1) urine or feces 2) hair and skin contact, or 3)bites and scratches.

Spread through Urine or Feces

Hookworms

Hookworms enter the body in the area that directly comes in contact with the feces- contanimated soil. Seen more commonly in the South, these parasites are unsuited to ideally live in human beings. Traditionally they die after crawling several inches underneath the surface layer of the skin. Inflammation usually occurs as a result of these parasites in humans and causes a condition called “creeping eruption” which may last several weeks or months depending on its severity.

Leptospirosis

Pets may come in contact with this through swimming, drinking, licking their fur, or by eating food contaminated with animal urine. Many animals may carry this, though rats are most often the culprit.

Symptoms in humans are flu-like including chills, body aches, vomiting, fever and headache. Sometimes kidney damage may occur or the membranes covering the spinal cord or brain may become inflamed. This disease is not usually fatal though it does make its host miserable for weeks at a time.

Roundworms

If these parasites are swallowed by humans they migrate into the body tissues and may cause damage, including symptoms of fever and liver enlargement which can last up to a year in length including symptoms of fever and liver enlargement which can last up to a year in length.

These parasites are most commonly found in small children(2-4 yrs. of age) who mistakenly swallow the eggs and become infected. Children playing in an area in which an animal has defecated in the past, who do not wash their hands after coming in contact with the eggs and inadvertently sticks their hands into their mouth are the most common receptors of roundworm. Only rarely fatal, the disease is traditionally mild though it may be long lasting.

Tapeworms

Tapeworms can easily be ingested by any pet who swallows a flea carrying the infected form when biting at or chewing their coat. Children may get it virtually the same way- minus the coat chewing. Tapeworm infestation in humans this way is actually quite rare when compared to infestation from eating undercooked pork or beef.

Toxoplasmosis

Rarely this may cause death in humans since most people develop a resistance to it during normal exposure. It can cause many types of birth deformities in children born to mothers who have been infected for the first time without having developed an immunity before becoming pregnant. Most commonly this is “picked up” through contact with infected cat feces or in contact with contaminated soil.

Prevention of Waste Transmitted Diseases

There are a few basic precautions everyone should take to prevent transmission of any of the fore-mentioned diseases. First, clean up all pet droppings and wash your hands each time you any come in contact with contaminated soil. It is extremely important to teach children these steps. Also, if your pet has gone wading or swimming in any water which may have become contaminated with animal urine, bathe it at once when you return home.

Spread through Skin/Hair Contact

Fleas

Fleas prefer feeding on your pets though they will not turn up the chance of of making an occasional meal on humans as well.

Ringworm

Most commonly found in children(though anyone may be infected), this is caused by a skin/hair eating fungus which first appears on people as a round, red, scaly area. It grows outward in a circular formation and is the most common fungal disease currently reported.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Tick borne, this disease can cause symptoms such as fever, chills and headache though it is not usually fatal. Symptoms may last many weeks and it can be treated with antibiotics.

Most commonly it is transmitted through the bite of an infected tick. Also, you may become infected while pulling a tick off your pet . It is best to wear gloves when removing ticks.

Scabies

The less commonly found version of mange(as opposed to the demodetic version), this may still cause intense itching, irritation and thickening of the skin. Animal mange may live in human skin though it cannot reproduce there. Humans have their own version of the scabies mite.

Prevention of Skin/Hair Contact Diseases

Overall, proper nutritional care and health of your pet is the best defense against the chance of your pet harboring any of these diseases. Frequent grooming and herbal repellents are good choices in combating most of these problems before they become major. Stress, roaming and contact with other pets are the three most common points of transmission among the previous diseases. Wash your hands after pet contact and minimize contact with any infected pet until the problem is cured.

Diseases Caused by Bites and Scratches

Cat Scratch Fever

Some people will develop a fever, enlarged lymph nodes and malaise near the area of a bite or scratch from a cat a few weeks after the occurrence. Though not fatal it can be very uncomfortable and can be followed by complications. Infected cat bites may become infected with an entirely different bacteria though the symptoms are similar.

Probably best, is to thoroughly wash an area bitten or scratched by a cat and to clean it liberally on a frequent basis to prevent, hopefully, infection.

Rabies

Virtually 100% fatal once the clinical symptoms appear, this disease is carried by a virus transmitted through the saliva of an infected biting animal. Symptoms include frothing at the mouth, extreme behavioral/personality changes and convulsions which usually ends in the aggressive, staggering and bleary- eyed condition. If you happen upon an animal showing any of these symptoms, get away from it as quickly as possible and call your nearest animal control unit.

