ptcl insight

The Mind Detoxifier for Achieving Excellence

INSIDE

A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF PAKISTAN TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANY LIMITED

Winning Employees’ Heart

Enabling growth through wireless broadband29

www.ptcl.com.pkJANUARY - MARCH 2014 |

32

2428

Bucket List

It is said “take time to appreciate employees and they will reciprocate in thousand ways”. Busy in our daily chores, while we work day in and day out in ful�llment of our organization’s goals,

Page 06

Web access is getting more pervasive by the day. Gone are the days when one would have to wait minutes on end, struggling to gain access to the internet.

Page 22

Goodbye to theStone Age,Hello to the Future!

Take Timeto Appreciate

19 January, 2014 marked the launch of three major initiatives, announced by CEO Etisalat Group, Mr. Ahmad Julfar at a ceremony held in Abu Dhabi

1

Etisalat LaunchesThree Global Initiatives

Teamwork

INSIGHT A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF PAKISTAN TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANY LIMITED


As you’re reading these lines, we’re well settled into the new year – a year full of hope and promise, beckoning the great future that lies ahead, for us both as individuals as well as part of the PTCL family. The spring air is laden with the assurance of the brightness that future holds for us and is a harbinger of the good things that lie ahead. The horizons are vivid, indicating the optimism and feel-good emotions that permeate the environment around us. Sanguinity is visible everywhere: so discernible that it can be touched.The year gone by has been fantastic in terms of organizational performance. We continued our journey in pursuit of our goal of becoming the leading ICT service provider in the region. This euphoric feeling and an exhilarating mood is, therefore, the underlying theme of our current issue. We bring to you the story of an ordinary employee – ordinary because of his being a low-level employee as far as the organizational hierarchy is concerned but otherwise a towering figure when it comes to his dedication, commitment, and loyalty to the job that he’s been assigned to do. This is the stuff great personalities are made of and these are the qualities which determine an organization’s success in this competitive corporate world.This issue also features an informal tete a tete with one of our oldest customers – a person in the rural heartland of the Punjab who has been our customer since 1953. During all these sixty years or so, he has witnessed the mind-boggling transformation that PTCL has undergone in terms of technological advancements as well as service delivery and offerings. This is the first-hand account of a person who has not only seen all this makeover happen in his full view but has felt it as well.And, of course, the issue carries the usual dose of trivia and fun material to brighten your lives and relieve some of the drudgery associated with the life’s daily grind. We are trying our utmost to bring you a balanced offering every quarter that is both entertaining as well as informative. And in this quest, we’re always on the lookout for your valuable suggestions and contributions.

Happy reading and may we all have a blessed future!

From the Editor

Editor -In-Chief Shahzad Safdar Khan

(EVP HR Services)

EditorsAhmed Jalal (GM TA)

Sharif Durrani (SM Marcom)

Editorial CoordinatorsDr. Irfan Zafar (SM PTCL Academy)

Beenish Khan (Manager CHRO Office)

Mehwish Shams (AM HRO)

Amber Nasir (Manager Brand)

EditorialTeam

Welcome to PTCL Insight


It is a great pleasure to see another issue of the Insight making its mark. Insight is providing a medium for the employees to voice their thoughts and share valuable input, thus driving towards promoting a knowledge culture. This effort is part of the broader focus of the company to instigate a family culture and bonding among the human resource working in the company. In today’s world, organizations have to create and nurture human bonding which eventually leads towards making the organization a ‘home’. This home culture further transforms the organization into a well-knit, connected family – a family whose members think and feel for one another; who empathize with their brethren; who accord respect and care to their comrades and consider their fellows’ problems as their own. All our efforts at PTCL have been geared towards creating such an environment and culture and we’re confident that with your support, we would continue striving towards achieving further excellence on this front.

Being part of the Etisalat Global Family, it is also our prime objective to synergize our energies towards inculcating the Global Values into our organization. These values should become part of our organizational DNA and our behaviors should reflect them as we conduct our day to day official affairs. No organization can succeed towards the achievement of its goals and objectives without embedding its cultural norms and values at every level of its existence. Adherence to these values further translates into making us better human beings and useful members of the society.So through this sense of camaraderie and belongingness among ourselves, let’s align our energies to make PTCL stand tall among the group of Etisalat Global Family telcos.Ameen!

Syed Mazhar HussainCHRO

05

A Few Words by CHRO

Dream big, conceive your dreams into a workable plan, and work passionately and tirelessly to convert that plan into reality.

—Walid Irshaid (President & CEO)


06

Take Timeto Appreciate

It is said “take time to appreciate employees and they will reciprocate in thousand ways”. Busy in our daily chores, while we work day in and day out in fulfillment of our organizational goals, we tend to overlook the dedication and commitment of our junior staff serving and taking care of us every day. Just like us, they spend their days and nights at the cost of their personal lives in helping us to achieve our objectives. Generally titled as ‘Naib Qasid’, these junior staff members put-in all their efforts to work towards the satisfaction of their seniors. Their work involves reaching office ahead of time, ensuring cleanliness of the offices, serving tea/coffees endlessly,

taking the confidential office files and staying back in office till the boss is

there. They work with untiring zeal and motivation even

though most of the time they do not get recognized

accordingly.One of the core values

of PTCL is “Loyalty” of an employee

towards his work and the

organization in general.

The question arises as to how we define a loyal employee? A Loyal and devoted employee is someone who genuinely believes in the company goals and work towards the achievement of those goals. He takes pride in his work and gives his best to portray the image of the company in a positive and productive way. He is faithful to the organization and has strong feelings of bonding and belongingness towards the company.A living example of such loyalty and

devotion is Mr. Umer Hayat, a Naib Qasid serving in PTCL

Headquarters for over 30 years of his life. He is one of the oldest

employees still serving in PTCL. “Chacha Umer”, as

we call him, is a simple, down-to-earth human

being and, always keeps a smile on

his face. He has experienced

many ups a n d

downs o f

the company and has been part of the evolution from PT&T to the present PTCL.When we decided to cover his story, while trying to get in touch with him, we found out that he doesn’t carry a mobile phone. Upon asking him about the reason for this, he replied “I do not want to complicate my life with these gadgets. I am a simple man and want to keep my life that way”.Hailing from a small town of Kashmir (Bagh), Mr. Umer passed his matriculation exam from his hometown

and came to the federal capital Islamabad with high hopes to earn a better livelihood for himself and his family. The Year 1982 changed his life when on 15th of January 1982, he received his appointment letter from PTCL. He felt over the moon for being selected in one of the most preferred and prestigious organization of Pakistan. PTCL became his destination for the rest of his life. He remembers the overall journey in a very cherish able way.According to him, he was fortunate enough to work for a number of executives during the span of his service and found almost all of them very kind and caring. “There are two ways of making someone work. Some bosses believe in coercive behavior towards their team members while others are humble in their attitude. It is definitely motivating to work with an easy-going and kind-hearted boss”, he says.PTCL is a dynamic organization and he has always witnessed his organization making positive contributions to the economy of our country. This is one of the core factors that have kept him motivated despite having seen many ups and downs during the company’s transformation. The journey of PTCL has helped him a lot

in his practical life as well. He considers PTCL as his identity. PTCL has undergone many changes not just in terms of the work environment that has improved over years but also in terms of people. He feels glad that young & hardworking people are now being hired and they have changed the overall image of the company. But at the same time, he feels nostalgic and remembers his colleagues who have now left the company. He is a strong proponent of hard-work. According to him, success starts with hard-work. He mentioned an incident when the telephone lines of Saudi Embassy went out of order and he, along with other staff members, stayed in the office till late in the night to get the fault rectified. He believes that work has always remained a priority for him and that is why he maintains a good reputation within the organization. He believes that the most significant ingredient of a person’s success in life is the prayers and blessings of his parents and the support of the family. Talking about his family he mentioned that he has been blessed with four children. The eldest son runs a small business while the other three are getting their education.

PTCL as an employer has always given him the opportunity to keep work-life balance thus enabling him to spend time with his family. He is thankful to Almighty Allah for blessing him with bright and noble children. He describes the facilities of Medical, Accommodation and Transport provided by PTCL as unmatchable because had these been not in place, he would not have been able to easily spare money to provide quality life to his children.In a message to his fellow colleagues, he said, “mehnat karo to chand py bhi ja sakty ho” (If you work hard you can even reach the moon). He went on to say that he has complete faith in the decisions taken by the management from time to time, although sometimes the decisions and actions taken by the management might seem harsh, but they are beneficial for the organization in the long run. He concludes “Employees should not lose faith about their future in the company and should always work hard”.

PTCL has undergone many

changes not just in terms of the work environment that

has improved over years but also in terms of people.

Mehwish ShamsAM (HR Operations)

Beenish KhanManager (CHRO Office)


07

It is said “take time to appreciate employees and they will reciprocate in thousand ways”. Busy in our daily chores, while we work day in and day out in fulfillment of our organizational goals, we tend to overlook the dedication and commitment of our junior staff serving and taking care of us every day. Just like us, they spend their days and nights at the cost of their personal lives in helping us to achieve our objectives. Generally titled as ‘Naib Qasid’, these junior staff members put-in all their efforts to work towards the satisfaction of their seniors. Their work involves reaching office ahead of time, ensuring cleanliness of the offices, serving tea/coffees endlessly,

taking the confidential office files and staying back in office till the boss is

there. They work with untiring zeal and motivation even

though most of the time they do not get recognized

accordingly.One of the core values

of PTCL is “Loyalty” of an employee

towards his work and the

organization in general.

The question arises as to how we define a loyal employee? A Loyal and devoted employee is someone who genuinely believes in the company goals and work towards the achievement of those goals. He takes pride in his work and gives his best to portray the image of the company in a positive and productive way. He is faithful to the organization and has strong feelings of bonding and belongingness towards the company.A living example of such loyalty and

devotion is Mr. Umer Hayat, a Naib Qasid serving in PTCL

Headquarters for over 30 years of his life. He is one of the oldest

employees still serving in PTCL. “Chacha Umer”, as

we call him, is a simple, down-to-earth human

being and, always keeps a smile on

his face. He has experienced

many ups a n d

downs o f

the company and has been part of the evolution from PT&T to the present PTCL.When we decided to cover his story, while trying to get in touch with him, we found out that he doesn’t carry a mobile phone. Upon asking him about the reason for this, he replied “I do not want to complicate my life with these gadgets. I am a simple man and want to keep my life that way”.Hailing from a small town of Kashmir (Bagh), Mr. Umer passed his matriculation exam from his hometown

and came to the federal capital Islamabad with high hopes to earn a better livelihood for himself and his family. The Year 1982 changed his life when on 15th of January 1982, he received his appointment letter from PTCL. He felt over the moon for being selected in one of the most preferred and prestigious organization of Pakistan. PTCL became his destination for the rest of his life. He remembers the overall journey in a very cherish able way.According to him, he was fortunate enough to work for a number of executives during the span of his service and found almost all of them very kind and caring. “There are two ways of making someone work. Some bosses believe in coercive behavior towards their team members while others are humble in their attitude. It is definitely motivating to work with an easy-going and kind-hearted boss”, he says.PTCL is a dynamic organization and he has always witnessed his organization making positive contributions to the economy of our country. This is one of the core factors that have kept him motivated despite having seen many ups and downs during the company’s transformation. The journey of PTCL has helped him a lot

in his practical life as well. He considers PTCL as his identity. PTCL has undergone many changes not just in terms of the work environment that has improved over years but also in terms of people. He feels glad that young & hardworking people are now being hired and they have changed the overall image of the company. But at the same time, he feels nostalgic and remembers his colleagues who have now left the company. He is a strong proponent of hard-work. According to him, success starts with hard-work. He mentioned an incident when the telephone lines of Saudi Embassy went out of order and he, along with other staff members, stayed in the office till late in the night to get the fault rectified. He believes that work has always remained a priority for him and that is why he maintains a good reputation within the organization. He believes that the most significant ingredient of a person’s success in life is the prayers and blessings of his parents and the support of the family. Talking about his family he mentioned that he has been blessed with four children. The eldest son runs a small business while the other three are getting their education.

