Author: Imagemakeover

Hello Everyone, The name of my blog "Imagemakeover" explain the real purpose of me creating this blog. I believe in the process of transformation. There is a process of learn - unlearn - relearn. Intellectual learning starts at birth and eases only at death. So we should be a lifelong learners. My blog will help you in understanding certain critical skills which can increase the probability of your success and aid you in growing.
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Mental Health Found A Place In Budget 2022 #MentalHealth #CauseAChatter

Being a mental health advocate, I was thrilled with the announcement of “Mental Health and R&D been given a top most priority in the budget 2022. Pandemic has taken a toll on the mental health, which is quite obvious when you look at these two prominent facts, one in four people are suffering from depression, while one in five are struggling with anxiety. And as pandemic continues , we might see things getting worse. Many of us are facing challenges that can be stressful, overwhelming and cause strong emotions. Public health measures that includes social distancing, lockdown, economic insecurity, school and business closure can make us feel isolated and lonely and can lead to severe depression and anxiety. And the worst part, is people are not even aware that they are suffering with some kind of mental health issues as they are unable to think beyond Covid 19.

In such a scenario government coming up with proposals like establishing National Tele Mental Health programme in India is considered as a boon.

What Is National Tele Mental Health programme ?

The National Tele Mental Health programme is launched to improve access to quality mental health counselling and care services which will consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity, consent framework, and universal access to health facilities. Government has announced the creation of 23 tele-mental health facilities, with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, serving as the nodal center. Nimhans’ role is to conceptualize the programme, develop the training content, train the counsellors of centers of excellence and monitor the programme. The toll free number finds a mention in the health ministry’s website, the CoWIN portal and the counselling is available in 13 languages. More than 650 doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, counsellors and psychiatric nurses working in government hospitals across India are involved in the helpline.

Continue reading “Mental Health Found A Place In Budget 2022 #MentalHealth #CauseAChatter”
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How to Develop Job Oriented Skillsets #CampusToCorporateSeries

Today, people are no longer sticking to same kind of job throughout their life, therefore, career for life is no longer an option. Most people work under variety of employers and move across different industries. And how do they do this? They work on their job oriented skillsets.

What is a skill? A skill is an ability to perform an activity in a competent manner. The skill can be classified as transferable, based on personality traits and knowledge based skills.

What is a skillset? A skillset is a combination of abilities, qualities and experience you can apply to perform any task. Each person will have different skillset according to their interest, natural abilities, personal qualities and technical skills.

As an employability coach, I define employability as a set of skills that includes skills, understanding and personal attributes. A fresher is called to be employable if they posess all of these , that will lead to success in their chosen profession. These set of achievements will benefit themselves, the workplace, the community and the economy.

Most of the people are not just worried about getting the job but how can they be successful throughout their working life. This can only be achieved if they broaden their skill sets and attributes to fit into anything and everything by being more adaptable.

According to The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), employees should own 6 skill sets

  • Basic Competency Skills: includes reading, writing, computation skills
  • Communication Skills: includes listening and speaking skills
  • Adaptability Skills: includes problem solving and creative skills
  • Development Skills: includes goal setting, motivation, career planning skills
  • Group Effectiveness Skills: includes team work, negotiation and interpersonal skills
  • Influencing Skills: leadership and understanding organizational culture skills
Continue reading “How to Develop Job Oriented Skillsets #CampusToCorporateSeries”
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What is Conduct Disorder And How To Handle It ?#MentalHealth #CauseAChatter

Canva/Pexels

Parents can be the biggest allies or worst enemies when it comes to dealing with children and adolescent. Their denial of their child’s mental health issues can complicates things and can worsen the situation. There are so many therapies available which kids or anybody who is suffering from mental health conditions can be benefitted from. But I see most of the times parents ignore the seriousness of the situation and write it off as defiant behavior, active imagination or they just hope their child will grow out of things such as torturing animals and setting fires. Denial is one of the defense mechanism and can be extremely unhealthy in the long run.

