The Art of the Apology - How to express genuine guilt and regret.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I said something hurtful to someone I care about. It got me thinking about how to make a genuine apology, and the emotional obstacles that stand in the way of saying "I'm sorry."

Nobody likes to admit he or she is wrong, for starters. Most of us want to believe we're sensitive and that it's other people who are the problem. Also, the guilty feelings that come with recognizing you've hurt someone else, along with the shame you feel when you see yourself behave badly, aren't easy to tolerate. Typically we'll try to defend against those painful feelings by justifying ourselves.

In my own case, I noticed I kept telling myself that the hurtful thing I'd said was actually true. I would focus on the other person's irritating behavior; although I never told myself so in these exact words, the implication was that he deserved to be told. Repeated self-justification, in the form of mental "arguments" in which you keep trying to convince yourself or somebody else that you're in the right usually mean just the opposite. Eventually I recognized my fault.

So how to apologize? Here is my cardinal rule for how to frame an apology: genuine apologies never contain the words "if" or "but." For example, never say, "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings," or "I apologize for being insensitive, but such-and-such happened earlier ..." Those words have the effect of rescinding the apology by either calling the injury into doubt or assigning true responsibility elsewhere. I've often heard people tell me, "I'm sorry if I came across too strong in what I said to you," or something similar; those apologies always felt half-hearted. I notice that once I decide I've done something wrong and begin to frame an apology, "if" or "but" always appears in the first draft.

Second, keep it simple and straight-forward then step back. I've heard other advice which holds that any genuine apology must include the asking of forgiveness. I completely disagree. In those cases where I've been hurt and eventually received an apology, even in those rare cases where it did not contain the word "if" or "but," by the time the person apologized I was too angry to offer genuine forgiveness in the moment. It takes a while for an apology to sink in; you have to leave the person room to get over feeling angry with you for the hurt. Besides, asking for forgiveness demands something of the other person -- that he or she immediately exonerate you by putting an end to your feelings of guilt and shame. By asking for forgiveness, you once again shift responsibility off your own shoulders.

An apology should be a completely one-sided communication, an acknowledgement of guilt and regret on your side, asking nothing in return. You don't have to grovel. Just give your apology and accept that it may take time to repair the damage. If we've done or said something especially hurtful, we may have seriously scarred the relationship. I recall one friendship that I permanently damaged by telling the truth in a deliberately hurtful way (although I didn't recognize it at the time) and then offering an apology that included the word "if."

Tolerating real, possibly lasting guilt and regret are part of tendering a true apology.

Try it yourself and make a genuine apology. For most of us, it shouldn't be too difficult to identify bad behavior on our part. Feel your resistance to owning up, listen for the self-justifications. Try to isolate the other's person's behavior or any contributing factors from your own misdeeds; take full responsibility for the hurt you inflicted.

Frame your apology, beginning with the words "I'm sorry," then edit it carefully. Make sure not to include the words "if" or "but"; make no reference to anything the other person did that might qualify your statement of regret.

Then step back and leave the other person alone with your apology. Don't demand forgiveness. Accept that you may have to live with guilt and regret despite having apologized.

What Happen If Narendrabhai Modi fail in this Election ?

Universal Perspectives Of Organizational Design

Organization Design is a formal, guided process for integrating the people, information and technology of an organization. It is used to match the form of the organization as closely as possible to the purpose(s) the organization seeks to achieve.

