The arrangement of the Masonic rooms,

The arrangement of the Masonic rooms, now almost necessary in all buildings of this type, is noticeable, each of the two principal rooms being capable of being utilised for suppers, banquets, or balls, as need may arise, as well as for purely Masonic purposes, and all
being readily served from the kitchen lifts.

The top floor contains the kitchen and several bed- rooms, the kitchen accommodation being ample even for large banquets in the rooms below. The back of the site, as will be seen from the ground-floor plan, is given up to large public stables consisting of one loose box and seven stalls and a coach-house and harness- room, with a large yard in front of them ; while
provision is made for additions in the future should the need arise as it probably would do before long for a motor garage. Stables will be dealt with in greater detail in a later part of the volume, and therefore there is no necessity at this moment to say more about them.

Still greater departures from the country inn, out of which they are developments, are the great London combined drinking saloons and places of refreshment, such as the Angel at Islington, also designed by Messrs. Eedle & Meyers, of which four plans are given this the various bars and the service portion, as seen on the ground plan, are arranged centrally in much the same way as at Dulwich, though the site is more restricted and greater use is made of lifts ; while two staircases are shown, one for public use in a broad entrance, and the other entirely for service. The whole of the back of the site is occupied by a large buffet and saloon bar, to be utilised to a
great extent for the service of luncheons, and top lighted, out of which a staircase drops to the billiard- room in the basement, which is only lighted artificially. At the back of the serving bars are stands for bottles, with a small office behind them, while underneath is a beer cellar and heating apparatus, there being even a sub-basement for further cellars.

THE quiet little country inn, which is unfortunately

THE quiet little country inn, which is unfortunately passing away in favour of the more vulgar public house and pretentious gin palace, is essentially a cottage, some rooms of which are devoted to public use, while in many of the best of them a few bedrooms are reserved for casual travellers. An illustration of one, the Bull Ring Inn at North Shields (see Fig. 9), designed by Mr. F. R. N. Haswell, F.R.I. B.A., and planned in accordance with the old traditions, is, how- ever, given. The whole of the front is devoted to a large open bar having window seats with tables arranged in front of them, and a fireplace at each end of the room, forming a kind of club, such as is essential in village life, at which the men can meet and chat of an evening while enjoying their smoke and a modest glass of beer.
This, it will be noticed, is something quite different from a mere drinking saloon. The customers do not come in, drink, and go out again, but sit in the bar, perhaps for hours, using it as a meeting-place for discussion and general sociability. There is the bar counter, certainly,
at which casual callers can be served, and a certain concession to modern requirements is made by screen- ing off a small portion for jug and bottle trade, this being served from an entrance lobby or passage and not from the front door. The cellar flaps in the pavement in front and also in the floor behind the bar counter will be noticed, leading down in a primitive manner, the
one by slides and the other by a step-ladder, to the cellar below. There is a block at the foot of the slides to receive the barrels as they are let down by ropes, and gantries or stands for the barrels are provided round the bar cellar. This being a small inn, the sale
would be almost entirely of beer in some counties and cider in others, and scarcely at all of spirits or wines.
At the back of the bar on the ground floor two sitting- rooms will be noticed, one of them being what is often called a bar parlour with seats round the walls, and standing tables where refreshments can be served, and the other, or best sitting-room, being also intended for guests. Both of them can be served from the space behind the bar counter, but the latter only has direct
service from the kitchen upstairs, so that it alone could be used for meals. As a general rule the kitchens are found on the same floor, but with limited space it has been necessary in this case to place them on another level.

Entertainments given in private houses

Entertainments given in private houses, which are
quite inadequate to accommodate the number of people
they are called upon to hold, are another source of
danger. On such occasions houses are not infrequently
filled to such an extent that to move from one room to
another is almost an impossibility, while the staircase
is totally inadequate to allow the people to escape in
case of fire. The remedy for this lies to some small
degree in the hands of the designer, for he can provide
ample door openings and staircase accommodation, but
the safety of the guests must chiefly depend upon the
discretion of the host, who should proportion his
entertainments with regard to the accommodation of
his house ; while, on the other hand, by placing furniture
across doorways in passages, he may do much to
render useless the provisions made by the architect.

Entertainments in private houses or in other places
are often rendered particularly dangerous by the very
general practice of decorating with flimsy hangings and
many small lights. Such hangings on catching fire
will fall against other inflammable material, and the
spread of fire will be rapid, while a large quantity of
smoke will be produced by its combustion.