Conduct problems have become very common among students and adolescents in our society. And the reason could be many, to name a few

  • Nuclear Families
  • Working parents
  • Exposure
  • Social Media
  • Expectations
  • Competition
  • Nanny culture
  • Family history

But first it is important to understand what is Conduct Disorder?

Conduct Disorder is a mental condition. The behaviour goes beyond normal bullying to hurting people to Intensive disregard for societal norms and the rights, feeling, and personal space of other people. Children with conduct disorder are often difficult to diagnosed, as all kids act out sometimes. It is only when extreme behaviour shows up over a long period of time and isn’t caused by the child’s environment. And also if major age appropriate societal norms are violated or if their is a significant impairment in everyday functioning at home or school can be labeled as Conduct Disorder.

When we talk about normal behavior, it depends on the child’s age, character, and physical and emotional development. If their behaviour doesn’t match with family or societal expectations or is disruptive, it may become a problem. And that’s when intervention is needed.

Continue reading “What is Conduct Disorder And How To Handle It ?#MentalHealth #CauseAChatter”
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E-Commerce Contribution In Building Economy

Ecommerce has given a new dimension to economic growth and added more value to business and customers. I believe after the Industrial revolution the biggest development seen in the business world is the emergence of e-commerce which will revolutionize economic growth. The world is witnessing a digital revolution involving the internet and the use of websites all around the world has set the stage for e-commerce. Essentially this new economy is the digital economy that offers the most important facilities, the capacity to make transactions beyond the border, time, and space.

Ecommerce has enormous growth potential and is going to be the driving force of economic development. It is important to understand the true potential of e-commerce if we want to see structural change in our economy. Ecommerce has been there for the last two decades in some other form, be it fax, telephone, Tv, Electronic payment, electronic data interchange, money transfer system, etc. But the spread of the Internet has become the new forcer popularizing it. The internet provides access twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, anytime anywhere. Therefore, time and place are no longer a constraint.
Though E-commerce is built on the traditional business structure but offers the flexibility of electronic networks that led to improvement in operations and as a result substantial cost saving as well as increasing competitiveness and efficiency through redesigning of traditional business.

Recently we have witnessed many countries attaining a higher level of development. The reason behind this massive development is E-commerce, as it has given a new dimension to economic growth thereby creating a conducive environment for further development.

Continue reading “E-Commerce Contribution In Building Economy”
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How To Bring Up A Disciplined Child ?

Parents want the best in life for their children, a major part of their time and effort is directed towards their child. Children are always their priority and raising them in a healthy environment and taking good care of them is all that they could think of. Parenting is not inherent, it’s an art that has to be cultivated. Sometimes as a parent while dealing with our children, we tend to forget our childhood, its joys, and sorrows, its pleasure and difficulties. Things which children enjoy immensely like splashing in a muddy puddle, borrowing in the sand, imitating teachers, frolicking in the rain, this might seem useless to parents and the only thing they look for is how to discipline them so that they don’t make them embarrassed in front of others.
Remember discipline does not mean putting an undue restriction on children. It is an ongoing process that requires giving specific instructions that are clear cut with a lot of clarity. As every child is unique and acquiring new skills every day, parents need to be patient and should not treat them like a puppet. The right kind of discipline is one of the keys to having a happy home and is also essential for the holistic development and well-being of every child. Discipline varies with age, needs, and situations.

15 Ways to Discipline Your Child

Continue reading “How To Bring Up A Disciplined Child ?”
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Need For Mental Health Awareness and Inclusiveness #MentalHealthAwareness #CauseAChatter

Mental Health Awareness is something that can help the millions of people who are impacted by mental health conditions across the globe. It should be considered as any other illness. Month of May is recognized as Mental Health Awareness month ,the sole purpose is to help people with mental illnesses understand that they are not alone in their struggle and that getting treatment can make all the difference. If we apply this approach to mental health every day of the year, more and more people could benefit from knowing about these common illnesses.

