Personal Trainer Courses for Being Personal Trainer

January 27th, 2012 admin

You do not need to feel too stressed out about the fact that you do not have a good job. Being stressed out over the problem is normal but you should not let the stress become overwhelming and let you unable to focus on your life. You just need to focus on finding what skills you have that can allow you to make money. You need to focus on upgrading your current skills so that you can stand out in the crowd of competitive people who are also looking for jobs. If you happen to have an interest in exercising your muscles and helping other people with using gym equipment, you can consider taking personal trainer courses.

There are a lot of places that offer these courses. You want to make sure that the course place has the right programs that you can choose from to specialize in. You can take a look at the list of programs that the course place has first. You can do that by visiting the website of the company because there are now many places offering gym instructor courses that can be reached through their website. You also want to make sure that the certificate that the course place will issue to you is legal and recognized.

Ethics in Business Communication

April 19th, 2011 admin


Privacy issues around words such as “Personal”, “Private”, “For the Eyes of Department Management Only”, “Privileged” and other words requesting Privacy in communications need to be very seriously considered.

It is incumbent upon managers in business, education, and industry today, to be very sensitive and forthright in their communications, and in response to privacy requests regarding communications from their employees. To be less than totally forthright can result in some very unsavory results from disenfranchised employees.

Let’s face it. Management is about decisions, and decisions as to what you do with “Private” communications can have long ranging results. If the communications relates to discussions of harassment and/or sexual harassment, or other discrimination issues, some very difficult decisions must be made. As any investigation of these matters will result in multiple persons being made aware of the situation, it is probably best for the manager to stop the party divulging the information, and make them aware of the aspects of the process of investigating the claims which will likely not be supported in the concept of “privacy.” Let the accuser make the choice, continue without privacy being assured, or decide not to continue with the statements being made.

While the issues of privacy in discussions of harassment and sexual harassment are quite clear, there are other areas of management communications much less clear, but still problematic. Matters relating to personnel issues might be one such case. An employee complaining about the actions of another employee, might request “privacy”. The manager in this case should try to find other means of substantiating the claim without divulging the identity of the complainant. If this will not be possible, then another conversation with the complainant is indicated, in which you might indicate that a problem has been identified, but taking action on that problem will probably implicate the complainant as the one that divulged the issue. Then let the complainant decide whether “privacy” or “solving the problem” will be the course of events that best suit the complainant’s needs.

In many other privacy matters, the singular choice should be to honor the request for Privacy. Totally!! Completely!!

To do less than that could take several negative paths. Certainly the employee, whose “privacy” request has been abused, will seek ways to get even. Any practices of the agency or group that may be less than correct, or possibly even illegal, will make good means of getting even if the disenfranchised employee chooses. If it is in a case relating to any of the forms of discrimination, including harassment and sexual harassment, then abuse of the privacy issues, can easily be considered retaliation. One article I recently read indicated that retaliation cases are some of the easiest discrimination cases to win.

As a manager in Business, Education or Industry, take very serious consideration as to any and all decisions you make when “privacy” is an issue on the table.

Bill Barger

Barger Specialties LLC

Information and resources on Harassment and Sexual Harassment are available through my web site at: http://www.sexualharassmentresources.com

By: Bill Barger

About the Author:
In his course work toward a Master’s degree in Management, Mr. Barger took an interest in the teaching, research, and publication of information on Sexual Harassment. His web site deals with Harassment and Sexual Harassment issues. His website: http://www.sexualharassmentresources.com seeks to be the full service portal for information relating to the issue of Sexual Harassment.



Communication Breakdown – How Lack of Communication in Your Business Breeds Disorganization

April 19th, 2011 admin


The reality of most businesses today is that more and more employees must multitask. Many people work independently, while others must work in groups sharing project responsibilities. I find that in every office there are at least two communication problems. How many times have you not done something because you automatically assumed someone else was doing it? How many times have you worked vigorously to complete a task or assignment that you realized, after the fact, five other people were doing the exact same thing? Work frequently gets duplicated, while other work gets completely, although not intentionally, ignored. Do we ever wonder why this happens? Simple – lack of communication. Lack of understanding one’s role in their place of employment is another huge contributor to these mishaps. In the larger scheme of things, if important work is ignored, it causes chaos and in turn, things fall out if place and become a mess. Now, it is not always a paper mess that ensues, per say, but the situational conflicts that can cause overall disruption of an office.

