Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A Project R eport On
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PARTICULARS NUMBERS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Executive Summary Introduction Need for Insurance Company Profile Vision-Mission Products Stress Management Stress Management at work place Findings & Analysis Suggestions Limitations of the study Conclusion Annexure Bibliography
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01-02 03-14 15-22 23-32 33-36 37-43 44-61 62-82 83-95 96-98 99-100 101-102 103-106 107-108
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Insurance is the pooling of fortuitous losses by transfer of such risk to insurers, who agreed to provide the pecuniary benefit on their occurance, or to render service connected with risk. It is the transfer of financial responsibility for the risk at the point of occurance and conventionally involves the insurer in a commitment to pay. The insurance service lead to efficient and productive allocation of capital resources, facilitate growth of trade and commerce. Globalization will certainly increase insurance penetration and all professionals shall equip themselves to exploit opportunities offered by this sector. ICICI PRUDENTIAL has maintained its lead amongst the private players of life insurance with a market share of about 39%. The biggest achievement is in pension segment, where company introduced a slew of products and captured around 23% of the total pension market. ICICI Prudential have a customer centric growth strategy and has taken a number of strategies against this. The consumers are the largest economic group in any country and the present day business activities are because of consumers only. Thus, consumers are the pillars of the economy. The consumers are not only the heart of marketing system, but also the controller of marketing functions. But if the modern marketing system consumers sovereignty has become a myth on account of the variety of problems in the process of merchandising. The study of consumer behavior enables marketers to understand and predict consumer behavior in the market place; It also promotes understanding of the role that consumption plays in the lives of the individual.
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INTRODUCTION
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INSURANCE INDUSTRY
ORIGIN OF INSURANCE The origin of insurance dates back to the 12th century, the origin of insurance appeared first in marine and land fields. The ideas of insurance were made in Babylonia and India at quite an early period; the courts of Hammurabi and Mano recognized the provision for sharing the future losses. However there is no evidence that insurance in its present form was practiced prior to 12th century. Tracing the history of insurance to the present day, one can easily gauge the performance of industry both collectively as an industry as well as individually by the companies. In earlier times, travelers by sea and land were very much exposed to risk of losing their vessels and merchandise because piracy on the open seas and highway robbery of caravan were common. References to
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conditions of contract of insurance, promoting and regulating professional organizations connected with the insurance, monitoring investment of funds and solvency margin of insurance companies. The authority is to be advised by a committee to be known as the insurance advisory committee, which shall consists of not more than 25 members including ex-officio members in the insurance sector. The insurance advisory committee is expected to advice the authority on matters relating to making of the regulations An Indian insurance company has been defined as a company incorporated under the Companies Act - 1956 and the paid capital of General Insurance business will have to be not less than Rs 100/-
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The I.R.D.A also issued regulations with regards to advertisement so as to include almost any public communication for a sale of insurance policy.
or damaged. This legal right to insure without insurable interest the contract contracts are
Because of this legal requirement of insurable interest the not gambling transactions.
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The principal of subrogation arises from the principal of indemnity. Subrogation may be defined as transfer of rights and remedies of the insured to the insurer who has indemnified the insured in respect of the loss. If the insured has any rights of action to be recovered the loss from any third party, who is primary responsible for the loss, the insurer having paid the loss is entitled to avail himself of these rights to recover the loss from the third party. The effect is that the insured does not receive more than actual amount of his loss and any recovery affected from the third party goes to the benefit of the insurer to reduce the amount of his loss
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1928: The Insurance Companies Act enacted to enable the government to collect statistical information about both life and non-insurance business.
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1956: 245 Indian and foreign insurers and provident societies are taken over by the central government and nationalized. LIC found by an Act of Parliament, viz. LIC Act 1956, with a capital contribution of rupees Five Crores from the Government of India.
INSURANCE SECTOR REFORMS In 1993, Malhotra Committee, headed by former Finance Secretary and RBI Governor R.N. Malhotra, was formed to evaluate the Indian insurance industry and recommend its future direction. The Malhotra committee setup with the objective of complimenting the reforms initiated in the financial sector. The reforms where aimed at "creating a more efficient and competitive financial system suitable for the requirements of the economy keeping in mind the structural changes currently underway and recognizing that insurance is an important part of the overall financial system where it was necessary to address the need for similar reforms.." In 1994, the Committee submitted the report and some of the key recommendations included: Structure a. Government stake in the insurance companies to be brought down to 50%. b. Government should take over the holdings of GIC and its subsidiaries so that these subsidiaries can act as independent corporations.
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Competition A Private companies with a minimum paid up capital of Rs. 1bn should be allowed to enter the industry. b. No company should deal both the life insurance and general insurance c. c. through a single entity.
Foreign companies may be allowed to enter the industry in with the domestic companies. Postal Life Insurance should be allowed to operate in the rural market.
collaboration
d.
Only one state level Life Insurance Company should be allowed to operated in each state.
Regulatory body a. The Insurance Act should be changed. b. An Insurance regulatory body should be setup. Reforms in the insurance sector were initiated with the passage of the IRDA Bill in the Parliament in December 1999. The IRDA since its incorporation as statutory body in April 2000 has fastidiously stuck to its schedule of framing regulations and registering the private sector insurance companies. The other decisions taken simultaneously to provide the supporting systems to the insurance sector and in particular the life insurance
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Life Insurance Statistics Indian Population GDP as on 2000 ( Rs bn) Gross Domestic Saving as a % of GDP NCAER estimate is Insurance Population Estimated market 2010 I bn 50000 bn 32% 240 mn 950 mn
India has an enormous middle class that can afford to buy life, health, and disability and pension plan products. The low level of penetration of life insurance in India compared to other developed nations can be judged by a comparison of per capita life premium.