If by chance you are bitten, try to follow it to where it lives(if it is a stray)so that the proper officials may capture it for testing. If you do kill it, do not injure the head as this will be needed for verification. Also, if you are bitten by an animal exhibiting any of the symptoms above, thoroughly wash out the wound as quickly as possible and contact your personal physician. Overall, your chances of getting rabies are rare though you can never be over cautious.

Prevention of Bite and Scratch Transmitted Diseases

Best advice,keep your pet in tip-top physical condition through exercise and proper nutrition to reduce its chances of picking up any parasites from less healthy animals. Also, try to minimize your pets contact with wild animals or sick pets.

Here are 5 possible causes:

1. Birth defects can sometimes cause urinary problems in dogs such as incontinence. The most common birth defects that cause urinary incontinence in puppies are ectopic ureters. Normally the ureters carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder but when a puppy has an ectopic ureter, the ureters bypass the bladder and connect to an abnormal area like the urethra or vagina. This can cause the puppy to drip urine. Of all breeds, Siberian Huskies most commonly have this problem. Ectopic ureters can also cause recurrent bladder infections. The only way to correct this problem is through surgery.

2. A blockage of the urethra with a bladder stone, excessive amount of crystals, or a tumor can also cause canine urinary incontinence. This happens because a blockage can keep your dog from emptying his bladder completely, in turn making his bladder large and leak around the blockage. This condition must be corrected immediately because 3 to 4 days of complete blockage can be fatal. A special diet and medication can treat most blockages but in some cases, surgery may be necessary.

3. Older pets often dribble urine because of a weakened sphincter. Urinary problems in dogs of old age may also cause them to create more urine than normal and their full bladder can put pressure on their weakened sphincter and cause them to dribble urine. There are medications that can tighten your dog’s sphincter but they also have significant side effects.

4. Canine urinary incontinence caused by a response to hormonal changes is known to occur in neutered dogs of both sexes but most commonly female dogs. In this case they can urinate normally but leak urine while resting. In order to keep your dog’s bladder healthy and prevent urine from leaking, it’s best to administer a safe, homeopathic treatment.

5. Urinary problems in dogs can be caused by bacterial infections. Bacterial infections can be fatal if not treated in time.Many veterinarians prescribe antibiotics to treat urinary tract infections but dogs require high doses of medication for long periods because they metabolize most of the drugs, which then pass through in their urine. These high doses of antibiotics can actually aggravate bladder infections. Furthermore, the overuse of antibiotics has led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.

Now that you are armed with this information, remember to get the help of a veterinarian to find out what is causing your dog’s canine urinary incontinence. It can be a bothersome problem for you and your pet but it can be easily corrected if a proper diagnosis is made.

In severe cases surgery or antibiotics may be a necessary treatment but in most cases lifestyle changes and homeopathic treatment can go a long way. Prevention is the best medicine to keep urinary problems in dogs from recurring. You can take action to help your dog achieve permanent recovery from canine urinary incontinence through natural treatment. You can take action today to help your dog achieve permanent recovery from canine urinary incontinence through natural treatment.

As Americans, we spent an estimated $40 billion on pet products and services in 2007. This is significantly higher than the $17 billion we spent in 1994. Nearly $11 billion is spent on veterinary care alone. The level of sophistication in veterinary care has expanded to include treatment modalities once reserved for humans. Our four legged companions struggle with many of the same medical conditions as we do including cataracts, obesity, cancer, and arthritis. For those pet owners who have the money, state-of-the-art treatments like eye surgery, joint replacements and even chemotherapy are routinely applied to pets.

Partly due to the demands of pet owners, the diet of the average house pet has improved. Pet food purveyors are responding by raising the quality, and the price, of pet foods. This may account for the estimated $17 million spent annually on pet foods. Many pet food sellers offer natural and gourmet varieties of food and treats. Americans are clearly concerned about the purity and quality of the pet food they buy.

Pet Fashions

Our pets might be self aware but no one seriously thinks that the family dog will know the difference between a brand name coat and the off brand. Still this fact does not keep many pet owners from looking to designer duds for their Doberman. Many retail clothiers who cater to humans are looking at the pet market in order to expand their brand dominance.

