• Coordinators documents
• Theme documents
• Benefits to authors and recipients documents
• Analyses documents
• Common error writing reports
• Appointment documents
• Model documents
• Handouts and briefing documents
• Handover documents
• Monitoring documents
• Illustration documents

How to compose a better Report

In coordinating atmosphere where you are working with your field workers and report preparation is under your own observation and assessment then it can be exasperating. You can get better feedback from your co-workers with proper stimulating attention and discussion about the need of good report preparation.

In the same way if you are a community assembler and responsible for reporting to higher authorities, you need to find ways of encouragement to your team members that compose useful reports. If you are composing your own work in form of reports then you must take some guidance for good report writing.

You can enhance you report writing skills and proficiency via workshops at least twice a year. These workshops and seminars guide you and introduce new ways and writing trends. You will gain a lot of valuables with paying a little cost.

If you neglect the importance of report writing then your co-workers will surely follow you and neglect the report accuracy. It may probably result in falling you down. Treat your composition staff via one day workshop about report writing. You can give demo on specific topics, such as:

• What are key elements of a report?
• How we can compose a better and easier report?
• Why reports are important in any organization?
• Who can be obliged reports?
• How we can compose and organize reports?

The concept of teamwork is self-explanatory – a group of people working for a common goal united, and every individual brings onward their efforts and skills in a determined way in coordination with each other so that they can get the desired results. Almost every career requires the ability of teamwork with all positions; as businesses need teams working in coordination with each other to accomplish different tasks to get the set goals for sake of business development. For instance, a sports team’s victory also depends greatly on the performance of every individual. To step into any career, one should be able to be either team leader or team player to fit one condition or the other of their career.

Importance of teamwork is revealed from the little things that we are taught from childhood when kids are guided to work and share things and duties with their siblings. Family gatherings, parties, and weddings are also managed through teamwork of the family members or friends that is a common example of teamwork.

In teamwork, every member of team needs to combine their efforts to accomplish the task, and it enhances the worth and quality of work done. If all members master the fundamentals of project and work together as a unit by playing their unique role, every member is recognized and appreciated for their role individually but everyone enjoys the fruit.

Whether it is workplace or sports field, importance of teamwork cannot be neglected; teamwork can produce incredible results. Running a team successfully is not an easy task as it may seem, but to get the effective results of teamwork cannot just happen automatically. It takes great deal, hard work, and compromises. By encouraging teamwork, we can get a lot of advantages over working without a team. Businesses can get their set goals in more efficient way if they have the following characteristic in their teamwork:

The exact origins of Shintoism are still unknown. Archaeological evidence suggests some form of it was being practiced by the Yayoi people (400 B.C. – 250 A.D.). The Yayoi lived in clans called uji. Each uji had a leader who served as both the war-chief and spiritual leader. Each clan was associated with a single god, or kami. Kami represented objects in nature and wondrous aspects of the world. There were kami representing mountains, rivers, storms, and even rocks. When a clan defeated another clan in war they would assimilate the defeated clan’s kami into their existing religion. In this way the Yayoi slowly built a complex hierarchy of kami.

After its arrival from China and Korea in 538 A.D., Buddhism spread rapidly throughout Japan. Many people were reluctant to accept Buddhism at that time because of nationalism and xenophobism. After the defeat of the Mononobe clan in 587 A.D., who were opponents of Buddhism, the religion spread unimpeded. Almost two centuries later, under Emperor Shomu’s order, the temple of Todai-ji was built at Nara in 752. It is the largest wooden structure in the world housing a fifteen-meter high gilt-bronze statue of the Cosmic Buddha, later to be known as The Great Sun Buddha, or Dainichi Nyorai in Japanese. The Dainichi Nyorai was associated with Amaterasu, the Shinto Sun Goddess. With the identification of the Dainichi Nyorai with a Shinto kami so began the syncretism of Shintoism and Buddhism. Today, The evidence of this syncretism can be seen throughout Japan.

Many Japanese festivals, or matsuri, originated from early Shinto rituals. These festivals often symbolize hope for abundant rice production or spiritual health of the community. The festivals are often done inside a Shinto Shrine, or display some form or image of a Shrine. Many of these festivals can stretch for over several days. These usually include processions that bear an image of the local Kami through crowded streets to the sound of drums and flutes. The festivities vary with different locals, but they all have similar features: energy, noise, food, and exultation. This is an opportunity members of the local community to celebrate a joyful occasion together.

