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Quote of the Day

".....philosophy has a humanising influence on life and education, and I am particularly thinking at this moment of Psychology. Every good teacher has to be acquainted with his pupils' minds and has to devise methods by which he can mould their minds. History is good and you must know something about the past; economics is useful and imparts some useful knowledge; mathematics makes for exactitude. But a mind remains rough and uncultured if it has not been toned up be philosophy and literature....."

- Not the Whole Truth, By Just. (Late) M. R. Kayani.
Quoted from his speech "The Philosophy of Life", delivered at the forum of Knowledge and Art (July 1957).

Aristotle's Top Priority in Life

When asked. What kind of life is best and happiest? Aristotle replied in this manner:
Happiness- that state of mind in which men realize themselves and flourish best- consists in a life of intellectual activity.

East and West

The spirit of West is liberty, i.e., freedom to do.

Whereas, the tradition of East is submission.

Maths and Art- Muslim Art



Algebra & Geometry


" Whoever thinks algebra is a trick in obtaining
unknowns has thought in vain. No attention
should be paid to the fact that algebra and
geometry are different in appearance. Algebras
are geometric facts which are proved. "

Omar Khayyam, 1050-1123

Basic Premise of Religious Logic

"Conformity with nafs (carnal soul) is sin, opposition to it is worship. This is the basic premise of the religious logic."
- Dr. Aijaz Ali Agha, my spiritual guide and master.

Proceedings of Management Lecture- Ch# 7(Part 1), Dated 28-Oct-2008






Some Notes to Publish, Some Thoughts to resolve....

(The Then) Agenda.

- Presentation on the 3rd Habit from "7 Habits of...."
- Lecture on Chapter 7 (Part 1), till "Approaches to Establishing Goals"
- Announcement of Quiz on Tuesday, 4 Nov, Consisting of Chap. No. 1, 6, 7
- Formation of Class Representatives of each Group

Summaries.


-Habit # 3
-Need of Plan
-Type of goals
+Real and Stated
-Types of plans
+four ways.
-Approaches to establishing/implementing goals.
+Traditional level
+Decentrelization
+Cross functional teams (Information Not Disclosed)

-----------------------

- Habit # 3: Begin with the End in Mind. (Part 1)

In the beginning of this chapter Covey has summarised whole chapter by simply quoting following of poet Goethe's words: "Things which matter most, must never be at the mercy of things which matter least."

And, the vaccum is filled very well by Dr. Covey. In this chapter, Covey provides his diverse audience with many engaging, comprehenseve 'effective' tools for managing all of our duties, tasks and obligations as to produce outcome most beneficial to human nature.

His first step is to differentiate between what is: important-urgent, important-non-urgent, non-important-urgent and non-important-non-urgent. These he calls quadtrants. Suffice mentioning the fact that effective managers and people focus on Quadrant 1 and 2. and the results be in one's life: focus, harmony, control, few crisis, discipline.

- Lecture on Planning, Need of, Types of, Approaches to Establish,

* Need for Planning:

-Provides Direction,
-Reduces Uncertanity, as it claims clarity
-Increases Efficiency, by focus
-Establishes Goals, so that we know where to head
-Associated Positive Financial Results, this factor intoduces the concept of Planning-Performance, that means mere planning is not enough, implementation and results are interconnected to planning of an organization

Take the example of course outlines or college schedules, and the need for planning would be highlighted. imagine what happens when you start your semister or course and end it without knowing what were your goals, where you're supposed to reach and what you're deemed to achieve- at the end of the day all of your efforts, talents and hardwork is evaporated. So, do you feel need to start to plan out things?

*Types of Goals:

Goals in short are the foundations of management science/art.
In real and profession life there are two kinds of goals:
-stated goals
-real goals

Stated goals are those statements which show what we want to achieve, what we aspire to do. From organization's perspective, stated goals are "outlines of what an organiztion say, and what it wants its stakeholders/customers to believe, its goals are."
Real goals-the goals organization actually pursues. It is manifested only in the 'doings' of its members, not in it's sayings.
One thing must not go unwatched in the discussion of goals. There maybe a conflict/contradiction b/w what a company say and what it does. The gap b/w stated and real goals is- conflict in stated goals.