PTCL as an employer has always given him the opportunity to keep work-life balance thus enabling him to spend time with his family. He is thankful to Almighty Allah for blessing him with bright and noble children. He describes the facilities of Medical, Accommodation and Transport provided by PTCL as unmatchable because had these been not in place, he would not have been able to easily spare money to provide quality life to his children.In a message to his fellow colleagues, he said, “mehnat karo to chand py bhi ja sakty ho” (If you work hard you can even reach the moon). He went on to say that he has complete faith in the decisions taken by the management from time to time, although sometimes the decisions and actions taken by the management might seem harsh, but they are beneficial for the organization in the long run. He concludes “Employees should not lose faith about their future in the company and should always work hard”.

09


Ride your Cloud-Liberate your world EVO needs no introduction; it is one of the most trusted and highly recommended internet connections in Pakistan. As a part of its aim to provide affordable internet access to customers 3G EVO launched a new offer for its potential cloud customersUnder this campaign customers were offered a non-bundled EVO-Cloud with a 20% Discount on monthly line-rent forever! Prior to this for any customer to avail cloud services they had to subscribe to bundle offer which was slightly pricier. The customers can enjoy connectivity on upto 5 wifi

enabled devices at speeds of 3.1 Mbps at economical price. The main feature of this campaign was

affordability and targeting masses.In terms of its presentation the communication was clear and to the point- as the caption states “Get your new cloud for Rs 3000 & enjoy internet usage for Rs 1000/month”For customers who are looking for economical option on a trendier gadget this is a great offer & PTCL has been able to reach them effectively.This will serve as a great tool

to broaden the Cloud customer base resulting in enhanced revenue base.

EVO Cloud –Priceless offer

Future MobilePhones

In present times, Technology change is riding at the speed of light. Hence, it is quite difficult for someone to predict what future mobiles would look like and what they will offer to human beings. The only possible way to find out about futuristic mobile phones is to invent a time machine and then travel to the future. For now, it can only be a fantasy, therefore with current mobile phones around; a pattern can be defined which will give us an idea of the future emerging trends.

Mobile research centers across the world are working hard on multiple fronts to invent best for the future. Mostly the research is centered on the Flexible cum bendable (FcB) mobile phones and the ones which are embedded in spectacles.

FcB will be big screen mobile phones with air flow sensitivity, eye retina operations and 3d display as ad-on. Few of these technologies are already available. In near future, brain reader wireless technology will be introduced with these FcB’s. Science labs are already working on technologies which will read human brain signals generated from human body and then same will be communicated to processors for decisions and actions. This would enable humans to communicate their voice without uttering a single word. This would be a miracle for the dumb people. Also sitting within a crowd one can pass voice to any one over the mobile phone without speaking. This new invention will soon be part of future mobile phones.

Mobile phones in spectacles will further aid technologies like eye retina

movement, 3d display and brain reading capabilities. It may come much earlier than FcB technology as spectacles are very close to human brain, eye, ear and skin. Hence, taking commands from eye, brain or skin would be much easier. Famous companies have already launched spectacles to watch 3d movies and very soon mobile phone features shall be added into the same technology. Google Glasses is one such example.

Also, hologram technology will be introduced with 3d and true colors. Whenever someone would make a call, he/she will be able to see their colorful mirror image near to reality (3d colored hologram). This technology will give another edge to virtual conferences and meetings.

Mobile Phone manufacturers are also planning to bring future mobiles with build-in financial cards (Debit/Credit) functionalities. There won’t be any need to swipe or insert cards into machines; mobile phones will be enabled to make payments with just one click by passing information to cash machines, supermarket POS systems and banks etc. In addition, identification of individuals shall also be communicated to security equipment without any human intervention.

In future, medical, educational and working history of individual will be stored in mobile devices with pre-verification from concerned authorities. Mobile phones will provide blood pressure, heart beat and diabetes level on real time basis. All these technologies in future will give birth to concept of “VIRTUAL ME”.

Batteries’ charging is the biggest challenge of today’s mobile phones. Labs are working on materials which will consume sun light and run for many months without any charging. In addition to many other features, future mobile phones will come with mini projectors and globalized Wi-Fi internet facilities. Future mobile sets will be used as extended memory which will help users to recognize any one they had met in past within few seconds. It will be extremely beneficial for old people or the ones with long term memory issues. Last but not the least; future mobiles shall be operating and guiding all your home appliances and transportation vehicles as per your command and requirements.

But every new technology has its fallouts too. Personal information would not be that personal any more. The humans will become more machines/technology dependent resulting in reduced human socialization. However, it is to be noted that no matter how much technology shall advance, human brains would remain invincible and supreme. Intelligence in machines will remain “artificial intelligence” and humans will always remain the best and the most innovative species in our universe.

Ijaz Haider Malik SM (Projects)


10

11

19 January, 2014 marked the launch of three major initiatives, announced by CEO Etisalat Group, Mr. Ahmad Julfar at a ceremony held in Abu Dhabi wherein all Group CXOs, OpCo CEOs and CHROs were gathered. The three initiatives are the Etisalat Global Values, Etisalat Global Employee Survey and Etisalat Top 100. These programs will be deployed all over the organization and is a reiteration of the company’s resolve of having passionate engaged employees by providing them the best development and engagement opportunities. First Program, the Etisalat Global Values is the foundation of our identity and behaviors. The program aims to strengthen the idea of setting a uniform direction for the whole organization. This program reinforces that we are a ‘Global Family’ of 40,000 employees, operating in 15 different countries, we are ‘Innovative ‘ in what we do, we always put our ’Customer at the Center’ and are at all times ‘Focused on our People’. These values are a part of our DNA and are meant to be lived by employees each day at work. Living these values will boost the motivation of our employees and will derive desired results for the organization as well.

The second initiative is the Global Employee Satisfaction Survey which is a manifestation of the company’s focus on its people, by engaging them in a communication through their feedback on various factors relating to their career path and work environment in the organization. The Survey is a measurement of employee engagement and definitely helps in bringing in improvements in our policies. It is aimed

that the participation level of employees increases in the current year in comparison to last year’s 78%. PTCL also had a remarkable 89% participation level in the 2012 survey and various actions taken, based on the survey results including FueL (Future Leadership program), PTCL’s Got Talent, HR E-Facilitation Center, indicate the importance of employee engagement and feedback at PTCL.

Lastly, the Etisalat Top 100 program which is a unique development program for the top 100 employees shortlisted from all the OpCo’s , who are high performers, occupying key roles critical to the business. This will be a customized development program based on the career aspirations of the selected employees. The program will also help in identifying, in light of theGroup strategy, future trends, industry and business requirement based on the feedback of the “Stars” across its OpCos who exhibit consistent high performance and make major contributions to the business success through execution and delivery of results. Notably, six employees of PTCL also got selected for this prestigious program.These programs are definitely an essence of Etisalat’s vision and will give it a competitive edge over other Telecom Operators of the world. These initiatives will act as motivation boosters for the employees also, helping to enhance business all over the organization.


Etisalat Launches Three Global Initiatives

13


Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), being the largest ICT service provider in Pakistan, is investing in one of the largest international submarine cable consortium system, in collaboration with the leading telecom operators of the world. The undersea cable system encompasses a multimillion dollar investment and will enable Pakistan to meet its future information communications needs. Sayyed Muhammad Imran Ali, PTCL Executive Vice President (EVP) International Business Relations and Essa Khalifa Alsuwaidi, PTCL Executive Vice President (EVP) International Investments & Capacity Sales represented PTCL at the signing ceremony.The new cable system, Asia Africa Europe (AAE-1), will be adding terabits of bandwidth to PTCL’s international capacity,

besides building redundancy to its existing international infrastructure on eastern and western side of the Arabian Sea. AAE-1 is one of the largest cable systems launched and will employ 100Gbps technology with wavelength add/drop branching units along the lowest latency route and a design capacity of over 40 terabits.Spanning approximately 25,000 KMs, the AAE-1 submarine cable will be one of the first cable systems connecting Hong Kong, Singapore, Middle East, Africa and Europe and provide an alternative low latency route between Pakistan and rest of the world.The target completion date for AAE-1 cable construction is the year 2016.

The Wireless team achieved yet another milestone with a breakthrough 138,000 EVO Customers attained through the enticing “Happy Times” Offer. The Promo which ran from the 24th of Dec till the 31st of Jan offered an appealing discount on monthly charges for a period of 12 Months. The Commercial department had already wrapped up the previous year with aggressive campaigns, managing to over achieve both sales and revenue targets by a wide margin.Demonstrating their commitment to customer value creation, the team recently launched two thrilling promos, one rewarding their EVO patrons with a Wingle upgrade at nominal costs, while the other offered a free EVO USB Device to PTCL DSL users for flexibility of use at multiple locations. The EVO Web Portal, now also provides the functionality for placing online orders thereby further streamlining the sales experience for the ease of customers. “In a landscape characterized by Increasing Competition and technological development , combatting attrition through continuous value creation and compelling offerings is paramount.”

Meeting and exceeding the demands of its customers and doing so profitably in a cost effective manner is the challenge of every service provider. The department strives to ensure that such growth in customer net base as witnessed recently, is not achieved at the cost of Quality of Service. Any resultant network congestion is thus battled through constant network expansion and Up-gradation of capacity. Regulatory challenges are also bound to affect time-to-market for upcoming products, with the team currently setting its sights on the launch of hi-speed MiFi Clouds, Dongles and Tablets.The department meanwhile continues to engage in strategic alliances with suppliers , vendors, distributors and partners; recently aligning itself with TCS, HBL & UBL Omni, relentlessly pursuing every avenue for order and bill-payments, whether through SMS Text or Credit Card.The Commercial Department, much like its flagship product, is constantly evolving.