One of the more well-known festivals in Japan is the Bon Festival, also known as O-bon, an event that marks the annual visitation of departed ancestors to the surviving members of their family. This festival is characterized by visits to Buddhist temples and the decoration of alters of the departed. Days before the festival, ancestral graves are cleaned by family members in preparation for the return of the souls of the deceased. Many people also take this opportunity to return to their native towns to be with their families and visit local temples to pray and give offerings.

Understanding the relationship between Buddhism and Shintoism can be confusing for foreigners. A common saying in Japan is, “We live as Shintoists, but die as Buddhists.”

Model Resume

1. Raw horse meat is a popular food in Japan.

2. Sometimes the trains are so crowded railway staff are employed to cram passengers inside.

3. Japanese celebrate Christmas, but it is more like Valentine’s Day in the western world.

4. Poorly written English can be found everywhere, including T-shirts and other fashion items.

5. More than 70% of Japan consists of mountains, including more than 200 volcanoes.

6. Mt. Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan, is an active volcano.

7. Many Japanese do not know the difference between Shintoism and Buddhism.

8. A nice musk melon, similar to a cantaloupe, may sell for over $300US.

9. There are four different writing systems in Japan, romaji, katakana, hiragana, and kanji.

10. Coffee is very popular and Japan imports approximately 85% of Jamaica’s annual coffee production.

11. Japan’s literacy rate is almost 100%.

12. Sumo is Japan’s national sport, although baseball is also very popular.

13. Sumo wrestlers eat a stew called Chankonabe to fatten up. Many restaurants in the Ryogoku district of Tokyo serve this nabe (Japanese word for stew).

14. Many toilets in Japan have a built-in bidet system for spraying your backside.

15. When you use the restroom in some one’s home, you should put on special bathroom slippers so as not to contaminate the rest of the home.

16. Noodles, especially soba (buckwheat), are slurped very loudly when eaten. It is often said slurping symbolizes the food is delicious, but the slurping also serves to cool down the hot noodles for eating.

17. Japan is the world’s largest consumer of Amazon rain forest timber.

18. Vending machines in Japan sell beer, hot and cold canned coffee, cigarettes, and other items.

19. When moving into an apartment it is often required to give the landlord a “gift” of money equal to two months’ rent.

20. There are around 1,500 earthquakes every year in Japan.

21. It is not uncommon to eat rice at every meal, including breakfast.

22. Average life expectancy in Japan is one of the highest in the world. Japanese people live an average of 4 years longer than Americans.

23. Japan is the largest automobile producer in the world.

24. The Japanese language has thousands of foreign loan words, known as gairaigo. These words are often truncated, e.g. personal computer = paso kon. The number of foreign loan words is steadily increasing.

25. Tsukiji market in Tokyo is the world’s largest fish market.

26. Although whaling is banned by the IWC, Japan still hunts whales under the premise of “research”.  The harvested whale meat ends up in restaurants and supermarkets.

27. Some men in Japan shave their heads to apologize.

28. Some women in Japan cut their hair after breaking up with a boyfriend.

29. Tokyo has had 24 recorded instances of people either killed or receiving serious skull fractures while bowing to each other with the traditional Japanese greeting.

30. The first novel, The Tale of Genji, was written in 1007 by a Japanese noble woman, Murasaki Shikibu.

31. The term karaoke means “empty orchestra” in Japanese.

32. In a Sumo training “stable” the junior rikishi Sumo wrestlers must wash and bathe their senior sumo wrestlers and make sure their hard to reach places are clean.

33. Contrary to popular belief, whale meat is not a delicacy in Japan. Many Japanese dislike the taste and older Japanese are reminded of the post-World War II period when whale meat was one of the few economical sources of protein.

34. In their effort to make things cute and cuddly rampant inbreeding of dogs has resulted in one of the highest rate of genetic defects in the world for canines.

35. Raised floors help indicate when to take off shoes or slippers. At the entrance to a home in Japan, the floor will usually be raised about 6 inches indicating you should take off your shoes and put on slippers. If the house has a tatami mat room its floor may be rasied 1-2 inches indicating you should to take off your slippers.

36. Ramen noodles are a popular food in Japan and it is widely believed extensive training is required to make a delicious soup broth. This is the subject of the movies Tampopo (1985) and The Ramen Girl (2008).

37. On average, it takes about 7-10 years of intensive training to become a fugu (blowfish) chef. This training may not be needed in the future as some fish farms in Japan are producing non-poisonous fugu.