SITE OF THEATRE. Inorderto realise the latter requirement

SITE OF THEATRE. Inorderto realise the latterrequirement it is necessary that both sides of the theatre as well as the front shall abut on streets or other thorough- fares, while in order to provide against the external fire risk the fourth side also may well be bounded by
a street. A site such as is thus called for will seldom be procurable, and the condition must be attained by giving up part of the building site for the reformation of these thoroughfares. Very few theatres in London realise these conditions, although some of the provincial
towns are leading the way in this direction.

It is further of importance that theatres shall not be set down among buildings of the warehouse class, or any buildings having extremely inflammable contents.

STAIRCASES. Those parts of the house that are on a level with the ground may have exits leading at once into the street, but others must make use of staircases.
It is important that no part of the house shall be at any great height above the pavement Probably the best arrangement will be obtained if the lowest parts of the
house are at least as far below street level as the top tier is above it. To go upstairs to the streets is con- siderably more desirable, in case of panic, than to descend. The press of people in descending a staircase is very liable to cause someone to stumble, and the
consequent crushing will ensue.

In order to avoid the danger just mentioned, exit stairs must be as easy in the going as possible, with risers not more than 6 inches high ; while winding steps must not be allowed. The stairs should be enclosed with walls, and should in no case be of open construction ; they should have hand-rails on either side, while if they are 6 feet or more in width they should be divided in two by a central hand-rail. These hand-rails are of great assistance in preventing persons
from stumbling. All unexpected steps are strictly to be avoided, while, on passing through a door, a landing should be met before the staircase begins. There should be no doors leading into the stairs other than that from the auditorium at the top or bottom, and that into the open air at street level. The stairs should be of solid description, and at least sufficiently fire resist-
ing to remain unaffected until every one can be got out of the building. The width of a staircase must naturally be governed by the number of people it has to serve. The London County Council's regulations lay down that, to accommodate not more than 300 people, staircases shall be at least 4 feet wide, while if more than 300 people are to use the staircase it must be 5 feet wide.

Protection against Fire in Places of Entertainment

THE risk of fire in a theatre is the risk to the lives often of many hundreds of people. The materials used upon the stage, the flimsy hangings and decorations, unless special means be taken to prevent it, may be readily set alight, while the large open area of the theatre is particularly conducive to a fierce fire. To indicate the great risk of fire in such places it may be mentioned that Mr. E. O. Sachs, in his work on Modern Opera Houses and Theatres, enumerates eleven hundred cases of fire in theatres, music halls, etc., while the awful danger of life attendant upon such outbreaks is common knowledge.

EXITS. The lives of so many being at stake, it is obviously the first duty of all responsible to provide and maintain ample and suitable exits for the immediate escape of the people. These exits should, in fact, be sufficient to allow the whole audience, no matter of what size, to leave the theatre in two minutes ; for the spread of fire and smoke to all parts of the theatre
may be almost instantaneous. But it is not only in the event of fire that ample and easy exits are necessary, for they will be almost equally important in the event of an alarm of fire. A most trivial occurrence will often cause a panic resulting in many deaths ; in fact, the majority of fatalities in theatre fires may be attributed to panic. A rush will be made for the exit,
some one will stumble over an unseen step, others will fall over the first, and the stream of panic-stricken people will attempt to climb over those fallen, in their mad efforts to reach safety. The consequence of such an occurrence will be that few will reach the outer air before they are overcome by the poisonous fumes of combustion, while if the alarm has been
false many will have been crushed to death in the rush and jamb.

It is, then, not only necessary to provide ample exits, but these exits must be as direct and as easy as possible. Careful planning will not only allow the house to be emptied rapidly, but the sense of security thus obtained will go far to prevent panic.

Every division of the house, stalls, pit, dress circle, etc., not omitting orchestra and stage, must each have at least two exits, one of which may also be an entrance.
These exits in each part of the house should be as far away from the stage as possible, for it is on the stage that a theatre fire will nearly always originate, and the natural impulse of the people will be to flee in a direction away from the fire. The exits should also he one on either side of the house for each part, and should communicate immediately with the street.

