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NEPOTISM AT WORK: HOW TO MANAGE THIS

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What Is Workplace Nepotism?

Nepotism in the workplace, derived from the Italian word for nephew, refers to hiring and promotion decisions that favor relatives. The term was coined by Catholic Popes, who frequently appointed their nephews to high-ranking and important positions in the church.

Today, nepotism is still prevalent in many fields, including business, politics, and sports. There are two types of workplace nepotism: hereditary (appointing family members and relatives to positions) and matrimonial (appointing an employee’s spouse to the same organization or department where the employee already works).

Nepotism in organizations can have both positive and negative consequences. On the plus side, nepotism can foster loyalty and trust within an organization.

On the other hand, Nepotism is mostly negative because it can breed resentment and distrust among team members who believe they were passed over for a promotion because they are not the boss’s relatives or family.

According to Wikipedia, nepotism is the practice of those in positions of power or influence favoring relatives or friends, particularly by hiring them. This practice has become so common in the country that each zone has its own name for it, but the general term is “Man-know-man” or “I M.” In fact, there is an old adage that goes, “If an abomination remains for too long, it becomes part of the people’s culture.” In today’s Nigeria, nepotism has become part of the unwelcome culture, particularly when it comes to political patronage. Unfortunately, some people have been forced to accept it without question.

Nepotism promotes laziness because if a young man realizes that, whether he works hard or not, there is a job waiting for him somewhere due to his father or mother’s success, he will ask himself, “What then is the need to work hard?” But, for a young man who understands that he has no firm anchor or support from anyone or community; who understands that his destiny is in his own hands; who understands that if he does not deny himself some pleasure even when his peers are enjoying, his hope of a better tomorrow becomes a pipe dream if he does not move from his comfort zone to shape his tomorrow.

However, when he works harder to get his due, nepotism will only deny him that unless he demonstrates stubborn resilience by going the extra mile to satisfy the law of extra miles before it sparks divine intervention in his favor.

planning and change

PLANNING AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT

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What is a change management plan?

A change management plan is a process that a company uses to implement changes throughout the organization. Change management plans are commonly used for large or complex organizational changes that necessitate a more strategic approach due to the impact on someone’s job.

Strategy for change management plan

Your plan will vary depending on the needs of your organization, but each change management plan should include some of the following:

  • Clearly defined objectives

Your change management plan’s objectives should be straightforward:

  1. Inform your organization of the change.
  2. Assist those who will be directly affected by the change in adapting.

Each of these changes has its own set of objectives. Whatever those objectives are, the core objectives of your change management plan should be to inform everyone about the changes and to guide those who will be directly affected by them.

  • Clear communication

Communication is essential in any interaction, but it is especially important when it comes to organizational change. Change frequently involves multiple moving parts that must be communicated clearly so that no one is left in the dark.

Along with establishing goals and expectations, your communication should leave room for feedback from your team to respond to and offer suggestions about the changes.

  • Training

A significant enough organizational change to warrant a change management plan will almost certainly include new features or procedures that your employees will need to learn. Meetings and training sessions provide excellent opportunities for your team to gain hands-on experience with the changes and ask questions in a safe setting where everyone learns together.

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EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

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The process of exchanging information at work both internally and externally, is referred to as business communication. In contrast to regular communication outside of the job, people usually have a goal in mind when they communicate at work. Preparation, repetition, and perseverance are necessary for effective communication. The “school of hard knocks,” often known as experience, is one approach to improving communication skills. However, in the business world, a “knock” (or lesson learned) could come at the expense of your reputation due to a botched client presentation.

When it comes to workplace communication, there is already a hierarchy in place, and both internal and external players have different roles and duties. As a result, there are 4 different categories of corporate communications:

  • Upward communication: When a subordinate requests information from their management or reports information to them, this is known as upward communication.
  • Downward communication: When a boss conveys information to their subordinates or transfers a request, this is known as downward communication.
  • Horizontal communication: Communication that takes place between team members or coworkers within a corporation is referred to as horizontal communication.
  • External communication: is the exchange of information between a corporation and the public. This encompasses a wide spectrum of external stakeholders, including clients and vendors.
discrimination

DISCRIMINATION IN THE EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES

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An employee is said to have been discriminated against if they are treated significantly differently from other employees for reasons that are not specified in their employment agreement or that are in fact illegal.

