Body Language or Non-verbal Communication during Interviews

Image Credit:Where Great Workplaces Start

"It's not what you say, it's how you say it," is a very apt saying that holds true in case of job inter views. What majority of the people appearing for the interviews do is. They prepare technically, and focus on the subject. Know the details of the company; update yourself of its recent news if any. Prepare yourself for the common interview questions. Plan what kind of clothes you will wear for the interview. But the important point to be noted here is that, the person who takes the interview not only tests your capabilities and skills, professionally, but is also concerned with the way you carry yourself and your body language.

There are some dos' and don’ts to be followed during the interview. Especially concerning the body language, let’s have a look at them.

Do

• Give a firm shake hand, confidently and make sure you make eye contact with the person. 
• Even if you are on a phone interview make sure that you stand up and smile, as this increases your alertness and allows you to engage in the conversation. 
• Sit up straight, and lean slightly forward in your chair. Show interest in interaction. Align your body’s position to that of interviewers, this shows agreement and admiration. 
• Make positive gestures and nod according to the need but, in moderation. 
• Make sure that, there is a minimum of 20 inches gap between you and the person taking interview. If you maintain this gap, you will not enter into the person space of the person taking the interview and keep his comfort levels. 
• Use a minimum of deodorants, or performs. As far as possible use very mild ones and limit it to small doses, as there are some people, who are allergenic to these, and who knows your interviewer is one of them. 
• If there is more than one person, or a group of three or four persons taking the interview, make sure you maintain eye contact with everyone get back to the person who asked you the question. 
• If there are any interruptions, or if some is talking to the interviewer, refrain from staring at your interviewer, and if necessary show your willingness to leave if they need privacy.

Don't

• Rub the back of your head or neck, as these gestures indicate that you are disinterested. 
• Touch or rub your nose, as this shows that you are not completely honest. 
• Sit with your arms folded across your chest; this will appear unfriendly and disengaged. 
• Cross your legs, and shake them, as it is distracting and shows that you are feeling uncomfortable. 
• Lean your body towards the door.
• Slouch back in your seat, as this will make your appear unprepared and not interested. 
• Stare blankly.

A Goodbye With Grace

Unless you are sure and you are given permission to leave the interview room, don’t be in a hurry to leave the interview room. When you are leaving the interview room, make sure that you shake hands with the interviewer(s) with eye contact and with a firm smile. Make sure that your goodbye handshake is also confident.

Carry yourself in a dignified manner and behave properly, even after coming out of interview room. When you have come out of the building and are at a distance from the area, you can be at ease.

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Advisory Review on Business and Management Ethics

Management and Business Ethics

Managers play an important role in establishing a company’s ethical tone. A company's leaders are responsible for setting standards for employee behavior.

It's important for managers to play an active and positive role in creating a working environment, where employees are encouraged and rewarded for acting in an ethical manner.

Managers should show in action by following ethics themselves, so that in turn employees may emulate and follow them.

They should remember the fact that leading by example is the first step in fostering a culture of ethical behavior in their companies.

Importance of Ethics

Ethical behavior improves the atmosphere at work and motivates the employees. Following ethics evokes a sense of pride for the company and improves its image in the eyes of the employees.

From the outer point of view, ethical behavior improves the public image of the company, and sets an example for others to follow.

Companies and business persons, who wish to have long term business, must adopt sound ethical decision-making practices.

Knowing the difference between right and wrong and choosing the right is the foundation for ethical decision making.

In many cases, doing the right thing is what leads to the greatest financial, social, and personal rewards in the long term.

Image credit: ReadytoManage

Management ethics are the ethical treatment of employees, stockholders, owners, and the public by a company.

While a company needs to make a profit, it should have good ethics also.

Employees should be treated well. By being respectful of the environment in the community a company shows good ethics.

Ethics and ethical behavior are important parts of healthy management. From the point of view of management, behaving ethically is an integral part of long - term career success.

Organizational ethics

• The company should care for the consequences of its actions on the society.
• The company should expand its activities apart from required legal obligations or formalities.
• The company should adjust its policies according to the social conditions, demands and pressures.
• The company decides to concentrate on its long-term goals for the benefit of society in general.