The difference in the quality of medical care received by people with mental illness is one of the reasons why they live shorter lives than people without mental illness. Even in the best-resourced countries in the world, this life expectancy gap is as much as 20 years. In the developing countries of the world, this gap is even larger. But of course, mental illnesses can kill in more direct ways as well. The most obvious example is suicide. Suicide is at the top of the list of the leading causes of death in young people in all countries in the world, including the poorest countries of the world. But beyond the impact of a health condition on life expectancy, we are also concerned about the quality of life lived.

We need to use a matrix called DALY , Disability-Adjusted Life Year.

The Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY) and the Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) are two popular health status indices, used to measure health outcomes based on the duration and quality of life for an individual. The QALY was the first developed health status index, and is mostly used in developed countries. A QALY is defined as a year lived in perfect health. 

Both metrics use a scale of 0-1 to represent the quality of life:

  • QALY: “0” is equivalent to death; “1” represents perfect health. 
  • DALY, “0” represents perfect health; “1” equates to death.

I am sharing this just to understand that by this calculation we can discover which populations are living with the greatest health burden, and prioritize those areas for future health interventions.

Continue reading “Need For Mental Health Awareness and Inclusiveness #MentalHealthAwareness #CauseAChatter”
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How To Deal With Self-Defeating Behaviors? #CauseAChatter

Get out of your comfort zone, accept the change, be positive, be resilient, perseverance is the key to success are few things that we keep on listening. And why not? People who have growth mindset are the ones who follow all of these and are more successful in life. Most of us are aware about all these qualities but still there is something that holds us back and we fail to understand the real cause.  In my experience, people who fail to learn the lessons that life teaches them fall under the prey of self – defeating behaviour.

Self- defeating behavior works against your own interest. It keeps you away from the goals that you have set for yourself . They are distracting, self-loathing and self- sabotaging. Nothing can drive you crazier than knowing that you have been keeping yourself away from gaining love, success and happiness which you deserve and desire. Self-defeating behavior occurs when impulse wins over awareness. It might give you quick gratification but you will long for lasting satisfaction, it might give you immediate relief but ultimate resolution is what will make you happier. It is like a coping mechanism, which can make you feel better for a while but can be really be nasty in long run. Self defeating behavior is your biggest enemy, the earlier you get rid of it the better it is for you. There are many self defeating behaviours,  to name a few

  • Procastinating
  • Holding a grudge
  • Trying to change others or having expectations from them
  • Waiting until it’s too late
  • Always having to be right
  • Letting fear run your life
  • Becoming obsessive or compulsive
  • Feeling sorry for yourself

As with the most persistent patterns,  this behavior has roots in childhood experience.  Children who are abused or neglected in their childhood, feel unprotected and alone. Then there are children who do not lack affection but are not given adequate guidance, grow up feeling incompetent an incapable.  In both these cases they end up with stubborn self defeating behaviours. This kind of behavior are quite impulsive and people act without regard for long term consequences.

Continue reading “How To Deal With Self-Defeating Behaviors? #CauseAChatter”
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Four Digital Marketing Channels Aids In ECommerce Growth

In the mid-1990s, online shopping via e-commerce was in its infancy. But today things have changed and has taken a drastic turn. There is exponential growth in this kind of market and one of the biggest reason is, our encounter with pandemic. Personally I don’t remember going out for shopping in last 2 years. We are six people in our family , all are in different age groups and I can confidently say that online shopping is being popular among all age groups. 

Reasons for Online shopping popularity are :

  • Huge variety of products
  • Better prices with greater discounts and offers
  • Easy shopping and discreet shipping
  • Quick and easy replacement and refund of products
  • Fast delivery
  • Zero Human touch
  • Easy Comparison with other similar products
  • Detailed description about the products and vendors
  • No sales pressure
Source :Global online Consumer Report KPMG International

So, when advantages overpower the shortcomings then why won’t people prefer online shopping?

Ecommerce is growing fast. The rapid adoption of smartphones, easy and affordable access to technology, and the convenience of shopping from anywhere, at any time are the major reasons for the rapid growth of online commerce. In E-commerce business buying and selling completely depends on the internet. Therefore, digital marketing gets into the picture, as it is the only medium to support E-commerce business to grow.