Among the reasons for discrimination against workers in this nation include sex, age, ethnicity, religion, union membership, and political views. Positive discrimination, such as affirmative action, may be morally acceptable, although discrimination is typically difficult to defend or justify.

Despite the fact that Nigeria has adopted the ILO Equal Remuneration Convention of 1951 and the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention of 1958, it is clear that discrimination is not well protected in Nigeria. Anti-discrimination laws are not common.

Anti-discrimination legislation

The Nigerian constitution forbids discrimination based on origin, gender, religion, status, ethnic or linguistic association or ties. It is the responsibility of the state to promote national integration by providing adequate facilities, equal opportunities, and rights to all citizens without regard to race or ethnicity. Citizens of Nigeria must not be subjected to any disability or deprivation on the basis of discrimination.

There is no specific legal provision regarding discriminatory hiring practices. However, according to the Constitution, it is the duty of the state to provide equal opportunity for all citizens to secure adequate means of livelihood as well as adequate opportunity to secure suitable employment, without discrimination.

Additionally, the Labour Act expressly prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on their union membership. The Labour Act expressly prohibits discrimination against pregnant women.

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8 PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE RISK (OVERSIGHT) MANAGEMENT

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While risk management has always been an important component of the board’s agenda, the devastating financial crisis taught everyone just how critical it is. In recent years, several boards have taken a hard look at their membership, how they operate, and whether their activities and the information to which they have access are conducive to effective risk oversight.

This article suggests concepts to help boards improve their monitoring of the company’s risk management.

1. Recognize the company’s key success factors.

Understanding the business and industry, what drives value creation, how the business model works, and the significant concerns affecting the organization are essential for an effective risk management strategy.

2. Evaluate the risks associated with the company’s strategy.

This concept and the one preceding it are linked since they both focus on understanding the corporate strategy and the risks that come with it. This understanding gives a context for distinguishing the ordinary, continuing hazards of business management to identify the risks that truly matter.

3. Define the risk oversight role of the full board and its standing committees.

This is an important notion for directors to remember as they work together to explain risk supervision responsibilities for the full board and the various standing committees.

4. Determine whether the company’s risk management system, which includes people and processes, is appropriate and has adequate resources.

Risk is frequently an afterthought in planning, and risk management is an afterthought or “side activity” in performance management. This principle tackles concerns such as appropriately positioning the chief risk officer or an analogous executive to support the board’s oversight activities. It considers the sufficiency of various aspects of risk management, such as sourcing, measuring, mitigating, and monitoring risk through suitable policies, processes, people, reporting, techniques, systems, and data.

5. Collaborate with management to understand and agree on the types of risk information required by the board.

This principle is still a source of contention for many boards. Directors suffering from information overload must focus more intently on actionable data. Whether or whether quantitative models are used, reporting should provide many viewpoints on a given risk.

6. Keep a close eye on potential threats to the company’s culture and incentive structure.

This theory also leads to another financial crisis lesson: a company’s culture and incentive compensation structure can potentially influence risk-taking behaviors, decisions, and attitudes.

Because they reflect the shared values, goals, practices, and reinforcement mechanisms that embed risk into an organization’s decision-making processes and risk management into its operating processes, culture and incentives serve as the glue that holds all elements of the risk management infrastructure together.

7. Keep track of critical strategy, risk, controls, compliance, incentives, and people alignments.

This principle emphasizes the need of aligning important pieces to get everyone and everything on the same page—people, processes, and the organization. Without alignment, there is a possibility of a gap between a company’s strategy and its execution, which can be costly and harmful.

8. Evaluate the board’s risk oversight processes regularly:

Do they enable the board to meet its risk oversight objectives? The last principle calls for the risk oversight process to incorporate the best practice of periodic board self-evaluations.

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6 STEPS TO CREATING A PAYROLL SYSTEM

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It is difficult to administer the payroll management system as compliance laws and regulations change. Startups and small firms, in particular, face significant difficulties in documenting and processing payroll. However, you must be familiar with payroll operations. Here is a step-by-step guide to developing a payroll administration system for your small business.