Universal Perspectives

The Bureaucratic Model

Max Weber, a German sociologist, conceptualized the idea of bureaucracy. A bureaucracy is a form of organizational structure in which people can be held fully accountable for their actions because they are required to act in accordance with well-specified and agreed-upon rules and standard operating procedures. Basic Elements of the Bureaucratic Structure are:

• formal rules and behavior bounded by rules
• uniformity of operations continuity despite changes in personnel
• functional division of labor based on functional specialization
• rational allocation of tasks
• impersonal orientation
• membership constitutes a career
• promotion based on technical competence
• limited discretion of officers
• specific sphere of competence
• legally based tenure
• employment based on merit-no ascribed status
• qualifications tested
• proscribed authority-legally defined

The Behavioural Model

This model has evolved from the Human Relations School of management thought. In this model the performance of an organization is believed to depend on human beings, their behaviour, characteristics and their mutual relationships emerging from work patterns and organizational settings. The important factors which play significant roles are needs, motivations, attitudes, values, leadership, group behaviour, perceptions, communications, responsibility and authority relationship, etc. In other words, the behavioural models of organization design reflect the social and psychological implications of organizational life. The most popular behavioural models of organization design— the socio-technical systems theory and Likert’s System 4 Organization.

Contingency Approach

The contingency approach to organizational design tailors organizational structure to the sources of uncertainty facing an organization. The structure is designed to respond to various contingencies- things that might happen and therefore must be planned.

According to Contingency Theory, the structure of an organization depends on the circumstances at any given time. The key contingency variables addressed in the literature include:

• strategy
• ability to adapt to the environment
• technology and
• size

People become aware only at the time of death of what they have missed, because death comes like a fisherman, pulling you out of the ocean of life. As you are pulled out of life, suddenly you realize, “My God! I have been alive, and I never became aware of it. I could have danced, I could have loved, I could have sung — but now it is too late.” People become aware only at the time when they are dying, that they have been continuously surrounded by the eternal energy of life, but they never participated in it. Your daily life is your temple, and your religion. Act in awareness, act consciously, and naturally many things will start changing.

What Are The 10 Best Days Of Your Life?

If someone asked you to describe the 10 best days of your life, how would you answer?

Most people start off listing the days their children were born, the day they got married, and other other big milestone events.

But once you get past the top 4 or 5 things, the days that people cite as their “best” days are usually quite ordinary, days spent with family and friends, doing enjoyable, yet average things like picnics or swimming.

Think about your 10 best days, what are the best memories imprinted in your brain?

Most of the time, we don’t even realize that we’re experiencing one of our best days while we’re having it. It’s only when we look back that we realize how happy we were.

A few years ago my daughter and I were on a trip together when got the news of a dear friend’s passing. We got the news via email. We were out of the country, and there was nothing we could do at the moment. We couldn't even call the family.

My daughter and I spent our dinner that night discussing the fleeting nature of life. That’s when I came up with the “What were your 10 best days?” question.

My daughter cited some of her best days as the day she learned to ride a bike and a day we spent at the lake with my parents.

As I looked at my dear daughter across the table, I realized, today is one of my 10 best days.

I was a little embarrassed to say it out loud. But I thought of our friend and how many seemingly ordinary moments of his life did he later realize were special.

So, filling up with emotion, eye brimming over, I looked her straight in the eye said, “Today is one of my 10 best days.” To my surprise, she got teary eyed herself.

It was a rare instance for me; I actually recognized the beauty of a moment while I was still in it.

I once read a story about a soldier in a POW camp who kept himself sane by remembering a glorious spring day as a kid, when he and his siblings along with their parents, and the neighbor kids with their parents, spent a wonderful afternoon flying kites. The adults had been uncharacteristically lured away from their usual Saturday chores because the weather was fine, and the kids were having such a grand time.

The soldier assumed he was the only person who remembered the day so vividly. Yet years later he discovered that everyone else, young and old, remembered the day just as fondly as he did.

One woman, who was a child the day they flew the kites, described a scene years later when her own young daughter was begging her to go the park. The busy mother declined, saying she had too much work to do. But then her mother, who was sitting in the room listening, said wishfully, “It’s a beautiful day, it reminds of that day we flew the kites.”

The younger mother paused, as the emotions of the long ago kite-flying day returned. She put aside her work, grabbed her daughter’s hand and headed for the park.

Here’s the thing about those 10 best days, they're even more fun if you stay fully present while you’re experiencing them.

