Accident at Work Place. Are you complying with OSHA?

OSHA, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), is a federal agency in United States whose mission is to ensure the safety and health concerns of all workers. Using a network of over 2,100 inspectors, OSHA enforces the standards that improve workplace safety and health.

Many small business in India and other Non-american countaries, especially those who work with US Companies as aubsidary or partners, do not fully understand OSHA and how it operates, which can sometimes cause critical businness issues.

Here is a small intro to OSHA.

OSHA has been helping employers and employees save lives, prevent injuries, and protect the health of America’s workforce for more than 30 years. Since 1970, occupational fatalities have been cut in half, and on-the-job injuries and illnesses have been reduced by 40 percent.

According to OSHA, an effective workplace safety and health management system at a business work site will enable the employer to:

    * Recognize and remove hazards from the work site

    * Protect an employer’s workers from injury or illness 

    * revent loss of life at an employer’s work site

    * Cultivate informed and alert employees who take responsibility for their own and their coworkers’ safety and for workplace safety as a whole

    * Improve employee morale

OSHA offers a free consultation service for small business owners, including help in identifying workplace hazards and establishing or improving safety and health management systems corporatewide. Employers in high-hazard industries or involved in hazardous operations receive priority.

In 1996, Congress passed the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) in response to concerns expressed by the small business community that federal regulations were too numerous, too complex, and too expensive to implement. SBREFA was designed to give small businesses assistance in understanding and complying with regulations and more of a voice in the development of new regulations. Under SBREFA, OSHA and other federal agencies must:

    * Produce Small Entity Compliance Guides for some rules

    * Be responsive to small business inquiries about compliance with the agency’s regulations

    * Submit final rules to Congress for review

    * Have a penalty reduction policy for small businesses

    * Involve small businesses in the development of some proposed rules through Small Business Advocacy Review Panels.

In addition, SBREFA established 10 Small Business Regulatory Fairness Boards to receive comments from small businesses across the country about federal compliance and enforcement issues and activities, and report these findings annually to Congress. The legislation also gives small businesses expanded authority to recover attorney’s fees and costs when a federal agency has been found to have acted excessively in enforcing federal regulations.

OSHA also publishes a Handbook for Small Businesses [PDF], which outlines in detail how small businesses are affected by its rules and regulations. 

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Top Paying Specializations for HR Professionals

In HR, you have the opportunity to specialize in a specific area, or work as a Generalist and wear many hats. Below is a list of the main specialty areas within HR that you may find yourself choosing from. We have also included salary information so you can match your interest with your earning potential. Click on the profiles below to get a sense of the breadth of HR.

#1: Talent Director
#2: HR Consultant
#3: Diversity and Inclusion Manager
#4: Corporate Communications
#5: Organizational Development Professional
#6: HRIS
#7: Training Manager
#8: Labor Relations
#9: Staffing and Recruitment
#10: HR Generalist
#11: Compensation Professional

Top Paying HR Career Profiles

The human resources industry is transforming itself, as today’s HR pros are being asked to think and act strategically in support of the business. At the same time, the HR workforce is expected to grow 16 percent by 2016. Get the information and education you need to land the hottest HR jobs available today.

Here’s a list of HR dream jobs, including a salary and growth outlook for each:

• HR Generalist

• Compensation Professional

• HR Training Manager

• HR Consultant

• Labor Relations Specialist

• Organizational Development Professional

• Global HR Professional

• HRIS Professional

• Diversity and Inclusion Manager

• Staffing and Recruitment

• Talent Management

Top Funny Interview Questions

The Purpose of Funny Interview Questions

Employers often use funny interview questions try to gage how the interviewee will act when faced with an unexpected situation during times of stress. The way that you present yourself and answer these questions says a lot about your personality, creativity, and ability to handle yourself professionally.

How to Answer

The most important thing to remember is remain calm. For many of these you do not need to respond seriously. Thinking of something creative to say can be just as impressive to your interviewer. Here are some interview questions, which might make you say, "HUH?!"

Quesion: Out of all your college experiences, what was the most fun?

This shows your potential employer how you enjoy yourself out of the office or at least when you were in college. Don't say, the best college experience you had was bar hopping until you vomited on your friends shoes, passed out in a ditch and had your friends carry you home. Keep it cool, calm, and vague. You could say something like, "I had so much fun in college but the best were the parties I went to with my friends."

Quesion: How many hats do you own?

The purpose of this one is to explore how flexible you would be working for the company. You could say you own many hats and can change them easily as you need to.

Quesion: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Your potential employer seeks to find out what you aspire for yourself. Discuss some superpowers and then relate it back to the possible duties of your position with the company.

Quesion: Your co-worker comes by your desk and sticks her tongue at you, what do you do?

Some potential employers want to see how humorous you can be, especially in stressful situations. You could say, "Stick my tongue out right back at her, put my thumbs on my temples, and wiggle my fingers."

Quesion: What is Eskimo ice?

Don't understand the question? That's exactly the point, try being creative. Think of something witty to say such as, "Ice made especially by Eskimos, which is great for making igloos."

Quesion: What is your worst quality?