Select the best payroll software.

To begin, select the best payroll software that meets your payroll requirements. How do you pick the best payroll software?

  1. Make a list of your non-negotiable requirements.
  2. Look for the type of payroll system you require (based on your industry).
  3. Examine the market’s price plan alternatives.
  4. Request a FREE trial of some prospective payroll software.
  5. Choose the best one.

Choosing a payroll software solution can also help you keep an orderly record of all the data.

  • Compile payroll information

Following that, you choose the best payroll software, containing all of the information your payroll system requires.

Set up your payroll using the following information:

  1. Make an employee identification number (EIN)
  2. Obtain a state tax ID number for your employee’s location.
  3. Plan the payroll procedure (monthly, weekly).
  4. Calculate employee working hours using a time tracker.
  5. Create a business bank account to handle salary reconciliation.
  6. Gather your employees’ banking information.
  • Determine the gross and net pay

Now that you have all of the information needed to execute payroll, you can start calculating paychecks. Collect timesheet data, including overtime, and determine whether or not your payroll software connects with time tracking software.

Now compute the gross pay, minus any tax deductions and health benefits. To calculate net compensation, subtract payroll deductions from gross pay.

  • Include the employer’s payroll taxes

Employers must pay taxes depending on employee remuneration, such as the Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA), State

Unemployment Tax (SUTA), and other municipal taxes.

  • Construct a payroll input system.

Employee wages, payroll taxes, and payroll deductions are all included. Attach the paystubs to your paychecks regardless of the mode of payment. Employees can then cross-check for errors.

  • Record the compensation terms.

Following payment, check for tax payments every quarter to ensure that you are paying state taxes on behalf of employees who live in another state. Your staff will require a state tax ID for this, which you can obtain from the relevant state tax website. The first payment must usually be made personally.

INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE GOVERANCE

INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

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Corporate governance is the structure that defines the business relationships that exist, between company shareholders, management teams, the Board of Directors, and all other relevant stakeholders. Corporate governance comprises the social and institutional components of a business. Simply described, it is the system in charge of directing and managing companies.

There are several reasons why corporate governance is important, but let’s start with the most obvious.

The Importance of Corporate Governance

Strong and effective corporate governance contributes to the development of an integrity-driven company culture, which leads to improved performance and a more sustainable corporation overall. Essentially, it exists to raise the accountability of all individuals and teams within your firm, striving to prevent mistakes from occurring in the first place.

It is one thing to have operational corporate governance; it is quite another to have effective operational corporate governance. Here are pointers to establishing a functional and effective corporate governance system.

1. Recognize that effective governance is more than just compliance.

Boards must strike a balance between conformance (compliance with legislation, regulation, and codes of practice) and performance components of their work (i.e., improving the performance of the organization through strategy formulation and policy making). A board must develop its position and understanding of the primary functions it performs, in comparison to those performed by management as part of this process.

2. Keep track of organizational performance

Monitoring organizational performance is an important board duty, and maintaining legal compliance is a big part of that. Both ensure that corporate decisions are in line with the organization’s strategy and the expectations of the owners. This is best accomplished by defining the organization’s primary performance drivers and developing appropriate measurements of success.

3. Recognize that risk governance is a board responsibility.

Another critical responsibility of the board is to establish a solid system of risk oversight, management, and internal control. Effective risk management promotes improved decision-making by providing a greater understanding of the risk-reward trade-offs that all organizations encounter.

4. Establish and sustain an efficient governance infrastructure

Because the board is ultimately responsible for all of an organization’s activities and decisions, particular policies to guide organizational behavior must be in place. It is also crucial for the board to adopt delegation procedures to guarantee the line of duty between the board and management is clearly defined.

5. Evaluate board and director performance and look for ways to improve.

If boards are to govern effectively, they must be cognizant of their own strengths and flaws. Board effectiveness can only be measured if the board evaluates its own performance as well as that of individual directors on a regular basis. A board and director evaluation can result in improvements to areas as broad as board processes, director skills, competencies, motivation, and even boardroom relationships.

