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Some Favourite Blogs From 2006
Posted on March 30, 2008 by madure
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Does the Human Brain Possess Potential Super-Powers?
Posted on March 27, 2008 by madure
Some of the most incredible minds on Earth lack the ability to filter irrelevant facts and can retain information at incredible rates. Somehow their brains are able to store & access incredible loads of info, even perceiving & relating to this info in an entirely different way. Some scientists even believe that our brains could possess super-powers
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The Behaviour Gap: Why We Say One Thing But Do The Opposite
Posted on March 25, 2008 by madure
Psychologists have found that the link between a person’s attitudes and their behaviours is not always that strong. In fact people have a nasty habit of saying one thing then doing the opposite, even with the best of intentions.
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Short Inspirational Movies
Posted on March 22, 2008 by madure
I was very much inspired and uplifted by these short movies that present life's "Simple Truths" in a new and exciting way, and am happy to recommend them for your inspiration too. Please take a moment to visit the following link:
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How science explains religion | The Economist
Posted on March 22, 2008 by madure
“Explaining Religion”, as the project is known, is the largest-ever scientific study of the subject. Science and religion have often been at loggerheads. Now the former has decided to resolve the problem by trying to explain the existence of the latter. Non-believing scientists look at the advantages of belief..
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Mediation at Workplace
Posted on March 21, 2008 by madure
The Gibbons review heard evidence that early mediation or conciliation in the workplace is the key to resolving disputes before irretrievable breakdown in relations occurs.The issue is how far it may be possible to place more weight on such “alternative dispute resolution” mechanisms so as to reduce the volume of claims reaching employment tribunals and improve the quality of outcomes. How far can experience of resolving disputes in other areas such as family or commercial law be applied to the field of employment?
Workplace conflict damages business performance by reducing levels of employee engagement.
CIPD supports the view that there is a clear business case for mediation, which can be summarized as follows:
* Time – mediation is often completed in one meeting, compared with the two days or more typically required for tribunal hearings
* Legal representation for the parties is optional and, in the absence of a legal framework, less critical to outcomes
* Proceedings are confidential so that parties are less likely to be trapped by positions adopted earlier
* Mediation takes a problem-solving approach to complaints, which reduces disruption and future problems
* Agreement is less likely to mean that one party wins and the other loses, leading to lower employee turnover
* The process is evidently fair since both parties contribute to finding a solution
* “Win-win” solutions support trust-based relationships and a culture of good people management.
Constraints on the use of mediation
How far can mediation be expected to take more of the strain of handling workplace conflict? Some employers, particularly in the public sector, have invested in training their staff to undertake mediation; others make use of mediation services provided external sources. However mediation is not the only option for organisations that seek to reduce or deal with workplace conflict. Investigations by outside persons may help to create a shared understanding of the facts which will facilitate early resolution. Employee Assistance Programmes can also be useful in providing employees with a way of raising issues which are worrying them.
More generally, mediation is likely to be most effective where organisations have in place training and support for line managers in people management skills. Our members’ experience suggests that, where such training has taken place, matters relating to alleged breaches of discipline or complaints by employees have been handled competently and concluded effectively. HR managers can support line management to restore trust-based relationships that have been disturbed by complaints including those related to discrimination, harassment and bullying.
However CIPD survey findings suggest that such training is not as common as it might be:
* only 30% of respondents train any employees in mediation skills
* training is more common in the public services (53%) than in other sectors (manufacturing and production 15%)
* 1in 4 employers use internal mediation
* 1 in 5 employers use external mediation (e.g. ACAS).
“Transactional” mediation and compromise agreements
A distinction can be drawn between “relational” mediation, which aims to produce a meeting of minds between the parties, and “transactional” mediation, which is primarily aimed at agreeing a settlement figure – perhaps with some conditions – which will compensate the employee for losing his or her job. Where a complaint has been resolved internally within an organisation through relational mediation, a compromise agreement may be considered as a means of endorsing the outcome. With the passage of time from an initial conflict emerging, the chances of successful relational mediation diminish but there may still be value in pursuing transactional mediation as a way of “drawing a line” under the relationship.
Where the aim is to agree a compensation figure in return for an employee leaving the organisation, whether or not there is a process of mediation, employers increasingly rely on concluding a compromise agreement with the employee. This is in order to ensure that no further statutory claims can be brought against the employer in respect of the employee’s service with the employer. The Government should recognize the value of compromise agreements in resolving issues in a way that meets the interests of both employer and employee, without the use of statutory machinery, provided that the employee receives independent advice.
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Unfair Dismissal
Posted on March 21, 2008 by madure
A dismissal may be fair or unfair depending on the circumstances of the dismissal.
You need to work through the following four steps to identify whether you can make a claim for unfair dismissal:-
Step one: who cannot claim unfair dismissal
There are some employees who can never claim unfair dismissal. They are:-
People who are not employees, such as independent contractors or freelance agents. Employers often claim that people who are actually employees are self-employed. It is important to check the relationship between the employee and their ‘employer’, because this will determine the employee’s actual employment status .
See my full article at:
http://www.citehr.com/unfair-dismissal-vt16349.html
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Peoples’ SAARC Declaration -2007
Posted on March 21, 2008 by madure
“People’summits”,since 2000 held annually parallel to the South Asian Association Regional Cooperation (SAARC)Summit aims to promote people to people dialogues,exchanges and linkages in South Asia to address Regional issues.
This joint civil society initiative provides a platform to act on a “people’s agenda” and helps civil society to engage with national governments and regional Institutions. The participation of Afghanistan in the 6th People’s summit was welcomed in which more than 200 people from 8 countries participated in New Delhi.
Prof.Madurasinghe was a member of the Drafting team.
Read Full Text
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A Brief History of Human Rights
Posted on March 21, 2008 by madure
Societies have located the beginnings of human rights in religious documents. The Vedas, the Bible, the Qur’an and the Analects of Confucius are some of the oldest written sources which address questions of people’s duties, rights, and responsibilities. Some early reforms were reflected in the biblical books of Chronicles and Ezra, which state that Cyrus released the followers of Judaism from slavery and allowed them to migrate back to their land.
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