10,000 Views on my blog!

I know it is not a big deal in the blogging world where some people get hundreds of thousands of views per day but for me it is a big deal. I believe that I can say in all sincerity I have impacted on the lives of thousands if only it is arresting their attention for a while. So, I am saying thank you to everybody that has ever visited this blog as it crosses the 10,000 views mark.

Handling troublesome employees

Handling Employees Can be Problematic

In any group of people, you will find those that will be well-behaved and those that will be ill-mannered. In every organization, there is a need to manage these two groups of people properly so as to maintain industrial harmony within it.

An organization must have policies which are guidelines that govern how activities are carried-out within the organization. Hence, your organization should have a policy that governs human resource. Issues like standards of behaviour by employees, media for making complaints about co-workers and conflict resolution mechanisms should be clearly stated within the organization’s policy framework.

Two natural extensions of an organization’s policy are rules and regulations. These specify how each activity or function within the organization must be carried-out and usually specify sanctions for erring individuals.

Having ensured that these mechanisms are in place, it is the duty of top level managers particularly the human resource manager to ensure that any employee who behaves badly is sanctioned quickly and fairly by following the rules and regulations in accordance with the organization’s policy.

If some employees are allowed to get away with acts of insubordination, bullying or dereliction of duties without being punished; other employees will note this and act in the same manner sooner or later in the future because precedence had been set without any major consequences.

It is therefore imperative that bad behaviour is punished appropriately and that managers are consistent when applying rules and regulations as well as following organizational policy.

FC Barcelona Releases Pictures of 2012/13 Season Home and Away Kits

FC Barcelona have just released pictures of its home and away kits. I have them here for you fans and haters alike.

FC Barcelona Home Jersey for 2012/13 Season

FC Barcelona Home Jersey for 2012/13 Season

FC Barcelona Away Kit for 2012/13 Season

There you have it folks! These are the jerseys that I expect to strike fear into the hearts of teams all across Europe next season. Of course, I know you agree with me.

We Need to Replicate the Justice on Wheels Programme in Nigeria

Justice on Wheels Bus

A whooping 33, 692 inmates in Nigerian prisons are said to be awaiting trial out of a total of 48,124 (Source: Daily Independent). Several attempts have been made by civil society and other non-governmental organisations to draw attention to this anomaly with very minimal success.

I was just watching France24 earlier today and saw a story about 'Justice on Wheels' in Thailand.  It is a programme in which a bus is designed as a court with a judge and moves from Prison to Prison attending to the cases of 'awaiting trial' inmates.

For information on this concept, read this:

[b]‘Justice on wheels’ disposes 67 cases [/b]

WITH DISPATCH. Supreme Court Deputy Administrator Nimfa Cuesta Vilches, along with Naga City Mayor John Bongat witness the disposition of cases inside the Justice on Wheels’ bus that held court at the Naga City Hall Compound. 

A total of 67 cases were disposed of recently by local courts inside a mobile court, actually a bus, sent by the Supreme Court in this city last July 22, Friday.

The project, “The Justice on Wheels and the Increasing Access to Justice by the Poor,” is a part of the Supreme Court’s campaign for a speedy and fair disposition of justice made accessible to concerned parties within the marginalized sector, Executive Judge Jaime Contreras of RTC Branch 25.

Contreras added that it was the first time that the court on wheels came to the City of Naga to provide deliberation on civil and criminal cases involving inmates and detainees in the local Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), disposing as many as 67 cases during its one-day stay at the Naga City People’s Hall in the City Hall Compound.

He explained that the cases brought there were already sorted and read prior to the arrival of the Justice on Wheels and were only waiting for formal disposition from local judges.

The bus, which was made to resemble an ordinary courtroom, allowed the accused and the complainant to hear the decision of their case in less than fifteen minutes in the presence of Deputy Court Administrator and member of the Committee on Justice on Wheels of the Supreme Court, Justice Nimfa Cuesta Vilches.

Contreras confirmed that the presence of the mobile court, dubbed as justice on wheels, is one of the ways through which the Supreme Court can improve our justice system and make it more accessible to the poor.

Contreras, however, was quick to point out that the justice system and disposition of cases within Camarines Sur and the City of Naga are not a problem as far as the local courts here are concerned.

He stressed that there is no backlog of cases here as compared to other provinces where a criminal charge against one person could go on for as long as 10 years without seeing the dawn of justice.

“Our lawyers and judges here know the value of speedy disposition of cases to the common man,” Contreras said. “As you can see, our lawyers are highly supportive and even voluntary in their participation with this program. This is proof of how much we value justice.”

Source: http://naga.gov.ph/news/justice-on-wheels-disposes-67-cases/ 

Now: Can we get a 100 buses like these in Nigeria over the next 3 years?  40 could be purchased in the first year, 30 in the second and third. With the use of computers and internet these cases can be attended to with dispatch and records of proceedings saved and backed-up without the need for keeping paper files as records which create delays, aid inefficiency and encourage corruption. It will also reduce the cost of running prisons as there will be fewer prisoners and those convicted will serve their prison terms in more humane conditions that can better facilitate their reformation and integration into society.

In addition, it will create jobs for lawyers, civil servants, ICT professionals and other people. It is a very do-able and worthwhile project to undertake. Yes, we have problems in Nigeria but with a little thinking, dedication and willingness to make things work; they can be solved or at least mitigated.

Is someone out there reading this and willing to take action?

Ruud Van Nistelroy Retires from Football

Dutch striker Van Nistelrooy retires from professional football

Malaga, Spain: Malaga's Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy retired from professional football on Monday, ending a stellar career that included stints with Manchester United and Real Madrid.

"Yesterday I played my last match as a professional," Van Nistelrooy, 35, told a news conference.

"I think the moment has come for me to stop playing football -- I have reached my physical limit," he added.

"But there could be no better way to say goodbye than this, in a euphoric moment for the club," which on Sunday won a place in next season's Champion's League with a fourth-place finish in Spain's La Liga.

Read more here .

Well done Ruud, I count you as one of the top 3 goal poachers in modern football; classy player for his country Netherlands and numerous clubs including Manchester United and Real Madrid. The fact that you played for these clubs shows the type of player you were.