A SMALL TRIP TO NALSAROVAR

Nalsarovar - Paradise of Birds

NalSarovar Bird Sanctuary, primarily comprising of a huge lake and ambient marshes, is situated about 64 km to the West of Ahmedabad in the Gujarat state of India.

Nalsarovar - Paradise of Birds

 

Nalsarovar is Natural shallow lake. About 64 km to the West of Ahmedabad in the Gujarat state of India. it is the largest wetland bird sanctuary in Gujarat, and one of the largest in India. The lake measures 123 km², So far 225 types of birds are recorded in NalSarovar area.

Best month to visit : Novemberto February, Early Morning and Evening  is the best time to see birds. The sanctuary open approx 6 AM.

Most Visible Birds : Ducks, Geese, Pelicans, Flamingos, Storks, Brahminy Ducks, Herons, Kingfishers, Egrets, Darters  and Many more....the sanctuary is best visited as a day excursion by taxi, as buses are infrequent and there is no convenient accommodation. By Road The Nearest bus station are at Ahmedabad (64kms), Viramgam and Sanand (42 kms). By Rail The Nearest Railway station are Viramgam - 40 kms  & Ahmedabad - 64 Kms By Air The Nearest airport is Ahmedabad (64 kms).
 

Background : The Nal region is a low-lying area between the plains of the Central Gujarat and Eastern Saurashtra. Owing to its low lying topography, it is believed to represent a filled up sea link, that previously existed between the Little Rann in the north and the  Gulf of Khambat in the south.

Tips
1. One can hire country boats,  on the lake for bird viewing, and picnic at shacks the on the islands. Govt. has declared fix fare(Hour basis) of the boats so hire those boats only and they have enough knowledge of the flora and fauna of the lake.
2. On the one the island  you can get the rotla, chatnis and dahi  (Kathiyawadi foods) and snacks from local people. Visitors may take this as lunch or breakfast.
3. Keep good binoculars and book of birds
4. Sea gull follow you while boating, to keep them around you, you can  take popcorn / biscuit from the stall near ticket counter.
5. Keep sunglass, cap and camera.                                                                                                                               Culture
Migrating Bharwad shepherds populates the islands of the lake and on the banks are the Padhars, who are excellent folk dancers, artisans and boatmen.

The interpretation center
The interpretation center named as ‘Abhiruchi Kendra’ has been developed. 70 types of birds are migratory. Out of these 70, only 25 to 30 are easily observe by the visitors and tourists.  The interpretation center focuses on these 30 species. Migratory bird’s travel distance, place of origin, cross section prototype of Nal Sarovar’s under water life etc. are exhibited in the center. A reverse osmosis plant is also set up to offer pure drinking water to visitors.

SUPERB SUCCESS BY KILLING TEN MENTAL MISTAKES

“Learn how to master mysterious mental phenomena like reactivity, self fulfilling

prophecy, reactance, hyperbolic discounting and placebo effect to your advantage in

business, career, personal, and investment success, even while steering clear of equally

intriguing phenomena like gambler’s fallacy, halo effect, herd mentality and escalation of

commitment”.

The human mind is a wonderful thing. Cognition, the act or process of thinking,

enables us to process vast amounts of information quickly. For example, every time

your eyes are open, your brain is constantly being bombarded with stimuli. You may

be consciously thinking about one specific thing, but your brain is processing

thousands of subconscious ideas. Unfortunately, our cognition is not perfect, and

there are certain judgment errors that we are prone to making, known in the field of

psychology as cognitive biases. They happen to everybody regardless of age, gender,

education, intelligence or other factors. Some of them are well known, others not,

but all of them are interesting. I am sure everyone will find that one has happened

to them, and now will recognize when they are making an error in the future.