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How To Recover Company Information

HOW TO RECOVER FROM A DATA BREACH

HOW TO RECOVER COMPANY INFORMATION: TIPS FOR DATA RECOVER.

How To Recover Company Information

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Tips For Data Recover

In the twenty-first century, data is at the heart of most company activities. Considering this, every company should have a fundamental grasp of the significance of internal information recovery, should anything happen to the information they rely on. To secure information or to retrieve it if it is lost or damaged, there are frequently easy, doable procedures that may be performed. There are crucial measures that businesses may take to protect data. It is occasionally required to consult data recovery experts. Businesses however ought to be capable of managing the safeguarding and data recovery procedures on their own.

Here are a few pointers that will be useful in the event of a data breach:

  1. Safeguarding Against Data Loss – Data loss may be emotionally taxing for a business, particularly if it’s vital to operations or if it involves sensitive information that clients have trusted you with. The fact that the entire business is dependent on this information, terror is a totally understandable reaction if it goes. However, it’s not always a good one. You can take measures to aid in the first prevention of data loss. This is a crucial starting point.
  2. Plan for Data Loss – What would you do if your business lost vital operating data? When you’re not under the natural strain that comes with this issue, it is the perfect moment to think about this. You can prepare a contingency plan in advance with detailed instructions for such an occasion. You can download free data recovery software on your computer in advance if you want to. Although these tools’ capabilities are restricted when compared to a data recovery business, they would add an extra layer of security.
  3. Create backups on an external hard drive or flash drive – It is safer when crucial operational data is spread across several places. Comfort can be derived from knowing your data is backed up, if you make it a practice to do so daily, weekly, or monthly. Knowing that your data is stored in other places in case your computer breaks down can help you avoid the initial fear. This can mean the difference between being able to carry on with your daily operations and not.
  4. Cloud Storage – This is a simple approach to storing data in a location that won’t be affected by things like hackers, damaged hardware, corrupted hard drives, or broken gadgets. There is a reason why so many manufacturers of computers and mobile devices provide their own brand of cloud storage. There have been concerns raised regarding the security of data stored in the cloud, however, most platforms use encryption—a sophisticated technique that encrypts and safeguards data.
  5. Software and Tools for Data Recovery – When you know where to look and how you can usually find your files. There are options for data recovery as long as they weren’t destroyed or removed using a secure data deletion program. In many cases, it is possible to locate and recover files even after they have been removed from the recycling bin. The majority of the file still exists unless it has been totally replaced with new data. With the use of free data recovery software, lost data may frequently be restored, but the procedure is frequently time-consuming and complex. Although the software has a chance to be useful, there are risks involved if you don’t know what you’re doing.
  6. Professional data recovery is essential since data loss may be fatal for a company. As a result, many firms shut down. Your operations must recover quickly and completely to remain operational. A company that specializes in data recovery has probably encountered a situation like yours. They frequently find novel ways to obtain data that was previously assumed to be unavailable.

Lastly, always keep in mind that data is the foundation of your company. Your company depends on it to survive and thrive. For companies searching for a speedy turnaround, professional data recovery specialists offer the most dependable solution. They frequently have the most creative recovery methods and can deliver the finest outcomes.

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HOW TO RECOVER FROM A DATA BREACH

HOW TO KEEP COMPANY INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL

5 Ways Human Capital Management Will Benefit Your Company

How-To-Recover-From-Data-Breach

HOW TO RECOVER FROM A DATA BREACH

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Data Breach – How to recover from Data Breach.

Over N127 billion is lost yearly to internet fraud in Nigeria, this amount represents 0.08% of Nigeria’s gross domestic product. For businesses, the Internet is a minefield, and you might someday become the victim of a data breach. You’ll need to take rapid action to avert calamity if that occurs. The next actions must be taken right away to increase your chances of surviving.

Immediately Following a Data Breach: What to Do

In 2021, approximately 71 percent of Nigerian organizations were hit by ransomware, while 44 per cent of the affected firms were forced to pay ransoms to get their data back, according to a new report by Sophos, a United Kingdom-based cybersecurity solutions firm.