Fashion boots for your boxer and even lounge coats for the family Labrador are available for a price. Even though our precious pets would not care if the pet carrier was a Vuitton or the Walmart variety, pet owners are drawn to making a fashion statement. Would my Beagle beg for more bling? Probably not, since I would be the only one to notice that his collar was that fashionable.

Pets on the Go

Whether you enjoy walking, cycling or driving, you can take you favorite pet along for the ride. Pet strollers, bike carriers and car safety seats are just some the things available to the discerning pet owner. Taking Spot on a road has never been easier, even on that long road trip in the family car. Motel and hotel chains across the country have adopted pet friendly policies, allowing owners to bring their pets right into the room.

Champagne Nights and Doggie Dreams

While our pampered pets enjoy the improvements in diet and fashion, the humble dog bed has seen an upgrade too. The simple pet bed has been transformed. Taking a cue from bed designs used for humans, designers of pet bedding have begun to incorporate many of the same materials. Advancements in materials and designs now provide our pets with a never before seen level of comfort. Even visco elastic memory foam is being used in pet beds. Older pets can certainly benefit from these improvements, especially those suffering the effects of diseases like arthritis.

So at the end of a long day spent being groomed, pampered and preened, our pets can enjoy a relaxing respite on their heated, memory foam beds. After a good nights sleep, they are ready for another day of providing us with unconditional love and loyalty.

The results of a consumer survey published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has suggested that the majority of consumers feel that the risk of flooding is increasing. Using a sample of 1,000 people from areas of the country which were badly hit by last year’s severe weather, the association found that 88 per cent of people viewed the threat of flooding as more pronounced than it used to be. Furthermore, 64 per cent of the 1,000 respondents living in less severely affected regions said they felt the same. Around three-quarters (74 per cent) of both groups said they did not feel that the government was doing enough to combat the risk and limit the effect of future flooding.

When asked whether they supported the ABI’s proposal for increased governmental action on the issue, 91 per cent of those badly hit and 92 per cent of those relatively unaffected by the 2007 floods said they were in favour of the call.

Of the first group, 98 per cent said that improved drainage was the most important priority, while 96 per cent of the second set concurred. There was also concern about the location of new homes, with 97 per cent of those living in affected areas saying that there should be regulations about building properties on at-risk sites.

For those who suffered from last year’s flooding or who have had some other major structural damage befall their property in the 12 months since then, taking a secured loan may provide the funds necessary for repair and renovation. Such a loan may be particularly useful for those who found themselves without home insurance protection following an unforeseen event.

Indeed, the ABI insisted that unless government action is taking to ensure that new homes are protected against the risk of flooding, it is likely that many such properties will become uninsurable as cover providers find themselves to cover the costs arising from claims.

Speaking at the ABI’s Floods – One Year On conference, Nick Starling, the association’s director of general insurance and health, said: “Insurers will have paid out 3 billion pounds following the floods last summer. But, like us, our customers share our concerns for the future. These findings reinforce our call for a long-term flood management strategy. In particular we must tackle the problem of surface water drainage. Planning for the future is essential if we are to minimise a repeat of last year’s terrible floods and to ensure that flood insurance protection remains widely available.”

Among the recommended solutions is the creation of a new kitemark system to demonstrate that new properties have been built in accordance with flood protection criteria.

Earlier this year, Halifax also warned consumers of the danger of high winds and the costs that could be incurred if adequate home insurance cover is not taken out. It recorded that more than 1.5 million homes experienced roof damage as winds of up to 77 miles per hour battered parts of the country.

What Experts Know About Hydrogen Power

You may think of hydrogen as a fuel source, like gasoline, but it is actually more of an energy storage solution, like a battery. This is because there are not reserves of existing hydrogen that can be mined from the earth. Hydrogen must therefore be produced using another energy source before it can be used. This may make hydrogen sound less useful as a fuel, but energy storage is actually a very important problem.

An Energy Storage Solution

Many clean alternatives for generating power at power stations such as solar and wind are being developed, but without storage solutions this energy cannot be used in places like your car where it must be portable. While batteries can be used for storage, they can be expensive and harmful to the environment. It may be possible to develop a cleaner and less expensive solution using hydrogen.

Energy storage is also expected to be an issue at power stations themselves. Even though power stations don’t need to be mobile, in order to fully take advantage of energy sources like solar and wind they must also be able to store large amounts of energy for use when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing.

Using batteries on this scale is definitely impractical, and hydrogen may provide a solution to this storage problem.

What are the Downsides to Hydrogen Power?