38. Ovens are not very common in Japanese kitchens, but most households own a rice cooker.

39. Geisha means “person of the arts” and the first geisha were actually men.

40. It was customary in ancient Japan for women to blacken their teeth with dye as white teeth were considered ugly. This practice persisted until the late 1800′s.

Typically, only children born in Japan and to married parents both holding Japanese citizenship are considered ‘naturally Japanese’ and are entered into the family’s “Koseki” (a Japanese family tree spanning generations). Japanese citizenship can be obtained for children born outside Japan to Japanese parents via a Japanese consulate office. Racism, prejudice and other forms of intolerance are also normal facts of life for gaijin and non-100% Japanese alike (Okinawans, Ainu, Korean-Japanese). Racism is not an openly acknowledged problem in Japanese society despite its daily occurrence in life and in popular media.

Many people, especially those in younger generations, are opposed to religions because of historical reason and development of science. Prior to World War II people were required to believe in Shintoism and prohibited to believe any other religion. Many others are neutral on religions and use various religions in their life. One may visit a Shinto shrine on New Year’s day for the year’s success and before school entrance exam to pray to pass. The same person may have a wedding at a Christian church and have funeral at a Buddhist temple. A number of new religions established after or slightly before World War II are also influential.

(The article information source is Wikipedia)

However, traditional Japanese legend maintains that Japan was founded in the 7th century BC by the ancestral Emperor Jimmu. During the 5th and 6th centuries, the Chinese writing system and Buddhism were introduced with other Chinese cultures by way of the Korean peninsula. The emperors were the nominal rulers, but actual power was usually held by powerful court nobles, regents, or shoguns (military governors).

During the 16th century, traders from Portugal, the Netherlands, England, and Spain arrived, as did Christian missionaries. During the early part of the 17th century, Japan’s Shogunate suspected that they were actually forerunners of a military conquest by European powers and ultimately barred all relations with the outside world except for severely restricted contacts with Dutch and Chinese merchants at Nagasaki (Dejima). This isolation lasted for 251 years, until Commodore Matthew Perry forced the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854.

Within several years, renewed contact with the West profoundly altered Japanese society. The Shogunate was forced to resign, and the emperor was restored to power. The Meiji Restoration of 1868 initiated many reforms. The feudal system was abolished, and numerous Western institutions were adopted, including a Western legal system and government, along with other economic, social and military reforms that transformed Japan into a world power. Japan’s new ambitions led to invasion wars that exploited and killed thousands of people in mainland China (1895) and Russia (1905) and led to the annexation by Japan of Korea, Taiwan and other territories.

The early 20th century saw Japan come under increasing influence of an expansionist military, leading to the invasion of Manchuria, a second Sino-Japanese War (1937), and an attack on the US naval base in Pearl Harbor (1941) that brought the United States into World War II. After a long and brutal Pacific campaign, Japan lost Okinawa and was pushed back to the four main islands. Reluctant to launch a full-scale invasion of Japan, the United States obliterated Hiroshima and Nagasaki with two atomic bombs. They killed approximately 130,000 people instantly and with Hirohito’s unconditional surrender to the United States on August 15, 1945, sovereignty and independence was restored in Southeastern and Eastern Asia.

A divested post-war Japan remained under US occupation until 1952, thereafter it embarked on a remarkable economic recovery that returned prosperity to the islands. Okinawa remained under US occupation until 1972 to stabilize East Asia, and a major military presence remains there to this day.

(Article information source is Wikipedia)

The national holidays are New Year’s Day (1 January), Coming of Age Day (15 January), National Foundation Day (11 February), Vernal Equinox (20 or 21 March), Greenery Day (29 April), Constitution Memorial Day (3 May), Children’s Day (5 May), Respect-for-the-Aged Day (15 September), Autumnal Equinox (23 or 24 September), Health Sports Day (10 October), Culture Day (3 November), Labor Thanksgiving Day (23 November), Emperor’s Birthday (23 December).

Dealing with Japanese on a one-to-one basis usually comes very easy to non-Japanese, but dealing with Japanese as a group can be a different matter altogether. And no matter how nice you are, or how good your Japanese becomes, you will always be treated as an outsider. Many westerners see Japanese as aloof, shy, and always walking on eggshells. There is a lot of truth in that — Japanese are extremely sensitive to what others might think of them and are very hesitant to do something new, different, or independent. Being ostracized is one of the worst things that can happen to a Japanese, who is raised to be part of a group and depend on others. Therefore, when making requests, it often takes more time since the person asked usually consults others in the group to reach a consensus. It also might interfere with what your goals are — when teaching an English class a teacher gave some subjects for the students to debate. Of course the goal was for the students to use as much English as possible and improve their abilities. But what happened was the students reverted to their old habits and tried to compromise and reach a consensus — in which case, the debate promptly ended.

