The Hindu Business Line : Try some math before the noose falls

KARAN Johar's movie Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham had an SMS-type shorthand as K3G. Wrong, it should be 3KG, says Debkumar Mitra in Mindstretch, published by Penguin (www.penguinbooksindia.com).

The book is `a supersonic ride through mathematics, avoiding the jargon bushes,' with `stories about numbers, maths puzzles and games'. The chapter titled `celluloid math' asks, "When we add three Ks, what do we get? 3K or K3?" You do not have to be a great mathematician to know the answer. But, `the total media weight of the stars of the title is way above three kilograms!'

In comparison, K2H2 `looks suspiciously like a wrongly written chemical formula for some potassium compound'. Since hanging is in news, I read a problem on the subject: "X, Y, Z are three royal prisoners, of whom two are to be hanged. Finally, on the day of reckoning, the guard tells them that the king has made his decision on which on of them is to be released. X asks the guard who is the lucky one. Instead of giving him a direct answer, the guard tells him that Y is to be hanged. Do the odds of X being released change due to the guard's statement?" Sharpen your logic skills with Mitra.

6-step model to conquer conflict

PEG Pickering's How to Manage Conflict, from Jaico (www.jaicobooks.com) is about turning `all conflicts into win-win outcomes'. The intro notes that one cannot work effectively with others with clenched fists. A possible exception could be a boxing ring, but elsewhere you must disarm and defuse confrontational situations. Conflict does not necessarily imply hostility, explains the author.

"Conflict exists when two or more competing responses or courses of action to a single event are considered." Thus, any coalition government's every meeting would deserve to be called a conflict resolution exercise. Don't, however, fall prey to common myths about conflict, such as: Conflict will take care of itself; confronting a person is always unpleasant; and presence of conflict in an organisation signals a poor manger.

There are three stages of conflict — everyday concerns, more significant challenges, and overt battles. You'd need strategies for each. A simple six-step model you can follow is this: Listen, acknowledge, explain, seek alternatives, use assertive statements, and summarise the discussion.

A book of ready-to-use lessons from `business essentials' series.

Company law compilation

WITH a new government in place we may soon see changes to corporate law, but if you want to familiarise yourself with the way it stands already, try Systematic Compilation of Companies Act and Rules from Sthira Legal Disclosures (sthrialegalmedia@eth.net).

As K. K. Unnikrishnan mentions in the publisher's note, all sections of the statute are followed by rules, forms, schedules and allied legislation. For instance, where Section 224, `appointment and remuneration of auditors' concludes, the book plugs in Form No 23B, `notice by auditor'; Section 228 on branch audit has allied rules and forms presented alongside. Don't miss the elaborate presentation subsequent to Section 233B on cost audit.

A quick reference that can save you the trouble of thumbing back and forth in tomes.

Too many sciences in one

UDAI Pareek's Understanding Organizational Behaviour, published by Oxford University Press (www.oup.com) is too well-presented to be called a simple textbook. This book on OB looks at the subject from an Indian context, giving emphasis to the human process.

But what is OB? "It is an interdisciplinary behavioural science studying phenomena related to and dynamics of organisations and their various human units." It has a dose of psychology, sociology, political science and anthropology to manage people.

Sadly, OB gets run over in many organisations because of the obsession with routine matters and concerns of `what to do' rather than `how to do'. You can't distance OB from culture; and so you look closely at Indian culture only to notice it has three clusters of weaknesses — narcissism, power concentration, and attributional thinking.

The first shows as self-seeking behaviour and is a bunch of five weaknesses: in-group infatuation, unreality orientation, non-involvement, lack of detailed planning, and oral culture. Power concentration is about hierarchy, sanctions, and non-confrontation. Attributional thinking has two characteristics, explains the book: "Fatalism (resulting in `deadening efficiency in maintaining the status quo'), and pessimism-rumination (expecting failures and misfortunes, and indulging in recollecting and mulling over bad experiences)."

A book that can demystify what baffles you in organisations.

Foreign contributions and donations

IS AN amount received from an NRI a foreign contribution? Does the term `relative' include son's daughter's husband? How should one account for sweaters and blankets received as foreign contribution? What is the meaning of foreign hospitality? To know the answers to these and more questions get hold of George Koshi's Law and Practice relating to Foreign Contributions & Donations, published by Taxmann (www.taxmann.com).

It has essential inputs on procedures to register under Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, things to note for political organisations, students and so on. There is a law on accepting gifts when abroad. "A Minister may retain a gift or presentation made to him/her provided the value of the gift does not exceed Rs 5,000." If you are receiving any scholarship, stipend or any such payment from a foreign source, Form FC-5 is to be filled up to furnish particulars about the same to the Central Government.

While one may fret that controls are many, it should be remembered that FCRA is an internal security law — aimed at ensuring consistency with the nation's values — whereas FEMA is a financial law.

Tailpiece

Cop: "I know why you jumped the signal. To save fuel."

Motorist: "No, this is a stolen car, that's why."

ReadingRoom@TheHindu.co.in

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