The entrances to the pit and gallery are both obtained in a back lane

The entrances to the pit and gallery are both obtained in a back lane, a very excellent arrangement, as all " lining-up " in advance of the opening of the theatre doors occurs in a long lane or passage-way which is private to the theatre, and so causes no obstruction to the general traffic along the street. The doors are not side by side, and so separate queues can be formed to each. The stairs to the pit lead downwards and wind considerably, but like all others they are in straight flights of not less than three nor more than thirteen steps, in accordance with the London regulations. An emergency exit from the pit is brought up to the front close to the entrance to the box office. The gallery entrance in the back lane is up stairs which wind
above those going down to the pit, and it is of some interest to trace them along the various plans, showing how eventually they reach the back of the gallery almost in the centre at the very top of the house, while an emergency exit is contrived at the stage end of the auditorium near the front, by stairs which pass down above the royal private room. The auditorium is seated on a slightly rising floor at the pit level, with straight rows of seats, but on all the other levels the seats are arranged in horseshoe form, with private boxes on the straight portions of the horse-
shoe which are nearest the stage. The seating thus permits everybody to see and hear, and a glance at the section will show how the various tiers rise at different angles in order that this may be accomplished, the object being to give everyone a sight of the front of the stage as well as of the back, and if possible of the whole of it from side to side. At the pit level the whole
is one open space, with the exception of a saloon or bar contrived under the main entrance, and of the necessary retiring-rooms. On the other floors the auditorium proper is cut off from the stairs and other adjuncts by means of a segmental wall parallel to the last row of seats on the horseshoe, and separated from it by a passage-way. At the boxes level the space behind this
wall is given up to cloak-rooms and the grand vestibule, out of which there rises a staircase leading to a large room, known as the "grand saloon," which occurs at the upper boxes level, forming a handsome apartment in which suppers can be given if necessary. At that level also there is a small bar to serve the upper boxes, while an almost similar arrangement occurs at the
gallery level.
Of course, there is a great deal of steel work in the construction, as all the upper tiers of seats are carried on girders and columns.

The principal floor is that at the boxes level

The principal floor is that at the boxes level, the plan being followed, which is now very common, of sinking the pit, the stage, and its cellar in a huge excavation below the ground, it having been found that by this means exit is rendered more rapid, while the introduction of scenery from without is made easy, and in case of panic or fire access can readily be obtained to all the parts. It will be noticed, on reference to the plan, that the theatre is arranged longitudinally along a straight frontage to Charing Cross Road, from which there are several entrances.
The main entrance serves through the grand vestibule to the stalls by means of staircases which pass down- wards, and to the boxes at the level of the back row ; while, although there is a separate door for the upper boxes, the staircase leading to them also communicates with the main entrance, so that the same box office serves for the boxes and stalls. The stairs require a
good deal of careful investigation, as they are planned so as to overlie one another, this being a common feature in theatre work ; for it is essential that each part of the house may be reached independently, and shall have exits quite separate from one another, and from all else, leading to two different streets or sides of the building at least. Thus the boxes are reached, as
has just been said, through the main entrance and the grand vestibule, but they have an emergency exit on the same level to the back lane. The stalls have two stairways down to them from the vestibule, and as this is large there is no necessity for giving a further
emergency exit, though it could be obtained by climbing over the barrier between the stalls and the pit, shown on the plan at pit level. The upper boxes are reached from the main entrance, up quite a short flight of stairs which passes up beneath the lavatory shown on the front of the plan at the upper boxes level, while an emergency exit is found at the back beside the bar, for
which, like the other stairs, a single straight flight suffices. There is an entrance for royalty, marked with a crown, in the middle of the principal frontage, yet set back so as to secure a certain amount of privacy. A private room is reached through a porch, whence the
private boxes can be reached at the boxes level by passing down a few stairs ; for it may be noticed that when we speak of the boxes level we do not necessarily mean a horizontal plane, as the seats on each of the "levels" are necessarily arranged in tiers, so that the persons seated in the back rows may see over the heads of those in front. In case of emergency royalty can
escape through their private room or else by any of the other means of escape from the boxes.

theatres oil lamps are also kept in store

In many theatres oil lamps are also kept in store, but these must be of the colza oil pattern, burning heavy oils, the highly inflammable mineral oils being inad- missible. The greatest danger of fire exists in the use of naked gas lights, in order to produce special effects upon the stage, in close proximity to flimsy curtains and oil-painted canvas, the head-lights and foot-lights
which are in view of the audience causing comparatively little danger. It is now usual for all these to be electric, but additional gas burners are generally provided along the front of the stage, or proscenium opening, as it is called, both at top and bottom, and occasionally standards of gas burners are still to be found in the wings, though careful managers avoid them.

Possibly an understanding of the general principles of theatre planning will be best obtained by considering one well-designed example, and that of the Garrick Theatre, planned by Mr. Walter Emden, has been selected, as, although small, it illustrates all the prin- cipal points (see Fig. 6). It is placed on an awkwardly shaped piece of land, but is so contrived as to be almost entirely isolated, the only portion which adjoins other buildings being at the back of the stage, where it is cut off from all else by a thick brick wall. The dressing- rooms occur in a detached building, which communicates with the main building only by a subway, this rare arrangement being rendered possible by the peculiar shape of the land, whose awkwardness was thus very cleverly brought into use. Thus in this case the theatre consists of three distinct buildings, the auditorium, the
stage, and the dressing-rooms, which may very well be considered separately.