Country
in the market is effectively tapped. India has traditionally been a high savings oriented country often described as being on par with thrifty Japan. Insurance sector in the US is a big in the size as the banking industry there. This gives us an idea of how important is the sector is. Insurance sector canalizes the saving of the people to long-term
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An Overview Insurance business is divided into four classes: 1) Life Insurance business 2) Fire 3) Marine 4) Miscellaneous Insurance.
Life Insurers transact life insurance business; the rest is transacted by General Insurers. No composites are permitted as per law. The business of Insurance essentially means defraying risks attached to any activity over time (including life) and sharing the risks between various entities, both persons and organizations. Insurance companies (ICs) are important players in financial Markets as they collect and invest large amounts of premium. Insurance products are multi purpose and offer the following benefits: 1. Protection to the investors
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Lately ICs have ventured into pension schemes and mutual funds also. However, life insurance, constitutes the major share of insurance business. Life Insurance depends upon the laws of mortality and there lies the difference between life and general insurance businesses. Life has to extinguish sooner or later and the claim in respect of life is certain. In case of general insurance, however, there may never be a claim and the amount can never be ascertained in advance. Hence, Life Insurance includes, besides covering the risk of early happening of an event, an element of savings also for the beneficiaries. Pension business also derives from life insurance in as much as the pension outgo again
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TYPES OF INSURANCE POLICIES Broadly there are 3 types of life insurance policies: a. Term Insurance Plans b. Whole Life Insurance c. Endowment Insurance Plans Term Insurance Plans:
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Life insurance market covers the entire age range of the population of 1000 mn in India. However taking into account their economic conditions and their ability to pay the premium for some sort life insurance cover or an annuity, the number of eligible prospects for life insurance may be put around 30% of the total population viz, 300 mn. LIC has on its books as on date 125 mn policies. Research had shown, that each of these holders of the policies have on an average, 1.6 (as many policy holders have more than one policy). Thus the no of persons holding life insurance policies with LIC good work out to 75 mn. This means only 25% of the potential market has so far covered, leaving the remaining 75%- a
vast market of 225 mn persons- to be covered. Market size ever expanding This market size is dynamic and ever expanding. The growth is dictated by several factors such as: 1. An addition of around 20 mn of new population each year. 2. More and more persons due to improvements in economic conditions move continuously into the zone of people with ability to pay premium for a life insurance policy. 3. Many among the existing policyholders are grossly under insured. They need and can afford additional insurance. These can be made to join the market as potential prospects for additional
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COMPANY PROFILE
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OVERVIEW OF ICICI BANK ICICI Bank is India's second-largest bank with total assets of about Rs.146,214 crore at December 31, 2004 and profit after tax of Rs. 1,391 crore in the nine months ended December 31, 2004 (Rs. 1,637 crore in fiscal 2004). ICICI Bank has a network of about 530 branches and extension counters and over 1,880 ATMs. ICICI Bank offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialized subsidiaries and affiliates in the areas of investment banking, life and non-life insurance, venture capital and asset management. ICICI Bank set up its international banking group in fiscal 2002 to cater to the cross-border needs of clients and leverage on its domestic banking strengths to offer products internationally. ICICI Bank currently has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Canada, branches in Singapore and Bahrain and representative offices in the United States, China, United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh and South Africa
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alternatives in the context of the emerging competitive scenario in the Indian banking industry, and the move towards universal banking, the
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acquisitions and restructuring. The Fund will also focus on mezzanine funding and buyouts.
ICICI PRUDENTIAL
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Year of review 2002-2003: ICICI Prudential has consolidated its position as the leading private life insurer in India. ICICI Prudential's annualized premium grew more
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited Board comprises reputed people from the finance industry both from India and abroad.
Mr. K.V. Kamath, Chaiman Mr. Mark Norbon Mrs. Lalita D. Gupte Mrs. Kalpana Morparia Mrs. Chanda Kochhar Mr. Kevin Holmgren Mr. M.P.Modi Mr. R Naryanan Ms Shikha Sharma
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VISION-MISSION
VISION To make ICICI Prudential the dominant Life and Pensions player built on trust by world class people and service.
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VISION-MISSION To be dominant life and pension players built on trust by world class people and service. INTEGRITY
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Own the customer: Deliver the promise. Listen actively, stretch continually to add value to customers and channel partners BOUNDARYLESS
Never say "its not my job" go beyond the call of duty. Experiment- believe anything is possible Seek new ideas regardless of source Share ideas and thoughts freely across levels and functions
OWNERSHIP
If it is to be, it is up to me Bias for action Own mistakes. Learn from failures Confront hard facts, pursue goals relentlessly Accountable for team performance PASSION
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PRODUCTS
PRODUCTS
Insurance Solutions For Individuals:
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Saving Solutions ICICI PRUDENTIAL Save and Protect is a traditional endowment savings plan that offers life protection along with adequate returns. ICICI PRUDENTIAl CashBank is an anticipated endowment policy ideal for meeting milestone expenses like a child's marriage, expenses for child's education or purchase of an asset. Protection Solutions ICICI PRUDENTIAL Life Guard is a protection plan, which offers life covers at very low cost. It is available in three options - level term assurance, level assurance with return of premium and single premium.
Child Solutions
ICICI PRUDENTIAL Smart Kid provides guaranteed educational benefits to a child along with life insurance cover for the parent who purchases the policy. The policy is designed to provide money at important milestones in child's life. Market Linked Solutions ICICI PRUDENTIAL LifeLink is a single premium Market Linked Insurance Plan, which combines life insurance cover with the opportunity to stay, invested in the stock market.