Instead of asking what your weaknesses are, which is a common interview question, this one comes at you in a different way. Answer this just as you would address the weakness question.

Quesion: If I came to your home and looked in your refrigerator, what would I find?

Don't get flustered. Answer exactly what is in your fridge and act as if it's not a big deal he or she is asking you.

Quesion: What did you want to be when you were 12 years old?

Answer this truthfully. If you lie, your potential employer may figure out that you are fibbing, and he or she will assume that you'll gladly lie to make yourself look good.

Quesion: Do you install toilet paper so that you pull from the top or the bottom of the roll?

This helps employers know if you will take initiative in the position. Answer one or the other because if you say, "I don't know" it shows that you are not taking the question seriously and you may handle duties this way as well.

Quesion: If you were a tree, what would you be?

Pick anything but a weeping willow and prepare to defend your answer.

Quesion: What was the last book you read?

Were you researching the company? Mention some industry related material that you have actually read.

Quesion: If you could choose to be any food, what would it be?

Choose something healthy because an unhealthy food might be a sign that you will cost the company extra money in health insurance.

Final Tip

No matter what type of question you receive, handle it with confidence. Your competence in an interview with difficult questions will show that you are a potential employee who shines during nerve-racking situations.

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Wonderful Story on Stock Market Fraud

Hi All HR Guys! Here is a stock market story that we all should learn a lesson from!

Once upon a time in a village, a man appeared and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for Rs 10.

The villagers seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them.

The man bought thousands at Rs 10 and as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort. He further announced that he would now buy at Rs 20. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again.

Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer rate increased to Rs 25 and the supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch it!

The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at Rs 50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now buy on behalf of him.

In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers: “Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at Rs 35 and when the man returns from the city, you can sell it to him for Rs 50.”

The villagers squeezed up with all their savings and bought all the monkeys.

Then they never saw the man nor his assistant, only monkeys everywhere!!!

Welcome to the “Stock” Market!!!
Satyam Fraud
Other Human Resources Links

Twenty Worst Interview Questions

So here are the worst or most humorous questions readers submitted to HR Advisor:

“If you were a carousel, what type of music would you play?”

One of our managers proposed this question. It still makes me laugh, but only because it was never used in the actual interview!

“Who cuts the lawn in your family, you or your husband?”

The CFO asked me this one when I was interviewing for an Administrative Assistant position at an insurance company in the early 1990s.

“Does your spouse support your efforts to enter this profession?”

During an interview for a position as a police officer, I answered that question saying that I was hopeful my husband would “come around.” When told that I did not pass the interview. I contacted HR for feedback. The director, a male, acknowledged that while the panel liked my overall answers, they were concerned by my answer to the "spouse support" question. (They justified this question by stating that there is a high divorce rate in this profession.)

The director then asked, "What will you do if your husband ultimately does not support you?" I replied that that I wouldn’t divorce him. The director said that he agreed with the decision to reject me because he certainly wouldn’t want his wife to be a cop.

“How do you handle rumors and gossip in the workplace, especially if it is about you?“

I gave my answer but asked them, “Is there a problem with rumors and gossip in this office?” I respectfully declined their offer of employment—it must have been pretty bad if they were asking that question during the interview!

“How many children do you have?”

My daughter was also asked "What will you do for child care?" and "Who carries the medical insurance, you or your husband?" The interview was conducted by a team and not one of them objected or reacted when the questions were asked.

“If I were to ask your husband if you have a bad time during PMS, what would he say?”

Being young and really needing the job, I told him he would say that I was fine. He then explained that they had a secretary that “once a month” would be so cranky no one could even talk to her.

“If you were a vegetable, what would you be?”

I was too flabbergasted to respond to this CEO's question, but I got the position.

“I see on your résumé that all your previous experience is out of town. What brings you to this town?”

This question was asked of my wife. It was a military town, and the point was to see if I was in the military.

“Does your parents' house have a swimming pool?”

My 16-year-old was also asked, "What kind of car do you drive?" and "Are your parents divorced?"

“So when did you graduate from college?”

I took some time off of school so if the interviewer was fishing for my age, she got it wrong!

“Are you wearing a skirt or pants?”

A male interviewer seated at his desk asked me this one. Then he asked me to stand up. He then took notes about it. I was flabbergasted. I didn’t get the job.

“What is the limit that you could earn under Social Security without losing any benefits?”

Not knowing any better, my husband told the interviewer that he could earn any amount because he was of full retirement age. He did not get the job.

”So, you are getting married soon, does that mean you will be leaving us to go have a baby?”

I got this question from a company president in the late 1980s.

“Do you live with anyone?”

I asked how that question was relevant to the position. The interviewer said that I could not possibly afford to rent or buy on my own. I said nothing. I think she was trying to get me to say that I was living with my boyfriend, which I was. I didn’t get the job. The company went under a few years later.

Thanks for responding, readers. We'll feature more forbidden question responses in a future issue of the Advisor.

Six Thinking Hats - A good analysis technique

Edward de Bono in his book "6 Thinking Hats" preaches about look at thing from different perspectives.

