1.
World Bank gives $250
million for skill development in India
According to estimates, in
six years, at least 8.8 million youth will be trained and have relevant skills
for decent employment opportunities.
In a mission
to bridge the skill gap in India, the World Bank has approved a loan of USD 250
million under Skill India Mission Operation (SIMO). The aim is to train and
re-skill the Indian youth, so that they become employable.
This help from
the multi-lateral lender will act as a catalyst and booster to the already
running Skill India Mission by the Indian government.
The bank said
in a release, "The USD 250-million Skill India Mission Operation (SIMO),
approved by the World Bank board of executive directors, will increase the
market relevance of short-term skill development programmes (3-12 months or up
to 600 hours) at the national and state level."
Skill India
Mission Operation (SIMO) is a six year programme that will support the Indian government’s
National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (2017-23). It will
be implemented through the National Skill Development Mission.
2.
Culture Clash: Walmart revokes ban on workplace drinking after
Jet.com’s acquisition
Jet reportedly had
regular in-office happy hours, as well as at least one kitchen cupboard full of
liquor, and employees sometimes drank at their desks.
Big fish ate the small fish, but it didn’t come too easy to gulp down every
little part. When Walmart acquired Jet.com for $3 billion last September, it
looked like a win-win for both. For Jet.com, it was a great deal as the e-commerce
startup’s investors rejoiced about the big payday. The discount retailer, on
the other hand, got a robust online platform.
However, there was one aspect where the larger entity failed to agree –
Walmart wouldn’t have Jet employees drinking at the office. Jet reportedly had
regular in-office happy hours, as well as at least one kitchen cupboard full of
liquor, and employees sometimes drank at their desks. This was largely because
the company is based in Hoboken, New Jersey, a town with a strong drinking
culture. Secondly, for a young tech start-up drinking at work is regular and in
fact founder Marc Lore runs a vineyard.
On the other hand, Walmart, headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, has a
conservative corporate culture that includes companywide prohibition. This
sparked a culture clash and Walmart decided to stop Jet employees from drinking
in office, imposing a ban on its happy hours practice. It also apparently
discouraged employees from swearing at the workplace. If some reports are to be
believed, it even sent an outside company into Jet's offices in Hoboken, New
Jersey, to remove its liquor stash and then moved out the happy hours to nearby
bars as a compromise.
3.
Kerala State Electricity Board
introduces performance appraisal
The
performance indicators are customer complaint redressal, the release of new
service connections, e-payments, safety-zero fatality and quality of power.
Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has introduced performance appraisal
for employees in the different distribution offices under it. As these
distribution offices are in direct contact with more than 1 crore consumers in
the state, the operational efficiency of employees requires an assessment.
These offices will be ranked based on this assessment.
The employees in a distribution office will be assessed based on a set of
key performance indicators identified by the board. These performance
indicators are customer complaint redressal, the release of new service
connections, e-payments, safety-zero fatality and quality of power.
The board has identified these performance indicators considering the
quality of service to customers, safety, reliability, security and financial
sustainability. The management can assess, monitor and take decisions about
productivity and implementation of the different tasks.
K Ellangovan, chairman & managing director, KSEB, said,
"Performance assessment is the need of the hour. The board is giving more
focus to customer satisfaction. The section offices are asked to stick to a
more consumer-friendly approach in a professional manner. The section offices
that meet the key performance indicators would be ranked accordingly and they
would also receive a token of appreciation for encouragement."
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