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AWARENESS According to Saugata Gupta Chief - Marketing of ICICI Pru life's communication strategies have been very successful in building the brand and driving awareness of the company and the category. ORG-Marg's Brand track survey undertaken last year indicate that though awareness of LIC stands at 100%, ICICI Pru life stands not far behind in the second place at 70%. Further the awareness scores for ICICI Pru life double between February 2001 and September 2001. ORG Marg research also showed that the communication not only created saliency and awareness, but also succeeded in influencing the buying decision. ICICI Pru life emerged far ahead of other private players as far as share of wallet went, with 52% of the respondents saying that they intended to buy policy from ICICI Pru life. ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS ICICI Pru is a case study in the role of marketing in reshaping an industry. It highlights how an industry where "sell" and "push" were often used words and consumer was nothing more than a file number, has changed to one where "consumer preference" and "consumer pull" rule the roost. Here's a look at how ICICI Pru changed the rules of the games and emerged a leader in the process.
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THE RESULTS OF COMMUNICATION EFFORTS: Being number one in awareness and saliency. Awareness: ICICI Pru showed a significant jump in awareness between Feb and Sept 2001. Image: highest score among all insurance players including LIC, on image parameters like safety, modernity, service, good returns Etc. intention to invest: next only to LIC as per research SUM UP In just over a year ICICI PRUDENTIAL has emerged as India's # 1 private life insurance company with almost 50% of the private players has sold highest number of policies both in volume and value.
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FINDINGS ANALYSIS
&
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1. Do you have various other interests (social, religious), which remain neglected because you do not get time to attend to these
Never
8%
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3. Are you able to satisfy the conflicting demands of the various peer level people
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5. The amount of work you have to do interferes with the quality you want to maintain
4% 4% 48% 40% 4%
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6. Is there not enough interaction between your role and other roles
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7. Do you wish to acquire more skills to handle the responsibilities of your role
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8. If you had full freedom to define your role you would be doing some things different from what you do now
Never
0%
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10. Do you wish to have more financial resources for the work assigned to you
4% 4% 4% 28% 60%
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ANALYSIS
SUMMARY OF ANALYSIS
The analysis of the project:
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SUGGESTIONS
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SUMMARY OF SUGGESTIONS
When an individual occupies more than 1 role there are bound to be conflicts between the different roles that he occupies. Such inter-role conflicts are quite frequent in a modern society, where an individual is increasingly occupying multiple roles in various organizations and groups. So the organization should throw a light on their employees social aspects. The organization should improve the facilities for leisure and recreation; fact of people doing things for enjoyment, when they are not working. The organization should arrange programs for entertainment. Also a place for relaxation. Create a place for indoor games like carom, table tennis etc
As the individual grows older, he also grows in the role that he occupies in an organization of the individual that the role changes, and with this change in role, the need for taking up a new role becomes crucial. In order to be
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When there are conflicting expectations or demands by different role senders, the role occupant may experience this stress. But most of the employees are able to satisfy the demands of the various peer level people. But some employees are not able to satisfy the expectations from the boss, subordinates, peers or clients. The organization should provide the employees with full information about the products so that they are able to satisfy the peers or clients.
A role occupant may feel that the functions, which he would like to perform, are being performed by some other role. The stress felt may be called role erosion. Some important role expectations of the employee are shared by other roles within the role set. So the organization should give a chance to employees who are willing to take more responsibilities to enhance their
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When the role occupant feels that there are too many expectations from the significant others in his role set, he experiences role overload. Some employees feel that they cannot possibly finish the work within the time limit. The employees should be given sufficient time to complete the work since it is an insurance industry, getting the policies is quite difficult When a role occupant feels that he is not prepared to undertake the role effectively, he may experience this stress. Almost all the employees wish to acquire more skills because the organization is launching new products in the market for the clients and so the
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This stress arises out of the conflict between the self-concept and the expectations from the role, as perceived by the role occupant. Such conflicts are common, although they may not be so severe. Some employees are willing to do things different from what they do now. So the organization should support such employees so that they can generate good business, which in turn will benefit the employees and also the organization.
Resource Inadequacy stress is experienced when the resources required by the role occupant for performing the role effectively are not available, such as information, people, materials, finance or other facilities. The unit managers have to recruit 25 advisors to generate business from them. For this purpose they have to go for
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LIMITATIONS
Some of the Unit Managers were engaged in their work and were not able to give their opinion about their working process.
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Time Constraint
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CONCLUSION
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The company should plan ahead and practice good time management. It should also help the employees to develop a sound philosophy of life and maintain a positive attitude. Stress Management by organization should be designed to reduce the harmful effects of stress in a way Help employees modify their perception and understanding of work stress Help employees cope more effectively with the consequences of stress. Help the employees to identify and then modify or eliminate work stressors
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ANNEXURE
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The information given by you will be used only for the academic purpose, will be of immense value and would assist me in this endeavor. Thus kindly co-operate
Name of employee Age Gender Marital Status Occupation : : : : : Male Married Female Unmarried
1.Do you have various other interests (social, religious), which remain neglected because you do not get time to attend to these Never (0) Occasionally Sometimes Frequently Very (1) (2) (3) Frequently (4)
Never (0)
3. Are you able to satisfy the conflicting demands of the various peer level people
Never (0)
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Never (0)
5. The amount of work you have to do interferes with the quality you want to maintain Never (0) Occasionally Sometimes Frequently Very (1) (2) (3) Frequently (4)
6. Is there not enough interaction between your role and other roles
Never (0)
7. Do you wish to acquire more skills to handle the responsibilities of your role
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8. If you had full freedom to define your role you would be doing some things different from what you do now Never (0) Occasionally Sometimes Frequently Very (1) (2) (3) Frequently (4)
Never (0)
10. Do you wish to have more financial resources for the work assigned to you
Never (0)
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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1.
Organizational behavior
2.
3.
Udai Pareek
4.
Web-Site
iciciprulife.com , google.com
5.
