnatak University, her responsibilities include keeping the aims and objective of Celebra LPO, guarding the quality policy and compliance for the company and ensuring the delivery of the highest quality services.  Ms. Shobha loves to read books and has recently started writing. This article is an excerpt from her unpublished book, “My Experiences and Thoughts”.  You may contact her at shobha@cerebralpo.com.

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2012 GSC 3S Awards- Sourcing that EMPOWERS
Thursday, October 25th, 2012.
United Nations, New York, NY.
Submit your applications now.
Deadline for applications : August 1, 2012. 5 pm EST.

The State of Global Trade in 2012 report reveals sourcing will shift beyond China to manage rising costs

New York, April 2, 2012– Global trade intelligence leader Panjiva and The Global Sourcing Council, a non-profit organization that fosters dialog on critical issues in global sourcing and supply chain management,  today unveiled a joint report, The State of Global Trade in 2012, which highlights key concerns, challenges and opportunities facing those engaged in global trade. Based on a survey of buyers and suppliers worldwide, the report found that half of global trade professionals are optimistic about the global economy in 2012 and nearly three quarters plan to spend at or above 2011 levels.

But as the U.S. economy appears to be rebounding in the beginning of 2012, larger organizations may still have doubts about a full recovery. In fact, respondents at companies with over $100 million in revenue were two times more pessimistic than those at companies with less than $100 million in revenue (30 percent vs. 14 percent). Regardless of company size, the three top concerns about the economy were a slump in global demand, volatility in commodity prices and rising labor costs (31 percent, 23 percent and 18 percent, respectively)

Other key findings from the report include:

• Suppliers and buyers vary when it comes to rising labor costs concerns – only 7 percent of suppliers cited rising wages in manufacturing hotspots as a biggest economic concern for 2012, compared to 26 percent of buyers.
• Buyers are shifting sourcing outside of China – Although 73 percent of buyer respondents currently source from China, 68 percent of them cited sourcing outside of China as “much more important” or “more important” in 2012 as compared to 2011. In fact, 34 percent of all buyers cited sourcing in new geographies as their top way of managing costs in the year ahead.
• Other Asian nations remain the top sourcing alternative to China – More than half (53 percent) of respondents pointed to other countries in Asia as where they plan to source goods beyond China.
• Buyers and suppliers both see opportunity in U.S. – Almost a quarter (24 percent) of buyers named the U.S. as a sourcing alternative to China. Further, 63 percent of overseas suppliers pointed to the U.S. as a region they will target for new business; suppliers were less interested in seeking to supply goods to Europe (56 percent) or China (41 percent)

“The past four years have been very volatile for those involved in global trade, but there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel,” said Josh Green, CEO of Panjiva. “Sourcing professionals can deal with rising labor and commodity costs by making the move to regions where costs can be better controlled. The critical success factors remain identifying the right regions and partners to work with and putting the right planning processes in place to ultimately make the move.”

According to David Kinnear, founder and chairman of The Global Sourcing Council and managing partner of BK Advisory Group, “We see a growing maturity in the global outlook and perspective of buyers, suppliers and consumers alike – resulting in a more balanced view of sourcing methods and locations. There is a greater depth of view and a palate of perspective beyond simply price. Of recent, we also see a new wave of understanding and action on the issues related to labor and workplace conditions with some high profile headlines driving public debate. Balancing geo-economic and socio-economic considerations in the goods and services supply chain is a critical decision for present day senior management teams – especially in the current political and economic climate. The right balance is one that we feel will greatly benefit companies and their customers alike in the short and longer term.”

The State of Global Trade in 2012 report is currently available for free download on Panjiva’s website, http://panjiva.com/blog/whats-new/the-state-of-global-trade-in-2012. The report is based on a survey of over 250 professionals engaged in global trade conducted in February 2012. The respondents represent buyers, suppliers and others engaged in global trade from companies of all sizes from around the world.

About Panjiva

Panjiva is an online resource for sourcing executives to gain valuable knowledge about suppliers around the world. By providing the most comprehensive data in an easy to use format, Panjiva informs the decisions that facilitate doing business globally. Supply chain and global production executives responsible for finding the right factories, negotiating costs and avoiding costly supply chain disruptions have been “flying blind.”  Panjiva is the first and only online information source designed to provide complete transparency into overseas suppliers. Leveraging a variety of public and proprietary data sources, Panjiva is bringing new levels of visibility to the management of global supply chains. Panjiva was founded by CEO Josh Green and CTO James Psota. Panjiva received an equity investment from Battery Ventures and a contingent of angel investors. For additional information, visit: http://panjiva.com.

About The Global Sourcing Council

The GSC is the only non-profit organization focused specifically on sustainable and socially responsible sourcing practices in the outsourcing community and is a pioneer of socially responsible and sustainable sourcing across the world. The GSC created the 3 S Awards recognizing the exceptional achievements in the global sourcing marketplace by individuals and organizations for their commitment towards Sustainability and Socially responsible Sourcing practices. Find out more at: http://gscouncil.org/ and http://www.gsc3sawards.com/index.php

Details:

Moderator: Kevin Parikh

Panelists: Sarah Troup of the Rockefeller Foundation, Rita Soni of Nasscom Foundation, Dhiraj Dolwani of B2R, Antony Alex of Pangea3, David Kinnear of The Global Sourcing Council

Summary: Organizations are increasingly realizing the value of incorporating some socially responsible considerations when engaging a service provider. As newer options and models such as Impact Sourcing and Rural Sourcing become mainstream, the Buyer and Provider community is collaborating like never before to ensure their efforts include a social vector. This session brings together experts from the Donor, Provider and Buyer community to engage in a discussion around how Responsible Sourcing doesn’t have to mean a choice between social and economic value – the two can go hand in hand. The speakers will discuss how outsourcing models like Impact Sourcing are changing the socio-economic environment in places as far flung as Vietnam, Kenya and Haiti. Learn how technology and innovative processes and training tools are enabling these models. Also hear from Buyer organizations how they include a socially responsible component in their selection process.

Mike Simms, 2012 GSC 3S Awards Advisory Council

“By promoting the 3S Awards amongst the global sourcing sector, businesses and organizations are held to the highest standards of ethical, sustainable and socially responsible sourcing best practices.  The Advisory Council plays a critical role in helping to shape the future of global business practices. Microsoft is proud to provide its expertise and guidance to the 3S Awards initiative.”
Mike Simms
General Manager and Chief Outsourcing Officer, Microsoft Corp.
2012 GSC 3S Awards Advisory Council

Visit our website and learn more about our 2012 Award applicants.

Global Connection
Global Connection serves as a business platform that positions luxury products  made with traditional art forms, by companies owned by indigenous people.

Forgotten
Forgotten was founded with the mission of producing apparel that empowers and transforms the lives of those who make it.

SoleRebels
Hailed as  Africa’s Nike ,  soleRebels was founded in  2005 to bring jobs and sustainable and self directed prosperity to the community in Addis Ababa Ethiopia

Are you doing business that creates a positive impact on the community? 

Are you walking the talk on sustainability?

Share your story as a successful sustainable and socially responsible company.

Apply now for the 2012
GSC 3S Awards.

Nominations received early will receive the highest level of exposure and promotion.

Deadline for applications –
April 15^th, 2012.

Visit the 3S Awards website for complete application details.

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