Gambler’s Fallacy

The Gambler’ fallacy is the tendency to think that future probabilities are altered

by past events, when in reality, they are not. Certain probabilities, such as getting a

heads when you flip a (fair) coin, are always the same. The probability of getting a

heads is 50%, it does not matter if you’ve gotten tails the last 10 flip. Thinking that

the probabilities have changed is a common bias, especially when gambling. For

example, I am playing roulette. The last four spins have landed on black, it has to

be red this time right? Wrong! The probability of landing on red is still 47.37% (18

red spots divided by 38 total spots). This may sound obvious, but this bias has

caused many a gambler to lose money thinking the probabilities have changed.

Reactivity

Reactivity is the tendency of the people to act or appear differently when they know

that they are being observed. In the 1920s, Hawthorne works (a manufact uring

facility) commissioned a study to see if different levels of light influenced worker

productivity. What they found was incredible, changing the light caused

productivity to soar! Unfortunately, when the study was finished, productivity

levels decreased to their regular levels. This was because the change in productivity

was not due to the light levels, but to the workers being watched. This

demonstrated a form of reactivity; when individuals know they are being watched,

they are motivated to change their behavior, generally to make themselves look

better. Reactivity is a serious problem in research, and has to be controlled in blind

experiments (“Blind” is when individuals involved in a research study are purposely

withheld information so as not to influence the outcomes).

Pareidolia

Pareidolia is when random image or sounds are perceived as significant. Seeing

clouds in the shape of dinosaurs, a diety on a hot pocket, or hearing message when a

record is played backward are common examples of pareidolia. The common

element is that the stimulus is neutral, it does not have intentional meaning; the

meaning is in the viewer’s perception.

Interesting Fact: the Rorschach Inkblot test was developed to use pareidolia to tap

into people’s mental states. Testees are shown images of ambiguous pictures and

asked to describe what they see. Responses are analyzed to discover the testee’s

hidden thoughts.

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

Self-fulfilling Prophecy is engaging in behaviors that obtain results that confirm

existing attitudes. A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that causes itself to

become true. For example, I believe that I am going to do poorly in school, so I

decrease the effort I put into my assignments and studying, and I end up doing

poorly, just as I thought. Another common example is relationships; I think my

relationship with my significant other is going to fail, so I start acting differently,

pulling away emotionally. Because of my actions, I actually cause the relationship

to fail. This is a powerful tool used by “psychics” they impact an idea in your mind,

and you eventually make it happen because you think it will.

Interesting Fact: Economic Recessions are self- fulfilling prophecies. Because a

recession is 2 quarters of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decline, you cannot know

you are in a recession until you are at least 6 months into one. Unfortunately, at the

first sign of decreasing GDP, the media reports a possible recession, people panic

and start a chain of events that actually cause a recession.

Halo Effect

The Halo effect is the tendency for an individual’s positive or negative trail to “spill

over” to other areas of their personality in others’ perceptions of them. This bias

happens a lot in employee performance appraisals. For example: my employee, Biff,

has been late to work the past three days; I notice this and conclude that Biff is lazy

and does not care about his job. There are many possible reasons why Biff was late,

perhaps his car broke down, his babysitter did not show up, or there has been bad

weather. The problem is, because of one negative aspect that may be out of Biffs’

control, I assume that he is a bad worker.

Interesting Fact: The Physical Attractiveness Stereotype is when people assume

that attractive individuals possess other socially desirable qualities, such as

happiness, success and intelligence. This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when

attractive people are given privileged treatment such as better job opportunities

and higher salaries.

Herd Mentality

Herd mentality is the tendency to adopt the opinions and follow the behaviors of the

majority to feel safer and to avoid conflict. Also known as “Mob Mentality”, this is,

at its most common form, peer pressure. Herd mentality explains why fads get so

popular. Clothes, cars, hobbies, styles, all it takes is a group of people who think

something is cool, and it catches on.

Interesting Fact: things that are unattractive, or that would never seem cool or

popular now have had huge followings due to herd mentality. Examples include

parachute pants, pet rocks, mullets, cone bras, tie-dye, sea monkeys, and the 1980s

(by the way, that is an ‘80s guy in the picture above).