Journals
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What is Stress
Stress is the general term applied to the pressures people feel in life. The presence of stress at work is almost inevitable in many jobs. However, individual differences account for a wide range of reactions to stress, a task viewed as challenging by one person may produce high levels of anxiety in another. When pressure begins to build up, it can cause adverse strain on persons emotions, thought processes, and physical condition. When stress becomes excessive, employees develop various symptoms of stress that can harm their job performance and health, and even threaten their ability to cope with the environment. Stress also leads to physical disorders, because the internal body system changes to try to cope with stress. It is important that stress, both on and off the job, be kept at a level low enough for most people to tolerate without developing either emotional or physical disorders. Stress can be either temporary or long-term, either mild or severe. The effects on an employee depend mostly on how long its causes
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Stress has existed throughout the evolution. About 4 billion years ago, violent collision of rock and ice along with dust and gas, led to the formation of a new planet. The planet survive more than 100 million years of meltdown to give birth to microscopic life . These first organisms endured the harshest of conditionslack of oxygen, exposure to sun's UV rays and other inhospitable elements, to hang on to their dear life. Roughly 300,000 years ago, the Neanderthals learnt to use fire in a controlled way, to survive the Glacial Age. And around 30,000 years, Homo sapiens with their dominant gene constitutions and better coping skills, won the game of survival. Each step of evolution a test of survival, and survival, a matter of coping with the stress of changing conditions. Millions of trials and errors in the life process have brought men to this stage. Coping with events to survive has led men to invent extraordinary technologies, beginning with a piece of sharpened stone. From the viewpoint of microevolution, stress induction of
transpositions is a powerful factor, generating new genetic variations in populations under stressful environmental conditions. Passing through a 'bottleneck', a population can rapidly and significantly alters its
population norm and become the founder of new, evolved forms. Gene transposition through Transposable Elements (TE)'jumping genes', is a major source of genetic change, including the creation of novel genes, the alteration of gene expression in development, and the genesis of major genomic rearrangements. In a research on 'the significance of responses of the genome to challenges,' the Nobel Prize winning scientist Barbara McClintock, characterized these genetic
phenomena as 'genomic shock. This occurs due to recombination events between TE insertions (high and low insertion polymorphism) and host
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The moral remains that we can work a stress condition to our advantage or protect ourselves from its untoward follow-throughs subject to how we handle a stress situation. The choice is between becoming a slave to the stressful situations of life or using them to our advantage
"Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances
In a challenging situation the brain prepares the body for defensive actionthe fight or flight response by releasing stress hormones, namely, cortisone and adrenaline. These hormones raise the blood pressure and the body prepares to react to the situation. With a concrete defensive action (fight response) the stress hormones in the blood get used up, entailing reduced stress effects and symptoms of anxiety.
When we fail to counter a stress situation (flight response) the hormones and chemicals remain unreleased in the blood stream for a long period of time. It results in stress related physical symptoms such as tense muscles, unfocused anxiety, dizziness and rapid heartbeats. We all
encounter various stressors (causes of stress) in everyday life, which can accumulate, if not released. Subsequently, it compels the mind and body to be in an almost constant alarm-state in preparation to fight or flee. This state of accumulated stress can increase the risk of both acute and chronic psychosomatic illnesses and weaken the immune system of the human body.
Stress can cause headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, eating disorder, allergies, insomnia, backaches, frequent cold and fatigue to diseases such as hypertension, asthma, diabetes, heart ailments and even cancer. In fact, Sanjay Chugh, a leading Indian psychologist, says that 70
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Methods of coping with stress are aplenty. The most significant or sensible way out is a change in lifestyle. Relaxation techniques such as meditation, physical exercises, listening to soothing music, deep breathing, various natural and alternative methods, personal growth techniques, visualization and massage are some of the most effective of the known non-invasive stress busters
The words 'positive' and 'stress' may not often go together. But, there are innumerable instances of athletes rising to the challenge of stress and achieving the unachievable, scientists stressing themselves out over a point to bring into light the most unthinkable secrets of the phenomenal world, and likewise a painter, a composer or a writer producing the best paintings, the most lilting of tunes or the most appealing piece of writing by pushing themselves to the limit. Psychologists second the opinion that some 'stress' situations can actually boost our inner potential and can be creatively helpful. Sudha Chandran, an Indian danseus, lost both of her legs in an accident. But, the physical and social inadequacies gave her more impetus to carry on with her dance performances with the help of prosthetic legs rather than deter her spirits.
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performance. Instead of wilting under stress, one can use it as an impetus to achieve success. Stress can stimulate one's faculties to delve deep into and discover one's true potential. Under stress the brain is emotionally and biochemically stimulated to sharpen its performance Stress is, perhaps, necessary to occasionally clear cobwebs from our thinking. If approached positively, stress can help us evolve as a person by letting go of unwanted thoughts and principle in our life. Very often, at various crossroads of life, stress may remind you of the transitory nature of your experiences, and may prod you to look for the true happiness of life.
Organizational and individual programs to help managers and employees cope up with stress have become increasingly popular, as the toll taken by stress has become more widely known. Methods are available to individuals and organizations for managing stress and reducing its harmful effects. Stress management refers to any program that reduces stress be helping people understand the stress response,
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INDIVIDUAL METHODS Stress management by individuals includes activities and behaviors designed to eliminate or control the sources of stress and make the individual more resistant to or better able to cope with stress. The first step in individual stress management involves recognizing the stressors that are affecting the persons life. Next, the individual needs to decide what to do about them. Practical suggestions for individual stress management include the following Plan ahead and practice good time management Get plenty of exercise Develop a sound philosophy of life and maintain a positive attitude Concentrate on balancing your work and personal life. Learn a relaxation technique.
ORGANIZATIONAL METHODS Stress management by organizations is designed to reduce the harmful effects of stress in three ways Identify and then modify or eliminate work stressors Help employees modify their perception and understanding of work stress Help employees cope more effectively with the consequences of stress.
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APPROACHES TO STRESS MANAGEMENT Both organization and individuals are highly concerned about stress and its effects. In attempting to manage stress, they have three broad options Prevent or control it, Escape from it, Learn to adapt it. Organizations can seek to improve managerial communication skills, empower employees through participation, redesign jobs to be more fulfilling, or implement organization development programs. These steps are aimed at reducing or eliminating stressors for employees. Some employees can escape stress by requesting job transfers, finding alternative employment, taking early retirement or acquiring
assertiveness skills allow them to confront the stressor. Some people experience stress because they are detached from the world around them, they lack warm interpersonal relationships.