- Deepak Bhatt, 11:16 a.m.

Post-hoc Management

Although not an 'official' management theory, what can be called 'Post-hoc management' is practiced widely on a daily basis around the world and most people will instantly recognize it. It is very common in small companies where there are few formal systems and where there is a general autocratic style. It also appears in larger organizations where results take precedence over rules or where politics leads to impression management being a primary activity.

Principle

The basic principle of post-hoc management is that, as judge and jury, the manager is always right and never to blame. In this way they can remain secure in their job.

Vague objectives

The first sign of post-hoc management is a vague start to work, typically with unclear and general objectives. If the manager is asked for clarity, they will typically say something like 'you're the expert' or 'this is why we employ you', with the implication that not knowing what indicates a lack of competence on your part. This can be endemic in an organization where it happens all the way up the management tree. The edict 'Managers must manage' is a typical statement by a more senior person that essentially implies that you are on your own.

Wise in hindsight

Being right means judging others after the fact, where 20-20 hindsight allows them to conclude what should have been done. It places the manager as a wise expert who cannot be challenged. In fact the manager actually uses the respect required by their formal position as a substitute for the true respect engendered by expertise. Their seniority thus acts as a protective wall and any challenge to their expertise is reinterpreted as an attack on their rank, which they can repel with accusations of insubordination.

One way of recognizing the post-hoc manager is the phrase 'Why didn't you...' Their suggestions usually sound reasonable but do not take into account time limitations and the myriad of other things that could have been done. Most work planning includes decisions not to do a lot of things that would make sense if you had the time, but get prioritized out by the greater importance and urgency of other work.

If you are always right then others are always wrong and the post-hoc manager often bemoans how they are surrounded by fools. Yet this also makes the manager feel clever and superior, and they seldom seek to employ people who are better than them. This sometimes does happen by accident when a good person slips through the mediocre net, but the frustrations caused by post-hoc management often means that the best people quickly understand the problem and move on as soon as possible.

Critical benefits

The post-hoc manager also benefits from the 'critic effect', whereby people who criticize are seen as being more intelligent that those who propose creative solutions. The manager may be creative too, but does it in a way that protects them from blame. For example they may make various interesting suggestions as to what should be done, which puts the other person in the double bind that if they do not follow the manager's suggestions then, if things go less than perfectly the manager will blame them for not taking up the idea. If they implement the idea and it works then the manager can take most of the credit, whilst if it fails then the manager can blame them for a poor implementation or say 'It was only an idea, effectively suggesting that you are incapable of developing your own ideas.'

Whilst not an official management theory, Post-hoc management is sadly an all-too-frequent reality. It reflects the human condition and the need for control, safety and status that often take priority over values that require integrity and concern for others.

“શ્રદ્ધા, આત્મ વિશ્વાસનું ભરપુર સાહસ એટલે કેપ્ટન ગોપીનાથ”

માણસમાં હિંમત, શ્રદ્ધા અને કંઈક કરી છુટવાની ઈચ્છા હોય તો એની ઉડાનને કોઈ પણ અવરોધ નડતો નથી અને આજ સફળતાની નવી ઉડાનના માલિક છે કેપ્ટન ગોપીનાથ. આજથી બરાબર ૧ વર્ષ પહેલા એક પુસ્તક મેં મુંબઈ એરપોર્ટ ઉપરથી લીધેલું હતું અને તેનું નામ છે - સિમ્પલી ફ્લાય.

