Baked Potatoes - A subtle message

The following is from the March AME-UK Newsletter by Chris McKellen.  It is a “tongue-in cheek” look at a comparison of a Toyota employee and a Typical UK Plant employee in the task of preparing a baked potato.

How a Toyota employee bakes a potato:

·                    Preheat new, quality oven to 350 F

·                    Insert a 1.0 lb Idaho potato

·                    Go do something productive for 45 minutes

·                    Check for doneness, then remove perfectly baked potato from oven and serve

 

How a Typical plc (Ltd.) employee bakes a potato:

·              Conducts market test with suppliers in Mexico, Brazil, and Turkistan to supply 0.75 lb potatoes, choose lowest cost supplier with best Wings tickets.

·              Change to incumbent supplier of Idaho potatoes, insist they meet Turkistan pricing with 3% annual price reductions.

·              Upgrade to 1.0 lb potato, insist supplier erred by pricing for 0.75 lbs as instructed when he knows Toyota uses 1.0 lb potatoes.

 

·              Instruct potato supplier to preheat the oven to 350F

·              Demand that the supplier show you how he turned the dial to reach 350 F, and have him come up with documentation from the oven manufacturer proving that it was calibrated properly.

·              Review documentation, and then have supplier check the temperature using a sophisticated temperature probe.

·              Direct supplier to insert potato and set timer for 45 minutes.

·              Have supplier open oven to prove potato has been installed correctly, and request a free study proving that 45 minutes is the ideal time to bake a potato of this size and variability due to orientation within the oven.

 

·              Request a Six Sigma Study showing variable cook times for various potato sizes and orientations.

·              Check potato for doneness after 10 minutes

·              Check potato for doneness after 11 minutes

·              Check potato for doneness after 12 minutes

·              Become impatient with supplier (why is this simple potato taking so long to bake?).  Demand status reports every five minutes.

 

·              Conduct Value Engineering session and new market test.

·              Change to 0.9 lb potato because customers will only notice if potato weight is reduced to 0.85 lb.

·              Check potato for doneness after 15 minutes.

·              After 35 minutes, conclude that potato is nearing completion.  Pass through Gate review reporting all Green status.

·              Congratulate supplier, and then update your boss on all the great work you've done, despite having to work with such an uncooperative supplier.

·              Remove potato from oven after 40 minutes of baking, as a cost save without loss of function or quality versus the original 45 minute baking time.

·              Serve potato.

 

·              Wonder aloud what on earth those Toyota folks are doing over there to make such good, low-cost baked potatoes that people seem to like better than a Typical potato.

 

 

Forgot to mention subject in mail

Forgot to mention subject, while writing an  official mail ??

Yes.... It's a concern for all.... A mail without a subject brings a bad impression on us.

To avoid this just follow the simple steps mentioned below and see the result

Steps:
1. Open your outlook

2. Press Alt+F11. This opens the Visual Basic editor and then Press Ctrl+R which in turn open Project-Project 1 (left side)

3. On the Left Pane, one can see "Microsoft Outlook Objects" or "Project1", expand this. Now one can see the "This Outlook Session".

4. Double click on "ThisOutLookSession". It will open up a code pane on the right hand side.

5. Copy and Paste the following code in the right pane. (Code Pane) and save it

Private Sub Application_ItemSend(ByVal Item As Object, Cancel As Boolean)
Dim strSubject As String
strSubject = Item.Subject
If Len(Trim(strSubject)) = 0 Then
Prompt$ = "Subject is Empty. Are you sure you want to send the Mail?"
If MsgBox(Prompt$, vbYesNo + vbQuestion + vbMsgBoxSetForeground, "Check for Subject") = vbNo Then
Cancel = True
End If
End If
End Sub    

6. Now whenever u try to send a mail without subject, which will raise a pop-up to remind you.

 

Professional ethics

In the wake of two shocking incidents that took place in Bangalore and Hyderabad, couples committing suicide because of extra-marital affairs with their colleagues, I just thought of writing a small article on how to avoid such incidents. This is really a serious matter and if not dealt on at an early stage could lead to such incidents in our personal life too. I have done research on human behavior and psychology and am trying to put-in some text which may (or may not) be helpful to you. Never-the-less I feel it's worth knowing such things and if possible every individual can make a conscious effort to more or less follow the same.

              Some people don't take advice but taking good advice may do you no harm. Thos who are not married this is the best article as before starting a new relationship if you are ready for it, will only help you to lead a happy life.