Individuals with a driving ambition and a strong need for independence may fail to develop close attachments to friends and colleagues. To achieve their success, they often sacrifice fulfillment to their social needs. Their lack of social attachments may result in anger, anxiety, and loneliness- all producing stress in their lives. STRESS AND JOB PERFORMANCE Stress can be either helpful or harmful to job performance, depending on its level. When there is no stress, job challenges are absent and performance tends to be low. As stress increases, performance tends to
increase, because stress helps a person call up resources to meet job requirements. Constructive stress is a healthy stimulus that encourages employees to respond to challenges. Eventually, stress reaches a plateau that corresponds approximately with a
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Finally, if stress becomes too great, it turns into a destructive force. Performance begins to decline at some point because excess stress interferes with performance. An employee loses the ability to cope: she or he becomes unable to make decisions and exhibits erratic behavior. If stress increases to a breaking point, performance becomes zero: the employee has a breakdown, becomes too ill to work, is fired, quits, or refuses to come to work to face the stress. STRESS MANAGEMENT Is the need of the hour. However hard we try to go beyond a stress situation, life seems to find new ways of stressing us out and plaguing us with anxiety attacks. Moreover, be it our anxiety, mind-body exhaustion or our erring attitudes, we tend to overlook causes of stress and the conditions triggered by those. In such unsettling moments we often forget that stressors, if not escapable, are fairly manageable and treatable. Stress, either quick or constant, can induce risky body-mind disorders. Immediate disorders such as dizzy spells, anxiety attacks, tension, sleeplessness, nervousness and muscle cramps can all result in chronic health problems. They may also affect our immune, cardiovascular and nervous systems and lead individuals to habitual addictions, which are inter-linked with stress. Like "stress reactions", "relaxation responses" and stress management techniques are some of the body's important built-in response systems. As a relaxation response the body tries to get back balance in its homeostasis. Some hormones released during the 'fight or flight' situation prompt the body to replace the lost carbohydrates and fats, and restore the energy level. The knotted nerves, tightened muscles and an exhausted mind crave for looseners. Unfortunately, today, we
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Stress is physical When the goalkeeper or the batsman or the tennis player experiences Eustress, there are changes in the physical system. The muscles become tense. The eyes become sharper. When one is under severe distress, as in the case of Arjuna in Kurukshetra, the person sweats, the body becomes weak and loses strength. Study of stress shows that the response is the same whether it is Eustress or Distress, except that the degree varies. The response is called the Fight or Flight response. When one senses danger, one is tempted to either stand and fight to ward off the danger or run away Flight. The body conditions itself for either event, automatically, causing changes in the normal secretions of hormones and other chemicals, withdrawing from activities that are less important and diverting to activities that should have higher priority in that situation.. Food is less important. The muscles need more energy and therefore the blood carries substances to the muscles, diverting them from the stomach. More oxygen than normal is required. Therefore, the breathing becomes faster, the heart-beat rate increases, the blood vessels dilate to carry more oxygen. The liver releases more stored energy. The eyes and ears become more acutely sensitive to the sensations from outside. The body is programmed to reverse these changes, and revert to normal, when the threat disappears. If however, one remains in a continuous state of stress, without becoming normal, the changed conditions tend to remain permanent, like a rubber band loses its elasticity when held extended for a long time. These abnormal conditions manifest as diseases and one suffers from high blood pressure, cardiac
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possibilities of failures Conflict in values at work, being required to do what one does not like to do Too many and conflicting demands at work from the role set Responsibilities not clear, ambiguity on what is expected Un understanding, unpredictable, temperamental boss New unfamiliar work
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It is important to recognize whether you are under stress or out of it. Many times, even if we are under the influence of a stressful condition and our body reacts to it internally as well as externally, we fail to realize that we are reacting under stress. This also happens when the causes of stress are there long enough for us to get habituated to them. The body constantly tries to tell us through symptoms such as rapid palpitation, dizzy spells, tight muscles or various body aches that something is wrong. It is important to remain attentive to such symptoms and to learn to cope with the situations.
We cope better with stressful situation, when we encounter them voluntarily. In cases of a relocation, promotion or layoff, adventurous sports or having a baby, we tend to respond positively under stress. But, when we are compelled into such situations against our will or knowledge, more often than not, we wilt at the face of unknown and imagined threats. For instance, stress may mount when one is coerced into undertaking some work against one's will.
