- Why are some Internet resource
links not valid?
- Why don't some Internet resource links
display properly?
- Why don't the e-mail links work?
- Can files be safely downloaded from this website?
- Sexual harassment, discrimination
or hostile workplace situations
- More information about playing the
Personality Game
- How to submit an article for the monthly newsletter
- How to suggest a topic for the monthly newsletter
- Comments about the website or newsletter topics
- Help with school, college or research projects
- Quote or reference something on our website
- Add a link to our website to another
website
- Career guidance, changing careers
- Information about our Speaker's Bureau
- Brochures or company information
- Job applications and open positions
- Travel
- Religion and Spirituality
- Our Internet Privacy Policy
- Our Junk Mail/SPAM policy - Legal
Notice
- About our mailing lists
- Do you make money from this website?
- Why did you change the format of the newsletter?
- How do you choose
the books you list on your website?
- Do you do link exchanges?
- Do you want to sell this domain name?
Each monthly newsletter topic contains resource links to other sites
on the Internet. At the time the article is originally posted, all
links are valid. The older the article, the more likely the links
will become out-of-date. Our site has over 500 pages and has been
operational since the mid-1990's, so it would
be a fulltime job to constantly maintain the links. People move
websites, shut them down or reorganize continually without our knowledge.
That is the nature of the Internet.
If do you find that a large number of links are invalid for a particular
page, please let us know the URL of the page with the errors. We
will update them or remove those that are no longer valid.
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Most websites are developed to meet the standards of the major
current browsers: Internet Explorer and Firefox are currently the most widely
used. However,
some websites will only display correctly using one particular browser or a
particular version.
If you have an older version of a browser, you might want to upgrade
to the most recommended versions or try another browser.
Sometimes, you may encounter high Internet traffic or a site that is
offline for maintenance, which makes a site unavailable. We are
noticing a higher number of sites using Java, JavaScript and other
complex or non-standard features that may create compatibility problems
with some browsers.
We try to test all the links we list on our newsletter articles with
current versions of Firefox (version 3) and
Internet Explorer ( version 8). Occasionally, we
miss a few. We list multiple references for each topic to help
minimize linking problems and the tendency for website articles to move
or become obsolete. We apologize in advance if you have
trouble reaching a site listed. If you report
it to us, we will remove a bad link, try to locate a replacement site
or correct the link.
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We disabled all e-mail links on our website due
to the proliferation of new viruses that use collected e-mail addresses to
disguise the true source of the e-mail. We have removed automated e-mail
links from our own e-mail addresses as well as those of anyone referenced on our
website. For more information on this problem, see Trend Micro's website
about the KLEZ
virus and variants.
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All files posted on our website are virus-free at the time they are uploaded
and rechecked regularly to make sure they are still safe. We run virus
protection software on our system that is checked constantly and updated as soon
as new virus patterns are released. We use firewalls in addition to virus
software to protect against viruses coming into our system. We also scan
our entire system weekly for even more assurance against the possibility of a
virus.
We strongly recommend that you use good up-to-date virus software on your
system. Our choice is TrendMicro
Internet Security.
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We are often asked how to deal with difficult workplace situations,
such as sexual harassment, discrimination or hostile
workplace.
Each situation is
unique. We are not attorneys and cannot give legal advice.
Our general suggestions are:
- Read the articles on our website that provide more information on
the subject. Each article has links to other resources.
- Use the Search page if necessary and look
for "hostile" "harassment"
"discrimination" and "difficult."
- Please note that the term "hostile workplace" has a specific
legal meaning applying to certain specific types of sexual harassment
situations. It does not apply to situations where someone is generally
"hostile" in a general sense.
- Unfortunately, there are no laws preventing people from being nasty to
each other unless it is done within specific legally defined situations to a
protected class. For example, discrimination based on race or
harassment based on sex/gender. See legal definitions for your state
(or country) for what those protected classes are.
- Find out your company's policy on these subjects. In large
companies or organizations, the Human Resources Department will have
the company policy.
- If the situation warrants, report the inappropriate behavior to
the person or office as defined in your company policy.
In California, if you talk to your manager or another manager, they
are required to investigate the situation immediately � whether you file a formal complaint or not.
If they fail to take
action, they become liable personally and may make the company
liable for continued problems.
- In the U.S., check with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC)
Commission for federal laws that apply to your situation.
- In the U.S., check with your state's fair employment agency for
specific state laws that apply to your situation.