THEATRES are perhaps the most difficult of all buildings that an architect

THEATRES are perhaps the most difficult of all buildings that an architect is ever called upon to plan. A considerable knowledge of stage craft is above all things necessary, for there is not only the auditorium to arrange, so that everyone shall be able to see and to hear, and with entrances and exits so contrived that there shall be no crushing, and that the theatre may be emptied in case of emergency with extreme rapidity ; but there is behind the scenes a large and practically a separate building, which must have a large space devoted to scenery and the necessary machinery for shifting it, together with dressing-rooms for numerous performers.
It is now considered essential that a theatre should be detached from all other buildings, at least on three of its sides, while it is much better if it is entirely isolated ; as the risk of fire is considerable, and has to be guarded against not only within the building itself but outside also, in order that, if a fire arises, it shall not be communicated farther ; while isolation also permits of the fire engines and escape ladders being brought to all parts. The risks of fire and of panic have proved to be of so serious a nature that everything possible is done to minimise them, the modern theatre being constructed almost entirely of fire - resisting materials, such as
brickwork, steel, and concrete, even the hangings and upholstery being saturated with a substance which renders them non-flammable. It is also customary to separate the stage from the auditorium by a fire-proof curtain, down which a stream of water can be made to pour by merely opening a tap, so that if a fire originates in either of the great sections of the building it should not be communicated to the other, there being no direct means by which the one can be reached from the other, except perhaps below the stage level. Water sprinklers,
to which attention has been called in an earlier volume of this book, are usually fitted in several parts of the building, particularly in what are known as the " flies " and on the "grill" above the stage; for it is always necessary to carry up this part, of the building to a great height for the accommodation of lifting scenes. Artificial lighting has also to be considered in the planning, though as a rule this is now done by electricity and is a comparatively easy matter to
arrange. Still, there should always be two sources of light, so that in the event of an accident happening to the electric wires the house may not be left in utter darkness, but an alternative method of lighting, such as that by means of gas, should be immediately available.

caretaker's apartments, the kitchen of which directly opens into the larger recreation-room

the caretaker's apartments, the kitchen of which directly opens into the larger recreation-room. This, the top floor, is evidently to some extent a makeshift plan, as very frequently happens in public buildings, and the caretaker comes off badly in consequence. He is only given two bedrooms, and these are quite small and open out of one another, an arrangement which renders it impossible for a man with a family to be put in charge of the building. noticed, is repeated throughout the whole of the building, as shown in Figs, i, 2, and 3. Opposite the main outer doors there are swing doors opening into a large reception-room lighted from areas on either side of the staircase ; and beyond this reception-hall, again separated from it by movable screens, is what is called the " small hall," which is, however, large enough for a numerous audience, or could be utilised in conjunction with the reception-hall for many other Passing downwards, Fig. 4 illustrates the ground floor, and two small mezzanines which lie between the ground floor and first-floor levels at the back. It is on this floor where the arrangement at the entrance is most clearly seen, with its wide open space outside the main doors from which two porter's offices open on right and left, and beyond it a handsome hall, out of which on either side winds a large staircase planned so as not to obstruct the central passage way in the very slightest
degree, an arrangement which, it will have been purposes, such as bazaars though the means by
which it is lighted other than artificially are not particularly obvious, owing to its being covered by the larger hall on the upper floor. It is seated with a rising gallery at the back, of segmental form, opposite to a platform of some considerable size, this arrange- ment beingsomtwhat obscured on the plan, as illustrated, by the arrangement of the girders to carry the floor
above being shown in dotted lines.

custom with large buildings

custom with large buildings, the main axis is obtained by bisecting this angle, and off this axis the hall is
planned. In its principal features it is in agreement with the general scheme of a longitudinal hall, except
for the corridor behind the horseshoe arrangement of seats, which branches to right and left of a crush space
at the landing of the main staircase. There is a main entrance at the floor level of the hall forming a corridor
along the axis, but there are two other radial entrances off the corridor which can be approached either from
immediately behind the supporting piers to the gallery above. The hall narrows towards the stage,
and is thus of the form which numberless experiments, from the times of the Greek theatre onwards, have
shown to be the best for acoustic properties. Behind the platform there are retiring-rooms for performers,
which communicate one with another and are reached on either side by special staircases. It is possible to
pass direct from them either to the platform or to the hall, and indirectly by means of a few stairs to a class