* One downside to hydrogen power are that it is harder to store than alternative such as gasoline because it is much less dense, meaning it takes work to pack it into a small enough space to make it convenient to use.

* Another downside is that, for applications like cars, hydrogen filling stations do not currently exist. This means a switch to hydrogen would require a huge amount of infrastructure development.

* Currently engines that use hydrogen are also costly to produce, although this could change if it becomes more popular as a fuel choice.

What are the Upsides to Hydrogen Power?

* An advantage of hydrogen is that it can be burned without generating CO2. This makes it cleaner than gasoline, however this benefit only applies a clean methods such as solar power are used to produce the hydrogen.

* An additional advantage is that, since hydrogen can be created from oxygen and water, and hydrogen is burned to produce oxygen and water, it is possible to create a closed system for generating and using hydrogen. This system would act much like a battery. Because of this property it may someday be possible to have a hydrogen-powered car that you don’t need to fill with hydrogen since the hydrogen would be generated within the car when you attach it to an external energy source.

* A huge advantage of hydrogen is that it is far less toxic than materials used inside batteries, and the material needed to make hydrogen (water) is readily available. This may make it a better solution for large-scale energy storage than batteries. Currently hydrogen generation still requires the use of expensive catalysts, but recent research has suggested that inexpensive methods for generation exist.

The Future of Hydrogen Power

The technology for using hydrogen in this way in machines such as cars already exists. Whether or not hydrogen is adopted in the future will depend both on how fast the technology for making, distributing, and using hydrogen advances, and on how fast competing technologies advance.

In the future it is certainly possible that hydrogen will play a significant role in powering our society because of it’s valuable potential for use as an energy storage solution, and as an alternative to fossil fuels where a portable fuel source is needed.

Said to have started the moment the internet was released to the public in the early 1990’s, spam which first started in email has now spread its viral hands to all forms of digital communication, from instant messaging, newsgroups, search engines, blogs, wiki spams, all forms of cyberspace advertising and forum/discussion groups. Email spam has been estimated to eat 90 of the daily email traffic in the world today.

The figures are daunting because of a few simple reasons, which include the fact that email or any form of digital spamming is extremely easy to do and extremely cheap to set up – the only thing that has to be done is that these advertisers must be able to manage their email and contact lists. Also, while the fight against spam has been on the rise for the past few years, there have been still a few countries who refuse who classify the activity as illegal, which means that the majority of spam distributors either operate within these legal free zones or contract out their spam activities to operators in these countries.

The side effects of spam will always have to be borne by ISP’s and network providers. Increased cost, increased volume, fraud, low productivity and all the stigma of having a network filled with spam are the responsibilities of those who have nothing to do with the spamming activities. While there are efforts across the board to include filters and anti junk programmes within email clients and instant messaging programmes, the efforts have not been enough and normally, it is a technological afterthought their core business is still communication and the resources that have been put into it is not enough.

This is why you need a dedicated spam filter programme, which has teams of tech experts looking into the matter. If you have ever used an email client with a built in junk folder, you will always come across the problem of either some junk mail getting to your inbox or mails you need to receive going to the junk folder. Don’t be confused when it comes to your time, because time is a valuable commodity in this day and age.

I would advise anyone to get a spam filter programme because they work far better than jumbled in software. Spam filter programmes are able to read the code within emails, source the point of origin and compare it with patterns using stuff like web crawlers and email web crawlers. This is the sort of protection that anyone needs so that spam ceases to become a bane in their lives. Many are available online and their features can range from the simplistic to the extremely advances. Spam filter programmes work, and getting one is just as important as not missing an email you have been waiting for.

Search Engines, Spiders and Websites, Oh My

The most important and often least understood tool for online marketers is the search engine. The primary type of search engine is the web crawler these are largely automated programs that crawl through available web pages, indexing data according to a variety of parameters. In short, the crawler, or spider, examines each page of a website. Once it has examined the page, it submits it to an index. Then, when a person uses the search engine software, the index provides links to these pages, ranked according to relevance. It is worth mentioning two other points. First, not all engines index the same way. Some use keyword density; others focus on the content of the first paragraph. Second, any changes to a webpage are likely to affect search rankings, so webmasters must carefully consider each change and its possible effects.