In short, however, while the westerner starts so many sentences with “I”, the Japanese “I” usually means “with the approval of the group”. This is not to pass judgement on this trait, as in many things there are both positive and negative aspects. For the westerner, it can be good in that you are often not subject to what sometimes becomes excessive, even oppressive methodologies. On the negative side, even if you do find a group or niche that you want to be in, you may be frozen out or the last one to find out about many decisions that profoundly affect your schedule and work.

A decorative sushi selection

Rice
Sticky, short-grained rice is the staple food in Japan. Uncooked rice is called kome. The cultivation of rice in paddy fields traditionally required great cooperation between villagers and this is said to have been central to the evolution of Japanese culture. Their are several thousand varieties grown in Japan, with Koshihikari and Akita Komachi being among the most popular. Rice is also used to make mochi (rice cakes), senbei (rice crackers) and sake (rice wine). Rice can also be cooked with red beans (sekihan), seafood and vegetables (Takikomi gohan) or as a kind of watery porridge seasoned with salt (kayu) which is very popular as a cold remedy.Onigiri are rice balls with seafood or vegetables in the middle, usually wrapped in a piece of dried seaweed (nori). They are traditionally part of a packed lunch or picnic. Individually wrapped onigiri, usually a trianular shape, make a good snack and are available at convenience stores.

Noodles – Udon and soba
Udon noodles are made from wheat flour. They are boiled and served in a broth, usually hot but occasionally cold in summer, and topped with ingredients such as a raw egg to make tsukimi udon, and deep-fried tofu aburaage to make kitsune udon. Soba is buckwheat noodles, which are thinner and a darker color than udon. Soba is usually served cold (zaru soba) with a dipping sauce, sliced green onions and wasabi. When served in a hot broth, it is known as kake soba. Served with the same toppings as udon, you get tsukimi soba, kitsune soba and tempura soba.

Noodles – Ramen
While udon and soba are also believed to have come from China, only ramen retains its image as Chinese food. Ramen is thin egg noodles which are almost always served in a hot broth flavored with shoyu or miso. This is topped with a variety of ingredients such as slices of roast pork (chashu), bean sprouts (moyashi), sweetcorn and butter. Ramen is popular throughout Japan and different regions are known for their variations on the theme. Examples are Corn-butter Ramen in Sapporo and Tonkotsu Ramen in Kyushu. Instant ramen (the most famous brand is Pot Noodles), to which you just add hot water, has become very popular in recent years.

Soy products
The humble soybean (daizu) is used to make a wide variety of foods and flavourings. Soybeans and rice are used to make miso, a paste used for flavouring soup and marinating fish. Together with soy sauce (shoyu), miso is a foundation of Japanese cuisine. Tofu is soybean curd and a popular source of protein, especially for vegetarians. These days, even tofu donuts and tofu icecream are available. Natto, fermented soybeans, is one of the healthiest but also the most notorious item on the menu. With a pungent smell and sticky, stringy texture, natto is easy to hate straight away. Japanese people themselves tend to either love it or hate it. It is usually served with chopped onions and a raw egg and mixed into a bowl of rice.

The traditional arts of Japan offer an opportunity to experience something truly exotic or find inner calm. For the serious practitioner, solemn awareness of the history and intimate knowledge of the past-masters of your chosen form of expression are essential if you wish to practice at the highest level. These ancient ‘ways’ are not for the faint of heart, but many foreigners come to Japan each year to enlighten themselves through their study. For the rest of us, just a nibble at this great banquet of culture will be more than enough.

The Japanese do know how to kick back and have fun, too. You might be surprised by just how wild a Japanese festival can get! Snow festivals, fire festivals, fertility festivals – you name it, they have it. When it comes to food, the Japanese are as enthusiastic as anybody on earth – the changing seasons bring new delicacies and an excuse to travel the length of the country to sample local dishes. Spring also brings the cherry blossoms – symbol of life’s all-too-brief span and a good excuse to get drunk and dance around in a cemetery! The beauty of summer fireworks and autumn’s spectacular changing leaves can also take the breath away.