Continue reading “Four Digital Marketing Channels Aids In ECommerce Growth”
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How Can Indian MSME be Empowered? #GrowingBusinessTogether

Most of us are aware that the agriculture sector is one of the biggest contributors in the Indian economy. But how many of us know that MSME sector is second largest with high employment and contribution in terms of foreign exchange earnings. In order to know more about MSME. Lets first understand what defines MSME in Indian context as it differs from county to country.

WHAT IS MSME?

According to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006 , the government of India has defines micro, small and medium enterprises under two categories

1.Enterprises engaged in the manufacture or production, processing or preservation of goods

  • A micro enterprise is an enterprise where investment in plant and machinery does not exceed Rs. 25 lakh;
  • A small enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery is more than Rs. 25 lakh but does not exceed Rs. 5 crore;
  • A medium enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery is more than Rs.5 crore but does not exceed Rs.10 crore.

2. Enterprises engaged in providing or rendering of services and whose investment in equipment and other items not directly related to the service rendered or as may be notified under the MSMED Act, 2006 

  • A micro enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment does not exceed Rs. 10 lakh;
  • A small enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment is more than Rs.10 lakh but does not exceed Rs. 2 crore;
  • A medium enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment is more than Rs. 2 crore but does not exceed Rs. 5 crore.

IMPORTANCE OF MSME IN INDIA

The micro, small and medium Enterprises (MSME) in India include 63.4 million units and accounts for nearly 30% of India’s GDP, employing about 460 million people. The sector also makes up for 33.4% of the India’s output in manufacturing, giving employment to around 120 million Indians, according to CII.  When it comes to exports, the MSMEs contribution is estimated at about 45% of the total exports.

REASONS BEHIND LOW CONTRIBUTION

 Despite such huge contribution, 99% of MSME remain micro in their life cycle. What’s the reason behind this? Well the reasons are many but to name a few, it is due to

  • Lack of standardization
  • Lack of efficiency
  • Lack of consistency
  • Low productivity
  • Low rate of technology adaptation
  • Unfavorable government policies
  • Lack of trusted eco system

But things are changing and definitely changing for good. I have listed few positive changes recommended by government with some doable solutions.

WAYS FOR MSME TO EMERGE STRONGER

Financial Inclusion

As most of the MSME runs on sole proprietorships (an unincorporated business with only one owner who pays personal income tax on profits earned), there entire focus remains on how to save their business from sinking and sustain in the market for longer time, rather than spending time to grow the ecosystem. For this it is important that financial institutions like NBFCs should help them by bringing more financial inclusions. The concept of financial inclusion encompasses all public and private initiatives to bring financial services to those households and MSMEs traditionally excluded from the formal financial sector, and furthermore, to improve and perfect the serviceability of the financial system for the players that are already part of the formal financial circuit. 

Digitization

MSME has always been a labor intensive this leads to poor quality products and low productivity. The study also found that digitization of MSME could expand their contribution to India’s GDP by 10 percentage points, pushing it up to 46-48%. Therefore, it is imperative that MSME attain their full potential and reach to the next level of business growth by adopting technology. Many tech companies are focusing on MSME and making them tech friendly. Large tech companies like Dell, HP, Intel, Vodafone, Idea and WhatsApp came together under the guidance of industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for project called Tech-Saksham. The project plans to reach out to over 10,000 MSMEs. The tech companies will work with MSME by assisting them with technology, resources and expertise to make sure India’s large MSME base gets digitized.

Company like google has come up with a program in partnership with FICCI called ‘Digital Unlocked’, to provide digital skills to help SMEs to connect with their customer base online, through out the country. Even Facebook has announced ‘Facebook’s VC Brand Incubator Program’ that will focus on helping MSME achieve growth in India by providing them with technology skilling and support. Cisco, one of the largest player when it comes to networking has come up with an initiative called ‘Start Portfolio’ where in, they will interact with 25 MSME everyday to help them go digital.

Atmanirbhar Bharat

Introduction of ‘Make in India’ concept by our Prime Minister helped decentralizing localism by taking pride in indigenous brands, emphasizes resilience and adaptability, and encourages local craftsmanship and employability. Make in India initiative facilitate investment, foster innovation, enhance skill development, encourage employment, and build a sustainable eco-system for the MSME sector in India. This will encourage the idea of making in India for the MSME industry and help amplify their presence across sectors. 