When a shared work environment does not operate properly it costs the company time, employee productivity, and ultimately profit. When profit is lost it affects everyone in a business from the top executive down to the hourly employee. Often, as a result of profit losses, expenditures almost always rise due to the cost of either fixing an existing problem or duplication of efforts. If there is a clear, streamlined channel of communication everyone understands what their goals and tasks are. When people do not know what they are supposed to be doing it can become a stressful situation. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention states unequivocally that 80% of our medical expenditures are stress related. (Fast Company Magazine, 2/03 pg. 88) This illustrates a snowball effect. People don’t effectively communicate, therefore don’t do the work required of them, they then get stressed, get sick, and miss work. Hence a huge gap in productivity and continued loss of profit.

There are many simple, schematic ways to streamline the pipeline in your office. As a business owner, or upper level executive, you need to have a clear, direct, and frequent exchange with your management staff. You must have weekly, or at least monthly, meetings with your management team so they can be clear on what is expected of them and the employees they oversee. Managers need to have the opportunity to ask questions and set goals for themselves and their subordinates. Each manager has to understand the responsibilities of each staff member they oversee so they can assess productivity and troubleshoot quickly. Executives need to make it clear what is expected of each manager or department head. If your management staff is not clear what is expected, you will have disorganization and chaos all the way down the food chain!

Once your management staff is fully compliant, they need to meet and address those employees they oversee. Each tier of a company, or a department, needs to have an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses each employee possesses. Your best managers utilize each individuals’ strengths and downplay their weaknesses by distributing tasks that showcase where the employee is comfortable and competent. In doing this you can create a well oiled machine that contributes an effective group of components that ends in a project being completed in a timely and productive manner. It also reinforces pride in one’s work when they can own it and excel at the tasks at hand.

Managers should also focus on encouraging employees to work on their weak spots using positive reinforcement and incentives. When one enjoys their work, they have sense of pride in it. They want to be successful. As a manager, you can facilitate success or failure based on how and when you communicate with your co-workers.

When you fail to communicate, you fail to ask questions. You fail to troubleshoot. You fail by assuming everyone knows what they need to do. When you fail to communicate vital information can be lost. And in some industries it can take thousands of dollars to recreate or compensate for that loss.

The effects of a good information pipeline always will result in increased productivity and profit.

By: Angela A. Aldrich

About the Author:



Transparent Communication

April 19th, 2011 admin


The U.S. Department of Homeland Security adjusts the security alert status from code yellow to code orange. The change is announced on national television news networks. You immediately launch your orange alert status program – or, do you? More likely, you’ll do what almost everyone else does when the alert status changes. You will probably do nothing different than what you were going to do anyway. Why then, if the government has alerted you to an increased security threat would you choose to ignore it? The answer could be that you have too little information to act on.

When these alerts were first issued, I suspect that more people became more attentive to their television sets. They had no information to act on so they waited to see if something happened during the heightened state of alertness. Then ultimately as people became numb to the announcements, they were simply ignored. That’s hardly what was intended, but then there does not seem to be a good alternative. What information could they tell you that would be relevant to you specifically to enable you to make a decision or take any particular course of action? It’s difficult to imagine how they could possibly produce and communicate information specific to a small enough group of individuals. That group would not even be qualified to take any appropriate action if required to do so.

As a business leader, you may rely on an executive dashboard to track and report on various key indicators of operational performance. When one of the dials or gauges enters a red zone, you have access to information and potentially a host of analyst experts to tell you what it means. Then you can take purposeful and meaningful corrective action. Let’s say that one of the indicators you monitor is the cost of technical support services. For some reason this month there was a huge spike in the cost of providing that service.

Then you send out a high alert to the entire company that the cost of technical support service has entered a red zone. No other information is shared, just the red zone alert. What do you expect would happen? Most likely, this will either create chaos and panic, or they too will simply ignore it. If you repeat this behavior, the organization at large will become demoralized. This is the result of the continued blasting with alarming and threatening news while they remain powerless to do anything about it.

Transparency in communication requires a delicate balance between three key needs. They are the need to disclose the facts and the reality of each situation, the need to protect private information, and the need to generate appropriate action and behavioral response. As we have seen previously, saying too little can be very dangerous. The same might be said for saying too much. Too much information opens up more opportunities for misinterpretation as people search for relevant and actionable information to them. There is also a risk that some seemingly meaningless item of information may be blown out of proportion.

The key is to communicate enough information that is relevant to the audience in order to clarify the situation and support the desired response. This is not the same as creating corporate “spin”. Spin is primarily a defensive mechanism by communicating as little as possible. The goal there is to protect the company from things like inadvertent disclosure, misinterpretations and so on. Information without the appropriate context has the potential to be misunderstood, or ignored, or even mistrusted.

How important is context, or relevance? Think about this quote from Dr Carl Sagan, “It is of interest to note that while some dolphins are reported to have learned English – up to fifty words used in correct context – no human being has been reported to have learned dolphinese.” Did the dolphins really learn English or were they trained associate certain sounds with specific meanings? As they responded to commands, do they also demonstrate an ability to respond in English? Most likely, the answer to that is “no”.