large class of Assembly Halls the description

THERE is a large class of Assembly Halls the description of which is almost entirely covered by what has
already been said in connection with Town Halls, especially when considering that of Walsall, which
was illustrated in Volume IV. Large rectangular buildings, they are generally open on both sides for
lighting, while it is preferable that they should be on entirely isolated sites, so as to secure rapid exit in case
of panic or fire. The entrance is placed usually at the centre of one of the narrow frontages, through a large
crush-room having cloak-rooms on either side, the main doorway to the hall being exactly opposite the street
entrance ; while it is a maxim in such buildings that all the doorways shall open outwards, being as a
general rule fastened only by " panic bolts," which give way immediately on a bar being pushed which lies
across the door about 3 feet from the floor. Direct passages, sometimes central only, and sometimes with
others on either side, lead from end to end of the hall if the seating be fixed ; but in most cases chairs are
used, so that they may be cleared away and the whole space devoted to different purposes, as may be required.
The far end from the entrance is given up to a platform with retiring-rooms for the performers, behind it or on
either side, these being preferably arranged beyond a transverse corridor, so that the performers may meet
behind the platform and confer before entering the plat- form. Special entrances for the performers are almost
invariably provided, and, while their retiring-rooms are on the same level as the platform, there is very
commonly a space below both for storage or for heat- ing purposes, while this is sometimes utilised for a
kitchen or even for a committee-room.

Set of standardized scores, questions requiring only a brief answer would be preferable.

Formal instances of informational interviewing

We shall consider only the formal instances of informational interviewing, those interviews which require careful preparation.

Procedures

Planning: When preparing for an informational interview, the first step is to decide what sort of information is to be sought. This involves two questions: what do we want to know? and how are we going to use the infOlmation? The answer to the first question dictates the subject-matter to be covered by the interview; the answer to the second detelmines the types of questiotions will be asked. From that analysns to be asked. We start, then, with a careful analysis of the topic or problem about which quesis should grow a list of topics and sub-topics which need to be covered during the interview and a subsequent list of questions covering those topics. The wording of questions should be appropriate to the ultimate use of the obtained infOlmation. Development of a news story, for example, necessitates procurement of detailed information; open ended questions thus would be the most useful type. If answers are to be rep0l1ed verbatim or coded into a set of standardized scores, questions requiring only a brief answer would be preferable.

Another decision to be made during the planning stage concerns who is to be interviewed. Occasionally circumstances will dictate that decision; if only one person possesses the information needed, that person must beinterviewed. However, if we are interested in consumer buying preferences, public voting behaviours, or other rather general categories of behaviour, we have to decide which of rather thousands of potential respondents we are going to survey. Gordol1 (1969) suggests four guidelines by which we might choose our intelviewees:

1. Who has the information we' need?

2. Who among these people is accessible-that is, which of them has the time, proximity, and so on that allow us to talk to her or him?

3. Who among the accessible informants is willing to give us the relevant information?

4. Who among the willing, accessible infonnants is most able to provide the information?

A variety of factors may affect the last-named consideration. The informant may have forgotten the information, repressed it because of its traumatic nature, distorted it because of bias or prejudice, or reached improper conclusions which affect the report. Each of these potential problems should be taken into account; where possible, the chosen respondents should have a minimum of these characteristics.

Intelviewers judge the interest, knowledge, and intelligence of a candidate by the questions she or he asks

List of behaviours rated offensive by professional interviewers.

Research by Goetzinger (1954) provides a list of behaviours rated offensive by professional interviewers. The list is rather lengthy: it includes dishonesty, lack of interest, belligerence or impoliteness, evasiveness, overconcern with salary, lack of concentration, lack ofinitiative, indecisiveness, arrogance, feelings of persecution, cynicism, intolerance or prejudice, lateness, limp handshake, unclarity of expression, lack of career planning, lack of acquaintance with the company, lack of maturity, poor moral standards, improper appearance, and overselling of self. While some of these may strike us as trivial, they nonetheless seem important to interviewers and consequently are worth our notice.

In addition to avoiding the behaviours, we can enhance our performances an interviewee by asking intelligent questions. Often intelviewers judge the interest, knowledge, and intelligence of a candidate by the questions she or he asks. We therefore would do well to have in mind several reasonable, carefully thought out questions which would both provide useful infOlmation to us and demonstrate our competence to the intelviewer.

