50
Geotechnical News March 2011
ASFE NEWS
you may be able to be of service. This
can be particularly worthwhile in those
many cases where, before going out of
business, the company had signed up
for Yellow Pages advertising, classified
ads of one type or another (often
prepaid), or for prepaid listings in
various types of directories. “We don’t
want the kind of projects and/or clients
they used to deal with,” some might
say, partly to justify taking no action at
all. But how do you know what kind
of business might have been ready to
walk through their door? And if the
opportunities this tactic creates are not
to your liking, then at least you will be
able to provide referrals to reputable
organizations that can serve the clients
well, and that will more than likely
appreciate your kindness and look for
opportunities to reciprocate.
Road Warrior
You have to wonder, don’t you, why
super-luxury, expensive hotels charge
you $15 a day for Internet and don’t put
a coffee-maker in your room. We can’t
give you guidance on how to get the
Internet for free (legally), but we can
offer this tip about the coffee-maker:
Call housekeeping and ask for one,
to be accompanied by how many and
what types of coffee packets, or tea,
etc. You can also ask for real cream or
half-and-half.
Dr. English
“Dear Dr. English,” a loyal reader
wrote recently. “I have been told that
‘etc.’
– the abbreviation for
et cetera
–
should be used as a list-ender when
the list comprises things rather than
people, and that ‘et al.’ (for
et alii
)
should be used when the list comprises
people. True?”
“Dear Loyal reader,” the good doc-
tor responded. “Sounds good, but it’s
untrue.
Et cetera
means ‘and other
things’ or ‘and so on.’ You can use it
for things or for people. By contrast,
et
alii
means ‘and other males.’ BUT
et
alii
is only one of three two-Latin-word
phrases for which
et al.
is the appropri-
ate abbreviation. The other two are
et
aliae
(‘and other females’) and
et alia
(‘and other things’). In other words,
et al.
is a somewhat neat Latin phrase
whose true meaning depends on what’s
being referred to.”
Human Resources Management
A September 24, 2010 article in the
Atlanta Business Chronicle
relates
some good ideas for combating stress in
the workplace. Written by Contributing
Writer Romy Ribitsky, the article notes
that stress’ negative health effects
haven’t changed over time, but the
causes and amounts of stress have
changed, especially in the last three
years, because of the Great Recession.
Whereas stress used to stem principally
from a desire to excel, today’s principal
stress inducers include:
• higher costs of living;
• widespread unemployment;
• constant fear of being laid off;
• less resilience and, therefore, more
tension stemming from relation-
ships with superiors; subordinates,
and colleagues;
• more (or sometimes less) responsi-
bility at work;
• constant distractions because of the
need to multi-task;
• lack of leadership and little discus-
sion of the company’s mission; and
• lack of career direction.
Stress can be particularly diffi-
cult for small-business owners, Nova
Southeastern University Associate Pro-
fessor of Management Bahaudin Mu-
jtaba said, noting that “entrepreneurs
and small-business owners have more
at stake and often deal with a higher
level of stress than their corporate col-
leagues, who have deeper pockets to
deal with the economic uncertainties.”
Management Consultant Nacie
Carson has adopted a different point
of view, saying that entrepreneurs and
small-business owners are in some
ways “better suited to this economy
because they are often used to an irreg-
ular income stream and have learned
how to manage their financial needs
around booms and busts in their own
endeavors.” In either case, small-busi-
ness leaders need to think more about
than just their own needs.
Carson advises that managers dis-
cuss the state of the company and job
security with their subordinates.
Im-
portant:
Carson believes that manag-