Business Development Buzz

Commercial Buzz

PTCL inks agreement to build one of the largest Submarine Cable System

14


3G – Threat or Opportunity for PTCLTraining & Development launched a 2-day learning intervention (11th & 12th Mar 2014) on today’s most sought after knowledge area of 3G Technology titled ‘3G – Threat or Opportunity for PTCL’ with Mr. Peter Lange, world’s renowned consultant and expert in telecommunications. He has over 20 years of experience in various sectors of the telecommunication industry worldwide.OBJECTIVESThe program focused on the following areas; The rise of mobile, decline of landline business & the

fixed-mobile convergence. Pakistan’s market and completion analysis (Market forecast

2014/2020). Threats and Risks for PTCL from 3G. Weaknesses and challenges for PTCL’s competitors (3G

licensing, technology, network infrastructure, QOS, ARPU and churn).

The next step: 4G/LTE. The future of Broadband (case studies). Strategies for PTCL to turn challenges into new

opportunities (WiFi/CDMA2000-EVDO/FTTH/NGN/IMS/LTE)

PTCL Jumps up to Top 3 on Rozee’s 'Employer of ChoicePTCL has been ranked as the Top 3rd ‘Employer of Choice’ in the Telecom Industry in Rozee.pk’s “Top Employer Survey” for the year 2013. This survey is conducted every year by a well-established professional body and this year, the results have been based on the feedback of 15,000 professionals working at different tiers and students from diverse backgrounds who

assessed a total of 760 employers. The tremendous efforts to enhance the organization’s visibility have resulted in garnering this achievement. Coming with a legacy of 100 years, it was indeed an uphill task to establish PTCL as a preferred Employer in the telecom sector. Changing the perceptions about PTCL from an old-styled organization to a progressive and transforming entity, particularly, in competition with the green-field operators, was also an enormous challenge.

PTCL Shapes Future LeadersPTCL believes that not only the employees but their families are also the important part of PTCL and this led to the concept ofPTCL Family. PTCL training department organized a one day program at PTCL Academy which was aimed at preparing the

teenagers to be more responsible, creative and tolerant of differences. The objective was to increase their ability to think for themselves, take initiative, get along with others and solve problems by recognizing their potentials they are gifted with. The response from PTCL Family for participation in the program was astounding and over whelming.

PTCL Family Savings Program facilitates employees to achieve more

Marylin Tim said that happy employees are productive employees. Not only do happy and satisfied employees function better, but they also contribute to the company’s bottom line in a much bigger way. With this vision, the Employee Facilitation Center of HR Operations has initiated various programs at PTCL, which aim to promote wellness and a healthy balance between work and personal lives of the PTCL Family. One of them is “PTCL Employee family savings program”. With the aim of benefiting and facilitating employees under the umbrella of “PTCL Family Savings Program” various agreements have been signed with educational institutions, popular food chains and event halls through which services will be provided at concessionary rates varying between 10-20% to PTCL Family Members.The dedicated efforts of the Employee Facilitation Team have been highly appreciated by the employees and their families.

HR Buzz

15


ProcurementBuzz

Technical Buzz Finance Buzz

The primary focus of Technical team over the past year has been Network Expansion. The objective has been to increase penetration and reach more customers. Under this theme, a massive Network Roll-out is underway at an extremely fast pace. Over the last quarter, 163 EVO capable BTSs and 228 MSAGs with more than 90,000 Broadband ports were enabled and installed in the Network. All of this is serving as an underlying catalyst for growth and revenue.Apart from that, enhancing Quality of Customer Experience has been keenly looked after. DNS platform underwent a major upgrade, ensuring better experience while customers enjoy our Broadband service. The platform is now fully a carrier grade solution. First Class Broadband Service Program also reached its first milestone of setting up a “Service Desk” at NOC Premises. The facility would provide online support for assurance and fulfilment process and would directly assist Business Operations team in Service Delivery and Fault rectification. The center would also be a One Stop Shop for all back-end support activities for entire North Zone. The program entails extending the facility to Central and South Zone, which shall be completed by the end of Next quarter.”

Procurement department of PTCL took the following initiatives within the fourth quarter of the year 2013. The department Launched E-Office to eliminate massive

paperwork and ensure real-time integration/availability of data to all the concerned.

Organized and smoothly cleared Surveillance Audit 2014 for QA/ISO Certification.

Initiated the Pilot Project for RSD (Regional Stores Depot) enabling end-to-end/concurrent visibility of stores especially CPEs.

Concluded Frame Agreements for Custom Clearance/Freight Forwarding and Tax Consultancy resulting fine savings to PTCL.

Consolidation/Stock management of IT equipment (being used by PTCL Officials/Operations) requirements to streamline processes.

Conclusion of 4MB DSL Connection Upgrade (High priority Project) in line with Triple Constraint in true letter and spirit.

Results For Financial Year 2013 Announced:

Meeting of PTCL Board of Directors was held on 2nd February 2014 in which PTCL results for the Financial Year 2013 were approved. Following is summary of the results announced:

PTCL Group:PTCL Group earned revenue of Rs. 131.2 Billion, net profit of Rs. 15.8 Billion, with earning per share of Rs. 3.09 during 2013

PTCL Company:PTCL Company earned revenue of Rs. 81.1 Billion, net profit of Rs. 12.7 Billion, with earning per share of Rs. 2.49 during 2013Board of Directors have approved dividend of Rs. 2 per share during the year (Rs. 1/ share was announced as interim dividend, while Rs. 1/ share was announced as final dividend)

Payment Solutions to Facilitate PTCL CustomersFinance department has been endeavoring to strengthen its bond with PTCL customers by facilitating them in payment of their bills. In-house cash collection at One Stop Shops (OSS), Revenue Offices, Walk in Centers, Ufone Customer Service Centers and franchises, Public Cash Payment Machines (PCPMs), and online integration of banks are some of the projects in this regard. Payment is updated in customer accounts on real time basis with automatic restoration of suspended lines on payment through online channels. Recently, another 15 PCPMs were added at various OSSs of PTCL and now a total of 50 PCPMs are serving customers where customers can themselves pay their bills of various services of PTCL including Telephone line, Broadband, EVO, Vfone, and Ufone. Presently, these machines are serving in 16 major cities of Pakistan including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Gujranwala, Multan, Hyderabad, Quetta, Jhelum, Sialkot, DG Khan, Bahawalpur, Sadiqabad, and Wah Cantt. With regard to online integration project, we have also taken NADRA, MCB, and Ubank on board in our online channels and now more than 66,000 online collection points are available for our valued customers. In total, almost 60% of the collection of PTCL is now routed through online channels.


16

Contact Center Customer Management Contact Centers are the face of PTCL and the staff of contact center put in their heart and soul to improve the image of the company by resolving customer complaints, providing exemplary service to customers and adding more and more potential customers to PTCL Portfolio through their dedication

In the month of January, 2014 Contact Centers entertained 2.25 million customers over the Call. Their service is not limited to voice calls, the staff is now entertaining customers through Web Chat and Email platform as well. MyPTCL is another great initiative by Customer Care through which so far approx. 4,987 orders have been registered, and the usage trend of ‘My PTCL’ is increasing day by day.

Key Achievements 15% increment in matured sales and 10%

increase in Registered sales of Broadband, PSTN & IPTV.

Achieved the benchmark of 85% Customer Satisfaction Survey for the first time.

Achieved major KPI of having the minimal Average speed of Answer (ASA), On an average each customer was entertained in 19 seconds only.

70 Agents have been trained for “One Call Does it” Project, these agents will work as super agents to respond all calls on the helplines.

To extend Customer Self Care Facilitation, IVR based PSTN /Broadband Packages & VAS services Activation/Deactivation project has been finalized with IS for development and deployment in CRM Phase-II.

NPS is being done successfully to monitor company Promoters Scores

IVR Based Claim Rectification Helpline To Facilitate Operational StaffCustomer Care department initiated the helpline 1270 (Faults Claim Rectification Helpline) so that the field staff can claim the faults rectified by them as soon as they attend to a complaint. The objective of this project is to claim attended faults timely in system without any delay so that the contact center staff can take customer ’s feedback accordingly as well. This system will make the CSR/CPEIs accountable and will indicate the performance and KPI achievement status of the field staff also.

Annual Gala Functions

Customer Care department organized Annual Gala Dinner Functions for Contact Center staff in Lahore, Islamabad & Karachi

respectively. All the staff at the contact centers participated with enthusiasm and

displayed their talents through Role Plays and other entertaining activities. Mr. Jamil Khwaja, CCCO

attended the events and distributed excellence awards among the top performing agents.

CRM and NOC integration to facilitate operational staffCustomer Care department initiated the CRM and NOC integration (ONU, MSAG, Cabinets) to capture the active and passive outages reported in system CRM. The objective of this project is to facilitate field staff CSRs/CPEIs in faults assignments and attending the genuine faults on priority. Customers are informed during complaints registration by contact center agent regarding the technical being faced by them and are apologized for inconvenience. Such types of complaints are associated with NTTs to avoid un-necessary registration. Secondly, visibility for faults related to technical wing has been developed in CRM where respective ABMs/BMs will be able to assign and delegate faults to Technical wing in system CRM to address on priority instead of manual escalation.

Customer Care Buzz

17


IT department completed the below projects in the fourth quarter of the year 2013.

BI & Enterprise Data warehouse (EDW) project was initiated. This project is aimed at helping business take smart and quick decisions, reduce churns and enhancing customer experience.

Fleet Management System has been deployed in three more regions which facilitates the department in having better control and visibility of operational expenditures

E-Procurement initiative from Group has also been implemented in PTCL ERP System

IVR based complaint rectification has been implemented. This will add to customer satisfaction and help reduce churn.

Integration of Online Charging System (OCS) with IT systems has been one of the major milestones achieved . IT department helped Technical to Rollout OCS as per their plan.

HR E-Facilitation Center has been established & launched to manage the interaction of employees with HR and thus improve internal communication.

IT department of PTCL and Ufone IT have extended the automation in bundled services and enabled business to launch new bundles as per their business needs in 12 different products.

PTCL Cloud computing changing Pakistan’s educational landscape

With the advent of Cloud Computing, traditional methods of communication, data sharing and processes have been redefined. Keeping in line with the rapidly evolving technological trends, PTCL launched its pilot Cloud Computing services for corporate clients in April 2013.

This service is specifically designed to cater for the growing

business needs of the corporate customers and provides the convenience of tailor made design, build & implementation of networks in a simplified, secure and cost effective manner. PTCL Cloud enables customers to effectively control their processing resources, storage and memory and vary server capacity on demand.