If at the close of the interview no decision has been made concerning our hiring, we should follow up the interview with a personal letter expressing appreciation to the interviewer and sending any additional information which we think might be helpful. Again, this demonsn'ates our interest in the position while providing the intelviewer to respond.

Before leaving our consideration of the employment interview, we want to emphasize the most important element of that situation: honesty. If an interviewer becomes too concerned with selling the organization, or if an interviewee 'becomes too concerned with selling himself, deception, international or accidental, may occur with the result that the company, the employee, or both may ultimately be unhappy. Regardless of the role you are to play in an employment interview, you should be as open as possible, for only through an honest, compiete exchange of information will the best decision be made.

An operation, conducting a market surveyor opinion poll, and questioning a prominent person to develop a news story. This interview type ranges from the most informational requests for information to lengthy, prescheduled sessions of intensive questioning.

Appearance should conform to the expectations of the interviewer

Other principles concerning questioning
during an employment interview include:
1. Give the applicant adequate time to answer questions; do not pressure her unduly.

2. A void questions answerable by yes or no-they provide too little information.

3. A void trick questions unless they are absolutely necessary.

4. A void questions which might violate legislation concerning fair employment practices, such as What is your religion?

5. Allow the interviewee to ask questions.Closing. When ending the interview, either we will be
able to make the decision concerning whether the applicant is hired or we will not. IT we have the power to hire on the spot, and we have reached a decision concerning the candidate, that decision should be carried out: we should either offer the position or terminate consideration. Too often interviewers are reluctant to do the latter and instead use the old line, We'll call you. By keeping the candidate in suspense and perhaps giving her false hope, this procedure can only disappoint her and perhaps engender hostility toward our organization. If we do not have the power to make a decision on the spot, we should explain the situation as truthfully as possible, in such situations we should ,have prepared a standard explanation of the follow-'up procedure to give the candidate, and we should close as neun'ally as possible to avoid giving false impressions. Whatever the ultimate decision concerning a candidate, the letter sent her should be personalized and as pleasant as possible. We still want to maintain her goodwill toward the organization, and some day a position may open for which she is the best candidate available.
such matters, and they will ask us questions designed to detelmine the kinds of decisions we have reached.

First impression at the actual interview are crucial. Research summarized by Wright (1969) demonstrates that interviewers form impressions of the applicant very early in the interview and that those impressions typically determine the ultimate decisions. It is important, then that we be punctual, polite, pleasant, and appropriate in appearance. While we might argue that people ought not to be judged by appearance, the evidence we presented in our discussion of non-verbal communication demonstrates that judgments are l1).ade on precisely that basis. For practical reasons, then, appearance should conform to the expectations of the interviewer. This is not to say that you should sell out by sacrificing YO.ur values to conform to those of the organization; if you do not like the organization's requirements, you should apply somewhere else. If you do decide you want to become part of that organization, you should expect to conform to some of their expectations.

Idle chatter occasionally is effective in relaxing the interviewee and creating a good atmosphere,

If the applicant seems particularly nervous, an open-ended question may allow her time to relax

Before each interview the interviewer should review the information at hand concerning the applicant. The interviewer should read any application forms, resumes, and letters of recommendation to determine what information about the applicant she or he possesses and what additional data is needed. By so doing the interviewer will be better able to tailor the questions to the applicant and to avoid asking questions wnich solicit information already in hand.

Beginning: The applicant should be greeted warmly by name, and the interviewer should introduce himself so that the applicant knows what form of address she should use. When beginning the interview, the interviewer may engage the respondent in friendly conversation to "break the ice" or he may begin immediately to question her. Although idle chatter occasionally is effective in relaxing the interviewee and creating a good atmosphere, it often backfires. Tension and suspense may grow, valuable time may be wasted, and the interviewee may become suspicious of the interviewer's motives for engaging in small talk. Thus it generally is advisable to begin immediately with questioning. If the applicant seems particularly nervous, an open-ended question may allow her time to relax. If nervousness is not apparent, direct, restricted questions may be appropriate.

Questioning: The nature and use of question types has been detailed above, but further cautions are needed concerning the interviewer's behaviours. The fundamental principle underlying these 'action is this: the interviewee is trying to please the interviewer and will say and what she thinks the interviewer likes. This principle becomes crucial when we consider the interviewer's responses to the interviewee's answers. If he responds favourably to some behaviour, that behaviour probably will increase; if he responds negatively, the behaviour will disappear. As interviewers we must be aware of our own behaviours because of their potency in the interview situation; we should use those behaviours to encourage desired responses but not to condition the applicant's verbal behaviours.