Read on..
              We spend 40/45/50/60 hours a week with our colleagues. This is the most we spend with any members of our family. So it's obvious they are an integral part of our life. Good, understood. But an important point to remember is colleagues are colleagues and not friends and if you think they are friends then you are highly mistaken. Imagine working together for 9 hours a day together and then returning home and continuing to talk with your colleague on phone. This is what happened with that Infosys guy who could not stand this behavior of his wife and killed her and committed suicide. Which husband would like his wife talking on phone with her colleague and that too male counterpart? Or which wife will like her husband doing the same? Just keep yourself in that situation and see. Anger will creep in within you.
              So whatever gossip or topic you want to discuss with your colleagues do it during office hours and once you are out of office forget about your work and your colleagues unless it's official matter.

Just check this unnecessary talk…
A guy and her colleague walking out of office at 6.30p.m. At 7.30 or 8.00 the guy calls that female,
Guy: Hi, how are you? Where have you reached? (Don't you know how she is and where she must be at this time)
Lady: I am fine. Reached home.
Guy: What are you cooking today?
Lady: So and so (Now here the lady knows that the guy has called to flirt with her and the call is unnecessary. It's the duty of the female to  say something to avoid that guy. If she doesn't at this stage then this call will be going for another 30-45 mins and questions like 'When will you be taking bath? What time you will sleep? What will you bring for me for breakfast for tomorrow will creep in?' and imagine the state of the family members of that lady at this point.
              They expect the lady to come and talk with them for sometime but here this lady is enjoying a talk with the guy with whom she has been working since morning. No wonder such people will have a horrendous married life.

              A simple thing to think about. Say you are not married. You go to office and come back say at 6.00 in the evening. You have so much of time left. Can't you read some books and increase your knowledge rather than spending one-two hours on mobile. Girls can start experimenting with new dishes. Main thing to understand is such gossiping on calls becomes on habit and bad habits die-hard. You will be addicted to talking and this can be bad as time goes on. One you start working you have to come out of college life. In college you could enjoy, flirt, do anything you wanted. But this is real life. Be responsible or else you will be responsible for your terrible life and the life if your husband/wife.
              Any person no matter who he/she is would never like his/her wife/husband having such relationship with her/his colleagues.

Last year 90% of divorce happened because of Extra-Marital Affairs and in that 80% because of relationships with colleagues. And we would not like this to happen with us. So start from now.
Guys see to it that you don't put an habit of calling you female-colleagues after office hours or on weekends or holidays, even if they provoke you or give missed calls. Let them spend time with their family members or other friends. You also do the same. Good girls don't give missed calls. And girls who give I need not say what kind of girls they are. Stay away from them. You can talk as much as you want in office. And gals, if any guy calls you then it's not bad to say 'No, Let's talk in office' or 'I am busy, talk with you tomorrow' to that guy. Do it twice and they will automatically stop calling. Guys have this habit of flirting and you allowing them to flirt will only help them do more. Relationships can always be maintained in right manner. Never succumb to emotional pressure like 'You don't want to talk with me or what' or 'You can call him but you can't call me' or 'You talk for so and so time with her but with me only this much'. Some people fall for this  because they don't want to lose a friend. Again I say colleague is not a friend. They are just here to work and keep on moving in their life. They go to other company, go for growth and so on. They will not wait for you in the same office to be with you forever. So don't be emotionally attached with your colleagues. They are competitors and always on their toes to show you down in front of seniors and managers. You may not realize now but this is a fact, be ready for it.
Imagine a girl getting married and someone says to her to be husband, that guy over there is the one who regularly calls your wife or your wife gives missed calls or calls that guy. Always this thing will remain on the back of his mind. Similarly someone tells the bride that your groom always keeps calling that girl or vice-versa…. Imagine yourself at that place. Situations arise because we allow them to. No one can lead ideal life but we can always make an sincere effort to lead one.

              Another note to be taken about: (strictly male to female and female to male contexts)
                              If your colleague calls you. Just check out whether if he calls others also. If he doesn't then find out why? No guy will call other girl if he is not interested in that girl. In a group there can be five females but it's not necessary that a guy calls all five. He will only call the one on whom he is interested.
Similarly, a girl will not give missed call to everyone. If she gives then she must be really lonely. Stay away from them or you will be caught in their loving talk. Guys normally fall for girls because of their beauty or their talk. So if a guy colleague comes to you and proposes you then it's not his mistake completely, it's more of yours because you were the one who used to give him that space.
              Also you become a topic of gossip among your fellow colleagues if they come to know that one of their colleague is calling you and not calling others. And there is nothing more dangerous than office gossip. It can cost you your job and just remember how easily you got this job.

              So please keep your office and it's people at office and lead a normal happy life. For your good and for the good of your spouse. Send it to your colleagues, friends, relatives, parents and everyone and avoid incidents like the one mentioned at the beginning of this article. If you feel anyone is doing anything mentioned above then just go and tell him/her. You will be helping someone in their life.