PTCL inks accord with Khushali Bank to provide Managed WAN Services

PTCL has inked an agreement with Khushali Bank Limited (KBL) to provide end-to-end connectivity solutions through its Managed WAN services. The agreement entails provision of Data Connectivity, Hosted IP Video Surveillance and Managed Router to more than 100 branches of Khushali Bank, which is one of the largest Micro Finance Bank in Pakistan. Walid Irshaid, President and CEO, PTCL while speaking at the occasion said, “By leveraging PTCL’s cutting edge ICT services, we are committed to boost efficiency, improve services and operations delivery for organizations across Pakistan and empower businesses to reach their full potential through technology”. The MoU was signed by Kamal Ahmed, Chief Digital & Corporate Services Officer PTCL and Nasir Naqvi, Chief Information Officer, Khushali Bank in the presence of Walid Irshaid, President & CEO, PTCL and Ghalib Nishtar, President, Khushali Bank. The deployment of PTCL’s Managed WAN & Surveillance services will ensure 24X7 business continuity, security and improved customer experience for Khushali Bank in a cost effective manner without any capital expenditure.

IT Buzz

Digital & CorporateServices Buzz


A loyal and satisfied customer is the biggest treasure for any organization in the Service Industry. PTCL being the oldest telecommunication company of Pakistan, in operation since the inception of Pakistan, has a customer base of over 2.8 million customers all over Pakistan. A decade back, PTCL was the only significant communication channel available to the people of Pakistan to connect to their loved ones. Over the years, the organization built and sustained many important relationships with its customers; and it is the customers and their continuous feedback which has helped PTCL improve manifolds.

In order to recognize the loyalty of our valued customers, the HR team in

coordination with the Regional teams identified one of the oldest connections

in Hafizabad city and decided to interview the customer so that his

experience with PTCL and the account of his long journey

could be shared with our readers. Mr. Muhammad

Ali (Late), father of Mr. Zafar Iqbal, was a

small businessman in Hafizabad who

got a telephone line installed

in the year

1953 to facilitate his business.

Hafizabad is a relatively smaller, agricultural city of Punjab and famous for its rice export industry. At the time of independence in 1947 many refugees, including Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims got settled there and engaged in small businesses. The kind of population and their businesses in Hafizabad called for the need of telecommunication much earlier than many of the urban areas of the

country. So, initially a 50 line CB Exchange was established on 15th

Nov 1952 in the center of the town to meet the needs of rich

businessmen of that time. Later on, this exchange was

converted into EMD on 25th Oct 1974.

Mr. Zafar Iqbal was contacted by the

HR & Business team of the

region and they

Cherishing OldRelationships

A tete-a-tete with one of theoldest customers of PTCL

requested to meet him to acknowledge his long association with PTCL. He refused to meet the team due to the fear of a hoax but, upon receiving us with a PTCL souvenir in our hands at his door step, he warmly welcomed the team and asked his sons to join too.

When did you get the landline connection and for what purpose?

My father Mr. M. Ali (late) got the PTCL landline connection in 1953 so we have been users of the PTCL landline for the past 61 years. In those times, having a telephone line was a luxury and not everyone could afford it. We used to call our relatives or friends, and since we were the only ones who had this facility in the locality, our neighbors usually used our number to talk to their relatives in the country and abroad. So this was a matter of pride for us.

I do not recall any bad experience in terms of

complaint handling. Since we live close to the exchange, the staff of the exchange knew us mostly and they were always

prompt in service.

18

19


PTCL had been a state-owned company a few years back, usually customer service expectations from government organizations are pretty low, how was your experience of customer services and complaint handling with PTCL?

All what I recall from my past experience is that during the early days of landline services, we used chit (small message slip) and dropped the chit in a box placed at the gate of main exchange of Hafizabad and the concerned staff resolved the problem without any delay. I do not recall any bad experience in terms of complaint handling. Since we live close to the exchange, the staff of the exchange knew us mostly and they were always prompt in service.

In the current era, when you have multiple communication channels like mobile service, internet available at cheap rates, what in your view is the added benefit of a landline connection and the reason for you to still use it?

We are more comfortable with the landline facility, there is no issue of network signals and especially during these days when at various occasions, due to adverse security situation in the country, mobile phone service goes off, PTCL landline is a great advantage to connect to family and friends. While we are home, we use the landline only instead of mobile, because we find it more reliable, we can talk more easily and clearly as compared to mobile.

Do you think that PTCL products are providing good value for money in comparison to the other cellular service providers?

Yes, as far as landline is concerned, PTCL’s service is unmatched. There were a number of other wireless products introduced by various competitors but with time they have all withered. Landline to landline rates and even international dialing rates are very affordable and my family can talk with relatives freely without any time constraint.

It is generally said that getting a telephone connection a few decades back was an ordeal; did your father ever mention his experience of getting a phone line from PTCL back then in 1950s?

Yes, I can recollect those memories, my father did share with me that it took us probably more than a year, to get the connection. The exchange was established in 1952 and our connection was installed in 1953. The procedure was too long and tedious. The installation was actually celebrated in our house and the news spread in our locality also as I mentioned earlier that we were the only ones to have a landline in the vicinity.

What is your perception of current PTCL and any major improvements you have witnessed in PTCL over the past few years?

The service has definitely improved many times, there are less disruptions, the line is mostly clear. Over time, the calling rates have come down; the element of comfort has surely increased with time.

Are you aware of the different products that you can avail on your landline connection like IPTV & Broadband Service?

No. I am rather pleasantly surprised to know that I can avail these facilities on my landline connection.

How do you think we can bring improvement in our services/systems?

Introduce some cheaper packages for landline users. I think there should be more packages with discounted rates for mobile calls. This will increase the use of landline and also number of customers.

Would you like to say something about PTCL?

I am actually amazed to see that PTCL values its customers so much. The way your team has approached me and has given me the gifts and soveniour speaks aloud about the customer care at PTCL. I feel honored to be a part of your family and my bond with PTCL will further strengthen. I am really thankful to you people and PTCL for making this relationship cherishing for me.

The service has definitely improved

many times, there are less disruptions, the line is mostly clear.

Over time, the calling rates have come

down; the element of comfort has surely

increased with time.

Conducted byNadeem Nazir (SMHRBP)Riaz Hussain Farooqui (Manager Admin)Khurram Shehzad (AM HRBP)Aqeel Anwar (BM Hafizabad)

Naureen QamarAM (Training)

Muhammad AmjadManager (Soft Dev)

Muhammad JubairManager (Soft Dev)

Malik Aamir HayatAM (BSS)

Shahid MehmoodAM (Finance)

Mahrukh RehmanAM (TM&L)

Saif Ur RehmanAM (BSS)

Ghulam MustafaAM (Contract Supply)


Muhammad ImranAM (Consumer Sales)

Asad Ur RehmanAM (OD)

Muhammad WajidGM(Admin & Sec)

Nadia Azher KhanManager (HR Strategy)

Aymen AbdullahAM (TM&L)

INSIGHT A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF PAKISTAN TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANY LIMITEDN

ew P

TCL

Fam

ily M

embe

rsSa

y he

llo to

the

new

add

ition

s to

our

PTC

L Fa

mily

indu

cted

from

Oct

to D

ec 2

013 Muhammad Imran

Manager (OD)Muhammad IdreesSM (PS & AN)

Arbab AhmadSenior Engineer

Riaz AhmadEVP (IP & MMBB)

Usman AzharManager (NOC-PD)

Nabeel AzmatAM (NOC)

Tasneem AkhtarOffice Coordinator

Nadeem AshrafSM (Costumer Care)


• Tell us about a problem you had with a co-worker and how you resolved it"The resolution was we were both �red."- Jason Shindler, CEO, Curvine Web Solutions• Do you have any questions?"[The candidate asked,] 'Can my dad call you to talk about the job and the training program? He is really upset I'm not going to medical school and wants someone to explain the Wall Street path to him.' The dad did call. Then that dad's friends called and I ended up doing a conference call with a group of concerned parents ... long story." - Bolzan• Why are you looking for a job?"My parents told me I need to get a job so that is why I'm here." - McGowan• Why do you want to work for us?"My old boss didn't like me, so one day, I just left and never came back. And here I am!" - Matt Cowall, communications manager, Appia Communications• What are your assets? (as in strengths)"Well, I do own a bike." - Pam Venné, principal, The Venné Group• What are your weaknesses?"I get angry easily and I went to jail for domestic violence. But I won't get mad at you." - Pechstein• When have you demonstrated leadership skills?"Well my best example would be in the world of online video gaming. I pretty much run the show; it takes a lot to do that." - Rachel Croce• When can you start?"I need to check with my mom on that one." - Bolzan• Use three adjectives to describe yourself"I hate questions like this." - Katrina Meistering, manager of outreach, National Father-hood Initiative• Tell of a time you made a mistake and how you dealt with it"I stole some equipment from my old job, and I had to pay for its replacement." - Meistering• Have you submitted your two weeks' notice to your current employer?"What is two weeks' notice? I've never quit a job before, I've always been �red." – Meistering

Interviews Gone Wrong:

Be Afraid Be Very Afraid!1. Ailurophobia- Fear of cats.2. Ergophobia- Fear of work.3. Arithmophobia- Fear of numbers.4. Kathisophobia- Fear of sitting down.5. Lachanophobia- Fear of vegetables.6. Macrophobia- Fear of long waits.7. Obesophobia- Fear of gaining weight.8. Scolionophobia- Fear of school.9. Soceraphobia- Fear of parents-in-law.10. Thaasophobia- Fear of sitting.

A former Sergeant in the Marine Corps took a new job as a high school teacher. Just before the school year started, he injured his back. He was required to wear a plaster cast around the upper part of his body, but fortunately, the cast fit under his shirt and wasn’t noticeable.On the first day of class, he found himself assigned to the toughest students in the school. The smart aleck punks, having already heard the new teacher was a former Marine, were leery of him and he knew they would be testing his discipline in the classroom.Walking confidently into the rowdy classroom, the new teacher opened the window wide and sat down at his desk. When a strong breeze made his tie flap, he picked up a stapler and stapled the tie to his chest.Dead silence…The rest of the year went very smoothly!

Stapled

Inventions by women:

21

When someone says the word "inventor," the few names that come to our mind includes Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, George Washington Carver and Benjamin Franklin, but what about all the women inventors? We've compiled a list of few inventions that you probably didn't know were invented by ladies!

1. Dishwasher - Josephine Cochran

2. Electric hot water heater - Ida Forbes

3. Elevated railway - Mary Walton

4. Fire escape - Anna Connelly

5. Kevlar, a steel-like fiber used in radial tires, crash helmets, and bulletproof vests - Stephanie Kwolek

6. Life raft - Maria Beaseley

7. Medical syringe - Letitia Geer

8. Non-reflective glass - Katherine Blodgett

9. Oil burner - Amanda Jones

10. Refrigerator - Florence Parpart

11. Washing machine - Margaret Colvin

12. Windshield wiper - Mary Anderson


Web access is getting more pervasive by the day. Gone are the days when one would have to wait minutes on end, struggling to gain access to the internet. With the increased popularity of laptops and mobile devices, more internet capable machines are connecting through Wi-Fi instead of the traditional cabled connections (LAN). Whether in restaurants, airports, coffee shops or even hospitals, people are always on the lookout for hotspots so they can retain their Wi-Fi access at all times. Though being connected to the internet was once regarded a privilege, it has now become the need of a common man.