I Never Meta Tag I Didn t Like

One important part of preparing a page for good search engine rankings is effective use of HTML meta tags. These tags do not directly relate to the position a site will have in a search result, but they do offer webmasters some control over the way their sites are presented when they come up in a search. In brief, meta tags are additional bits of code added to the head of your HTML document, right after TITLE. Because of the tendency for unscrupulous coders to find and abuse loopholes in search technologies, search engines do not rely heavily on these tags for rankings. Their benefits to web users are important, however.

First, there is the Meta Description tag. This is a brief report about the content of the webpage in question. When a search engine presents users with a hyperlink, there is frequently a small description accompanying that result. In many cases, that is the Meta Description tag the Webmaster put in the HTML document so that when a spider visits the site, it indexes this information. This is not always the case, however; Google in particular will generate its own description for a site.

The Meta Description is often the first piece of information someone using a search engine will see. The URL may not mean anything to them, but this description will. If it is poorly written, the user will likely skim right past the site for one that presents itself more effectively. Thus, the key is effective, concise writing that conveys exactly what the site is about.

The second tag is the Meta Keywords tag. This tag is a list of keywords the Webmaster considers most pertinent to each page. Proper use of the keywords tag is also vital. While search engines use a variety of keyword systems, and have in recent years de emphasized the Meta Keywords tag, it still contributes to website rankings and should not be neglected. The best method is to examine each page carefully, and pick approximately ten keywords that best represent the data therein. Too many nonspecific keywords will lead to inconsistent search results, and too few means missing an opportunity to get a message in front of users. In addition, many sites are actively on the lookout for keyword abuse. Google in particular is known to ban certain pages from its index entirely if they consider the article to be an abusive, loophole seeking piece.

There are other, less relevant tags that can provide some benefits, though they aren t as important as the previous two. An example is the Robots tag, which is only useful in making sure certain sites do not index a particular page. This can help a Webmaster keep their content from being associated with undesirable elements, but it does not contribute directly to higher search placement.

No Meta Tag is an Island

Once again, it must be stressed that meta tags are not a magical solution to the very complex problem of online marketing. They must be regarded as one tool in an inventory of other tools, and should be used responsibly. Properly implemented, they will help complete an effective marketing strategy.

Realize that of all the professional relationships that can make or break your business, your relationship with your IT support staff is one of the most critical. In fact, it’s just as critical as is your relationship with your CPA, your banker, and even your attorney. When your IT staff feels supported and acknowledged, and when they’re armed with the proper technology, they can single handedly keep your company from losing data, losing work time, and losing customer confidence. Your IT staff can prevent you from being like my client on the East coast discussed in the previous chapter—the one who lost a third of a million dollars due to an IT security breach.

Many CEOs believe their IT staff is intimidated by them. In reality, it’s simply that the IT professionals don’t know how to sell an executive on what needs to get done. Think of the typical IT professional as the antithesis of your star salesperson. Your star salesperson knows the art of persuasion. He or she knows how to make something important and meaningful to the listener.

Conversely, your typical IT professional can’t always put into words why the new technology the company needs is important, even though it is very important. Rather than focus on the bottom line benefit the new technology will give the company, the IT professional drones on and on about all the cool features of the new technology. And what do you do as the CEO? Most likely, your eyes glaze over and your mind drifts to some other topic. Before long you’re staring at your IT professional and you see his or her mouth moving, but you’re not hearing a word.

While your IT professional is saying things like, “This tool will log people on the Internet,” “This device will automatically back up our server,” and “This gadget will encrypt our data,” all you’re thinking is, “Is this thing going to stop people from wasting time on the Internet?” “Will the tool protect us against sexual harassment lawsuits?” “Can this new technology help us outsmart our competition?” In other words, you don’t care what it does day to day; you simply want to know what it will help you achieve long term, preferably in terms of dollars and cents or productivity metrics.

So what’s a CEO to do? Here are some suggestions to help you develop the relationship with your IT team and get them on the same page as you.

* The first and most obvious suggestion is to send your IT professionals to some communication training.

* Second, when you’re talking with your IT professional and she drones on about the features of a new item, ask her point blank, “What is the ultimate benefit of this technology for the company?” Get your IT professionals in the habit of thinking in this manner.

* Send your IT professionals to project management training of some kind. Often IT professionals have to manage multiple projects that are behind schedule and over budget, yet few have formal project management training.

* Provide your IT professionals with some authority, but not too much. If the IT professional needs to tell someone, “I will fix your printer in a little while because the network server is about to crash,” then the IT professional needs the authority to make that decision without being reprimanded later.