- Visit the free legal websites (e.g., www.freeadvice.com)
for more information about the subject.
- Check with your local library for books and articles related to
harassment, discrimination or hostile workplace
situations.
- The more you understand about your rights and your
responsibilities, the better you will be able to deal with the
situation.
- If you are still not sure what to do, many employment law
attorneys will meet with you for an hour to explain your rights and
responsibilities for a reasonable fee.
- Or, you may find a low-cost public workshop or training program
that deals with local laws.
Essentially, when faced with a difficult situation, you have three
choices:
- Stay in the situation and fight back.
Fight back by
telling the person who is causing the situation to STOP, report the
activity to the person's supervisor/manager and file a formal
complaint. In our research, telling the person to STOP
offensive behavior does in fact stop the behavior more than
60% of the time.
Therefore, when faced with sexual harassment, we strongly advice
people to first, tell the person in no uncertain terms that you will
no longer accept their inappropriate behavior and that you will make
a formal complaint if it does not cease immediately.
After filing a formal complaint that results in no action taken to
correct the situation or that results in
retaliation, you should talk to a competent employee law
attorney. Filing a
lawsuit requires a significant long-term emotional commitment to
stay with the process until complete. It also requires a
financial commitment to pay for attorneys.
- Stay in the situation and take it.
In other words, do
not take any defensive action hoping that things will get better if
you ignore them. In most situations, they get worse by
ignoring them. However, occasionally, when someone is out of
line (e.g., telling jokes), it is a one-time occurrence. If you are
not sure what to do, ask someone who knows more about the subject to
help you determine the proper course of action.
- Leave the company or the situation.
Sometimes, this
is the only realistic way to deal with severe problems. Some
companies foster hostility and there is no way to change the
corporate culture. Therefore, for many people, their best
chance is to find another job, another boss or another company that does not
support hostile situations.
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The information provided on this website may not give enough
information to people who want to play the game without prior experience
or training in this system.
At present, the best resource for study on your own is the book, Personality
Puzzle, by Jose Stevens and JP Van Hulle, which contains an older
version of the personality quiz. The latest version of the quiz is
no longer offered via the internet. The book may be ordered
through Joy Perasso, Guided Crystal Books [phone: (925)
254-9162 - San Francisco area] or from the Michael
Educational Foundation.
We are now offering workshops on the Personality Game (see Power
Path Seminars page).
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We encourage guest authors for our monthly newsletter. Many
guest authors have books that relate to workplace subjects. Others
are experts in their field and would like to share their ideas. We
also accept well-written articles by people who can address topics of
interest for our readers.
We publish guest articles as is � we do not edit them or critique
them. We do format the article to fit our website design. If you would like to submit an idea for an article, please
contact us.
For more information, see our Tips for Articles
section.
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We encourage feedback about the website and encourage people to
suggest other topics.
Please fill out our Newsletter survey form,
our Feedback form or send us e-mail with your
suggestions.
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We encourage comments, ideas and suggestions via our feedback
form.
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Our website is primarily directed to people who are already in management and want
to broaden or deepen their skills. Many, many students write for additional
information for their research projects. Please understand that if we spend all our
time responding to requests from students, we could not do the work we do.
What is on the website is made available at no charge, is very comprehensive and
updated regularly. Most monthly topics include a section with
references to other websites. We also offer a free search
facility, where you may search the entire website for key
words.
If we must consult with you individually, we expect you to pay for our time
just as our professional clients do. Unless you are prepared to pay for professional
services, please do not request additional information.
We wish you the best in pursuing your education and are grateful that we may be
some small help in that effort.
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We receive many, many requests for assistance with student
projects. Specific information on the following topics is
available by clicking the links below.
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We automatically approve links from other sites of the following
types:
- Business management resource lists
- Colleges and universities for business, management or
communication classes
- Spirituality sites
- Local or community resource lists
- News articles about topics carried in our newsletter or on our
website
- Personality styles sites.
If you are not sure whether the proposed link falls into one of the
above categories, please contact us for more information or permission to link to our site.
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We rarely counsel people about changing careers via the
Internet. Any work we do in that area is done face-to-face on a
fee basis. There are many excellent books, articles, website and
organizations that offer information and services in that
field. We highly recommend the book, What
Color is Your Parachute? available in bookstores. In
California, we also can recommend the Experience Unlimited centers
throughout the state for people changing jobs or careers. Contact
your local Employment Development Department for more information. We
wish you the best of luck in pursuing your dreams.
