Ist Ever Productivity Enhancement Programme Begins At GCoE
Excelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Jan 27: First ever six-day Productivity Enhancement Programme (PEP) begun today at Government College of Education (GCoE) Jammu.Administrative Secretary of Higher Education Department Talat Parvez Rohella recently launched employment and skill enhancement schemes which include Productivity Enhancement, Employability Skills, Induction Programme, GATE coaching and IT Domain.The Productivity Enhancement Programme is a special programme designed to increase the productivity of faculty members of the Higher Education Department. This course includes time management, effective handling of stress at work place, organising self, attitudinal shift, decision making, relaxation and clarity of mind through meditation, instilling a sense of responsibility towards the institution, students and colleagues.Dr Sameru Sharma, Principal Government College of Engineering and Technology (GCET) is the Nodal Officer for the new schemes and Government College of Education is the Nodal College to initiate this programme. This is the first pilot batch of 30 faculty members from cluster colleges of Jammu.Speaking on the occasion, Dr Sangita Nagari, Principal GCoE said that such a training to the teachers will foster their productivity further in respect of their contribution towards their institutions.The overall coordinator of the programme is Dr Simmi Dutta (HOD Computer, GCET) and Dr Shubhra Jamwal, is the overall incharge and Nodal Officer of the course. This programme is being conducted by the Art of Living Organisation, Bengaluru.Harveen Sukhija (State Teachers Coordinator, Delhi NCR) and Yogesh Gaur (State Teachers Coordinator, J&K) and Sukhriti were the resource persons on the occasion. Vote of thanks was presented by Prof Seema Kumari. Ajay Kapoor (State Coordinator, DDC, Media and Govt Projects, J&K), Dr Zubair Kales, Prof Neelam Dhar, Prof Satish Sharma, Prof Suman Bala, Prof Shapia, Shameem and Prof Kashab Kumar were present on the occasion.
Is The Digital Revolution In A Plateau?
Have we said all we can say about the digitisation of business? What business needs to know for 2020.
Yaron Assabi is CEO at Digital Solutions Group (DSG)
The hype around digital transformation for business is decelerating - not because digitisation has offered all it can, but because businesses are realising digital enablement should form part of every aspect of a business.
The latest technology doesn’t always mean value, and business decisions must be based on business drivers such as process or service delivery enhancement, increase in productivity and efficiency or new revenue opportunities.
Some sectors, like retail, had to evolve or get disrupted given the pressure to digitally transform at a rapid pace to ensure survival while others had to adopt a defensive strategy, as consumers changed their buying behaviour and migrated online. What’s more is that online-only retailers created differentiated value propositions to win market share.
In some verticals, like mining, digital transformation has simply meant using technology better at a ‘comfortable pace’.
Digitally enabled As we move into a new year, the business of the future will be digitally enabled rather than in the process of digitally transforming.
South Africa and the rest of the African continent still has a way to go with digital adoption, and different maturity levels in different countries mean a challenging, but also interesting, operating environment. If we look at South African banks, for instance, they are digitally advanced and compete globally, but the local manufacturing segment, on the other hand still has a long way to go in truly benefiting from RPA (Robotic process automation), machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Digital transformation is seen to be threatening traditional jobs in many sectors rather than allowing simple jobs to be automated for competitive advantage and allowing human capacity to be focused on complex tasks.
The more complex jobs, or what is termed 4IR, require specific training and we have a huge shortage of digital skills, especially in software development and support services, data science and cybersecurity.
The traditional education system in Africa needs to evolve from a 3-4-year qualification, that is not market-relevant and does not match up with the fast rate at which technology changes, to vocational based training and maybe short courses that are more relevant and contextual to demand from employers.
It may no longer be viable to spend that much time learning about technology that could ultimately change multiple times before graduation. Therefore, there is a need for vocational based training or ‘nanodegrees’, which are very niche focused short-term programmes. For candidates, this is far more practical, enjoyable and makes them more employable, as well as contextual and relevant to current technology requirements.
South Africa and Africa have a very high unemployment rate, in the youth segment (18-35) it is as high as 66% in some countries which is catastrophic. Therefore, there is a need to focus on digital skills and creating jobs to serve local as well as global demand and create employment in the most sought after vertical.
Cybersecurity skills, for example, have been sighted as one of the most in-demand skills globally. In fact, 1.5 million cybersecurity jobs are unfilled globally currently and are predicted to reach 3.5 million by 2021.
As the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2018 outlines, technological drivers are increasingly challenging traditional jobs and careers. Those that are charged with securing the digital revolution are scrambling for talent. Nearly every technologically advanced state in the world is working out how to fill the skills gap.
As the report highlights, the following four very human characteristics will be the most important in the cyber arena, and in the wider Fourth Industrial Revolution
Being able to think critically about how criminals will use new technical systems to conduct attacks, and therefore what partnerships and analytics are needed to be able to defend against and ultimately prosecute them, will require a distinctly human approach.
Instead, a premium will be placed on the need for ‘human’ skills to help us address new challenges and approach them in ways machines simply cannot. Ultimately, we need to harness technological advances in order to support a more creative response to some of the most complex issues facing the world today. There are strong signs that employers are realising the need for broader skill sets in the cyber workplace.