Knowing how much authority to give your IT professional all boils down to levels of trust:

* How much of your trust have they earned, or in other words, how much do you trust them? You have to feel comfortable giving them authority and they have to know you are “for real” when you tell them they have the authority to tell a user, “Not right now.”

* How trustworthy are they? This varies in different facets of technology depending on their training, experience, and ability to communicate openly.

* Hold the IT professionals responsible for their actions and provide measurements to them so that they can see how effective they are at their jobs. Some companies choose to measure down time, help desk requests, or other values that are easy to track.

* When you hire your next IT professional, seriously consider the person’s people skills as well as technical aptitude. If the person’s technical skills are lacking, but she has aptitude to learn more, you can send her to training for technical skills. But if her people skills are lacking, she won’t change until she reaches a hurt level in her life that is so bad that she decides to change herself.

* Understand that many IT professionals have a personality of wanting to work with “things” rather than “people.” That may or may not fit the culture of your company and the job position they are filling. Just don’t try to force a round pin into a square hole.

* If you find that your staff reports that the IT professional is abrasive, and you want to stretch the IT professional into new areas of growth, try asking him how he “feels” about some specific issue you know is going on in your company. With some IT professionals, you may see a blank glazed over look. “Feel? What’s that?” they may think. If and when your IT professional discovers his own feelings, the next step is to ask him, “How do you suppose Suzie might feel when you tell her ____?” Frankly, this task of helping recover an abrasive IT professional is generally not worth the effort, but if you have some kind of co dependent rescuer fantasy you want to act upon, be my guest. Somebody needs to help these lost people identify their plight. I’ve had IT professionals look me in the eye and say, “This boss is as bad as all the other five bosses I’ve had over the past two years.” They don’t “get it” that they, the IT professionals, are the common denominator in those multiple lost jobs. If the IT professional resorts to making threats and ultimatums, show him the door. You cannot afford to have someone who “holds the keys to your company” the way an IT professional does making threats.

* When you want to show appreciation to an IT professional, be sure to find out what she really likes. It may be that having a second monitor on her desk would mean more than a $1,000 bonus. Or maybe she wants to upgrade her computer twice a year. The key is to ask and find out.

* Tell your IT staff not to try to impress you with big words and acronyms. Explain that patient explanations that focus on the bottom line result is what will impress you.

* Some IT professionals suffer since they are forced to wear so many hats. To perform good IT work, IT professionals need uninterrupted periods during the day to focus. Having three hours a day of uninterrupted time, even if split into three one hour periods, would seem like nirvana to some IT professionals.

* The CEO, and the organization, owns the assets – NOT the IT professional. You ultimately make the decisions based on input from several areas including your IT professional.

Remember, as the CEO, it’s your job to initiate open dialogue with everyone on your team, including your IT team. If you don’t, you’ll end up in a situation where your IT professionals will believe they can’t come to you with issues that affect the company. They’ll think, “I can’t bring this up to the CEO. Sure, we need to fix the anti virus problem, but he’s not going to approve the $19 per machine cost to upgrade.” Then you’ll never know where your company’s weaknesses are until it’s too late.

I have led three hour presentation about what the IT professionals wish the executives knew, and what the executives wish the IT professionals knew. It’s a real eye opener for both IT professionals and the executives they work with. I also lead a workshop for IT professionals that shows them project management skills as well as many other skills.

Author and business leader Jack Welch brings up an interesting point. He talks about a “twisted chain of command.” As he explains, “Far too often, crucial departments like IT and HR report to finance instead of the CEO.” He gives an example of a company where an employee reveals, “I work for a company where the information technology department reports to the head of finance. He [the head of finance] never has time to evaluate IT projects, so IT gets attention only when there’s a burning issue.”

I’ve seen this same issue happen time and time again.

One that comes to mind immediately is a company on the West Coast that’s now out of business. Their IT professional was going to CFO every month and explaining, “Our backup is not working. We have no backup. Do you understand that we have no backup? We need this $1,600 part to fix our backup.” This particular Controller knew a little bit about technology. Now we’ve all learned that a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous. So the Controller replied, “I know we have a RAID array. That’s enough for us right now. We won’t approve the cost for the part.” A RAID array means you have an extra drive in your server, so that if one drive fails, the data is, usually, still available. To that the IT guy kept saying, “No, a RAID array is not enough for us right now.” And the Controller kept replying, “Yes it is. Now go away.” Eventually the IT professional gave up.