*Types of Plans:

There are four ways to describe a plan, we'll mention only there names:
1. Breadth: strategic plans (positioning of entire org. relative to enviornment); operational plans (to limit details as to how achieve overall goals)

2. Time Frame: Long-Term Plans (beyond 3 years); Short-Term Plans (1 year or less)

3. Specificity: Directional Plans (in which intent is revealed, its flexible, leaves room of interpretations); Specific Plans (Rigid, clearly defined, no place for interpretation)

4. Frequency of Use: Single use; Standing (ongoing plans)


- Approaches to establishing/implementing goals.

- Traditional Goal Setting:

In a traditional goal setting, there's always an elite which works at top management level, very few in numbers. They're the head, the boss. And they are followed by a number of officials, managers, employees, workers etc., but in "hierarchy", in descending order everyone gets samller in rank.

Our Instructor played a game with us. It was aimed at showing us how a "traditional goal setting" decision making and implementation process works.

He chose 4 students, made one of them boss and rest followed him in the order of hierarchy. Then he said told the boss that his company needs to cut off working costs. So the boss immediately ordered the guy 2nd in rank, to cut off their company's costs by 20%. Then he never pay heed what the hell other were going to make- his concerns snored with the outcomes.

Ordered issued, but the same order flowed down the management hierarchy. like mercury does on a sloping thing, to the person working a lowest level. In the process, notice, nobody shared any thought, nobody dared to define their cross-bounderies and not even their perspectives. Everyone worked from his own perspective, because he owned it and was jealous to share it as he thinks its a fault of his company culture. Even CEO didn't discuss his vision with line managers, line managers didn't discuss anything with those under them and so on. Therefore, the goal lost its clarity and unity- it blew up into fragments.

The final outcome, in our game, was that the employee at the bottom had to sacrifice from his usual service-time, causing organization long-term damages. Because the goals were not clear to the down-level employees, and because the organization had lost unity, the effect of one goal achieved has been cancelled by more severe loss of reputation.

What is needed in an organization is: a corporate culture in which the heirarchic levels break up, where it needs to. So that the bosses assure that plans are not being imposed from the top. And, that the different isolated levels of the order mix up with each other, so as to let everyone understand complexity of the problem and find integrated solutions..... I call it- decentralization.

"Decentralization, if implemented with sophistication and best monitring tools, could be great."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reader's comments, suggestions, rather lessons are much awaited and most welcome.

Spiritual Art in Islam


Now- look at this specimen of Islamic art more closely. Take a wider look: from top to bottom, left to right, vice versa.
Finished?
I must add one more detail, that maybe missing in this sample. Like in traditional muslim carpets, there's also a definite boundary in a work of art, which unifies it.
Okay. According to Seyyed Hossien Nasr, a worldly renowned Islmic scholar, such a piece of Islamic art explains and speaks of Islamic spirituality. Spiritual art as such consists of abstractionism, i.e, flight from material; and has hate-relationship with naturalism, i.e, art that shows worldy objects, emotions, etc. From the very early days of Islamic art, abstractionism dominated, even to this day it remains that same.
This painting here symbolizes some important points about the nature of reality, which religion Islam speaks of: the way the patterns spread outwards = symbolize the Infinity of Allah; while, on the other hand, as you can see, the way whole picture comes together at the centre, at one point = symbolize the Unity of Allah. That only He is the source of all infinites, and only He is The Absolute. But, this happens at the same time. It's not a contradiction. Rather unification. Rather its Whole Truth in one go, as it is in reality.

A Poem by Iqbal


Drawing of Lunar eclipse by al-Biruni

Portrait of Al-Biruni


1 Thing Which If I do Every Day Make My Life "+"

......................................................................................................
1 Thing Which If I do Every Day Make My Life "+"
......................................................................................................

That is, reading, reciting, and deciphering meaning of the Holy Quran,
Because, it is my perfect yardstick
Because it contains 'roots of all authentic knowledge'*
Because it provide true knowledge of nature of things and reality
Because it claims clarity and practicality
Because it is perfect guide for me, in whatever time and space be, to the meta-cosmic, cosmic and the world of after-life
Because it's verses open my heart and mind due to its poetic and rythmic music and draw my soul and body into rapture.
In short, as Iqbal says, that when in one's soul and body Quran enters, it never remains that same- it gives birth to a revolution in us... Only with that revolution in me I can hope to change my surroundings, or char su, as in Urdu.

-----------------
Notes:
* Quoted from Seyyed Hossien Nasr's essay.