For example, the recent GISW study found that 33% of cybersecurity executives came to the field from non-technical careers. However, there is still significant work to be done.
The digital journey for business in 2020 will demand tailored solutions that look at preparing the business holistically for a digital environment. Not just by providing the right technologies, but rather, by creating a sustainable digital environment that transforms all aspects of the business.
For many organisations, IT departments are a segregated part of the business, and this shouldn’t be the case. True digital transformation must include digitally-savvy HR processes; marketing strategies (that clearly account for spend and engage more efficiently through digital lead generation); finance departments, which utilise Business Intelligence (BI) to gain insights and information sharing via dashboards, and operating technologies for automation that are secure as a few examples around integration of digital technologies into business.
Many businesses reach digital fatigue from exploring the latest technologies to maintain an ‘innovative edge’, or they do not understand the value of the technology and therefore depend on vendor-led solutions that offer these technologies rather than a ‘business-led ’ approach to solve a unique business problem with technology.
While new technologies continue to evolve in 2020 and beyond, the business that will survive and thrive will be the ones that keep focused on business needs centred mostly around their customer’s needs.
If you start defining the customer journey and customer requirements and then look at how you need to change your business process and use technology to be more customer-centric you are set to win and achieve your 2020 vision.
I've Tried 4 Major Tax Software Programs, And TurboTax Gets Me The Biggest Refund Every Time
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Let's just skip the joke about death and taxes and get right to it: The deadline to file taxes for 2019 is about three months away. That means you have a limited window to complete your tax forms and ship them off to the IRS.
To avoid the stress of filing on the very last day, it's a good idea to get an early start on gathering your tax forms and pulling together anything else you may need for Tax Day 2020.
I've tried TurboTax, Credit Karma Tax, H&R Block Online, and TaxAct for my taxes, and all did a fairly good job of handling my somewhat complex financial situation.
But for my taxes, where I have multiple businesses in addition to my investments, mortgage, and family to account for, TurboTax is my top choice.
More accurate than an accountant
My parents have used an accountant to file their taxes as long as I've been alive, so I dutifully signed up with the family accountant when I was 16 and got my first job that required I complete my own tax return every year. I stuck with this accountant for about a decade before deciding to take things over myself.
Two years in a row, I found some mistakes when reviewing my tax return before sending everything into the IRS. The last year I used the accountant, I found a handful of retirement account transactions treated as taxable, which would have cost me hundreds of dollars on my taxes if it hadn't been fixed.
That was the moment I realized I know my money better than anyone, including an accountant. I know my bank accounts, investments, businesses, and spending inside out. While accountants know a lot about the tax code, they are human and far from infallible.
While you don't usually see it, most accountants use a program very similar to TurboTax to handle all of their clients' needs. I can type my income and deductions into a form just as easily, and more accurately, without paying someone else to do it for me.
I started doing my own taxes in 2014, and have never seriously considered going back to a paid tax preparer since.
TurboTax handles just about any form or situation
Millions of people use TurboTax to prepare and file their taxes every year. As one of the top two tax preparation services in the US, the team behind TurboTax has run into just about every possible tax scenario a US filer could experience.
Some tax programs struggle with things like years split living in two states, managing how foreign taxes paid on investments impact your US taxes, and other less-common needs. When I moved from Oregon to California in 2016, I needed a program that could cover both of those examples.
I have an investment portfolio that includes international exposure, so I need to enter foreign tax details. I've run into dead ends with other apps, but TurboTax has always been able to handle anything I've needed.
If you are considering changing to a new tax program any year, make sure to read about what it can and can't do so you don't have to start over when you're already 80% of the way done with your taxes using a program that doesn't support your needs.
Biggest possible refund
At the end of the day, your tax decisions should all be focused on spending as little as possible to accurately prepare your taxes and pay the least possible to the IRS and your state. Last year I tried a couple of programs that would have cost less than TurboTax, but found they mishandled some deductions.
Notably, 2018 was the first year of a 20% deduction on profits for many small business owners. As a self-employed freelancer with pass-through income, I qualify for the deduction. But not all tax apps handled that correctly. TurboTax got me thousands of dollars more back, mainly due to handling the pass-through deduction correctly.
I didn't do the math to compare every single line item, though most matched exactly from app to app. But where they don't match, you could be throwing away money on taxes unnecessarily and never know it. That's why getting your taxes done accurately is so important.
The 2017 tax law that went into effect for 2018 took my effective tax rate down to just 4.10%, partially thanks to the qualified business income deduction, partially thanks to the child tax credit, and partially thanks to a new, higher standard deduction.
It all comes down to dollars and cents
Unless you have a low enough income to qualify for the IRS Free File program, you can count on paying to do your taxes. For 2019, I'm using TaxAct for my business taxes and TurboTax for my personal taxes. This is exactly what I did last year too, and I'm happy with the setup.
The combined experience gets me the lowest cost on my taxes and tax preparation combined. Don't pay more for services you don't need and don't overlook important deductions and credits. That's what savvy tax preparation is all about.
Find out if TurboTax is the right tax software for your needs this year »
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