The World Wide Web (www) has truly taken the world by storm. Humans

need oxygen to live but in a world becoming dependant on the

internet, is it really oxygen that determines their

survival? Wi-Fi has become synonymous

with the term oxygen. It has

progressed into a mode of

s u r v i v a l and even

a single hour without Wi-Fi can disrupt the normal course of our daily lives. Imagine not being aware of that important interview, e-mail or not being able to complete a research paper due to lack of relevant information. There are people with their businesses and income entirely relying on a good internet connection.

The unavailability of a good Wi-Fi connection can leave us in a state of distress and can make us miss out on so many golden opportunities. Think about it.We are dependent on Wi-Fi for so many of our day to day tasks. What would we do without Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Whatsapp, LinkedIn and all others that have become a part of our daily routine? How would we connect with family and

friends and make those long distance free calls from Tango and Skype if

we were cut off from Wi-Fi access? Homework,

assignments, research, lectures; who would

assist us if we had no access to Google?

Would we even be aware of what’s

going on in the world,

if it wasn’t

for

Goodbye tothe Stone Age, Hello to the Future!

Wi-Fi? The truth is that the wireless world of wonder is amazing! It has simplified our tasks and its significance in our lives cannot be underestimated. We need Wi-Fi and we need connections that we can rely on.

Luckily, PTCL has proved to be a loyal life saviour. PTCL Broadband is the largest and most rapidly growing broadband service in Pakistan. It has attained over a whopping 1 million customers in over 2000 towns across Pakistan. The DSL service offered by the company is unmatchable in terms of services it provides. Even with the arrival of countless other telecommunication companies in the country, it has successfully remained a giant operator giving others a run for their money.

PTCL Broadband is the largest and

most rapidly growing

broadband service in Pakistan. It has

attained over a whopping 1

million customers in over 2000 towns across

Pakistan.

22


Muhammad Farhan KhanEngineer (OFAN)

23

When considering a broadband service, the download limit and speed are the two main factors that customers are concerned with. A slow internet and download speed is surely a pain to deal with. It can leave us with no choice but to be at the mercy of the service provider. However, with PTCL and their remarkable Wi-Fi services, customers can have access to the latest information and knowledge resources at a fraction of seconds. Speedy downloads and the ability to enjoy long hours of uninterrupted video streaming is a blessing.

PTCL offers customers with reliable Wi-Fi connections, however there are a few measures that the users can take to ensure excellent Wi-Fi connectivity. One of the Prime factors being the security of the Wi-Fi Netwok. One’s neighbours may be using up the bandwidth without your consent. This can drastically affect the speed, performance and security of your Wi-Fi network and is a common issue in Pakistan. One can easily beef up the Wi-Fi security with just a few steps which include:

Using Security Encryption

It is very important that you keep a security encryption. This will ensure that the Wi-Fi does not automatically connect and requires a password every time that you require internet access. A security encryption will also save your battery life since the device will not be searching for Wi-Fi when it is not required.

Keeping a strong password

A strong password is very important. Do not keep it too simple and avoid making it too fancy. The idea is to have a password that you can remember but is not easily guessable by others. A good practice should be to use initials from family names along with a birth date.

Anything that is unique to you will suffice. Hackers are geniuses at guessing passwords and a strong password is the only solution.

Replacing the SSID name

SSID is the name given to your wireless network. This is the name that you see in the list of available networks. You need to select this name in order to gain access to the internet. All Wi-Fi networks come with a default name but it is strongly advised that you change this to aid in the security of your network. Keep a name that is meaningful yet does not reveal your complete identity.

Following these steps will give the Wi-Fi users peace of mind and will allow them to use their connection without any hassle. PTCL values its customers by remaining receptive towards their suggestions. Its dedication to serving customers with unique and improved services offers good value for money.

All Wi-Fi networks come with a default

name but it is strongly advised that you

change this to aid in the security of your

network.

24

The Bucket List

Dr. Irfan ZafarSM (Academics)

There isn’t a better way to spend a day in New York City other than the Poet's Walk, often called the Literary Walk, located in the famed Central Park. The Poet's Walk is located on the southern end of the Central Park Mall and runs from 66th to 72nd Street. As I stroll down the walk, the statutes of William Shakespeare, the great poet Johann C.F. von Schiller, Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Christopher Columbus, and Ludwig Von Beethoven transport me to another world. The lights of the office buildings of Central Park South, peering through the bare branches of the trees, give the feeling of an urban wilderness.

But there on the corner stands a big message screen, connected at the backend with millions of networked computers enabling anyone to post his/her thoughts on “Things to do before I die”. Standing in front of the screen with millions of characters floating down the screen, I imagine our lives as streams flowing into the river towards whatever heaven lies in the mist beyond the falls. We live, we die, but do we ever think of making a “Bucket List” of things we wish we could do before we slide into the depth of darkness.

As a starting point to making a bucket list, one needs to be close to people who are at the verge of crossing a line from existence to non-existence. For the last couple of years, I have come across many people passing through the process of palliative care. Interestingly, these were the most incredible and fulfilling times shared with the departing and in the process giving me an in-depth knowledge of various lives lived, wasted and a bundle of

dreams shattered in this painful journey of life.

People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. The process involves passing through an ocean of emotions which starts from denial, then the fear followed by anger, remorse and finally the painful acceptance. At that point in time starts the process of growth and emancipation when one starts looking backwards at any regrets they had or anything they would have done differently; had they been given another chance to breathe in this world.

Interestingly, the wishes are more or less similar. They include the wish of having the courage to live a life true to themselves and not the life others expected of us, not worked so hard, courage to express ones true feelings, staying in touch with family and friends and finally a wish to have led a more happier life. It all adds up to understanding the measure of one’s life.

The essence of any good bucket list consists of experiencing all the good and phenomenal things earth has to offer. I generally ask my colleagues a question; what is the most important thing in life to you? What is this entire struggle in life for? Invariably, the answer comes to be Children or the family. How much quality time in a day you give to your children or the family for whom you work so hard? I ask! Hardly an hour or so is the reply by majority of them. For the ones our struggles in life have no limits are the most deprived ones of our presence. We are always present in their lives as an absence.

Brian G. Dyson the former CEO of Coca Cola Company and presently the President of Chatham International Corp very rightly puts it “Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them – Work, Family, Health, Friends and Spirit and you’re keeping all of these in the Air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four Balls – Family, Health, Friends and Spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these; they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for it.”

When we look back at our lives, we generally have a bundle of regrets. The longer we will stay on this earth; the list of these regrets will painfully rise. To put an end to this misery of remorse, a bucket list of things we ever wanted to do in life can change the meaning of our existence. More importantly, the questions to ask are; have you found joy in your life? Has your life brought any joy to others?

In the end, when we will go to some final resting place, far away from the maddening noise of this world, we hope to wake up next to a certain wall with a gate, with a Carter there waiting for us, vouching for our meaningful life and showing us the ropes on the other side of our invisible existence into infinity.

When we look back at our lives, we generallyhave a bundle of regrets. The longer we will stay onthis earth; the list of these regrets will painfully rise


25


Family Corner"There is nothing permanent in life except change," said philosopher Heraclitus. Others have called change as 'the spice of life'. Change is in the very nature of being. Every new day is different from the previous day. Tides come and go. Sometimes a whole river changes its course as was the case with the Saraswati.The great insight of the enlightened, Gautam the Buddha, was that, “everything that is, will change and the changed will change further”. Hence, one must neither get attached to joy (happiness) because that will pass away; nor get depressed with sorrow (suffering) because that too will pass away. Nothing is really permanent in this world.Changes can be categorized under two main types. Changes that take place in nature, we have little or no control over. We cannot switch the time of tides, which wait for no one. The great thinker and writer Stephen Covey relates such changes to one’s “Circle of Concern”. The other kind of change is the one we witness either in political, social or other fields including the personal life. These are changes where we can exercise some degree of control, and can be guided by one’s self or others. Stephen Covey relates such changes to one’s “Circle of Influence”.As far as our human and particularly sub-continent society is concerned, there are so many things that fall in the second category and require change, be it the caste system,

condition of the poor, status of women, dowry system, widespread corruption, and so on. It’s not that everyone wants these evils of the society to continue. But often the dilemma is, 'where to begin from?'It is here that we need to ask ourselves some basic questions about change. Have we ourselves ever given a thought to change things around us for the better in society? The most important question is whether these evils in society exist somewhere far from us or they reside within us? In other words, do we have any responsibility towards this state of our society? Again can change in society be brought about without bringing change in ourselves?. Can such changes be brought about only through prayer and meditation? Can we rely only on God to change our society, forgetting that 'God only helps those who help themselves'? It would be a good idea to throw up a prayer on these lines “OH Lord, give me the wisdom to know which change is inevitable, and which that can change and give me the strength to effect changes that are humanly possible for the good of mankind”.My strong conviction is that first of all we must try to see what is there that needs change and to what degree we can contribute to it. For example, if I want to have a clean environment around me, I must initiate it from myself. Consequently I internalized its need, its usefulness and its provisioning for everybody

around me since everyone in the World has the right to have clean and healthy environment. With this thought in mind, I stopped throwing debris out of the car, on the roads, in the public places, etc. Taking a step further, wherever possible, I started picking up trash especially from public parks and throwing them into trash bins placed there. Similarly when I realized that with good speech, one can win the heart of other person, I adopted softness in my tone and now I see that my words are more effective and impactful while conveying my message. Our Prophet was the symbol of ‘Morality’. Someone once asked his wife, Syeda Ayesha (R.A) about the moral values of Prophet. She replied that Quran is the morality of Prophet Muhammad. In order to see the importance of ‘Change’, we should also consult history. The species that did not change with time and did not show agility lost their sustenance and finally faced extinction. This includes dinosaurs and other similar species. In the same manner, we need to change our ideologies with enhancement of cumulative knowledge in order to grow and progress.

A theoretical physicist apparently works with paper and pencil and is far removed from the laboratory. Prof Albert Einstein worked in a field of imagination and mathematics. He was related to nature at a deeper level.He was born in Ulm, Germany, on 14th March 1879. Although he didn’t perform very well at early school but he was increasingly interested in Physics. He passed his graduation from Federal Polytechnic in Zurich. Later in 1905, he earned his PhD from the University of Zurich. He jotted the Theory of Brownian Motion. He was awarded Noble Prize in Physics in 1921.Einstein had been associated with the ideas of

unification in physics. The General Theory of Relativity that Einstein developed in 1916 can be considered as unification of Space, Time and Gravity. Space & Time were unified earlier in the Special Theory, but Space, Time and Gravity were unified in General Theory of Relativity.In the Photo-Electric effect, Einstein demonstrated that light has both wave and particle aspects. The Newtonian theory of gravity was replaced by Einstein's deeper understanding.He gave a marvelous equation regarding the speed of light & mass of material bodies: E=MC2. This equation portrays that if any

particle moves faster than the velocity of light, the earth will be fully damaged or destroyed.Einstein was socially connected to the atomic weapons. He was pacifist and tried to work for social controls of nuclear weapons through some kind of world government. Einstein’s later years were dominated by an effort to unify electromagnetism and gravity, but this was an unsuccessful attempt. He breathed his last on 18th April 1955.

