The Hindu Business Line : Plan-do-check and act to improve

ISOS in Greek means equal, so you have the `iso' prefix in English to mean equal or identical, as for example isosceles, isotherm and so on. "It is for this reason the word ISO was adopted as the acronym" to represent the International Organisation for Standardisation, explains Pradeep Kumar Mathur in Implementing ISO 9001: 2000, published by Vikas Publishing House P Ltd.

"The very purpose of this organisation is to standardise, that is, equalise." ISO 9001 lays down the requirement for a QMS — that is, Quality Management System. The book explains that the standard is based on eight quality management principles: customer focus, leadership, involvement of people, process approach, system approach to management, continual improvement, factual approach to decision making, and mutually beneficial supplier relationships.

Then, there is the plan-do-check-act improvement cycle, or the PDCA. Mathur has laid out the book in an easy to understand manner to guide even novices to grasp quality concepts behind ISO. Elsewhere, the book would guide you about writing the quality policy: It should be "just a single page document, easily understandable and simple". Ensure that quality policy "never contradicts any statutory requirements". Then, some plainspeak: "When it is read it must give a feeling that the organisation is sincere in what it says and is committed to this statement." Essential read for CAs.

All about finance

IF FINANCE terms fox you, reach out for S. Gurusamy's Financial Services and System, published by Vijay Nicole Imprints P Ltd (www.vijaynicole.com). Beginning with a simple definition of financial system — as one that aims at establishing and providing a regular, smooth, efficient and cost-effective linkage between depositors and investors — the book moves on to a discussion of `macroeconomic aggregates' such as inflation, trade cycles, deregulation, and so on.

In the `Indian financial system' you would come across OSMOS, for off-site monitoring and surveillance system; chapter on `book-building' the author explains the features and the process through cases and numerical examples. Even if you were to idly browse the book, it is certain that you'd pick up a few terms, because the treatment of the subject is not verbose. Check it out.

Firsthand advice

YOUNG professionals need all the guidance they possibly can get. So, S. Ramakrishnan's book presenting a ten-step experiential guide is You can become a Complete Manager, from Jaico. A few tips the author offers are: "Develop reading habit: it will improve your vocabulary; develop writing because it will bring in cohesiveness and clarity of thoughts while communicating to others; learn to be away from home for at least some time to gain confidence; create opportunities to participate in debates and group discussions; never feel shy to interact with people due to fear of committing mistakes while speaking; and do not get overawed by the fluency of language used by others."

As a CA, Ramky gives advice on getting ahead in professional life: "You will not grow any further if you continue to compare yourself with others." Also, that your effectiveness in a company depends largely on your ability to leverage yourself — "how and where you can make the most impact in the least amount of time". Some straight talk.

Don't wheeze about service

AS A service to those worried about service tax, here is P. Veera Reddy's Guide to Service Tax, published by Asia Law House (www.asialawhouse.com). The new FM is all set to work towards his dream Budget that can see lot of changes coming in service taxation too. However, to explain the law as it stands, Reddy discusses individual services that have already crossed a sixty, ranging from advertising agency to video tape production, and then moves on to common topics such as adjudication, appeals, exemptions, refunds and so on. Statutory provisions and advance rulings are also dealt with, apart from Service Tax Rules, 1994 and Service Tax Credit Rules, 2002. Check if you know the answers for these questions: Can cinema theatres be treated as advertisement agencies as they project advertisement? Is service tax leviable on postal/correspondence coaching? Do vaastu/ Feng Shui consultants come under the category of interior decorators? And just one more question: Do you think accounting professionals need to know about service tax?

A forgotten legacy

A SAGA of entrepreneurship that remained untold for far too long is The Unfinished Journey. It tells the story of M.Ct.M. Chidambaram Chettyar, "a dreamer who lived ahead of his time". The first attempt to set up a joint-stock bank in India was in Madras, mentions the book. 1906 was a dark year in the financial history of the south Indian city.

In its aftermath, there was clamour for an Indian bank "now that European integrity and honesty were under a cloud". In due course Indian Bank Ltd was registered and it "opened its doors for business on Aug 15, 1907." A year after the RBI was established in 1935, came to the banking scene IOB, with a focus on international exchange — "something that no Indian bank had looked at hitherto."

That was when MCt was yet to be 30, and when the world over, Great Depression was rampant and hundreds of banks were failing. Great read for those interested in knowing the secrets of a legacy that the city has inherited from some of the best business brains.

Medicines for the mind

LIFE is a vast phenomenon — so vast that it is impossible to manage it if you wanted to. Better cut it down to the minimum, because only then you can manage it. There is so much pressure outside and you sit down to meditate. Let's say meditation becomes simple. "Stop it," advises Osho in Pharmacy for the Soul, published by St. Martin's Griffin (www.stmartins.com). "Otherwise it will become habitual."

Then, there is a tip on breaking the Great Wall of China — the subtle line beyond which you have never gone. Some are angry, and some, sad. "Sadness is passive anger and anger is active sadness... If you can make a sad person angry, his sadness will disappear immediately." Similarly, if you can make an angry person sad, his anger will disappear. Does that make you sad or angry?

Tailpiece

"He says that `India Shining' was responsible for the party's debacle."

"Can we call that power failure or voltage fluctuation?"

ReadingRoom@TheHindu.co.in

D. Murali

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