Levels of Stress: There are four basic levels of stress symptoms. 1. The first is the normal initial response and is characterized by increased heart beat rates, increased blood pressure, dilation of pupils, sweat in palms and reduced activity in the stomach. 2. At the second level, there is more irritability, stuttering and stammering, difficulty in concentrating, restlessness, lack of
STRESS MANAGEMENT
CAUSES OF STRESS An important first step in prevention is to examine the causes of stress. Conditions that tend to cause stress are called stressors. Although even a single stress may cause major stress, usually stressors combine to pressure an employee in a variety of ways until stress develops. Almost any job condition can cause stress, depending on an employees reaction to it. For example, one employee will accept a new work procedure and feel little or no stress, while another experiences overwhelming pressure from the same task. Part of the difference lies in each employees experiences, general outlooks, and expectations, frequently cause stress for employees. Work overload and time deadlines put employees under pressure can lead to stress. Often these pressures arise from management, and a poor quality of management can cause stress. Examples of stress producing factors related to management are an autocratic supervisor, an insecure job climate, lack of control over ones own job, and inadequate authority to match ones responsibilities. Many things can trigger the stress reaction, including danger, threat, news, illness, as well as significant changes in one's self-identification as a Type A or as a Type B personality
STRESS MANAGEMENT
Emotional stress can cause a person to have feelings of anxiousness, fear, anger or even the blues. Stress sometimes brings out unwanted behaviors too. following is a list of stressful behaviors: The
STRESS MANAGEMENT
physiology, which refers to the way that the human body reacts chemically and physically to stress, can also cause problems. Stress can manifest itself mentally and physically. indicators of a stressed-out person: Following are some of the
Perspiration /sweaty hand. Increased heart beat Trembling Dryness of throat and mouth Tiring easily Urinating frequently Sleeping problems Diarrhea / indigestion / vomiting Butterflies in stomach Headaches Premenstrual tension Pain in the neck and or lower back. Loss of appetite or overeating Susceptibility to illness
STRESS MANAGEMENT
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF STRESS? Physical symptoms Physical symptoms can be caused by other illnesses, so it is important to have a medical doctor treat conditions such as ulcers, compressed disks, or other physical disorders. Remember, however, that the body and mind are not separate entities. The physical problems outlined below may result from or be exacerbated by stress: sleep disturbances back, shoulder or neck pain tension or migraine headaches irregular heartbeat, palpitations asthma or shortness of breath chest pain
Emotional symptoms Like physical signs, emotional symptoms such as anxiety or depression can mask conditions other than stress. It is important to find out whether they are stress-related or not. In either case, the following emotional symptoms are uncomfortable and can affect your performance at work or play, your physical health, or your relationships with others: nervousness, anxiety depression, moodiness butterflies irritability, frustration memory problems
STRESS MANAGEMENT
Relational symptoms The antisocial behavior displayed in stressful situations can cause the rapid deterioration of relationships with family, friends, co-workers, or even strangers. A person under stress may manifest signs such as: increased arguments isolation from social activities conflict with co-workers or employers frequent job changes road rage domestic or workplace violence overreactions
STRESS MANAGEMENT
STRESS MANAGEMENT
It is not possible to remove the pressures at work but one can definitely reduce pressure, which in turn takes form of stress and further shapes itself as ailments by enabling people Stress in the workplace is becoming a major concern for employers, managers and government agencies, owing to the Occupational Health and Safety legislations requiring employers to practice duty of care by providing employees with safe working environments which also cover the psychological wellbeing of their staff. One of the costs, for employers, of work place stress is absenteeism, with the A.C.T.U. reporting that owing to stress, nearly fifty per cent of employees surveyed had taken time off work. Other negative effects were reductions in productivity, reduced profits, accidents, high rates of sickness, increased workers compensation claims and high staff turnover, requiring recruiting and training of replacement staff. While a certain amount of stress is needed to motivate individuals into action, prolonged stress can have a huge impact on overall health. More than two-thirds of visits to doctors surgeries are for stress-related illnesses. Stress has been linked to headaches, backaches, insomnia, anger, cramps, elevated blood pressure, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and lowered resistance to infection. For women, stress is a key factor in hormonal imbalances resulting in menstrual irregularities,
STRESS MANAGEMENT
STRESS MANAGEMENT
The Countdown is: 10. "Workload" Employees report that they are often stressed when they have too little or too much to do. Managers need to divide responsibilities and help employees prioritize work that must be done. Make sure you understand the impact before shifting responsibilities. Take into account the cost of stress before you increase anyones workload or hire more people. 9. "Random interruptions" - Telephones, pagers, walk-in visits, and spontaneous demands from supervisors all contribute to increased stress. Time management, delegation of responsibilities, and clarification of expectations can reduce these stressors. 8. "Pervasive uncertainty" Stress levels increase rapidly when people are confronted by new requirements and procedures. Keeping people informed controls stress and increases productivity. Put details in a memo so they can review the facts following your explanations. 7. "Mistrust and unfairness" - These situations keep everyone on edge, create bad attitudes, and lower productivity. It is important to keep an open line of communication to avoid misunderstanding and know what
STRESS MANAGEMENT
individual efforts. 3. "No appreciation - Failure to show appreciation generates stress that endangers productivity throughout the company. There are many ways to demonstrate appreciation, but the most effective is a sincere comment about how much the person means to you and the company.
STRESS MANAGEMENT
STRESS MANAGEMENT
Stress cannot be avoided. It should not be avoided. Without stress, there will be no attempt to try the difficult. One will give up much too easily. One will not succeed in doing even what one is easily capable of, because even the normal faculties will not come into play - like the goalkeeper, if he remained relaxed even at the last minute. There are two aspects to take care of in managing stress. One is that one should not develop stress to the point that one becomes non-functional like Arjuna laying down his arms. The second is to try to get back to normal as quickly as one can and not continue to be in a state of stress for too long. The former is achieved essentially by an attitude that is developed by rational thoughts. The first is to realize that ones perceptions often distort the reality. The situation may not be as bad as it may seem to be. The second is to understand that a failure is not an unmitigated disaster. It is not possible to succeed all the time. It is not even necessary to succeed all the time. One failed effort does not mean that the person is no good. Nobody has succeeded without many losses. Even World champions sometimes lose a first round match to an unseeded player. Marconi and Thomas Alva Edison succeeded in their inventions after many attempts that failed. They saw failures as opportunities to learn.