Looking at a Decision from All Points of View

"Six Thinking Hats" is a powerful technique that helps you look at important decisions from a number of different perspectives. It helps you make better decisions by pushing you to move outside your habitual ways of thinking. As such, it helps you understand the full complexity of a decision, and spot issues and opportunities which you might otherwise not notice.

Many successful people think from a very rational, positive viewpoint, and this is part of the reason that they are successful. Often, though, they may fail to look at problems from emotional, intuitive, creative or negative viewpoints. This can mean that they underestimate resistance to change, don't make creative leaps, and fail to make essential contingency plans.

Similarly, pessimists may be excessively defensive, and people used to a very logical approach to problem solving may fail to engage their creativity or listen to their intuition.

If you look at a problem using the Six Thinking Hats technique, then you'll use all of these approaches to develop your best solution. Your decisions and plans will mix ambition, skill in execution, sensitivity, creativity and good contingency planning.

This tool was created by Edward de Bono in his book "6 Thinking Hats".

How to Use the Tool:

To use Six Thinking Hats to improve the quality of your decision-making, look at the decision "wearing" each of the thinking hats in turn.

Each "Thinking Hat" is a different style of thinking. These are explained below:

• White Hat:
  With this thinking hat, you focus on the data available. Look at the information you have, and see what you can learn from it. Look for gaps in your knowledge, and either try to fill them or take account of them.
  
  This is where you analyze past trends, and try to extrapolate from historical data.

• Red Hat:
  Wearing the red hat, you look at the decision using intuition, gut reaction, and emotion. Also try to think how other people will react emotionally, and try to understand the intuitive responses of people who do not fully know your reasoning.

• Black Hat:
  When using black hat thinking, look at things pessimistically, cautiously and defensively. Try to see why ideas and approaches might not work. This is important because it highlights the weak points in a plan or course of action. It allows you to eliminate them, alter your approach, or prepare contingency plans to counter problems that arise.

  Black Hat thinking helps to make your plans tougher and more resilient. It can also help you to spot fatal flaws and risks before you embark on a course of action. Black Hat thinking is one of the real benefits of this technique, as many successful people get so used to thinking positively that often they cannot see problems in advance, leaving them under-prepared for difficulties.

• Yellow Hat:
  The yellow hat helps you to think positively. It is the optimistic viewpoint that helps you to see all the benefits of the decision and the value in it, and spot the opportunities that arise from it. Yellow Hat thinking helps you to keep going when everything looks gloomy and difficult.

• Green Hat:
  The Green Hat stands for creativity. This is where you can develop creative solutions to a problem. It is a freewheeling way of thinking, in which there is little criticism of ideas. A whole range of creativity tools can help you here.

• Blue Hat:
  The Blue Hat stands for process control. This is the hat worn by people chairing meetings. When running into difficulties because ideas are running dry, they may direct activity into Green Hat thinking. When contingency plans are needed, they will ask for Black Hat thinking, and so on.

You can use Six Thinking Hats in meetings or on your own. In meetings it has the benefit of defusing the disagreements that can happen when people with different thinking styles discuss the same problem.

A similar approach is to look at problems from the point of view of different professionals (e.g. doctors, architects, sales directors) or different customers.

Example:

The directors of a property company are looking at whether they should construct a new office building. The economy is doing well, and the amount of vacant office space is reducing sharply. As part of their decision they decide to use the 6 Thinking Hats technique during a planning meeting.

Looking at the problem with the White Hat, they analyze the data they have. They examine the trend in vacant office space, which shows a sharp reduction. They anticipate that by the time the office block would be completed, that there will be a severe shortage of office space. Current government projections show steady economic growth for at least the construction period.

With Red Hat thinking, some of the directors think the proposed building looks quite ugly. While it would be highly cost-effective, they worry that people would not like to work in it.

When they think with the Black Hat, they worry that government projections may be wrong. The economy may be about to enter a 'cyclical downturn', in which case the office building may be empty for a long time.

If the building is not attractive, then companies will choose to work in another better-looking building at the same rent.

With the Yellow Hat, however, if the economy holds up and their projections are correct, the company stands to make a great deal of money.

If they are lucky, maybe they could sell the building before the next downturn, or rent to tenants on long-term leases that will last through any recession.

With Green Hat thinking they consider whether they should change the design to make the building more pleasant. Perhaps they could build prestige offices that people would want to rent in any economic climate. Alternatively, maybe they should invest the money in the short term to buy up property at a low cost when a recession comes.

The Blue Hat has been used by the meeting's Chair to move between the different thinking styles. He or she may have needed to keep other members of the team from switching styles, or from criticizing other peoples' points.

Key points:

Six Thinking Hats is a good technique for looking at the effects of a decision from a number of different points of view.

It allows necessary emotion and skepticism to be brought into what would otherwise be purely rational decisions. It opens up the opportunity for creativity within Decision Making. It also helps, for example, persistently pessimistic people to be positive and creative.

Plans developed using the '6 Thinking Hats' technique are sounder and more resilient than would otherwise be the case. This technique may also help you to avoid public relations mistakes, and spot good reasons not to follow a course of action, before you have committed to it.