You will be shocked to know that as of Dec 12, 2021, there is no requirement to report data security breaches or losses to the authorities or to data subjects under the NDPR. However, the Framework mandates Data Controllers to notify NITDA of Personal Data breaches within 72 (seventy-two) hours of becoming aware of the breach.

Time is of the essence when it comes to a data breach. Immediately take these actions to recover from a data breach.

  1. Verify the Breach: One survey of SOC professionals found that up to 50% of breach reports are false positives, meaning that no breach had occurred. It might take a lot of time and money for a security team to investigate false positives. As a result, before putting together a task force, always have your security staff validate that a breach occurred.
  2. Create a task force to address the issue: Create a team to deal with the breach. This maintains the centralization of all reactions and recovery operations. Your reaction will be faster if you already have an incident response strategy, with clear roles for each team member.
  3. Isolate the impacted accounts and machines: Disconnect the affected computer from the network if it has been infected by a virus. You might also need to restrict access to impacted accounts or temporarily disable them. Similarly, you might also need to isolate the afflicted area of your network.
  4. Review the Material: Once the intrusion has been stopped, keep the evidence safe and review it. Make a timeline of the events and take notes. You might need to get in touch with law enforcement or the appropriate authorities at this time. You will have a far higher chance of finding the malicious actor if you preserve the evidence.
  5. The flaws should be fixed: If a flaw in your system was exploited during the breach, now is the time to fix it and search for additional flaws that a future attack might use. This could involve launching a cybersecurity awareness campaign or improving an existing one, by carrying out phishing simulation exercises.
  6. Avoid Further Breaches: Your organization must provide a sense of security and stability for your clients. You must take action to reassure them that you are making amends if you have had a breach. You should exhibit a more robust security posture. To discover other areas of your program that require improvement, think about performing a penetration test. Consider choosing a new security framework. Their confidence will increase because of this assurance.

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HOW TO KEEP COMPANY INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL

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How to keep company information confidential

HOW TO KEEP COMPANY INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL

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You have a responsibility to take the required precautions to secure sensitive information while handling it in your business, whether it relates to your clients or workers. Failure to make sure that data is protected appropriately and in compliance with the law may result in lawsuits, harm to your company’s reputation, and a decline in sales.

The greatest techniques to effectively safeguard the sensitive data that your company manages are listed below.

1. Restrict access

It is crucial that you use passwords, firewalls, and encryption to restrict access to any information that is kept digitally. This is crucial when the data is stored on portable, compact storage devices like USB drives that are simple to lose.

You must make sure that passwords are secure as well as frequently updated if you plan to use them to restrict access to sensitive data. Many firms make the error of using passwords that are simple to guess, so you should avoid doing the same if you want to protect your sensitive data. Combining upper- and lowercase letters with special characters is the best way to create passwords.

2. Use shredders and containers for confidential garbage

Despite how prevalent digital data has become, the majority of organizations still conduct a significant amount of daily paperwork. If you must discard sensitive documents, shred them or place them in a confidential garbage container. You should never believe that just because a document has been thrown away, it will not be seen by anybody else due to problems like identity theft.

3. Secure filing drawers for documents

A shredder works fine if you need to permanently destroy private documents, but what about documents you need to have on hand? The greatest solution in this situation is to have lockable storage cabinets that only a select few persons have access to the key.

Any lockable storage cabinets should be kept in a closed room that is inaccessible to everyone as an extra measure of security.

4. Confidential document delivery in a secure manner

It’s one thing to properly store secret information on your own property, but it’s crucial to deliver them in a secure way if necessary. If you need to deliver tangible documents, it’s a good idea to utilize a reputable courier service or, ideally, have someone within your organization deliver them for you.

You can use email or utilize a file-sharing tool to send digital documents to a recipient. It’s crucial to select a trusted service provider and to encrypt the documents if you utilize a file-sharing tool.

5. Employee education

The highest risk of sensitive data leakage is frequently posed by a company’s own personnel. This is frequently the result of inadequate training, which isn’t always for malevolent motives.

It’s a good idea to start off by outlining the significance of data confidentiality before teaching your staff about the technical components of data protection, such as using secure passwords and shredding papers, among other things.

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5 Ways Human Capital Management Will Benefit Your Company

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