કર્ણાટકના એક નાનકડા ગામડામાં જન્મ લઈને કેપ્ટન ગોપીનાથે આજે સિદ્ધ કરીને બતાવ્યું છે કે જીવનમાં હાર અને ગુલામી કરતા પ્રયત્ન કરવો તે સ્વાભિમાનને પણ ટક્કર મારે તેવું છે. તાજેતરમાં કેપ્ટન ગોપીનાથનું એક પુસ્તક મારા હાથમાં આવ્યું કે જેનું નામ છે - સિમ્પલી ફ્લાય. આ પુસ્તક એ કોઈ મેનેજમેન્ટનું જ્ઞાન કે સિદ્ધાંતો પુરા પાડતું નથી પરંતુ કેપ્ટન ગોપીનાથની જીવનનો એક ઉતર-ચડાવ દર્શાવે છે.  ભારતની સૌ પ્રથમ સૌથી સસ્તી એરલાઈન બનાવીને કેપ્ટન ગોપીનાથે વિશ્વ વિક્રમ રચ્યો હતો. પથમાં કેટલાય પત્થરો આવતા ગયા અને કેપ્ટન ગોપીનાથ તેમને દુર કરતા રહ્યા અને સિદ્ધ કરીને બતાવ્યું કે જીવનમાં એક વખત હાર કબુલ્યા પછી પણ તમે બીજી વખત જીતી શકો છો.

તેમનું પુસ્તક સિમ્પલી ફ્લાય એ નવા ઉમેદવારોને આગળ વધવાની અને તેમનામાં જુસ્સો પ્રગટાવવાની એક તક આપે છે. આ પુસ્તક તેમના અને વિજય માલ્યાના અંગત જીવન વિષે પણ થોડી માહિતી આપે છે. જયારે જયારે પણ કેપ્ટન ગોપીનાથ અલગ અલગ મેનેજમેન્ટ સંસ્થાઓમાં પોતાના વ્યક્તવ્યો આપવા જાય છે ત્યારે તેઓ સફળતાની ઉડાન કે મેનેજમેન્ટના પાઠ ભણાવતા નથી પરંતુ એ સમજાવે છે કે કોઈ પણ વસ્તુમાં પ્રયત્નશીલ બનીને જુસ્સો કેમ જાળવી રાખવો. સાગર ખેડું તો માત્ર એક વખતમાં એક જ મોતી શોધી લાવે છે પરંતુ એકસાથે દસ મોતી લાવે તો તેને સાચી સફળતા કહેવાય. કેપ્ટન ગોપીનાથના કિસ્સામાં પણ એવું જ બન્યું અને સરકારી હિસાબો અને ગંદી રાજનીતિનો ભોગ બન્યા અને પોતાની એરલાઈન એર દક્કેન ને ભારી ખોટ સાથે વહેચી દેવી પડી.

કેપ્ટન ગોપીનાથ જણાવે છે કે આ જગતમાં કોઈ પણ વસ્તુની ગેરંટી કે વોરંટી નથી છે તો  માત્ર એ તમારો કામ કરવાનો જુસ્સો અને પ્રયત્ન. મોટા ભાગનો સમય કેપ્ટન ગોપીનાથ ખેડૂતો સાથે જ ગાળે છે કારણકે તેમને તે કામમાં મજા આવે છે અને એક આનંદની લાગણી અનુભવે છે. નવી નવી નોકરીઓની તક ઉભી કરવી એ કેપ્ટન ગોપીનાથનું એક અવિભાજન અંગ બની ગયું છે. તેમના મત અનુસાર ભારતની મોટાભાગનું અર્થતંત્ર એ નાના નાના ગામડામાંથી જ આવે છે અને તેઓને પુરતી તક મળતી ન હોવાથી તેઓ આજે આગળ વધી શકતા નથી.કેપ્ટન ગોપીનાથનું હવે પછીનું કામ એ નાના નાના ગામડાના લોકોમાં જુસ્સો પ્રગટાવીને તેમને ધંધાકીય પ્રવૃતિથી જોડાવાનો છે.  આજનો યુવા વર્ગ એ પબ અને ક્લબ માં જોડાયેલો છે તેને ખ્યાલ નથી કે તેમનામાં કેટલી અપાર શક્તિઓ રહેલી છે અને આ જ શક્તિઓ તે જગાડવા માટે તેઓ લક્ષ્ય સિદ્ધ થયા છે.