We have successfully demonstrated the ability of dolphins to interpret our communication in a context we create for them. Impressive, but we have not demonstrated any ability to communicate with dolphins in a context in which they operate on their own. Perhaps they communicate in ways and using concepts that are more sophisticated than individual words. We just don’t know, and as long as we force them to operate only in our context, how will we find out what their real potential is?

In your business you are in the fortunate position in that your employees are all human beings. They have language skills very similar to your own, and they already work in the context of your business and your industry. Communicating with them in a context they can understand should be a lot easier. That context should be pertinent to the issue, to the vision of your business, to your employees, and to the business outcome you desire. The nature, amount, and timeliness of information you communicate should consider all of these factors.

Stephen Covey said, “Priority is a function of context”. Calling the fire department to put out a fire while you lie on the beach might be the wrong priority at the wrong place and time. You know there is a fire somewhere, so why not call the fire department just in case it is near you. That would be totally out of context and a huge waste of resources. On the other hand, if you are on the 30th floor of a hotel and you notice your room curtains going up in flames, then calling the fire department and making your way to the ground quickly is a high priority. That would be highly contextual, urgent, and appropriate action.

You want your organization to take the correct action with the appropriate level of urgency and importance. To do this you must learn to communicate with them in the right context. Then they will align their priorities with yours and get to work. “Spin” leads you to conspiracy thinking and fear. Too little information leads to apathy and no action. Too much information creates confusion and chaos. This is a potentially large drain on resources as your organization focuses on putting out fires that don’t exist or matter. The right information in the right context at the right time leads to productive engagement. Effective leaders know that while the choice seems easy the process may be difficult – and they work hard to do it the right way to produce the right outcome.

By: Patrick Smyth

About the Author:
Patrick Smyth is a leadership navigator and advisor to leaders of high growth and emerging businesses. He creates compelling visions and comprehensive strategic plans, and coaches on effective leadership and management practices. He is a recognised speaker, trainer, coach, and international business strategist and author of the book Elephant Walk: Balancing Business Performance and Brand Strategy for the Long Haul. 615-261-8585 http://www.innovationhabitude.com



Communications Strategies in Business

April 17th, 2011 admin


Anyone in business will attest to the fact that effective communication is fundamental to ensuring the smooth day-to-day efficiency of an organisation. A business owner, in effect, needs to be all things to all people, and it is imperative that he or she has communications strategies in place across the entire network of the business. Just what kind of strategy is implemented within a company depends on the type of business and the structure of the organisation, but it is important to consider both internal, company-wide communications strategies as well as external.

Internal Communications Strategies

In order to run a smooth business it is vital that every department can run as its own entity, but can also operate within the larger network of the company. This means putting in place effective communications strategies at both departmental and managerial levels.

If the business is a factory or warehouse, most inter-departmental verbal communication will probably be via walkie-talkie style handsets whose main advantage is that of being mobile. Each staff member is then easily-contactable no matter where on the premises they are. If the business is an office or shop then communication will more likely be via traditional telephones with an internal extension system.

But ways of being able to be contacted verbally are not the only type of communications strategies needed for a business. To effectively manage administrational duties it is necessary of have a good procedural system in place which can be easily maintained by staff. This means regular staff training and head-of-department meetings to co-ordinate operations. If a breakdown of communication occurs at either of those levels it can result in serious consequences for the business.

External Communications Strategies

Good communication with suppliers and potential customers is vital to the profitability and success of a business. If you don’t have the channels to effectively convey who you are, what you do and what you need, your business will almost certainly fail.

To set up a good line of communication with your suppliers, a good hint is to target a contact and deal with them on a more personal level. It is much harder to let down someone who they know as an individual than someone who is simply an anonymous voice on the end of the phone. Building up relationships with all your important suppliers can be some of the most important communications strategies you will implement across your business network.

In any business your customers, or potential customers, are obviously the most important people in the world. But unless they know who you are and what you are offering them they simply won’t exist. In today’s world, one of the best ways to get your product or business out to your customers is via the Internet. A good, concise and clear website is an invaluable tool to being visible in a highly competitive market. A website not only allows you to speak to your customers, it allows them to speak back to you; opening a channel of communication that can be utilised to make future decision based on what your market wants rather than what you think they want.

Of course all communications strategies need to be maintained and, whether internal company-wide or external in your wider business network, keeping up with your competition means constantly improving and adapting your business methodology.

By: Jenny Kettlewell

About the Author:
Jenny Kettlewell is the Marketing Manager for Multitone Systems, a leading tele communications strategy company. Multitone has implemented custom, integrated communications strategies for businesses and organisations in the public and private sector for over 75 years.



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