Digital Transaction

The government has come up with many schemes to help micro and small industries. The Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme of the government can be beneficial for the sunrise sectors, including electronics, electrical and machinery.” Many large companies have come up to help MSME by making them work as their ancillaries. Another scheme which is also introduced by the government recently is ‘Fintech’, this is to promote digital transactions in the country, a move that the industry believes will drive adoption of e-payments in smaller cities and spur innovation by fintech firms. This will help MSME to become more sustainable and can survive in a long run.

Adaptability

As a proud Indian, I take immense pride in saying that we as a community are quite adaptable when it comes to change and if the change is for good nothing can stop us. Advancement in technology has always proved to be beneficial not just for riches but for people who struggle with their daily living. Therefore whether its is adapting technology or accepting policies and schemes , MSME are doing every bit to make themselves self sustainable that will help leverage our economy.

Growth Matters Forum is a community for business owners to explore ideas, streamline growth and create an impact. Join the community here.

References

https://www.cepal.org/en/inclusion-financiera-pymes/background

https://www.cepal.org/en/inclusion-financiera-pymes/background

https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/sme/cafe-sme/msme-eodb-atmanirbhar-msmes-how-modi-govts-make-in-india-2-0-is-gateway-to-self-reliance-for-small-businesses/2017162/

https://msme.gov.in/

Pic Courtesy : Kathleen Ellen / Corporatefinanceinstitute / Canva

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Montessori Method Of Teaching #AllAboutPreschoolers

Montessori method of teaching is the most loved and practiced method. Ironically these methods were not derived from any extant pedagogical wisdom. Marie Montessori who is the founder of Montessori Education Method had sidestepped the more traditional education path for women, teacher’s training, in favor of science. But as an astute scientist and quick minded observer, she has soon discovered some important and revolutionary principles about children and the process of learning.

She said that children have an innate drive to learn, and that all on their own they are capable of amassing an incredible amount of information and wisdom about the world around them. She further discovered that children’s innate power for learning worked best when they were turned loose in a safe, hands-on-learning environment. Given furniture, equipment, and supplies that they could access and work all by themselves, they were self-motivated to explore, experiment, and reach new understandings. She found that if children were put into groups with other children with a small range in ages, they would not only work together but also help teach each other.

Montessori also found that children of all ages thrived when they were given the opportunity to experience mastery of real life skills and knowledge that was appropriate to their age and stage of life. Thus preschoolers thrilled at being allowed to assist in the kitchen and felt pride and increased self-esteem at being able to help set the table and use appropriate manners and verbal expressions. Meanwhile self-confidence and joy of young teenagers was bolstered by mastering basic home economics, and by learning information about running a business, or building furniture or a home. These young teens also did best when the primary emphasis in their learning process was practical and action oriented, rather than purely intellectual. Montessori believed this was because this age group was under so much psychological and physiological pressure that the surging swings of emotion made it harder to focus on purely abstract studies.

The most significant discovery of Montessori was the awareness that it is the teacher who must pay rapt attention to the students, not the other way round, a notion utterly contrary to the expectations of those days. But she found that by observing how the individual children responded to various lessons and materials , she could easily figure out what lessons or experiences to present next. And by acknowledging that each child is an individual, with individual needs and abilities, she could apply this method to guiding particular children to fulfillment of their potential.

Many of us are not even aware that the tern “Montessori” is not patented, due to which many so-called Montessori schools seem poorly acquainted with the philosophy of learning promoted by Maria Montessori. Some appear to believe this method is all about toys being put away neatly on shelves or about old-fashioned style puzzles and manipulatives purchased at exorbitant fees from specialized distributors. Montessori herself felt that the crucial ingredient was learning to be a good observer of children, learning to deduce and intuit children need, both in general and as unique individuals, in order to develop to their fullest potential.

In my next post I will be sharing different planes of development and Montessori education practices. So stay tuned……….