Ethical decision-making  

When taking a decision the management should following criteria of ethical decision-making:

• Legality – what will be the legal consequences of the decision?
• Fairness – What effect does the decision have on those involved in decision making and those involved?
• Effectiveness – Decision once implemented and takes the form of action will it be able to achieve the goals and results?

Any decision that is illegal, not fair and not effective should not be taken. If a business or a company is built on strong foundation of business and management ethics, no one and nothing can stop it prosperity and progress.

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MBA institutes can produce professional managers?

We have lot of MBA institutes, popping up like mushrooms, and the demand is ever increasing. But are we getting the right fruits of this boom is the question?

The role that institutes play in grooming a professional that too, a management professional is great, we cannot deny this fact.

From a lay man with no knowledge about the management profession to a well trained professional, capable of handling the corporate and the complications. Institutes do have a major role to play.

Every year we find so many professionals coming out of the colleges with the hopes of right job and bright future.

Every year we also find so many companies on a look out for the right candidates, and out of fifty ten are selected. Where does the fault lie, all from reputed institutes, well trained and well equipped. How far MBA institutes are successful in producing professionals?

How far an institute is able to produce well trained and well equipped professionals depends on lot many factors.

MBA

MBA Institutes and the students should not blindly follow the curriculum, they should have practical knowledge, of the profession they are about to take up, they should be trained practically, to know the up and downs in the profession and they should be given a chance to face challenges and with stand them.

They should be well trained to manage themselves and to manage others and the situations they will be facing in their profession as managers.

Frankly speaking, there should not be any difference between what is thought and they will face and what they have to do as managers in their real life.


Practical exposure and training plays a major part rather than theory in grooming an individual as a perfect professional manager.

Only then will MBA institutes be successful in producing professional managers. 

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Top five tips to be a Perfect Manager

The term manger himself dictates the role of a manager. One who has to mange himself, others and situations. There are various points that play a vital role to shape oneself into a perfect manager. Let’s look at few of those points.

1. Goals: When we set goals we know where we are heading to, if we are on the right track, and we have a chance to correct and progress. So, to be a perfect manger it is very important to set goals for yourself and for those working for you.

2. Praise: A good manger knows the value of the persons working for him and leaves no chance to praise them, whenever he gets one. As it is important for a manger to correct his staff, it is equally important to praise them for what they are worth, and they do. Because this leads to strengthen the relationship between them.

3. Criticism: Not a very good thing to do but becomes inevitable to get the tasks done. Whenever you want to correct the staff, you should allow the other person to know by your behavior and words that, your intention is purely to get the work done and not to criticize. And always praise the staff in front of everyone and correct them in private, in your cabin.

4. Explain: No one is born perfect in this world; we all learn what we learn from experience and by doing. So, don’t expect everyone to know everything, when the need arises, explain, to them as to what they have to do, how they have to do. A perfect manager knows this and so takes the trouble to explain.

5. Relationship: Last, but not definitely the least, a Perfect manager is one who knows the value of relationships, and is good at them. Managing people is managing relationships, one who is good at this, will definitely be good at his work. So, management and manager means managing people and managing relations with them.

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Should Managers Be Good Technical Personnel?

You can inspect, and correct, only those things, which you are aware of, and you have knowledge and experience. So it is very much necessary that a manager handling a responsible post should have his hands on technical aspects.

Only when he has experience on the work, his personnel are doing, will he be able to know what they are doing, if they are doing it right way, or not, only when he has practical knowledge, will he be able to correct them and give them the right direction.

If the manager has good technical skills, he can be a good at trouble shooting, and taking necessary rectification steps.

If the manager is good at technical aspects he can guide the persons under him, as well as the company he is working for, he can suggest improvements to both sides, the peers and people working under him, so that they improve their skills, and in this way when an employee of an organization improves the organization also improves its productivity and its quality.

On the contrary, if the manager is not aware, of any of the technical aspects, it is very much easy for other people, people working under him especially, to mislead him.

There are very much chances of mis utilizing resources etc. This way the company or the organization for which the manager is working incurs great amount of loss, not only in monetary terms, but also the company’s good will also be at the stake.

If the manager is not aware of the technical skills he cannot look after the production quality, and as a result quality of production and quantity of production suffer, and when this happens the company’s reputation suffers.

So, as a teacher should have knowledge himself first, before, he can impart it to students, it is very much necessary for a manger to have his hands on technical aspects relating to his work, if he wants to justice to the post he is handling.

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