Is Change a Good Thing?

Contributions by Family Members

Breera ChohanD/O Hafiz Safwan Sr. Lecturer(Training Center Multan)

Amna Ahmed JalalD/O Ahmed JalalGM (Training)

Prof Albert Einstein: The Father of Modern Science

26

You walk into a new company with some expectation. PTCL being a public sector legacy, expectation was on the lower side for customer service, and that too from the HR department. What transpired was diametrically to the contrary. Coming from the corporate sector with most of my career spent with multinational companies, the lift being reserved to take me to the Recruitment Department was no less a shock as much as a surprise. After some paper work, I was accompanied to my office room. The laptop was there, my user-id and password was ready, my company ID Card was delivered and of course the mobile phone was handed over to me. Within few minutes, a cup of tea followed with lots of biscuits. I had reached utopia in customer service. Ever since I have been looking for the Recruitment Manager who orchestrated the first few hours of my career at PTCL, it seems he was under some hypnotic hallucination to render such outstanding service, which has never been witnessed again.

I had a very pleasant and phenomenal first day in PTCL. I was welcomed with a warm gesture just like a new family member and all the formalities were completed by HR within a short span of time. Traditionally, a new joiner’s first day at job is more like a kid’s first day at school, but considering my association with PTCL and relations with peers and coleagues never felt stranger in the organization.

On my first day, I was invited to PTCL HQ for my joining and orientation. I reached there in the morning, the driver parked the car outside a very decent looking building and once in, I was guided towards the HR department where I was welcomed by the HR team members, who gave me a brief orientation of PTCL. After a while, I was taken to the SEVP block for my meeting with the executives. I was highly impressed with the ambiance and was feeling proud of my decision of joining PTCL. But upon visiting the old building, the expressions on my face changed completely, a guy sitting there inquired if I was alright, and when I told him about the stark difference between the two blocks, his response was, “that was PTCL screen saver and this is real”. The difference between Old and New Building seemed more like the actual difference between the Old and New Times of PTCL.

14th Jan 2008, my first day at PTCL, is quite an unforgettable day of my life. I reached my office at 8:30 AM sharp and was amazed to see that there was no one in the office except a peon who asked me to sit in a waiting room. After waiting for 30 minutes, I stood up to get out of the room and discovered that the lock of the door was broken and I was locked inside. Having no contact numbers of any of the staff members, I was left with no other option but to scream for help. I kept shouting and knocking the door for at least 20 minutes when finally people mercifully came for my rescue.

Ever since then, whenever I get a new office, the first thing I do is check its locks & door!

It was fate that brought me to the awe-inspiring PTCL premises. I was selected among the first batch of MTs at PTCL in 2005. Having another very exciting job offer in hand, I just thought of taking a round of the PTCL HQ and later join the other company to be honest. Coming to PTCL on my first day, I had butterflies in my stomach “Nashta bhi nahi kiya tha”. And to my utter surprise, the kind of welcome given to the MTs by the then President & Head of HR changed my mind completely. We were invited in the Board Room for an orientation session, a sumptuous Hi-Tea was served, every bit of the day was so motivating, I felt over the moon and made up my mind to stick to PTCL. And here I am, after serving PTCL over eight years, I still feel like the young zealous MT I was.

All that I remember about my first day at PTCL after over 13 years is that it was a cold night, when I reached at the Telecom Staff College Haripur to start my professional career with PTCL. I was warmly welcomed in those late night hours; and felt proud to join this esteemed organization as an Assistant Divisional Engineer. In the morning, the very first day of my Training; I was much delighted to see the fellows from all over the country – that day I made a new family- the PTCL family where we could work together as one team and take care of each other. Those were some unforgettable pearl like moments of my life!

Furqan Qureshi

CMO

Aun Ali Sayani

GM (Finance)

Amir Siddiqi

EVP (Revenue) M Abrar ChRGM (FTR)

Shahan HyderSM (Revenue & Finance)

Raza Sarwar SM (HR Strategy & Special Projects)

Chronicles of PTCLMemories from my first day at PTCLMemories from my first day at PTCL


27

I joined PTCL as an SM-Indirect Sales. After getting the necessary orientation of the company, I visited my business partners for an introduction & understanding of their working style. I worked till 6:30 p.m., my 1st visit was quite fruitful. I was highly motivated and wanted to share the story with my GM & team. All excited, I reached back at my office around 7 pm and found it closed. Security guard didn’t allow me to enter my own office and when I insisted he said “Sir Ji lagda ai nawain aai ho”. Now it’s been 4 years but still that day and incident is all fresh in my memory.

My first day was very memorable and happening. I was called to report to HR with all my documents on my joining day. All excited, I came to office exactly at 9:10 am. I had to wait for some time before an HR representative asked for my documents very politely. As the clock kept ticking, I decided to visit my floor and have introduction with my seniors. I was there for about thirty minutes or so when I got called back to HR for getting my ID card. For this I had to visit the Access Control System department. There I had to wait for some time before they got my card prepared. While waiting, I had to try hard to get over sleeping fits as it was Ramadan and being without food and water for the last many hours had made me dizzy. I had to really struggle to keep myself awake but now looking back, I still cherish that first day’s memories.

Like an eager kid on the first day to school, I arrived at 8:45 am at PTCL HQs and was found spending the larger part of the day staring at the wall in front of my cubicle. Since I had little to do, I filled out my employment form twice and got lost at least twice in the old building!

Highlights: A birthday cake, very friendly colleagues and the best black coffee!

I had a phenomenal first day at PTCL. From a warm HR reception to a hearty team welcome, it had all the ingredients a new entrant would wish for, however, that was the first and the last time that happened to me. I’ve always had a very different perspective about how things work at PTCL, but my perception was changed within the first few hours with my team, who had welcomed me and were keen to share their knowledge and experience with me. There were some light moments as the day progressed along with some intense ones, all in all it was a memorable day, one I would cherish throughout my professional career.

Joining PTCL as an MT in 2009, my first day at PTCL was an interesting one. I was told that HR is going to arrange everything for me on my first day. I therefore landed myself at the HR office. I was sent back to my department with a letter saying that the department must arrange the first day induction. I then headed to the Procurement department and reported to my GM (Ansari Sb), who gave me a warm welcome and introduced me to everyone. I then met my SM of that time, who handed over the Procurement Manual to me and said that I should read it thoroughly and I will be tested on it after two days. To my ‘pleasure’ the manual was over 300 pages long! On top of this, my new colleagues kept saying that the SM is quite a strict man and that I should start preparing for the test immediately. Also on that day I was taught how to make a file. I also remember that there was no place for me to sit, so I just sat in front of my Manager, kept reading and turning the pages of procurement manual and praying that office time gets over soon. And yes he took my test after 2 days.

SYED FAISAL GILANI

Manager (Procurement)

Ali Riaz Sheikh

SM (Indirect Sales)

Ather Waseem

MT (Marcom)

Aymen Abdullah

AM (TM & L)

Saad Riaz

Manager (CS&W)

0628

Winning Employees’

Heart



A recent study by Gallup on State of the Global Workplace reveals a very shocking fact i.e. “worldwide only 13% of employees are engaged in their work ”. This clearly tells that a huge number of our workforce is “disengaged or disconnected” in their work. Disengagement means that employees are emotionally and psychologically detached from their work and a detached employee is low on motivation, dedication, morale and performance. Mainly because of these reasons, companies now are looking for ways to keep their employees engaged in their work to yield maximum performance from them. Employee engagement activities act as a catalyst in bringing a cultural transformation, motivating employees, retaining employees and creating a sense of belonging and a lot more. Engaged employees are motivated, committed and will help in achieving organization’s overall goals. Disengaged employees are not only less productive but they also impact engaged employees. Following are the ways through which a company can win the heart of its workforce by engaging them in work;Encourage Reward: Who doesn’t like to be rewarded and acknowledged for hard-work. Monetary reward or sometimes pat on the back in front of the team can do the magic. Reward not only encourages the receiver but also motivates

other employees to do their best. It is important that timely reward is given so that no wrong associations are built. Some example of reward includes promotion, increment, award or appreciation letter.Communicate: Instill a feedback and two way communication culture. Let employees give their opinion. Employees will not be able to understand the organization’s vision and strategy until it is communicated to them. Most of the time employees do not know what is expected of them because their role is not communicated to them. Also it is vital to devise various methods through which policy or practice changes are communicated to all the employees. Memos, company magazines, company portal or blogs are good mediums for dissemination of company-wide messages. Similarly, give timely and continuous feedback to employees so that they know where they are excelling and they get ample time to bring about improvement in their weak areas as well. Culture Deliberations: Do not wait for employees to bring a cultural change, rather provide them an environment that communicate and articulate the values and culture of the company. Use posters, office setting, policies, practices, communication method to instill organizational culture in employees.Employee Engagement Survey: Use employee engagement survey to get an

in-depth understanding of what the employees are expecting, what they think about the organization and what are the problem areas. Then try to fix these issues and see employees performance improving.Employees First, Customers Second: They say your employees are your first customers and if you can sell your brand to your employees than they will go an extra mile to sell the product/services offered by the organization. Putting your employees first creates a sense of ownership and loyalty among employees. This retains employees and engages them in their work.Social Interaction: Provide employees with opportunity and time to socialize outside or within organization. Organize official lunches, games, competitions etc. that will foster strong relationship among employees and teams. This will also take employees out of their department silos and they will be better at working with teams.When we believe and say that an organization’s biggest and most vulnerable asset is its human resource, then we should also understand that it is crucial to keep this important asset engaged.