Group Photo, Including S. Hossien Nasr



Back Row, from L to R: Waleed el-Ansary, Joseph Lumbard, David Dakake, Maria Massi Dakake, Caner Dagli, Michael Fitzgerald, Reza Shah-Kazemi, M. Ali Lakhani

Front Row, from L to R: William C. Chittick, James S Cutsinger, Huston Smith, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Jean-Louis Michon, Harry Oldmeadow, Catherine Schuon(Photo credit: Kathryn Paul)

Contemplation and nature in the Perspective of Sufism:


Quotes...

'Contemplation and nature in the Perspective of Sufism':

“There is Hermetic saying, ‘That which is lowest symoblises that which is highest’, expresses a basic law of the science of the symbolic interpretation of nature.The contemplative, by contemplating the phenomena of nature is carried beyond the intermediate realm of reason to the realm of pure forms or ‘Platonic ideas’ (’alam al-jabarat). He studies nature not analyse it according to some conceptual scheme but to come to know himself through the analogy existing between the microcosm and the macrocosm.

(Poetry-Prose)

“It is natural then to see that sages and gnostics have again and again made use of immediate experience of the natural world to express the highest realities and to contemplate the spiritual world in the grand theophanies of nature. It is due to this law of inverse analogy also that poetry has remained throughout the ages the language of seers and prophets, expressing in symbols and images what the language of prose cannot easily convey. Prose has always been more suitable for the expression of ideas belonging to the intermediate realm of reason, while poetry or other forms of expression which lend themselves easily to symbolism, such as music and geometry, have always been the suitable vehicle for the contemplative.”

-----------------------

Quoted From, Seyyed Hossien Nasr’s “Islamic thought and Life

Dastoor

Dastoor...
By Habib Jalib

Deep jis ka mehlaat mein jalay
Chund logoon kee khushioon ko lay kar chalay
Voh jo sayay mein har muslehat kay chalay
Aisay dastoor to subh-e-benoor ko
Mein naheen maanta, mein naheen jaanta


Mein bhi khaif naheen takhtaa-e-dar say
Mein bhee Mansoor houn keh do aghyar say
kyon Dartey ho zandaan kee divar say
Zulm kee baat ko, jail kee raat ko
Mein naheen maanta, mein naheen jaanta


Phool shakhoon peh khilnay lagay, tum kaho
Jam rindoon koe milnay lagay tum kaho
Chak seenoon kay silnay lagay tum kaho
Iss khulay jhoot, zehain kee loot ko
Mein naheen maanta, mein naheen jaanta

Tum nein loota hai sadiyoon hamara sakoon'
Ab naa hum par chalay gaa tumhara fasoon'
Chaaragar mein tumhein kiss tarab say kahoon?
Tum naheen charagar ko manay,magar
Mein naheen maanta, mein naheen jaanta

Highlights of Management (170) Lecture, 23-oct-2008

Summaries

(The Then) Agenda:
-Brain Storming
-Design Thinking, Innovation
-Information regarding Kush Foundation
-Web Addresses for students to frequently visit
-Motivation to write Mission Statement on our personal and professional end-goals
-Tutorial on PowerPoint
-To read Chapter No. 7 in Group Formations

Web Addresses to be visit:

-www.globalgiving.com
Description: 'GlobalGiving connects donors with community-based projects that need support, all over the world.'

-ocw.mit.edu (don't add ''www'')
Description: This website of world's leading university- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA- provides Free lecture notes, exams, and videos from MIT. Here No registration required!

-www.greenwhite.org
Description: It is a unique forum for all businessmen to discuss their new media marketing, startups, business models, and more.

-metacool.typepad.com
Description: Its all about DESIGN THINKING.

-www.ideo.com

-------------------

Course Outline for Management 170, freshman, at F. C College

Forman Christian College

School of Management

BSc(Hons) Business

Fall 2008

Title

Principles of Management
Code
Busn 170 B

Classes
Tuesdays and Thursdays 2pm to 3:15pm

Instructor
Mannan Amin

Office
E-007

Office Hours
Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:30am to 1:30 pm. If this time is not good for you please email me for an appointment

Objectives
This course aims to not only teach introductory management theory and its application but also to expose students to necessary skills and habits to be successful manage their academic and professional lives.

Thus, firstly this is an introductory course in management that aims to provide a general background about management principles and issues, an exposure to critical functions of management, and the necessary frameworks to integrate theory and practice of management.

Secondly we will be using Covey’s “7 Habits…” and some selected readings to learn about what is required to become successful managers. Furthermore, the teaching methodology requires active participation in class and presentations; these activities are tailored to not only improve the learning process but also to give students the confidence they will require in every aspect of a professional career.