એક મજાની વાત તો એ છે કે એર દક્કેનમાં દરેક એર હોસ્ટેસો નાના નાના ગામડામાંથી આવેલ છે કે જે એક આશ્ચર્યની વાત છે.આખી કંપનીની મૂડી એ લોકોનો આત્મવિશ્વાસ અને તેમનામાં રહેલી શ્રદ્ધા ને પ્રજવલિત કરવાનો છે. દરેક માણસમાં એક અપાર શક્તિ રહેલી છે અને તે શક્તિનો યોગ્ય સ્થળે ઉપયોગ થાય તે જ ધ્યેય માણસના જીવનનું હોવું જોઈએ.

તાજેતરમાં જ પ્રસિદ્ધ થયેલા સમાચાર મુજબ કેપ્ટન ગોપીનાથ હવે ગુજરાતમાં સૌથી સસ્તા દરે એરલાઈન ચાલુ કરે છે. કેપ્ટન ગોપીનાથનું નવું સાહસ છે 'દક્કેન ચાર્ટર' કે જે દિવસના ૪-૫ ઉડાનો ભરવા સક્ષમ રહેશે તેમાં અમદાવાદથી જામનગર, સુરત, રાજકોટ, પોરબંદર રહેશે. આ ઉડાનો એ આગામી સમયમાં જાહેર કરવામાં આવશે.

કેપ્ટન ગોપીનાથનું આ પુસ્તક તમે ઓનલાઈન હોમશોપ-૧૮ ઉપર પણ ઓર્ડર કરી શકો છો તેની કિંમત છે રૂપિયા ૨૩૫/-. આ પુસ્તક તમે નજીકના બૂક સ્ટોરમાં જઈને પણ ખરીદી કરી શકો છો પરંતુ એમની કિંમત થોડી વધી જશે જેમ કે ક્રોસવર્ડમાં આ પુસ્તકની કિંમત છે રૂપિયા ૩૫૦/-, લેન્ડમાર્કમાં ૨૩૪/-., ફ્લીપ્કાર્તમાં રૂપિયા ૨૪૫/-. 

તો ચાલો મિત્રો હવે આ નવી ઉડાનની સફર કરીએ કેપ્ટન ગોપીનાથના આ પુસ્તકથી..

લેખક વિશે: આઈ આઈ એમ કલકતા અને આઈ આઈ એમ અમદાવાદના ગ્રેજ્યુએટ હોવાની સાથે સાથે દિપક ભટ્ટ એક પ્રખર વક્તા પણ છે. તેઓ મોટી મોટી કંપનીઓમાં મેનેજમેન્ટના સલાહકાર તરીકે કાર્યરત છે. ગ્લોબલ મેનેજમેન્ટ એ તેમનું એક નવું સાહસ છે કે જે અમદાવાદથી કાર્યરત છે. તેમને સંપર્ક કરવાનું માધ્યમ છે – deepak@managementthinker.com, મોબાઈલ નંબર - ૯૪૨૬૨-૨૯૪૨૯ 

Saina Nehwal given Hero's Welcome on Arrival

India's badminton star Saina Nehwal, who won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, was given a rousing welcome upon her arrival in India. Saina said it was her dream to win gold, but she was happy to return with a bronze. "It's just unbelievable, I am speechless.

I am happy that I actually did what I promised and believed in. It is a dream to win gold, but I am happy that at least I have a bronze and am the first Indian to win a badminton Olympic medal," she said. Flanked by her Coach P Gopichand and father Harvir Nehwal, Saina addressed a press conference and shared her thoughts and feelings after the victory. Saina displayed the bronze medal she has won. She revealed that even though she looked normal outside, she was jumping with joy from inside.

Saina said she has promised Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh that she would return with a gold medal next time. "There is nothing bigger than standing on the podium with an Olympic medal. That's life for me," she said when talked about her hard work and efforts.