Enabling GrowthThrough WirelessBroadband


Asad AliAM (Web Content)

29

A recent World Bank study reveals that 10% growth in broadband penetration increases the GDP of a developing country upto 1.3%. This direct relation signifies the importance of broadband internet as a great enabler. A quick glance at the economic indicators of the last 8-10 years illustrates that telecommunications sector has been the strongest performer for the economy and boosting one of the highest growth charts in the world. Mainly driven by the voice segment, the sector has been the success story for the country, with a teledensity of 72.3. As the voice industry moves towards the maturity stage, the next big thing on the horizon is wireless broadband internet.Just as getting people connected through voice has a direct relation with the overall GDP growth; data connectivity also drives the economy in the same way. At present, many players are active in the wireless broadband segment of the country, with PTCL having a clear

dominance through its vast network and affordability. Since its launch in 2009, the company’s wireless brand, EVO has captured Pakistan’s Wireless Broadband market, showing tremendous resilience and rapid growth. Various factors can be attributed to PTCL’s leadership in broadband market. First and foremost, the network - designed to provide fast and reliable connectivity, despite heavy data traffic and the way it is managed and improved on a day-to-day basis. Reach of PTCL EVO wireless devices, through their vast coverage areas, also serve as a unique selling point, enabling customers to experience wireless internet on-the-go.The basic guideline that PTCL follows internally is all about making sure that it builds a quality network, ensuring that it delivers on its promises. The reach of the network is another factor, providing connectivity in the remotest of areas and this sets the foundation.Being one of Pakistan’s largest and oldest

telecom companies, PTCL enjoys nationwide coverage and currently the company’s wireless broadband customer base stands at more than half-a -million. The company’s EVO products are not only popular in the urban areas but also enjoy the same popularity in the semi-rural and rural areas, where it remains the only company that is providing wireless broadband services. This penetration of EVO wireless internet has brought convenience to the residents of these areas in innumerable ways, providing them access to unprecedented learning and development opportunities. Another aspect of this growth is the effect on the local businesses, which have thrived greatly owing to the reach to newer markets, wholesalers and manufacturers. This has also put in place a whole new eco-system of sustainable development, which is not only positively impacting the local economy, but also bringing e-health and e-learning opportunities for the people. Prices, coverage, quality of service and customer satisfaction levels are difficult propositions to sustain in the fast emerging wireless broadband segment and despite these odds; PTCL is putting utmost efforts to bring fast and affordable wireless connectivity to the masses which is a big feat in itself.

30


Quotable Quotes Don't grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form – Rumi

Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. –John Lennon

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. –Steve Jobs

Either you run the day, or the day runs you. –Jim Rohn

Believe you can and you’re halfway there. –Theodore Roosevelt

If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on. –Sheryl Sandberg

The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it. –Chinese Proverb

If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time with them, and half as much money. –Abigail Van Buren

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. –Martin Luther King Jr.

The only way to do great work is to love what you do. –Steve Jobs

What is Pakistan’s national animal?

Which country, on the map of world, appears as "Long Shoe"?

38th parallel is a boundary line between which two countries?

What is the currency of Denmark?

What is a baby rabbit called?

What is group of porcupines called?

Which nail grows fastest?

What colours make purple?

Where is the smallest bone in the body?

Who invented television?

Leonardo da Vinci could

write with one hand and draw

with the other at the

same time.

Men can read smallerprint than women;women can hearbetter than men.

If you yelled for 8 years,7 months and 6 days,

you would have producedenough sound energy toheat one cup of coffee.

"I am" is theshortest

complete sentencein the

English language.

In 1945, a man named Tsutomu

Yamaguchi survived the atomic

blast at Hiroshima, dragged himself

into an air-raid shelter, spent

the night there,in the morning caught

a train so he could arrive at his job

on time in Nagasaki, where he survived

another atomic blastElephants are the

only mamals that

can't jump.

The phrase "rule of thumb"is derived from an old

English law which statedthat you couldn't beatyour wife with anythingwider than your thumb.

The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without

repeating a letter is "uncopyrightable".

The average person spends2 weeks of their lifetimewaiting for the light to

change from red to green.

Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of

their unwanted people without killing them used to burn their

houses down - hence the expression "to get

fired."

Banging your head against a wall uses

150 caloriesan hour.

Did You Know?

1. M

arkh

or (C

apra

), 2.

Ital

y 3.

Sou

th K

orea

and

Nor

th K

orea

4. K

rone

5. K

itten

6. P

rick

le 7

. Mid

dle

8. R

ed a

nd b

lue

9. E

ar10

. Joh

n Lo

gie

Bair

d

21st CENTURY AND HAZRAT

SULTAN BAHOO (RA)

Saleem Khan SwatiAM (HRO)

Numerous people came in this world and performed extraordinary deeds for the welfare of humanity. After their passing away, they are remembered for their noble acts by generations. There are a few individuals in history who did such revolutionary and reformative actions in religious, social, literary and political spheres that their influence has remained untarnished. They were in fact sent for the guidance of human beings, for the inculcation and development of their moral conduct and character and for the promotion of tolerance, respect for humanity, social justice and equality. These personalities, because of their intellectual and spiritual might, purified outer as well as inner selves of people and guided them in all spheres of life. One such figure is that of Sultan- ul-Ari-feen Hadrat Sultan Bahoo. He, through his teachings and conduct, guided people towards recognition of one’s self as well as Divine Unison with the Creator. Sultan Bahoo was born in Shortkot District Jhang in 1629. He belonged to Awan clan. His father Hadrat Muhammad Bazid (RA) was a pious person, who held a respected position in the army of Mughal Emperor Shahjahan. His mother Hadrat Bibi Rasti was a pious and devout lady. Hadrat Sultan Bahoo is highly regarded for his role in promotion of Islam in the Sub-continent. Through his pacifist teach-ings, he promoted mutual respect and harmony among Muslims and Non-Mus-lims, bringing about social concord and

stability. Besides being highly respected mystic of all times, he is also revered for his intellectual, philosophical, literary and social reformation contributions. He authored around one hundred forty books for the guidance of truth-seekers. These contain poetry and prose in Persian and Punjabi languages. He holds a distin-guished and celebrated position among all-time great Punjabi poets and his poetry always remained popular among academics as well as readers alike. He pioneered the Abiat genre in Punjabi poetry. His poetry has special melodious appeal that enthralls the singer, as well as the listener, taking them to the state of trance.Around thirty one of his books are available in original shape or with trans-lation. These books are complete code in essence and do not focus only on one subject matter as these are translations and description of the Holy Quran. His writings include Kaleeda-ul-Toheed, Noor-ul-Hudaa, Shams-ul-Arifeen, Ain-ul-Faqr, Aqal-e-Bedar, Mehk-ul-Faqr Kalan, Sirat-us-Saliheen, Asrar-ul-Qadri and Rasala Rohi Sharif. His books are a glaring light in darkness of present day world and can guide the Muslim Ummah in attaining its lost glory of the past. His teachings revolve around identification and recognition of man’s own status as being crown of the creation, respect for humanity, and social reformation through bringing change in individual’s conduct. In his writings, he laid emphasis on the

highest form of mysticism and described it as Faqr. The disciple awakens and purifies his soul through spiritual ascen-sion by acquiring self-awareness and realization.In his teaching, he emphasized that the whole of creation is created out of love of Allah. It is His Mercy which encompasses everything. Life is ephemeral, transient, fleeting and we will be held accountable for our deeds. All the humans share common origin thus man should rise to the call of humanity regardless of race, color or creed. Man should spread good deeds and ease the sufferings of other human beings. By doing these acts, man rises to his higher self.The world in the twenty first century is a very dangerous place. It is going from bad to worse with each passing day. There is a pervasive sense of both helplessness and hopelessness around us. By realizing our spiritual side and following the path of progress in this sphere, we can improve our own quality of life and subsequently guide others. If we follow these teachings, the societies we live in will become more tolerant. The extremism of all sorts will be defeated and the altruistic attitudes and the actions which emanate from these will create more holistic and harmonious communities.


31


32

It was a very exciting and action-packed day, I was very enthusiastic as it was my first big assignment after my recent joining in the TM&L department. Having experienced the challenges of the competitive and fast-paced corporate environment in the past few years I have spent in different organizations, I have mastered the art of maintaining composure in the most adverse circumstances, but I have to confess that considering the criticality of the event that required creating an awe-inspiring and highly impactful development experience for the Top Seasoned Leadership of PTCL I had butterflies in my stomach. We were about to launch the two day “APEX” (Achieving

Personal Excellence) session, a unique development intervention part of

the 2 year Leadership Excellence program that had been

specifically designed for the Top management of PTCL as

an endorsement of the distinctive PTCL

Leadership Brand. All my apprehensions

vanished as we stepped into the

venue engulfed in an aura of

serenity, It was calm,

quiet and peaceful, and after getting introduced with trainer who was an extremely cheerful person with a great sense of humor I knew that it would be an interesting experience. The first thing we were all asked to do was to go and shake hands with every-one around and say “I belong to you”. Everyone seemed a bit uncomfortable and hesitant in performing this activity , however the experience was different the second time when we were asked to repeat this exercise and switch our places; we were ready to communicate without being reluctant and break through our comfort zones. This time we all ended up having an enthusiastic interaction and happily switched our

places. I witnessed that although these participants regularly inter-

act with each other as a part of their daily work routine but

still they were uncomfortable while performing this

activity in the first instance; reason being

they might not be openly communi-

cating with each other in their

normal work r o u t i n e ,

w h i c h definite-

ly

leave some gaps in effective communi-cation. This exercise was an eye opener and we learnt how to “openly” and effectively communicate with each other.Yet I realized how easily I have over-come my barriers and come out of my comfort zone, that’s because I “tried” and convinced myself that “Yes I can do It”. This was the beginning of transforma-tional journey to achieve personal excellence. Before attending this session I was not aware of the amazing power of yoga breathing techniques and I don’t think I will ever forget it! The

The MindDetoxifier forAchieving Excellence

The lessons comprised of yoga breathing

techniques, heart-to-heart group

discussions, challenging team

activities that required us to let go of our

“ego” and achieve the most difficult and

challenging outcomes.


Mahrukh RehmanAM (TM & L)

33

lessons comprised of yoga breathing techniques, heart-to-heart group discussions, challenging team activities that required us to let go of our “ego” and achieve the most difficult and challenging outcomes. Performing Kriya - a rhythmic breath-ing technique during that session left me de-stressed and had a “detoxifying” effect on my mind. It was an extremely refreshing experience and I was ready to work with a clear mind with more focus. For the very first time I could get a feel of my mind connecting with my body. In Islam, “Sufism” explains the existence of the “divine” in every person and thing. I had understood but never realized that concept before I attended this session. After “Kriya” I had to drop all preconceived ideas, stereotypes, hostilities, and fears, and discover my “Divine self”. Spending two days without having “savory food”, is almost impossible for us when we have access to all the rich variety of food. But after religiously following a ”vegetarian” routine for two days I felt more active and fresh and participated in the challenging activities with more energy.I learnt how to perform in situations which are discomforting and challeng-ing, be happy with what I have now, effectively communicate as a part of team, listen to the ideas of others, efficiently utilize my time, work with a winning mindset and on top of every-thing think positively, let go of my ego, come out of my comfort zone and learn to excel in my personal and professional routine.It was an epic experience in which I discovered “seven levels of existence” and if we actually concentrate on these levels, we can see the difference in the way we perform in our personal as well as professional lives. APEX surely guar-antees:

Improved decision making ability through better focus of mind and higher energy level

Enhanced creativity: risk-taking and innovation

Attitude of embracing challenges

Inspired team relationships : Open

communication & Positive attitude

Ownership and commitment: Taking responsibility

Increased motivation

Relationship building and networking

Below are some of the useful tips that are learnt in APEX. Try these and you will see the difference!