Reactance

Reactance is the urge to do the opposite of what someone wants you to do out of a

need to resist a perceived attempt to constrain your freedom of choice. This is

common with rebellious teenagers, but any attempt to resist authority due to

perceived threats to freedom and/or choice is reactance. The individual may not

have a need to do the specific behavior, however the fact that they cannot do it

makes them want to.

Interesting Fact: “reverse psychology” is an attempt to influence people using

reactance. Tell someone (particularly children) to do the opposite of what you really

want, and they will rebel and actually end up doing what you want.

Hyperbolic Discounting

Hyperbolic discounting is the tendency for people to prefer a smaller, immediate

payoff over a larger, delayed payoff. Much research has been done on decisionmaking,

and many factors contribute to the individual decision making process.

Interestingly, delay time is a big factor in choosing an alternative. Put simply, most

people would choose to get 20 dollars today instead of getting 100 dollars one year

from today. Normally it makes sense to choose a greater amount of money

immediately than less in the future, as the value of a dollar is worth more today

than it is tomorrow. Assume that the interest rate is 9%, at this interest rate, a

rational person would be indifferent to taking $91.74 now, or $100 a year from now.

However, it is interesting how much less we are willing to take immediately rather

than wait, would you rather have $100 a year from now, or $50 immediately? How

about $40 immediately? Where do you draw the line?

Escalation of Commitment

Escalation of commitment is the tendency for people to continue to support

previously unsuccessful endeavors. With all the decisions people have to make, it is

unavoidable that some will be unsuccessful. Of course, the logical thing to do in

these instances is to change the core strategy. However, sometimes individuals feel

compelled not only to sick with their decision, but also to further invest in that

decision because they have sunk costs. For example, say you use half of your life

saving to start a business. After 6 months, it is evident that the business is going to

be unsuccessful. The logical thing to do would be to “cut your losses”, and change

your strategy. However, due to the sunk costs of your life savings, you feel

committed to the original business plan and invest even more money into the

project hoping that the additional cash will turn the business around.

Placebo Effect

The Placebo effect is when an ineffectual substance that is believed to have healing

properties produces the desired effect. Especially common with medications, the

placebo effect has been observed when individuals given a sugar pill for a real

ailment report improvement. Placebos are still a scientific mystery. It is theorized

that placebos cause an “Expectancy Effect”, (In case of uncertainty, expectation is

what is most likely to happen) individuals expect the pills to cure their ailments, so

they feel cured. However, this does not explain how the ineffectual pills actually

cause a reduction in symptoms.

Interesting Fact: The term “Placebo” is used when the outcomes are considered

favorable, when the outcomes are negative or harmful; the term is “Nocebo”.

NIGHT AUDITING

Introduction

Night audit routines vary from one hotel to another, depending on various factors: the size of the establishment, its accounting practices and the use of Management Information Systems. In this lecture we will look at a common automated routine, but this is not to be taken as a standard of what occurs in Industry – but ratherwhat can be typically expected.


The Night Auditor

A night auditor is not simply a night receptionist, although some may say that some automated routines have in fact downgraded the night auditor’s role to one of a night receptionist or keyboard operator.Even where the night audit is heavily automated the night audit still requires attention to accounting, procedural controls and guest credit restrictions. The auditor is also expected to be familiar with the nature of transactions affecting the front office accounting system, and will invariably also produce a number of standard operating statistics.

Does the night auditor belong to the Accounts department or he is an integral part of Front office?
This will depend on the organisational setup of the hotel, but there are some instances where the night auditor is responsible to the Accountant or Financial Controller – especially where the Auditor is simply employed to run the Night Audit and perform audit checks. In cases where the auditor also performs front office tasks –including check-in, guest cashiering and check-outs he will almost certainly report to the Front Office Manager.


End of day

The end of day is simply that time defined by hotel management which is considered the end of an accounting (hotel or business) day. This does not necessarily coincide with the beginning of a new calendar day, as often it will be established as either the closing time of food and beverage outlets or the last guest arrivals. Where the hotel has a 24-hour catering operation, the closure of the majority of catering outlets will normally indicate the close of the business day. Typically the business day ends when the night audit begins. From the moment the night audit commences and until it is finished any transactions that occur (including telephone charges, food and beverage charges etc) are charged on the following business day. The period when the night audit is taking place is referred to as audit work time.


