(MANAGEMENT) Delegating work? 5 must-avoids you must know

Delegating work? 5 must-avoids you must know

Anil T http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2007/jan/16delegate.htm

Though people do try to delegate smartly, it often becomes difficult to do so. As usual, this can be analysed down to a simple list of easily avoidable mistakes. These include:

1. Not defining a clear 'follow-up and finish' schedule

"Typically, all I get in the e-mail is an FYA (For Your Action)," says Vaibhav Sankule, who works as an IT Analyst with a leading technology firm.

His case epitomises the prevailing trend to treat a task as an 'out of sight, out of mind' issue. Delegating a task is only the beginning; you need to keep track of it until it is executed.

"To do this well, we need to ask ourselves three simple questions," says Pune-based corporate trainer Asha Chander, who conducts regular sessions on time management.

When and how frequently should I do a status check?
What is the end date for the task?
What are the parameters against which I will assess the work to see if it has been satisfactorily done?
"If you can do this, even in a simple excel sheet, and review it frequently, your tracking will improve dramatically," she adds.

2. Dictating, not delegating

Those used to running the show by themselves often end up micromanaging when they delegate to others. The best way to assess the degree of handholding required is by matching the person with the task. As a general rule the lesser the experience, the more explicit the delegation. It also makes sense to monitor things closely if the situation is changing rapidly.

"We monitor our new employees extensively to ensure they get the process right initially," says Ashwin Mascerenhas, who works with a banking BPO. "However, after about three to four months, we just do a daily review of the tasks and follow up on the pending ones".

3. Delegating to the wrong person

However much we globalise, Indian firms, and Indians in particular, tend to be protocol conscious. More importance is given to who the task is being delegated too rather than what is being delegated.

"That means if you follow the wrong path, your tasks might become low priority, even though they may have a high business impact. Conversely, if you go through the right people, or have the right person forwarding your request, things get done in a jiffy," says Sankule.

"You also need to be careful to delegate to someone who is your equal or junior to you in the hierarchy. If you send it to someone higher, even unknowingly, chances are they will consider it an affront. Even if you are lucky, and that does not happen, it might look like an escalation and not a delegation to your counterpart in another division."

4. Delegating what you can eliminate

As a thumb rule, you should follow the 'eliminate, automate, delegate sequence' for routine tasks.

Even if the task is mundane and boring, it's good to give credit to your team members and encourage them for even small improvements.

"When everyone today is a knowledge worker and well-educated, a person can easily differentiate between a growth opportunity and something that has been dumped on him/ her," says Chander.

5. Playing passing the parcel (sub-delegating and cross-delegating unnecessarily)

The party game Passing The Parcel gives an interesting insight into the practice of delegation. In the game, people sit in a circle and pass a parcel around until the music stops. When it does, the person with the parcel has to perform a punishment -- usually a comic task -- given by the other players. He/ She has to then leave the game. After multiple such rounds of music, the last person who remains wins.

Sometimes, a hot issue in a company is treated in a similar manner. It just gets passed around, until the senior management steps in. In the meanwhile, the matter is needlessly degated from A to B and onwards because nobody wants to be holding this particular 'parcel' when the 'music stops'.

Honestly, in some situations, such a situation is unavoidable. But if you really care about adding value, it helps to stop the unnecessary rounds. Speaking up will result temporary unpopularity but, in the long run, if you are at the right place, it will be much appreciated.

As you move higher and the scope of work you handle grows, delegating will become even more importance. Understanding these don'ts will go a long way in helping you master this skill.

Summing up, Mascerenhas adds, "The corporate hierarchy is like a game of Snakes And Ladders. Except here, instead of rolling the dice, it's the phone number that you dial (to delegate) that makes the difference and decides how you will grow."

(WATER TREATMENT INDIA) New technology to remove arsenic from water developed

http://www.hinduonnet.com/holnus/218200611131220.htm

New technology to remove arsenic from water developed

New Delhi, Nov. 13 (PTI): An inexpensive technique to remove arsenic from drinking water has been developed, a finding that could be of help to millions of people living in India and other developing countries.

It is through nanotechnology -- the manipulation of materials so tiny that they are measured in nanometers or one billionth of a metre -- that the hazardous elements in drinking water could be removed.

This discovery of ultra-small specks of rust or crystals of magnetite by scientists at Rice University Centre for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN) in Houston has been described in the journal 'Science' where it has been mentioned that thousands of cases of arsenic poisoning each year are linked to posioned wells.

The researchers said arsenic contamination in drinking water is a global problem and while there are other ways to remove arsenic, they require extensive hardware and high-pressure pumps than run on electricity.

Scientists said their approach involves nanoparticles of iron oxide that can be produced cheaply by heating mixture of rust and vegetable oil.

Iron can bond with arsenic and hence could help remove arsenic from drinking water by simply adding rusty and then removing the bonded partciles with a magnet.

After making crystals of magnetite, they found that when they were smaller than 12 nanometers, 5,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, they were 100 or 1,000 times more effective at removing toxic contaminants like arsenic from water than exisiting filters.

According to Vicki Colvin, the center director and the lead author of the study, magnetic particles this small were thought to only interact with a strong magnetic field.