STRESS MANAGEMENT
STRESS MANAGEMENT
STRESS MANAGEMENT
management strategy. Identifying the main sources of stress remains the most effective first step in stress management. This provides a foundation for targeting interventions at both an individual and organizational level, such as offering training and support for managers and employees or giving access to sources of help such as employee assistance programmes. It is inevitable, however, that some employees will develop stress-related illnesses resulting in long-term absence from work. At this stage, having a well-structured rehabilitation process in place is essential. A company practice section details how six organizations are tackling the issue of stress management. The Study also reports on the Health and Safety Executive's work to develop a set of 'good practice' stress management standards, while a separate four-page 'Stress and the law' section summarizes employers' legal obligations and duties. As the Manager: As the boss, one can ensure that subordinates are not put to undue stress and also that they are helped to get out of stress situations as quickly as possible. The steps are Recognize the stress levels Show concern Encourage talking Listen Empathise Explain and show how it can be done Reassure Provide support Discuss and involve them in decisions
STRESS MANAGEMENT
Personality Types Studies on Stress have identified that Type A personalities tend to get stressed much faster than Type B personalities. The characteristics of a Type A personality are an intense urge to achieve, impatience and restlessness, always on the move, hurrying, doing more than one task at a time. He keeps a heavy and tight schedule and dislikes waiting and relaxing. The Type B is exactly the opposite, takes things easy, finds time to relax, is not impatient and is not obsessed with winning all the time. Instruments have been developed to identify the Type of any person. But no one is fully Type A or fully Type B. It is possible to move from one type to another. It is not as if Type B is the more desirable personality, because stress is not the only factor relevant for effectiveness. Achievement is equally important for effectiveness and there the Type A has a better chance to win.
Time Management Inadequacy of resource is a common stressor. One needs resources to do a job and if the resource is not available, there could be stress. One
STRESS MANAGEMENT
STRESS MANAGEMENT
Indecisiveness can also happen because of lack of knowledge on the subject. The time one takes to study a matter depends on ones skill. Experienced people run through a 100 page file, without reading every page, but picking up the important and relevant matter, while another may have to spend double the time reading every paper to determine its relevance. Thus, one way to manage time better is to improve ones skills at work Recognizing Stress: The following are indicators that you may be experiencing General irritability Elevated heart rate Increased blood pressure Increased accident proneness Floating anxiety-anxious feeling for no specific reason Trembling Insomnia Headaches Indigestion Pain in neck and/or lower back Changes in appetite or sleep pattern Finally, if stress has become too much to handle, seek help. Don't let the fear of what others might say or think stop you from doing what's best for you. If you think you might be depressed, discuss your concern with your family doctor, minister, or a mental health professional, who can listen and help you. If youre afraid to go alone, take a trusted friend
STRESS MANAGEMENT
When is stress a warning signal? When it is part of a natural reaction to challenge or danger, the bodys response is called positive stress. However, when you feel out of control or under intense pressure, you may experience the physical, emotional, or relational symptoms brought on by negative stress. These are the signs of stress that you need to recognize and control. It is important to remain attentive to negative stress symptoms and to learn to identify the situations that evoke them. When these symptoms persist, you are at risk for serious health problems because stress can exhaust your immune system. Recent research demonstrates that 90% of illness is stress-related. It is not possible to live without any stress. We can, however, learn ways to handle the stress of daily life efficiently, and to manage our reactions to stress and minimize its negative impact. Why should you learn to cope with stress? In the best of all possible worlds, when a stressful situation ends, hormonal signals switch off the stress response, and the body returns to normal. Unfortunately, stress doesn't always let up. If you tend to harbor anxiety, and you worry about daily events and relationships, your stress response never shuts down. Studies show that long-term activation of
STRESS MANAGEMENT
How To Manage Stress Better? Identifying unrelieved stress and being aware of its effect on our lives is not sufficient for reducing its harmful effects. Just as there are many sources of stress, there are many possibilities for its management. However, all require work toward change: changing the source of stress and/or changing your reaction to it. How do you proceed? Become aware of your stressors and your emotional and physical reactions.
Notice your distress. Don't ignore it. Don't gloss over your problems. Determine what events distress you. What are you telling yourself about meaning of these events?
STRESS MANAGEMENT
Recognize what you can change. Can you change your stressors by avoiding or eliminating them completely? Can you reduce their intensity (manage them over a period of time instead of on a daily or weekly basis)? Can you shorten your exposure to stress (take a break, leave the physical premises)?
Can you devote the time and energy necessary to making a change (goal setting, time management techniques, and delayed gratification strategies may be helpful here)?
Reduce the intensity of your emotional reactions to stress. The stress reaction is triggered by your perception of
danger...physical danger and/or emotional danger. Are you viewing your stressors in exaggerated terms and/or taking a difficult situation and making it a disaster? Are you expecting to please everyone? Are you overreacting and viewing things as absolutely critical and urgent? Do you feel you must always prevail in every situation? Work at adopting more moderate views; try to see the stress as something you overpowers you. Try to temper your excess emotions. Put the situation in perspective. Do not labor on the negative aspects and the "what if's." Learn to moderate your physical reactions to stress. can cope with rather than something that
STRESS MANAGEMENT
Eat well-balanced, nutritious meals. Maintain your ideal weight. Avoid nicotine, excessive caffeine, and other stimulants. Mix leisure with work. Take breaks and get away when you can. Get enough sleep. Be as consistent with your sleep schedule as possible. Maintain your emotional reserves. Develop some mutually supportive friendships/relationships. Pursue realistic goals, which are meaningful to you, rather than goals others have for you hat you do not share. Expect some frustrations, failures, and sorrows. Always be kind and gentle with yourself -- be a friend to yourself. SEVEN TIPS TO REDUCE STRESS AT WORK
STRESS MANAGEMENT
three slow deep breaths. Concentrate on pushing tension out of your lungs as you exhale. 2. Sit down to eat. (Do not eat while standing or driving in your car) relaxing and enjoyable talk at lunchtime. If co-workers only all of the negative stuff at work, insist on eating
Focus on
When you drive your car to your business or your job, listen to
something enjoyable or motivating. 4. 5. On the way home from your business or your job, listen to music. Take a few minutes each day to thank God, in whatever form is your belief system, for the glorious sunrise. At sunset, work while the sun is setting, take a quick thank your concept of "God"
enjoyable or relaxing
consistent with
break to watch the sun set and again, for the glorious sunset. 6.