Operating modes


Night audit procedures may be performed manually (nonautomated), mechanically (semi-automated) or electronically (automated). The manual method makes no use of electronic systems, the semi-automated process refers to the use of the account posting machines whilst the automated method refers to the use of Management Information Systems. The Night Audit procedures adopted will depend on the operating mode used – however the process itself has common characteristics described below. It is generally agreed that where the process is fully automated the night audit routine will allow the auditor to concentrate on auditing specific transactions.


The Night Audit Process

The Night Audit process focuses on two areas: · the discovery and correction of front office accounting errors.
The audit ensures the integrity of front office accounts using a cross-referencing process. Guest and non-guest accounts are compared with source folios/documents from revenue centres. Discrepancies found are tracked and corrections made to ensure the system is in balance. · the creation of accounting and management reports.These will invariably include statistics and important operating information that will include average room rate,occupancy percentages, usage of package plans, number of rooms assigned to groups, complimentary rooms etc.


Do we have to have a night audit process?

The question is valid especially when one considers that most computer based systems will allow for continuous online reporting. In such instances the audit may take place at any time during the day, however there will be always be system checks and reports that must wait till the end of the business day.We will now look at the steps that are common to the sequence of a night audit from an operational perspective.


1. Complete outstanding postings

The auditor must ensure that all postings have been affected. This normally means waiting for the arrival of all food and beverage (including banqueting) bills and more importantly ensuring that they have been posted. Unless transactions are posted on that same day, there will be errors in account balancing and summary reporting will be complicated unnecessarily. To ensure that all postings have been made the Night Auditor may place the department chits in numerical order and check that they have all been accounted for.

2. Reconcile Room Status Discrepancies

In manual systems the night auditor will compare the daily housekeeper’s report and the front office room status system. The auditor must then review front office and housekeeping department reports to reconcile and finalise the occupancy status of all rooms for a given night. Where there is a discrepancy the Night Auditor must follow the audit trail to ascertain the true status of the room – it will often be simply a case of misreporting and a physical check may solve the problem. However, it may be the case that whilst Housekeeping are reporting a room to be vacant there is still a pending guest folio of a guest who left without intending to check out (i.e. a walk-out). In a computerised front office system the processes are normally linked together, and few room status discrepancies should occur.

3. Balance all departments

To discover posting errors, it is recommended that departments are first balanced. This is the process that ensures that front office accounts (room folios, city ledger folios, cash accounts etc) balance against departmental transaction information. By checking that the accounts balance we are not assured that the transaction has necessarily been made to the correct account. Unless eachindividual transaction is checked there is no way of auditing whether a correct charge has been made to the correct room. Where the front office accounts and the revenue department account do not tally the night auditor must investigate the anomaly and correct it. In automated systems the balancing is done automatically as the system will ensure that whenever a posting is made on a room or other account it originates from a department.

4. Verify room rates

In manual and semi-automated systems this is essential. Some hotels using automated systems may require that room rates are completely or randomly checked against the original reservations. It is important that the right room charges are made to ensure that statistical reports are correct.

5. Verify no-show reservations
It is the night auditors’ responsibility to verify no-shows and where applicable affect no-show charges (this will apply where the reservation had been guaranteed). Sometimes no-show reservations are duplicate bookings, in other cases the room may actually be physically occupied but the check-in process has not been completed. It is important therefore that the auditor ensures that no shows are indeed no shows!

6. Post room rates and taxes

Room rates are normally charged at the end of the day, though it may be possible on some computer systems to generate a room charge for the entire stay, or to charge the room rate earlier in the day if the guest would like to settle his account earlier. To ensure accuracy of rates it is recommended that hotels with automated systems use rate codes – these will ensure the accuracy of the charge made as well allow for improved statistical analysis. In a manual system the charge must be made manually … a fairly tedious and time-consuming process!