"Because we had figured out how to make these particles in different sizes, we decided to study how big magnetic field we needed to pull the particles out of suspension. We were surprised to find that even hand-held magnets could move the nanoparticles," he said.

In an effort to find out the risks of the arsenic residue being consumed, scientists also plan to undertake field tests.

(WATER TREATMENT INDIA ) Low-cost remedies to remove arsenic

Low-cost remedies to remove arsenic
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2004060200151100.htm&date=2004/06/02/&prd=bl&

A STAINLESS steel filter device has been found effective in the removal of arsenic from contaminated drinking water and in making it safe for human consumption.

Interestingly, the filter medium itself is a processed waste material from the steel industry. The device is easy to operate and affordable, even for use in households, according to researchers at the Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL), Ambernath, Maharastra.

Six prototypes of the arsenic removal filter have been put through field trials in the arsenic-affected villages of West Bengal for more than six months.

NMRL, a laboratory under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has filed for a national patent for the process and an international patent (US) for the product (filter).

The main investment (one-time) in the novel device is around Rs 500 for the stainless steel filter and Rs 150for the plastic parts.

The cost of removing arsenic from the contaminated waters works out to Rs 27-30 per 1,000 litres of water.

The life of the filter is five years and it requires little maintenance — just the normal washing and replacement of active ingredients. It does not require power (electricity or battery) and is easy to operate and maintain.

The wastes generated can be converted into cement bricks that can be used for construction, say the NMRL scientists.

Explaining the use of the device, Dr Narayan Das, Director, and Ms Kshipra Misra, Scientist, NMRL, said the filter works on the principle of co-precipitation and adsorption, which is followed by filtration through treated sand. The medium used in the filter is a processed waste of the steel industry and is easily available.

The device has three containers. The reactant material is placed in the first, and the sand-bag in the second.

The water contaminated with arsenic is allowed to flow into the first container, through the second and through the cloth filters. The water thus filtered is collected in the bottom-most container.

The reactant material and sand are periodically replaced, according to the usage.

There are several waste-water treatment technologies and kits for removal of arsenic available in the market.

Their high cost, problems of waste disposal and effect on the environment have been major limitations to their acceptability, said the scientists from the Marine Biology and Environmental Sciences Division of NMRL.

Interestingly, the device was judged one of the most innovative technologies and, recently, NMRL has successfully transferred the technology to the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA). The technology has been given on a non-exclusive basis, Ms Misra said.

The next phase of the development involves the fabrication of community type filter devices that can be used in hospitals and schools, and to meet the safe drinking water demands of larger communities.

For this, NMRL has entrusted the job to the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai (IIT). A one-year project for the development of prototypes has been finalised, Ms Misra said.

An alarming 66 million people in the Indo-Gangetic belt and around 55 million people in neighbouring Bangladesh are exposed to the threat of arsenic poisoning as the water sources are contaminated.

The levels of arsenic found in drinking water range from 50 ppb (parts per billion) to 20 ppm (parts per million) in parts of Bihar, West Bengal and Chattisgarh States, as against 10 ppb stipulated by the WHO.

The problem of arsenic in groundwater is not unique to India. Reports of arsenic poisoning have emerged from China, Taiwan, Mongolia, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Vietnam and even the UK, though the levels are far lower.

What happens if people drink arsenic contaminated water for long periods? The known health effects are skin cancer, bronchitis, conjunctivitis and cirrhosis.

NMRL scientists have installed arsenic removal filters in Kamdevkati and Chatra villages of 24 Paraganas District, one of the worst affected in West Bengal, and have run trials in association with `Save the Environment', an NGO and the AIIHPH (All-India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health) in September 2003.

The arsenic and iron concentration fell well below the WHO/EPA drinking water standards of less than 10 ppb and less than 300 ppb respectively.

The filtered water quality is being monitored by the NMRL team and the AIIHPH.

The Jadhavpur University has done an extensive study of the prevalence of arsenic pollution in groundwater in West Bengal and the State Government has also initiated steps to control this growing menace.

The Hyderabad-based National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), has also done studies to get to the source of the problem.

Four foreign funding agencies have also joined hands with the environmental engineering cell of Bengal Engineering College to install 85 arsenic-removing units in three districts of West Bengal.

They are: Water For People (a non-governmental organisation based in North America), Rotary Club of Puerto Rico, US-based Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and Das Foundation.

Bengal Engineering College, a deemed university, has installed 10 such units in 24 North Parganas.

The university has an arsenic removal unit, a device that uses activated alumina and is attached to the hand-pumped tubewells.

The alumina absorbs the arsenic and raw iron present in the water. One unit can treat 6,000 litres of water per day.

There is an ongoing Indo-Australian initiative to examine the steps being taken to eliminate arsenic and recommend cost-effective and ecologically sustainable approaches.

The Murdoch University of Australia and the Regional Research Laboratory (RRL), Bhubaneshwar are the lead organisations in this project.

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) has extended support of Rs 2.7 crore. The AusAID also supports a major project in Bangladesh, where arsenic pollution is severe.

While in the short term there is an urgent need to provide immediate relief to those suffering from the ill-effects of drinking water contaminated by arsenic, the long-term solution has to be based on an scientific assessment of the reasons, sources and geographical spread of the problem and in choosing technologies that are effective and affordable, suggest the NMRL scientists.