Conquering A Culture of Indecision

The single greatest cause of corporate underperformance is the failure to execute. According to author Ram Charan, such failures usually result from misfires in personal interactions. And these faulty interactions rarely occur in isolation. More often than not, they’re typical of the way large and small decisions are made (or not made) through an organization. 

The inability to take decisive action is rooted in a company’s culture. Leaders create this culture of indecisiveness, Charan says – and they can break it by doing three things: First, they must engender intellectual honesty in the connections between people. 

Second, they must see to it that the organization’s social operating mechanisms – the meetings, reviews and other situations through which people in the corporation transact business – have honest dialogue at their cores. 

And third, leaders must ensure that feedback and follow through are used to reward high achievers, coach those who are struggling, and discourage those whose behaviors are blocking the organization’s progress. 

By taking these three approaches and using every encounter as an opportunity to model open and honest dialogue, leaders can set the tone for an organization, moving it from paralysis to action.

Cheese can reduce Risk of Diabetes, says Study

Cheese can reduce risk of diabetes - a new research has claimed. A team of British and Dutch researchers found that eating just two slices of cheese a day cuts the risk of type 2 diabetes by 12 per cent.

The researchers studied the case of 16,800 healthy adults and 12,400 patients with type 2 diabetes from eight European countries, including the UK and looked at their diets. They found that those who ate at least 55 grams of cheese a day that is around two slices, were 12 per cent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes and the risk fell by the same amount for those who ate 55 grams of yoghurt a day. While since years, National Health Survey guidelines in the UK have advised against eating too much dairy, cake or red meat as they can increase cholesterol and raise the risk of diabetes, the present finding seems unreasonable. Yes, it is possible that the probiotic bacteria present in cheese and yoghurt can lower cholesterol and produce certain vitamins which prevent diabetes. Researchers including academics from the Medical Research Council, Cambridge said that not all saturated fats are as harmful as others, and some may even be beneficial. Cheese, milk and yoghurt are also high in vitamin D, calcium and magnesium, which may help protect diabetes.

The study was published in the ‘American Journal of Clinical Nutrition’.

Be More Than Your Moods

For much of my life, I believed my thoughts were beyond my control. They just entered my mind automatically and did whatever they wished to do. Even worse, I believed that I was my thoughts. Thankfully, I discovered that nothing could be further from the truth. We are not our thoughts. We are the creators of the thoughts that flow through our minds and, given this fact, we can change our thoughts if we choose to do so.

This seemingly obvious insights was an ephiphany for me. I soon became far more aware of the thoughts I allowed into my mind and the inner dialogue that takes place within every one of us every waking hour of every living day.

I began to pay complete attention to the quality of my thoughts. This awareness was the first step to changing them. Over a matter of months, I trained my mind to focus only on positive, inspiring and enlightening thoughts. And in doing so, I saw the outer circumstances of my life change. Just as you are not your thoughts, you are not your moods. you are the creator of the moods you experience, moods that you can change in a single instance. If you choose to do so, you can feel peace in a moment of stress, joy in a time of sadness and energy during a time of fatigue.

How to Serve Selflessly ?

Albert Schweitzer said, "There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed." And the ancient Chinese believed that 'a little fragrance always clings to the hand that gives you roses.' One of the greatest lessons for a highly fulfilling life is to rise from a life spent chasing success to one dedicated to finding significance. And the best way to create significance is to ask yourself one simple question, "How May I serve?"

All great leaders, thinkers and humanitarians have abandoned selfish lives for selfless lives and, in doing so, found all the happiness, abundance and satisfaction they desired. They have all understood that all-important truth of humanity: you cannot pursue success; success ensues. 

It flows as the unintended but inevitable by product of a life spent serving people and adding value to the world. 