“Set bigger goals” and “discover creative ways” to fulfill these goals well before time, no matter how much challenging and time bound these goals are.

Step up and take the initiative. Come out

of the comfort zone break the limits, do not leave any regret.

Make “Kriya” a part of your daily routine; perform the breathing techniques every morning before getting ready for work.

Maintain a healthy diet routine with less “savory foods”.

Enjoy working in the present and plan for the future, “work” should be taken as an expression of happiness.

Learn to bond well with the team, create a sense of belonging to work in a better manner with more comfort.

This goes out to all members who were a part of this exuberant learning experi-ence: “APEX” (Achieving Personal Excellence), that I call The Mind Detoxi-fier for Achieving Excellence.

In Islam, “Sufism” explains the existence

of the “divine” in every person and

thing. I had understood but never realized that concept before I attended this

session.

“The Seven Levels Of Existence”


34

From the Stone ages to the Modern day Society, the development of human civilization underwent many changes. These alterations were very influential to each other and to life today. Without these revolutions, we would still be hunter gatherers.Before the Neolithic Revolution, humans were hunter gatherers. This time was called the “Paleolithic Era or the Old Stone Age” because most tools were made of stone. The hunter gather-ers were nomadic people, having no set home, place to eat. When they ran out of resources, they would move on to another place where they could find more provisions.Modern humans spread rapidly from Africa into the frost-free zones of

Europe and Asia around 60,000 years ago. The rapid expansion of human-

kind to North America and Ocea-nia took place at the climax of

the most recent Ice Age, when temperate regions of today

were extremely inhospita-ble.

Nomadic Humans (referred scientifical-

ly as Homo erectus) had been using

simple wood and stone

tools for genera-

tions, but as time progressed, tools became far more refined and complex. At some point, humans began using fire for heat and cooking. They also devel-oped language in the Palaeolithic period and a conceptual repertoire that included systematic burial of the dead and adornment of the living. Early artistic expression can be found in the form of cave paintings and sculptures made from wood and bone. During this period, all humans lived as hunt-er-gatherers, and were generally nomadic.The Neolithic Revolution, which start-ed the Neolithic Period around 8000 BCE, began with the discovery of agriculture, which drastically changed the human lifestyle. Farming permit-

ted far denser populations. Agricul-ture also created food surpluses

that could support people not directly engaged in food

production. The develop-ment of agriculture permit-

ted the creation of the first cities. They were

centers of trade, manufacturing and

political power with nearly no

a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n

of their own.

The

female nomadic hunter discovered that if they left the seeds of a plant beneath a rock or buried under ground, when they came back next season, they would have grown into a plant. The people of the nomadic societies realized that instead of letting the environment control the way they lived, they could manage the environment to fit their way of life. This was what caused them to settle in one place. Along with agriculture came the domestication of animals. Instead of having to hunt for animals, they were trained to be herded into enclosed areas, and when meat was required, one could be easily slaugh-tered. The technological awareness also increased during the Neolithic Revolu-tion and tools were made such as the sickle.

EVOLUTION OFHUMAN CIVILIZATION

Instead of having to hunt for animals,

they were trained to be herded into

enclosed areas, and when meat was

required, one could be easily

slaughtered.


35

The development of cities was synony-mous with the rise of civilization. Early civilizations arose first in lower Meso-potamia (3500 BCE), followed by Egyp-tian civilization along the Nile (3000 BCE) and the Harappan civilization in the Indus Valley (2500 BCE). These societies developed a number of unify-ing characteristics, including a central government, a complex economy and social structure, sophisticated language and writing systems, and distinct cultures and religions. Writing was another pivotal development in human history, as it made the administration of cities and expression of ideas far easier.After the Neolithic Revolution, the Neolithic Era lasted for over 5,000 years followed by Urban Revolution. This marked a period when trade, religion, and politics became more prominent and important parts of the civilization. People had by now acquired posses-sions like property, land, assets or herds of animals. Barter system was also introduced in this era through which people would trade what they have for the item they needed. Also, some societ-ies had different resources than others, so they used this bartering system in order to gain what they desired creating interdependence between civilizations. The politics also became more promi-nent during the Urban Revolution. The age of metals also occurred during the Urban Revolution in 3,500 B.C.E. At this time, metal was discovered to be a good material to for weapons, tools, etc.

The Bronze Age is part of the three-age system (Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age). During this era cities and states were developed in the most fertile areas. The civilizations were concen-trated in fertile river valleys: the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia, the Nile in Egypt, the Indus in the Indian subcontinent, the Yangtze and Yellow River in China.Transport was facilitated by waterways including rivers and seas. The Mediter-ranean Sea, at the juncture of three continents, fostered the projection of military power and the exchange of goods, ideas and inventions. This era also saw new land technologies, such as horse-based cavalry and chariots that allowed armies to move faster.Over the following millennia, civiliza-

tions started developing across the world. Trade became a source of power as states with access to important resources started controlling important trade routes to rise to dominance.These significant revolutions and process of evolution of our civilization is still very noticeable in our way of life today. We still use farming as a means of obtaining food. Although the meth-ods of farming have changed because of technology advancement, use of machinery but clearly the tools that we use include sickle and are made of stone and metal. Although we are still somewhat in the age of metals today, we have greatly developed and evolved since the Paleo-lithic Age. Our many endeavors are marked by advancements in technologi-cal awareness. From the Neolithic to the Urban Revolutions, civilization has changed and grown to be more complex, until it became what it is today.

SUNIL BABUDSL Support Engineer

The civilizations were concentrated in fertile

river valleys: the Tigris and Euphrates in

Mesopotamia, the Nile in Egypt, the Indus in

the Indian subcontinent, the Yangtze and Yellow

River in China.

36


NewsflashFlappy bird, Gone for good!I believe that the most horrifying thing that happened to us recently after “eye to eye” was “Flappy Bird”. If you are a smartphone user you must have atleast played this game once or heard about it. Well my friends I also fall prey to the ranking where this game was among top 10 most downloaded games of 2013 and downloaded it thinking how much pain can a tiny little birdie inflict on me? Right! But soon after I downloaded the game I realized what the whole fuss on social media was about. I suddenly found out that I have “FlappybirdPhobia”, fear of flappy bird! I could only play it for an hour and with a high score of 13 I deleted the game. I recommend that this annoying game should be part of capital punishment for murderers and terrorists and instead of death sentence they should be asked to clear this game or get a score of 5000, I am sure this will reduce the crime rate in our country.

Girlfriend Refuses to Stop Shopping Man Commits Suicide! Yes my friends, according to a NEWS, recently a man jumped to his death after a fight with his girlfriend who insisted that they continue shopping. Tao Hsiao, 38 was accompanying his girlfriend around a shopping mall in China for Chritmas shopping when after five hours of continuous shopping Tao finally had enough and demanded that they go home. Eyewitnesses say he could be heard saying they already had more bags than they could carry, but she insisted on going into one more shop where there was a special offer on shoes. An eyewitness said: 'He told her she already had enough shoes, more shoes that she could wear in a lifetime and it was pointless buying any more. 'She started shouting at him accusing him of being a miser and of spoiling Christmas, it was a really heated argument.' The shouting match ended when the man chucked the bags on the floor and jumped over the balcony, smashing into Christmas decorations on his way down before hitting the floor seven storeys below causing shocked shoppers to flee in panic. Emergency services arrived at the scene but Tao was killed immediately from the impact of the fall. A shopping spokesman said: This is a tragic incident, but this time of year can be very stressful for many people.'

First Pakistani To Win “GR8 Women Awards 2014”Here is yet another proud moment for us Pakistanis; Sidra Iqbal has won the GR8 Women Awards on her achievements in journalism. Sidra Iqbal was one of 16 women from across the Middle East region to be recognized and celebrated this year. The GR8 Women Awards have been organized for the past 3 years by the Indian Television Academy and serve to not only recognize women for their achievements but also to increase awareness for the founder Anu Ranjan’s charity, BETI. BETI is a foundation that helps women in trouble and provides them with funds to overcome difficulties. Pakistan’s very own popular television host and journalist, Sidra Iqbal was honored and recognized on 15th February at the 4th Annual GR8 Women Awards in Dubai. Iqbal was the first Pakistani to host the digital content of the star studded Bollywood extravaganza IIFA twice in a row in Singapore and Macau, interviewing the A-list superstars of Indian cinema. She is one journalist who has been able to hold her own, whether it has been a hard core debate on counter terrorism and national security with policy makers, or light hearted chats with accomplished celebrities.

World’s quietest roomWe all know that silence is golden but do you know there is a room in U.S that is so quiet that it becomes unbearable for anyone to stay in there for a long time. This particular room is called an ‘anechoic chamber’. This room is 99.99 per cent sound absorbent and holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s quietest place. The longest that anyone has survived in the ‘anechoic chamber’ at Orfield Laboratories in South Minneapolis is just 45 minutes because staying there too long and you may start hallucinating. It achieves its ultra-quietness by virtue of 3.3-foot-thick fiberglass acoustic wedges, double walls of insulated steel and foot-thick concrete. This room is used for formal product testing and research into the sound of different things for example heart valves, the sound of the display of a cellphone, the sound of a switch on a car dashboard.

Google Glasses: A new doctor patient experienceGoogle Glass may be coming to your surgery soon. Could wearable tech help medical

professionals give patients more attention and ultimately better medical care? Imagine you’re at your doctor’s surgery. Your doctor listens to your concerns about an ache or complaint, then summons up your last five blood pressure results, makes notes and, checks whether a prescription might aggravate your allergy. All within the blink of an eye and while looking you in the eye. Ian Shakil’s company Augmedix, based in California, is piloting an application for Google Glass that could just do that. With the Augmendix app in Google’s heads-up display, a doctor could videotape a conversation with a patient and have the information automatically transferred to their medical records, or refer to past consultations. It’s one way in which wearable tech could help improve the doctor-patient experience. Future applications could involve therapy sessions and remote consultations by streaming real-time video to physicians unable to be with the patient – or even helping a doctor in another country diagnose a difficult case. A lot have been talked about google glasses in past few years. How much will these glasses change the way of doing various things.

A solution to USB dilemma is on its way!It gets really annoying and frustrating when you are trying to connect USB with the port on your laptop or PC. But folks you need not to worry any more because the next-generation USB connector plug will always work as it will get connected to the port on the both sides. The new USB Type-C connector is built on existing USB 3.1 and 2.0 technologies but features an entirely new design; the connector would be much smaller in size and won’t depend upon the plug’s orientation. The promoter group of USB 3.0 comprised of HP, Intel, Microsoft, Renesas Electronics and Texas Instruments. The group says that the new design will accommodate further upgrades in future devices bringing thinner and sleeker product designs, enhancing usability and providing better performance. Unfortunately the plug won’t work with the current USB ports and would require adapters and is expected to be released in the mid of 2014.

www.ptcl.com.pk | 2014

0811

1214

06

09

13

ptcl insight

Documents