Employment interview should be to provide honest, comprehensive information

Unsatisfactory employer-employee relationship
A candidate who successfully sells herself to a compan will be unhappy if that company discovers that she IS notqulified r fit for the position. Similarly, a company WhICh receIves an applicant in order to hire him will have an unhappy employee when the truth emerges. Thus the third purpose of the employment interview should be to provide honest, comprehensive information. The interviewer must allow the interviewee to decide whether he wants to join the company as it is ; the interviewee must allow the interviewer to decide whether to hire her as she is. Deception or omission by either party usually leads to an unsatisfactory employer-employee relationship.

Procedures: Taken chronologically, the steps of the employment interview include planning, beginning, questioning, and closing.

Planning: The first step in planning an employment interview is to determine the criteria by which applicant will be judged. Shouksmith (1968) emphasizes the importance of detelmining the "critical requirement" for a job and suggests that four to six factors or abilities be listed to assess interviewees. In hiring a receptionist, for example, we might determine that the factors most necessary for success are friendliness, politeness, attractiveness, and intelligence; we then would look for someone possessing those traits. The interviewer must know what kind of person she or he is seeking, and developing a list of critical requirements seems to be a useful method for specifying desired traits.

A second step on the planning stage involves selecting the types and sequence of questions to be llsed. This step is somewhat controversial; some writers argue that each interview should be tailored spontaneously to the

individual applicant. Research suggests, however, that many advantages lie with careful preparation. Wagner.(1949) and Mayfield (1964) both found that highly structured interviews allow the interviewer to make more reliable judgments among all the interviews she or he conducts; hence the interviewer is more likely to select the best candidate. Although some flexibility is necessary within each individual interview, the interviewer therefore should plan the general outline which the interview will follow.

Interview type from the viewpoints of both the interviewer and the interviewee

The Employment Interview

Employment interviews are among the most important types of interviews an organization conducts. These interviews, which according to Taylor occur at a rate of more than ten million per year, detelmine whether the organization hires the best individual available or whether they hire someone detrimental to the organization. For the interviewee, such interviews detelmine whether or not one is employed. Obviously, a bad employment interview can be disasu'ous both to the organization. who may hire the wrong person, and to the interviewee, who may end up unemployed. We shall therefore consider this interview type from the viewpoints of both the interviewer and the interviewee.

Altough the goal of the employment interview appears ObVlOus--to fIll or obtain a job-there are in fact some rther subtle purposes which ought not to be neglected. FIrst, the employment interview seeks information which cannot be presented in an applicant's resume or in a brochure describing the organization. The interviewer must make judgments about the applicant's personality, character and attitude-things difficult to ascertain from written documents. The applicant similarly must judge the climate of the organization, its attitudes towards its employees and the general public, the working situation, and so on, to determine whethr working there would be a pleasant experience. Again, brochures or organizational propaganda typically do not allow such judgments.

A second purpose of the employment interview is to create and maintain goodwill for the organization. Often the applicant's sole contact with a company is in an employment interview. If that experience is unpleasant, the interviewee's attitude toward the company probably will be unfavourable, as will the attitudes of other people with whom the interviewee has contact. Therefore, even though an appiicant is clearly unsuited for the available position, the interviewer must make the experience as pleasant as possible for the interviewee; failure to do so could
seriously undermine the company's public relations eff011s.

A third pmpose is the reverse of the first: to provide information. Too often applicants and interviewers take anattitude which might be characterized as: Well want him them to want us/me. This is dangerous attitude.

Quifltamensional sequence presents five ordered question types

Where these five sequence types are based upon the use of resu'icted or unrestricted questions, another type of sequence has been developed that takes into account the types of information the interviewer seeks. Constructed by George Gallup, the quifltamensional sequence presents five ordered question types, each signed to elicit pal1icular responses:

1. AWal'eness-What does the respondent know about the situation?

2. General Attitudes-What points of view is he aware of conceming that situation?

3. Specific Attitude-What point of view does he himself hold?

4. Reasons-Why does he hold that view?

5. Intensity-How strong is his attitude?

In infOlmational intelviews this sequence type seems quite useful in providing a comprehensive view of the respondent's knowledge about and feelings toward a certain situation.

Selection of a question sequence, then, is based largely upon our purpose in the interview and the interviewee's attitude toward us. A reluctant respondent may require use of an inverted pyramid sequence for aU or part of the interview period; a disagreeable interviewee may be persuaded through use of a diamond sequence. If infonnation is sought from a willing respondent, the tunnel or quintamensional sequences may be best. As interviewers we must assess the situation as quickly as possible and adjust our questioning accordingly.

