Good looks kill job chances !

Bradley Ruffle and Ze’ev Shtudiner sent 5000 CVs against 2500 advertised job openings.

For each application they sent two CVs, one without a photograph and the other containing a photograph of either an “ attractive looking ” man or woman or a “ plain looking ” man or woman.

Here is what they found :

Ø  20 % of the “ attractive “ men received a response

Ø  9  % of the “ un-attractive “ men received a response

Ø  14 % of the men who did not include their photo, received a response

What happened to the women applicants ?

Ø  Women who attached no picture to their CV were 22 % more likely to receive a response than women with “ plain ” picture – and 30 % more likely than women with an “ attractive “ picture !

Likely reason ?

Investigators’ guess ( after meeting those who screened the applications ) :

 >   Persons screening applications were “ Single, Young Women “ !

Not difficult to figure out the results if the persons screening were “ single, Young Men “ !

[ source : Times of India / April 20,2011 ]

With regards

hemen  parekh

A Vote of No Confidence ?

Times of India [ Feb. 03,2011 ], reports the findings of a survey done by Synovate – a global market research agency – which polled 2500 respondents in Delhi,Mumbai,Kolkata,Chennai,Bangalore,Hyderabad,Ahmedabad and Lucknow.

Here are the findings :

Ø  Price rise has impacted family budget………………………………. 97 %

Ø  Blame Centre / State for inflation………………………………………..86 %

Ø  Say Govt hasn’t done all it can to curb prices…………………… 62 %

Ø  Say corruption at all-time high………………………………………….  83 %

Ø  Feel politicians main culprit……………………………………………….  60 %

Ø  Say Govt not serious about tackling graft…………………………. 64 %

Ø  Say Central Govt’s image damaged by spate of scams……..96 %

Has the Central Government got courage to conduct a national referendum ( only tick, YES  or  NO  ) asking :

“ Shall this Govt resign and conduct a mid-term election ? “

With regards

hemen  parekh

Poll Statistics — 1

In the 4 Indian states where polls are under way [ April – May 2011 ], what are the percentages of female MLA [ Members of Legislative Assembly ] currently ?
Take a look :
 Tamil Nadu ………….. 9 %
 Assam ………….. 10 %
 West Bengal ………… 13 %
 Kerala …………… 5 %
It seems, like Lokpal Bill, Women’s Reservation Bill too will take 50 years to become a reality !
With regards
hemen parekh

two Indias.

On April 20, 2011, the Supreme Court of India told the Central Government ,

“ We can’t have two Indias. You want the world to believe that we are the strongest emerging economy, but million of poor and hungry people are a stark contrast. It is a tragedy of sorts. We have our food granaries full, and in many places, overflowing. And there is a prediction of bumper crop this year. If it’s so, why not allocate substantial food grains to take care of hunger and malnutrition ?”

Could following have prompted the Supreme Court to make these remarks ? :

Ø   2010-11 harvest of food grains will be at 232.1 million tonnes, the second highest of all times

Ø   Total effective food storage capacity in the country is less than 3 million tonnes

Ø   Over the last 10 years, 1 million tonnes  of food grains have rotted in the godowns of Food Corporation of India

Ø   435 million Indians [ 36 % of 1210 million population ] are below poverty line, unable to spend even Rs.12 ( $ 0.21 ) per day on food / clothing / shelter

For this “ Second “ India comprising the remaining 36%, it is starvation from birth until death ! To them a GDP growth rate of 9 % makes no sense !

With  regards

hemen  parekh

A Full Blown Crisis ?

World Bank president Robert Zoellick warns that the world is one shock away from a full-blown crisis.
Here are my guesses re: where that one shock may come from :
> European Invasion [ Libya ]
> Ethnic Massacres [ Africa ]
> Population Explosion [ India ]
> Regimes Overthrow [ Middle East ]
> Nuclear Nemesis [ Japan ]
> Economic Collapse [ PIGS ]
> Overheated Economy [ China ]
> Melting Snows [ Poles ]
> Terror Exports [ Pakistan ]
> Food Shortages [ Developing Countries ]
> Global Warming [ Worldwide ]
Feel free to add your own.
There is no doubt that in 2011, a “ Black Swan “ event is around the corner !

With regards

hemen parekh

Makes no difference !

Whether you want to start a business or want to close a business, it makes no difference in India.

International Finance Corporation’s “ Doing Business Report – 2011 “,ranks India as follows amongst 183 countries surveyed [ Source : Times of India / April 18,2011 ] :

 Starting a business ………………………. 134

 Closing a business ………………………. 134

 Paying taxes ………………………………… 164

 Dealing with construction permits .. 165

 Enforcing contracts ………………………. 182

How many approvals do you need ?

 To start a business ……………. 35 ( takes 29 days )

 To construct a building …….. 37 ( takes 195 days )

And now, some good news for entrepreneurs of the “ Economic Super-Power “ :

Government is set to launch a project that will not just provide entrepreneurs the opportunity to seek all clearances for starting a business at the click of a mouse but also guarantee approvals in a specified number of days.

With regards

Hemen Parekh

Bribe Taker or Bribe Giver or Both ?

On its website and in print, Times of India [ April 17,2011 ] mentions a working paper by Kaushik Basu, Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India, in which he is supposed to have suggested that that those who pay bribes should not be penalized because they would then be encouraged to report the crime after they have committed it. This will make the bribe receiver too scared to ask for it. This, he claims, could substantially bring down everyday corruption.

"It is being argued is that this entire punishment (for the act of corruption) should be heaped on the bribe taker and the bribe giver should not be penalized at all, at least not for the act of offering or giving the bribe," he suggested.

On the face of it, this looks like a good suggestion provided the Lokpal Bill provides for the following :

Ø  Bribe should have been given only for getting a service that was legally due to the bribe-giver and was being denied

Ø  Onus of proving [ that a bribe was given / accepted ], must lie with the bribe-giver

Ø  Complaint must be specific and provide details in respect of a claimed incidence of bribing

Ø  If it turns out that the complaint was  false / mischievous / malicious and cannot be proved, then the Lokpal Act must provide for severe punishment to the complainant – in order to deter harassment of honest officials

I hope, Drafting Committee will thoroughly consider all aspects.

With regards

hemen  parekh

Who Says So ?

Who says Mumbai is lagging behind the US of A ?

At least not in the matter of divorce

 28,465 marriages were registered in Mumbai during 2011-2012

In same period , 11,546 divorce cases were filed

But at 40 % , that is a significant improvement over 2010-2011 !

When the percentage was 46 % ( 10,892 divorce cases against 23,743 marriage registrations )

At this rate , India’s commercial capital may soon overtake America’s entertainment capital Las Vegas - also famous for its quickie divorces !

Hum  kisise  kum  nahi  !

With regards

hemen  parekh

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