7. Prepare reports
Typical reports prepared by night audit include:
· final department detail and summary report

· daily operations report
This report summarises the day’s business and provides insight into revenues, receivables, operating statistics and cash transactions.

· high balance report, which identifies guest accounts which are approaching an account credit limit.

· group room report


· complimentary room report



8. Deposit cash
The night auditor may be required to prepare a front office cashier shift report with all the day’s earnings (including cash payments, credit and debit card payments etc.) and include a cash deposit. This report is normally then taken in the morning by an Income Auditor who then proceeds to deposit the cash in the bank.

9. Clear or backup system
In manual or semi-automated systems all balances are cleared to ‘0’ – hence the use of the term ‘Z’ reading – Zero reading. In acomputerised system this is triggered off by the audit which normally requires that a physical backup is taken of the data followed by a system update, which will move the system’s clock to the next day. Prior to the backup being taken (this may take a while) Front Office systems are often programmed to produce endof- day reports that will include: guest lists, room status reports, guest ledger reports, arrivals and departures reports etc. These reports are required in the case of an emergency during the backup process or if due to the backup or system update the computer system becomes inoperable. They may also be required by the hotel’s marketing department.

10. Distribute reports
When the process is finalised the Night Auditor must ensure the relevant reports are distributed to authorised individuals. He may also be required to print further reports as required by individual departments and outlets.

Successful Entrepreneur

The first syllable en is pronounced like the word on. The e in the second and third syllable is pronounced like the a in china, about, and amount. Theeur in the final syllable neur sounds like the or in words like worm, worst and world. The stress is on the final syllable. The word is pronounced entrepreneur.

Dictionaries define an entrepreneur as someone who starts a business in order to make a profit. Who in his right mind would start something in order to lose money?


An entrepreneur is a person who has possession of a new enterprise, venture or idea and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome. The term is originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to the type of personality who is willing to take upon herself or himself a new venture or enterprise and accepts full responsibility for the outcome. Jean-Baptiste Say, a French economist is believed to have coined the word "entrepreneur" first in about 1800. He said an entrepreneur is "one who undertakes an enterprise, especially a contractor, acting as intermediatory between capital and labour."


Common Traits in a Successful Entrepreneur


1. Good health. Successful entrepreneurs must work long hours for extended periods of time. When they get sick, they recover quickly.



2. A Need to Control and Direct. They prefer environments where they have maximum authority and responsibility and do not work well in traditionally structured organizations. This is not about power, though. Entrepreneurs have a need to create and achieve by having control over events.


3. Self-confidence. Findings showed that as long as entrepreneurs were in control, they were relentless in pursuit of their goals. If they lost control, they quickly lost interest in the undertaking.


4. Sense of Urgency. They have a never-ending sense of urgency to do something. This corresponds with a high energy level. Many enjoy individual sports rather than team sports. Inactivity makes them impatient.


5. Comprehensive Awareness. They have a comprehensive awareness of a total situation and are aware of all the ramifications involved in a decision.


6. Realistic Outlook. There is a constant need to know the status of things. They may or may not be idealistic, but they are honest and straightforward and expect others to be the same.


7. Conceptual Ability. They have superior conceptual abilities. This helps entrepreneurs identify relationships in complex situations. Chaos does not bother them because they can conceptualize order. Problems are quickly identified and solutions offered. The drawback is that this may not translate well to interpersonal problems.


8. Low Need for Status. Their need for status is met through achievement not through material possessions.


9. Objective Approach. They take an objective approach to personal relationships and are more concerned with the performance and accomplishment of others than with feelings. They keep their distance psychologically and concentrate on the effectiveness of operations.


10. Emotional Stability. They have the stability to handle stress from business and from personal areas in their lives. Setbacks are seen as challenges and do not discourage them.


11. Attraction to Challenges. They are attracted to challenges but not to risks. It may look like they are taking high risks, but in actuality they have assessed the risks thoroughly.


12. Describing with Numbers. They can describe situations with numbers. They understand their financial position and can tell at any time how much they have in receivables and how much they owe.