Take a few minutes at work to think of people who may have way. Breathe deeply, relax, and push out all of thoughts. Fill your hear and your
lungs with forgiveness for the person or persons who have harmed you. Wish for them the same success and happiness you wish 7. day Stress Management Strategies The following are tips on how to maintain a healthier lifestyle and to prepare you to cope with the stress of everyday living. for yourself.
Live today as if it where your last day. Make your last day, your best
STRESS MANAGEMENT
Seven Successful Stress Management Techniques Manage your stress and be a healthier, happier and more pleasant person to be around. Lets cut to the chase 1. Make stress your friend Acknowledge that stress is good and make stress your friend! Based on the bodys natural fight or flight response, that burst of performance at the right moment. Ive yet before a big competition. Use when it counts
stress wisely to push yourself that little bit harder most. 2. Stress is contagious
STRESS MANAGEMENT
Copy good stress managers When people around are losing their head, which keeps calm? What
are they
doing differently? What is their attitude? What language do trained and experienced? Figure it out from afar Learn from the best stress managers and
Use heavy breathing. You can trick your body into relaxing by using heavy breathing.
Breathe in slowly for a count of 7 then breathe out for a count of 11. Repeat the 7-11 breathing until your heart rate slows down, your more normal.
sweaty palms dry off and things start to feel 5. Stop stress thought trains
It is possible to tangle yourself up in a stress knot all by yourself. If this happens, then that might happen and then were all up the never happen, so why waste all that energy thought-trains the red light and wrong how likely is
stop them in their tracks. Okay so it might go that, and what can you do to prevent it? 6.
Know your stress hot spots and trigger points Presentations, interviews, meetings, giving difficult feedback, tight
deadlines My heart rate is cranking up just writing these down! Make your own list of stress trigger points or hot spots. Be specific. Is it only presentations to a certain audience that get you worked up?
STRESS MANAGEMENT
new skills? Do you need extra resources? Do you need to switch to de-caffeinated coffee? 7. Eat, drink, sleep and be merry! Lack of sleep, poor diet and no exercise wreaks havoc on our body and mind. Kind of obvious, but worth mentioning as its often ignored
as a stress management technique. Listen to your mother and dont burn the candle at both ends!
Modern life is full of stress. As organizations become more complex the potential for, and the amount of stress increases. Urbanization, industrialization and the increase in scale of operations in the society are some of the reasons for rising stress. Stress is an inevitable consequence of socio-economic complexity, and to some extent, its stimulant as well. People experience stress, as they can no longer have a complete control over what happens in their lives. Theyre being no escape from stress in modern life; we need to find ways of using stress productively, and reducing dysfunctional stress. Even as stress is inevitable in todays complex life, so is it necessary for human progress. Stress is produced by several happenings in life. In general, every transition or change produces stress. People in newer
STRESS MANAGEMENT
1. Environment induced stress like economic recession, uncertainty in business environment, competition, changing technology, and changing products. 2. Organization induced stress like complexity of management, which demands high level of consistent job performance, profiles, sharp increasing enhanced reward and
pressure/targets, responsibilities,
unstructured employment
insecurity,
punishment measures.
Studies prove that stress is becoming a major area of concern to managements particularly to HR managers. Unfortunately, avoiding or removing stress altogether from workplace is an impossible task. However, HR managers must make efforts to identify sources of stress, particularly organization induced in order to minimize them. If left
STRESS MANAGEMENT
METHODLOGY Defining the problem and Objective: The objective of the study is to use indicators to reduce stress among the employees for the purposes like understand the avoidable and unavoidable stress on the jobs faced by the employees and to draw plans to weed out the avoidable stress and to minimize the organization induced stresses. Developing the research plan: Once the problem is identified, the next step is to prepare a plan for getting the information needed for the research. The present study will adopt the exploratory approach wherein there is a need to gather large amount of information before making a conclusion. If required, the descriptive and casual approaches may also be used. Collection and Sources of data: Market research requires two kinds of data, i.e., Primary data and secondary data. Being a firm in the Banking industry, data gathering will involve usage of both primary and secondary data though there will be an extensive usage of primary data. Well-structured questionnaires will be prepared for both existing as well as non-existing clients. There will be personal interview, surveys. The questionnaires will contain close-ended questions. Secondary data will be collected from various journals, books and web sites Analyze the collected information: This involves converting raw data into useful information. It involves tabulation of data, using statistical measures on them for developing frequency distributions and calculating the averages and dispersions.
STRESS MANAGEMENT
ROLE SPACE CONFLICTS Self-Role Distance: this stress arises out of the conflict between the self-concept and the expectations from the role, as perceived by the role occupant. Such conflicts are common, although they may not be so severe. Role Stagnation: As the individual grows older, he also grows in the role that he occupies in an organization of the individual that the role changes, and with this change in role, the need for taking up a new role becomes crucial. This is bound to produce some stress. Inter-Role Distance: When an individual occupies more than 1 role
there are bound to be conflicts between the different roles that he occupies. Such inter-role conflicts are quite frequent in a modern society, where an individual is increasingly occupying multiple roles in various organizations and groups
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subordinates, peers or clients. Role Overload: When the role occupant feels that there are too many expectations from the significant others in his role set, he experiences role overload. It is measured by asking questions about peoples feelings on whether they could possibly finish work given to them during a modified workday. Role Erosion: A role occupant may feel that the functions, which he would like to perform, are being performed by some other role. The stress felt may be called role erosion. Role erosion is likely to be experienced in an organization, which is redefining its role and creating new roles. Role Isolation: In a role set, the role occupant may feel that certain roles are psychologically closer to him, while others are at a much greater distance. The main criterion of distance is the frequency and ease of interaction. The gap between the desired and the existing linkages will indicate the amount the role isolation. Personal Inadequacy: When a role occupant feels that he is not prepared to undertake the role effectively, he may experience this stress. The role occupant may feel that he does not have enough knowledge, skills, or training, or has not had time to prepare for the assigned role. Persons
STRESS MANAGEMENT
STRESS MANAGEMENT