Summary

The course is divided into the following modules
I Introduction to Management
II Planning
III Organizing
IV Leading
V Controlling
VI Environment and Organizations

Grading
Class Participation 15%
Class Presentations 15%
Quizzes 15%
Midterm 25%
Final 30%
Attendance
Minimum 85% attendance is mandatory in business classes
Exams
Exams can only be retaken for genuine medical reasons if the faculty member is informed prior to the examination

Textbooks
Stephen Robbins and Marry Coulter, Management 9th edition, Prentice Hall
Stephen R. Covey, The 7 habits of highly effective people

Textbook Schedule

Module I Introduction
Chapter 1 and 2

Module II Planning
Chapters 6, 7, 8 , 9

Module III Organizing
Chapters 10, 11, 12, 13,

Module IV Leading
Chapters 15, 16, 17

Module V Controlling
Chapters 18, 19, 20

Module VI Environment and Organizations
Chapters 2, 3, 4
--------

Quote of the Day


"...the fact that business is in for a tough time will make business even more interesting to write about."

-Henry R. Luce, Founding Publisher of FORTUNE Magazine.


in a memorandum to the Board of Directors od Time Inc., November, 1929

Legacy Homes


An old traditional house in a village near Sargodha.
The owner of this home is wasting no time in preseving the
originality of this wretched house,

Class Proceedings 21-Oct-2008, Summary (Part 2)


-----------------------------
(In Detail, Some Notes)

Decision Making:

Decision making was the primary topic that received maximum attention in Sir's lecture. And we're all involved in.... Here the decision making was discussed from 'scientific' perspective. only, that had atleast one prominent quality: rigor. There are no traditional perspectives in the minds of modern management thinkers.Therefore, prepare yourself for exotic, 'out-of-the-box', unorthodox ideas and theories.

Decision making is a process. A methodological, step-by-step, rationalistic mechanism for solving... problems! Whatever they maybe, we need to have a 'uniform' process or model so as solve wide range of sticky situations. And we call it as- Process of Decision Quality'.

I'll only mention here some of the crucial factors involved in the 'Process of Decision Quality':
-Assessment/Identification of the nature of the problem
-Information regarding the merits and demerits of the choices at hand
-Value, which you prioritize
-Action Commitment, which is crucial in the implementation of a choice

The natural resources a human being has, which can be called the tools in decision making, are as following:
-Rationality
-Bounded Rationality*
-Intuition, call it 'gut feelings', 'snap-judgements', or 'auto-suggestions' (that sub-conscious mind generates)
Most effective tool in decision making is 'rationality', i.e, judgements based on reason rather than
mere feelings or values.

Then there are four types of decision makers (D. M), who fall in different categories owing to there bias in favor of any 'mental' decision-making approaches, we have reffered to:
-Directive D. M: he has low patience for ambiguity or uncertainity, and is very rational
-Analytic D. M: he has high patience for ambiguity, and is very rational
-Conceptual D. M: he has patience for ambiguity, but, is intuitive
-Behavioral D. M: he has low patience for ambiguity, and is intuitive.

----------------------------------
Notes:
* Please wait for updated editions of the present post for more clarity and depth.

Class Proceedings 21-Oct-2008, Summary (Part 1)

This post is a mere narration or revision of the class lecture and activities done on 21th of Oct.

What we learned, An Overview:

-Speed Reading.
-A student-group lecture/representation on the 2nd Habit from S. Covey's "The 7 Habits..,". namely, "Begin with an End in Mind."
-On Decision Making
  • Rational-Choice Decisions
  • Intuition
  • Bounded Rationality.

-Process of Decision Quality

-Kinds of decision-makers; rationalistic vs intuitive

-A game on the case of 'Bounded Rationality'

-Story narrated by the Professor on Rational Decision Making

V

Meadow
Scythe
Procure
Rye
Mow
Heaps
Fiendish
Wretched
Harness
Sheaf
Cluster/bundle
Pitchfork
Howl
Mare
Enrage
Feud
Bad blood
Entangle
Entrap
Perspire
Profusely
Plow
Till
Melee
Clamor
Debauch
Vacillating
Dithering
Indecisive
Nihilism
Physiognomy
Assiduous
Tireless
Intrepid
Fearless
Abyss
Chasm
Pedantic
Obscure
Sophistries
Engulf
Overcome
Weary
Reckon
Prosaic
Idyll
Fretful
Agitated
Prosy
Ethereal
Retribution
Inexorable
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