Questões

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What is administrative excellence?

Administrative Professionals perform some of the toughest functions in an office. Not only are you required to keep pace with ever-changing technology, you need to work with and through many people to meet deadlines, resolve conflicts, gather information, and coordinate schedules and logistics. Additionally, you are often the first point-of-contact for customers – your competence and professionalism in meeting their demands might be one of the most important factors in how your organization is perceived in the marketplace. To satisfy the needs of so many, your technical skills and your interpersonal skills must be well-balanced to generate efficient and effective results.

Administrative excellence pertains to the quality of work and the caliber of service that you provide in carrying out your responsibilities. Excellence by definition exceeds the routine expectations of managers, coworkers, and other customers, but it is a standard first set by you. It is something that many aspire to and work hard to deliver. I once read that excellence means "you are better today than you were yesterday, but not as good as you will be tomorrow." With that understanding, you can see there is no finish line. Excellence is a commitment to continually do and give your best.

Although we each have personal standards and differing values in terms of excellence, there are a few things that help to streamline administrative efforts in reaching high levels of job performance. Here are what I considered to be the "5Ps" of administrative excellence:

1. Perception – Self-awareness of behaviors and skills that maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses.

Know yourself and what you like and what you dislike about your job. Pay attention to those activities that excite and engage you. Typically, these are things that come naturally or easily for you – your strengths. Find opportunities to do more of what you love to do – you’ll be happier and more satisfied with your work. Take control and find solutions for those parts of your job that are less fulfilling so that your emotions and attitude don’t work against you.

2. Purpose – Understanding the importance of job responsibilities and identifying with the overall objectives of the team, department, and organization.

It’s one thing to know how to do your job, but it’s more important to know why you do what you do. Understanding your role in the bigger picture of organizational success helps to ignite feelings of inclusion and professional pride.

3. Progress – Ability to think progressively for continuous personal and professional improvement.

Challenge yourself to try new things and new ways of doing routine things. Don’t let yourself stagnate or become too comfortable – seize opportunities to showcase your skills or push self-imposed limitations. People rarely gain a professional edge when others can’t see or don’t know what they are capable of achieving.

4. Partnership – Willingness and ability to foster good relationships and teamwork with coworkers, managers, and customers.

Good relationships are the foundation for resourcefulness in your job. Treat others with respect. Do what you say you will do, offer to help others, exhibit a sense of urgency in responding to requests, and extend common courtesy – when others reciprocate, a trusting partnership is formed.

5. Professionalism – High standards of appearance, personal conduct, work product, and expertise.

Don’t leave doubts in the minds of others. Match image with skills and knowledge to help shape the thoughts and experiences of others. Continue to learn and produce accurate, timely work and your reputation and credibility will "speak for itself."

There are many other measurements of excellence. Find things that are unique about you and make your pathway to excellence your own. No one else will do it or achieve it in exactly the same manner. It’s often the small things that make a person stand out in a big way. Several years ago, a manager described his admin’s stellar performance in this way, "I don’t know how else to explain it…everything she does for me comes back just a little bit better than I expected it to." That’s a strong endorsement for administrative excellence – a little effort, a lot of admiration.

©Administrative Excellence – 2010 (Adapted from: https://adminexcellence.wordpress.com/2010/03/16/what-is-administrative-excellence/, in 12/01/2017)

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August 24, 2016 / By Digestive Health Team

Are You Pooping All Wrong?

5 tips to keep your bowels healthy

    When it comes to our bowels — and their movements — we may not give them much thought. Of course, when things are not going well, we notice.

    However, bowel movements don’t just tell us about the health of our digestive system. This may sound strange, but signs of everything from diseases to stress may show up in your bathroom habits. The key is knowing what to look for — and what the signs may mean.

    Here are five tips to encourage healthy bowels:

    1. Don’t ignore rectal bleeding

    The first thing most people worry about when they have minor rectal bleeding is that they have a cancer. Of course, colon cancer is also a concern. But it’s the cause of rectal bleeding only 1 to 2 percent of the time.

     Two problems are usually responsible for blood on the paper, on the stool or in the toilet: hemorrhoids and anal fissures. The good news is that both problems are usually easy to fix.

    2. Be careful not to be overzealous when you wipe

    A lot of people assume they have hemorrhoids. May their bottoms itch and they feel extra skin down there as they wipe. Must be hemorrhoids, right?

    So they treat themselves with medicated wipes or cream. And yet the “hemorrhoids” don’t go away — they itch even more.

    Often, the problem is, ironically, being too clean. What happens is a circular process. Filled with good intentions, you try to keep yourself scrupulously clean by using flushable wipes. But the unexpected result is that this leads to itching and the feeling that you have hemorrhoids.

    3. Don’t treat the bathroom like a library

    Think of your time in the bathroom as a necessity, not an extended escape. If your toilet has stacks of magazines or books on the water tank, consider moving them to another room.

    Why? The more time you spend on the toilet, the more likely you will strain for bowel movements. Also, the seated position puts extra stress on your anal blood vessels. Both of these factors boost your risk of hemorrhoids.

    4. Get enough fiber in your diet

    The goal is to eat 25 to 35 grams of fiber each day. The lack of fiber in the American diet is perhaps the major problem that leads to issues with constipation.

    One of the challenges is that not all natural sources are equal in the amounts of fiber they contain, so you don’t always get a consistent amount of fiber intake every day, depending on what you eat. One day a bowl of oatmeal may do it. Another day a serving of broccoli may not.

    Of course, each person’s needs are different, too, so you have to find what works best for your body.

    5. Avoid dehydration if you have diarrhea

    The biggest danger with a short bout of diarrhea is dehydration, or the loss of water and nutrients from the body’s tissues. You could become dehydrated if you have diarrhea more than three times a day and are not drinking enough fluids. Dehydration can cause serious complications if it is not treated. The best way to guard against dehydration is to drink liquids that contain both salt and sugar.

(Source: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2016/08/poop/) 

Read the text below and answer the question that follow:

Text 1 - News from Japan

Japanese tsunami dog and owner reunited

A dog that was rescued after spending three weeks floating at sea after a huge earthquake and tsunami has been reunited with its owner, who recognized the dog when she saw a TV news report on the rescue on Friday.

The dog was found by a Japan Coast Guard crew on a roof drifting some 1.8km off the coast of one of the worst-hit areas along Japan's north-east coast. The roof that the dog was found on is believed to have broken off the house and been washed out to sea by the retreating waters of the devastating tsunami.

The two-year-old dog called Ban had an emotional reunion with its owner at an animal care center where it had been taken to be looked after. Local media reported that Ban immediately jumped up and was very excited when the owner appeared. “We'll never let go of her,” said the owner, who wished to remain anonymous.

Taken from: https://www.usingenglish.com/comprehension/