Mahatma Gandhi understood the service ethics better than most. In one memorable story from his life, he was traveling across India by train. As he left the car he had been riding in, one of his shoes fell to a place on the tracks well beyond his reach. Rather than worrying about getting it back, he did something that startled his travel companions; he removed his other shoes and threw it to where the first one rested. When asked why he did this, Gandhi smiled and replied: "Now the poor soul who finds the first one will have a pair that he can wear."

Mona Lisa's Skeleton found by Italian Archaeologists?

In a big development, the archaeologists in Italy believe that they have discovered the skeleton of the famous Mona Lisa, the creation of legendary Leonardo Da Vinci. Mona Lisa alias Lisa Gheradini was the model for Leonardo's masterpiece, 'Mona Lisa'. The archaeologists said they have found her bones near the convent of Sant'Orsola in Florence.

The bones will be sent to the Department for the Conservation of Cultural Property for a forensic examination to determine the truth. The archaeologists' belief was based on some notes from 1503 in which an accomplice of Leonardo da Vinci wrote that Leonardo was working on a portrait of Lisa Gherardini. It is not immediately known whether the findings will resolve the mystery behind Mona Lisa's smile or not. However, a new twist has been added to the tale of 500-year-old puzzle.

મૃત્યુ પથારી ઉપર રહેલા વિશ્વ-વિજયી રાજા સિકંદરને જીવનના અંતે સમજાયું હતું કે જેને માટે એનો જન્મ થયો છે, એ જ ગુમાવીને પછી સંપતિનો મોટો પહાડ મેળવે એથી એણે મેળવ્યું શું ? પણ ત્યારે એની પાસે જીવનને સુધારી લેવાનો સમય જ બચ્યો ન હતો. આથી તેણે કહ્યું કે "જયારે મારો જનાજો કાઢો, ત્યારે મારા બે હાથ બહાર રાખજો. જેથી લોકો એ જોઈ શકે અને જાણી શકે કે આખી દુનિયાને જીતનારો મહાન બાદશાહ પણ સાવ ખાલી હાથે જઈ રહ્યો છે !"

Yahoo, Facebook reach Patent Agreement

In a major expansion of the partnership, Yahoo and Facebook have reportedly reached a strategic deal as part of a final settlement of their patent infringement lawsuits.

As per this agreement they will be part of a joint advertising sales effort and also will be agreed for cross-licensing of some key patents between them. The news was earlier reported as probable report by ‘AllThingsD’ but now it has become official after the two techno giants confirmed about it.

The confirmation report said that boards of both Facebook and Yahoo have approved the deal and it will be announced later, which also says that no actual cash payment would be there over the patent dispute.

In last March 2012 Yahoo had filed a lawsuit against Facebook claiming that the social network giant had infringed 10 of its patents covering advertising, privacy, messaging and social networking. In return, Facebook had also filed a countersuit against Yahoo in early April.

This is one of the biggest settlements in the world techno market as two leading techno giants of the global market are involved in the scuffle. It has also been reported that Yahoo Board first wanted to sue Facebook as former Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Scott Thompson promised a big financial payoff but they reached out for settlement with Facebook shortly after Thompson stepped down over academic credentials in May.

Delhi Airport Metro to shut down from Sunday

The Reliance Infrastructure-led Delhi Airport Metro Express will shut down from Sunday for indefinite period due to some cracks in the civil structure and technical glitches. 

The metro service in Delhi is India's first public-private partnership metro project. The Airport Metro Express will close down 16 months after opening. It had begun operated in February 2011. 

The Reliance Infrastructure has decided to stop the services from Sunday for which thousands of commuters will face problems. However, the firm did not cite any reason for closing down the services to the airport. 

Reports said that the Reliance Infrastructure is suffering from losses as it was not able to reach its targets in terms of profit and ridership. 

However, the official reports suggested that the decision was taken after cracks were found in the construction of civil structure. A team from the Indian Railways, Delhi government and Ministry of Urban Development had visited the tracks and suggested to close down till the repair work is done.