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Our Speaker's Bureau is composed only of people we have worked
with locally.
We not accept resumes or referrals to people we have not worked
with.
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We get many requests for brochures or other company
information. We do not do that unless we are working with a
specific client.
We do provide a great deal of information that is easily accessible
on our website. The website contains the most current
information. Click on the Services
link for more detail.
We are doing limited public seminars because
our client work keeps us very busy.
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We do not have any open positions. Please, do not send us
unsolicited resumes.
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Our travel pages contain the most recent information with referrals
to those companies that host the events.
We do not handle any other travel requests.
Our organization does not have a commitment to any
particular religion. We use principles that are common to different
religions and non-religious sacred beliefs. We have attended and
participated in services and sacred practices from many religions,
faiths and beliefs. Every single one of them taught us something of
value.
We consider religion to be the organizational structure and
dogma that says someone should believe a certain way and conform to a
specific set of guidelines.
We consider spirituality to be a broader, more general term
that defines a person's connection to their soul or their non-physical
essence however that person defines it for themselves. A person's definition may change over time as
they grow and develop. Spirituality, in our view, does not constrain a person nor set out a
specific set of beliefs for them to follow.
We believe that spirituality � as we define it � can be a vital part of
the workplace. We have developed 7
principles (creativity, communication, respect, vision, energy,
partnership and flexibility) to help explain the qualities we feel are
important. These principles say that people should
be able to express the full range of their humanity in their own
personal way without infringing on anyone else's beliefs. We respect
other people's views on the subject as well.
Religion tends to be rigid and dogmatic. Therefore, it is very hard
to find a place where religion can fit comfortably in many workplaces.
That is especially problematic when people believe it is their
"duty" to force others to change or feel compelled to push
their beliefs on others.
Where everyone can accommodate and accept a variety of beliefs, then
there is a basis for good communication, growth and mutual learning
without pressure, condemnation or judgment. To us, that is the
essence of spirituality.
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We offer our website as a free service as part of our life task to contribute
to the betterment of the world and to improve the quality of business
management. It is a labor of love and one small way of "giving
back" in appreciation to people who have given us so much in the
past.
We do not charge for any of our articles or for subscriptions to our mailing
list.
Disclosure: If you purchase a book or other item from Amazon.com
by going their website from a link on our website, we receive a small
referral fee. We also receive a small referral fee from shrinkinabox.com
if someone purchases their books.
We do sell our books and consulting
services. We have
obtained a few clients directly from our website and find it a useful public
relations tool for existing and potential clients.
We do not sell ads on our site and we do not do "link exchanges"
for the sole purpose of promoting sites.
We do carefully select and provide links to other sites if they are relevant
to an article or a page on our site and, in our opinion, provide useful
additional information to our readers.
Starting in February 2005, our newsletter was changed from a multi-page
format to a single longer page. All of the monthly newsletter articles
have been converted to this format.
The printer-friendly pages will remain as they are.
Readers had asked that we use this new format some time ago. We
recently reached the limit of our search engine and decided it was time to
invest the time to change the articles in order to allow all pages to be included in the search
capability.
If you have comments about this change, please use our feedback
form.
Books or excepts usually fall into these categories:
- Books related to the monthly topic or
- Excerpts from books sent to us by publishers who know the topics we prefer.
- We also list books or use excerpts from books we own already or come
across in our day-to-day activities.
Excerpts are used with the author's permission or under the Fair Use
provisions of U.S. Copyright laws.
We are always seeking good articles that fit with the purpose and audience of
our website. Our readers are business executives, managers, leaders in
many fields as well as company employees, professionals and entrepreneurs
seeking better ways of doing business. We also attract many readers who
are business students.
Before sending us articles or excepts from books that could be used as
articles, please read our Guidelines for Guest Authors.
We link to other websites that are relevant to a particular article or topic
that is consistent with our message and our mission. If you approach us
with a link request, please specify why your link will add value to our readers
and to which page on our website it fits best.
We do not sell link
space or advertising space on our website. We do not respond to requests
for links unless we feel strongly that it is relevant to the purpose of our
site.
We do not respond to questions about selling our domain name. We bought
it, we own it and we intend to keep it. We have a huge investment in
making its good name, so please stop asking. We are also not interested in
buying any other variations of the name.
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Page updated: July 14, 2014
This page is: http://www.itstime.com/faq.htm | 
Michael
Speaks: The Legacy of Sarah Chambers is available in
print and e-book formats. See 
Why
are some Internet resource links invalid?