Well, as you may have already suspected, they lost not one, but two drives one day, and the RAID array failed. As a result, the company went under. That was the only time I remember actually crying at a job site. I walked in and saw all those architects and their long faces. I started thinking about their families who were losing one of, if not the only, major income provider for the family. It was a very sad time, especially for something so ridiculous and that a $1,600 part would have fixed.

That’s why you need to make sure you have a good dialogue with your IT professionals. And if your IT department does have to report to finance for some reason, make sure that finance does not ignore them. Arm finance with the same communication tools you give your IT professionals. Get the relationship between the two departments established. Make sure everyone is listening to each other so you can avoid potential disaster.

Action Item: If your IT professional is willing, send him or her to school to learn more about keeping your network secure. Companies learned a long time ago how important it is to educate their teams. IT is becoming so complicated that it is more like the medical field. Nobody would expect an eye surgeon to be an expert cardiologist as well. Allow your IT professional to outsource when necessary.

The traditional focus of human resource (HR) management is jobs. HR managers think about such issues as job turnover, job tenure, cutting jobs during business downturns, filling jobs during business upturns, writing job descriptions, interviewing job candidates, analyzing jobs and making plans for handling the jobs of the future. A job description, which is a typical document from an HR department, usually contains the following information Name of the job, Purpose or activities of the job, Number of people whom the jobholder supervises or manages, Education or training required to do the job, Experience, specials skills or expertise necessary for the job.

Consider all of the things that the job description leaves out. It does not tell you much about what the jobholder i s supposed to produce, for example. It usually doesnt say anything about the metrics that measure success in the job. Moreover, a job description has a short shelf life. Organizations are changing so rapidly that todays job may not exist tomorrow. In fact, by the time a job description makes its way through the HR approval or updating process, the job may already be obsolete, but the job holders competencies and skills will still matter.

Successful performers vs. exemplary performers successful performers get the job done very well. Exemplary performers get the job done a whole lot better. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of very successful physicists and then theres one Einstein. Identifying and measuring the competencies that distinguish exemplars from merely successful performers will help your organization move closer to exemplary performance throughout. Job description vs. competency model the job description addresses the various attributes of a job. By contrast, the competency model describes the competencies necessary to attain success at a certain kind of work, on a certain team or in a certain organization.

Scrupulous documentation during the process will support the companies actions should employees seek legal redress. Companies should also provide a counseling service for those who need it. A reasonable and comprehensive compensation package is a challenge because of the many variables. Employees seek good salaries, but they also want flexible health insurance options and decent retirement benefits. Companies that satisfy their employees needs will be rewarded with loyalty and commitment.

When you hire, dont let your emotions get the best of you. The biggest mistake that hiring managers make is judging candidates based on their ability to give good interviews. They let feelings, biases, stereotypes and first impressions guide their decision-making. Instead, to recruit and hire the best people, set up a system based on knowing what the job entails. One such system is Power hiring, which suggests screening five basic components: Performance profiles Use a job description, including duties and responsibilities, as your criteria instead of only assessing the candidates skills, experience and personality traits. To hire superior people, first define superior performance.

Objective evaluations Use basic questions to assess an interviewees competency accurately. Look at how well the person has performed in the past, since that is the best predictor of future performance. Wide-ranging sourcing Think of recruitment sourcing as marketing rather than as advertising, and broaden your scope. Recruit the best people for a job based on understanding the factors that would motivate top-notch candidates to want that particular job.

Emotional control Dampen your natural tendency to rely too much on your intuition and emotions when you make a hiring decision. Personality is an important consideration, but depend on performance measures first. Recruit right Treat the job negotiation process as a consultative rather than a transactional approach to selling. Think of your role as career counseling, not selling, and let candidates sell you on themselves. Focus on hiring people who are both competent and motivated to do the work. Put these elements together to find and hire superior people.

Managers may unknowingly give negative consequences to employees who are doing great. Giving your fastest, most accurate keyboarder the most difficult, high priority job may seem logical, but what consequence does the worker get? Is more work a negative consequence? Should you also give your best worker a note of appreciation or an afternoon off?

Praise and recognition are powerful, positive reinforcements. Yet, managers regularly miss opportunities to reinforce employees behaviors with praise, though it is free and easy. Dont reserve your approval for special occasions. Genuine praise true, timely, specific even for an achievement that is just part of the employees normal job, can make poor performers into good ones and good performers into great ones.