Types of interviews

Interviews differ according to their pW"]Joses and settings, and each interview type presents unique problems and opportunities. We shall now consider in some detail several of the more common types of interviews: employment. informatjgnal, counselling, appraisaL disciplinary, persuasive, axis interviews. We shall review the pUl"]Joses of each type of interview and the procedures by which achievement of those pUl"]Joses migh t be facilitated.

Five types distinguishable by their use of restricted and unrestricted questions

Biased questions also are useful if we are trying to test the respondent. We can determine how independent he is, how well he responds under stress, or how prone he is to provid socially approved responses. For example, if we asked. Are you a sexist? or Are you prejudiced against women in business? he probably would answer no even if he did harbour such prejudices. If, however, we asked, Women really are too emotional to be good administrators, aren't they? we might elicit a true attitude which otherwise might have been suppressed. In any of these situations the biased question, properly applied, would be more useful than an unbiased inquiry.

Question Sequences

Our final consideration here is the order in which questions are to be posed during an interview. While a virtually infinite number of sequences could be identified,

we shall consider five types distinguishable by their use of restricted and unrestricted questions.

The first type of sequence, the pyramid, begins with unrestricted questions and builds upon them with questions of increasing restrictedness. We might begin by asking a general question about the interviewee's attitude toward work and then become increasingly specific by focusing on particular aspects of the interviewee's position, moving perhaps from conditions in general to her to his supervisors and to one paticular supervisor. Rather than focus immediately upon a specific topic which may be personal or difficult for the interviewee to discuss, then, this technique begins with unrestricted questions which are relatively easy to answer and gradually narrows down to more sensitive areas. If the respondent does not touch upon certain areas of interest, the pyramid may be useful in gaining that specific infalmation

A second sequence, the inverted pyramid, is the reverse of the first. The interviewer begins with specific restricted questions and gradually moves to more general:

unresnicted inquiries. This technique is pat1icularly useful when the respondent is reluctant to talk, for often one can be motivated by a restricted question in an area that interests one and, once one begins talking, can be directed toward more general considerations.

The third and fourth sequence types involve

combinations of the first two. The diamond sequence begins with restricted questions, moves to unrestricted inquiries, and then narrows again to a specific -topic through a series of increasingly specif?c questions. If, for example, we were counselling an employee, we might begin with a situation analogous to his. Through resnicted questions, his feelings and thoughts about that situation could be elicited and converted into general principles as the questions become increasingly open. Then, to apply those principles to the interviewee's own situation, a series of questions increasing in restrictedness would again focus the conversation. An alternative to this procedure is the hourglass sequence, in which unrestricted questions become increasingly resnicted and are then followed by questions which again become increasingly open. Suppose we are interviewing a supervisor who has been sharply criticized by her subordinates for her heavy-handed tactics. We might begin the interview with a discussion of human
motivation in general, gradually nan-ow the topic to her specific situation, and then become general again defining principles of appropriate managerial behaviour. This pe of sequence often is useful in changing both the specIfic behaviours and general attitudes of the interviewee.A fifth type of sequence is the tunnel. Interviews of ,his sort employ questions all of the same degree of
trictedness. If we are interested only in the spontaneous ;'

reactions of the interviewee, this sequence may be useful; if, however, we want in-depth information, attitudinal or behavioural change, or a sharing of deep emotions, one of the other formats would be more appropriate.

Aware of the nature and influence of biased questions

Question Bias

A second distinction among question types can be made on the basis of bias. Most of us probably are familiar with the story of the politician who publicly asked his opponent, "Have you stopped beating your wife?" Often questions such as these occur in interpersonal situations as well. You do want to join the union, don't you? and How do you feel about those stupid shop rules? are questions that carry as many leading implications as Have you stopped beating your wife? While questions like these may not produce serious problems in everyday conversation, they have definite impact in interviews. To conduct interviews effectively we must be aware of the nature and influence of biased questions.

As with restricted and unrestricted questions, unbiased and biased inquiries range along a continuum from very unbiased to highly biased. The examples used in the preceding section typify unbiased questions. Inquiries such as How do you feel about your job? say virtually nothing about the interviewer's own feelings; the question is stated neutrally. Somewhat more leading is the question. You like to work with machines, don't you? And, at the very biased end of the scale, Do you support our suike, or are you dirty pinko commie scab? Because these three

. questions vary in their revelations of the interviewer's feelings, they exert different degrees of pressure upon the interviewee to respond appropriately.

In deciding whether to use biased, moderately biased, or unbiased questions, we first must take into account our purpose in the interview. If we are seeking the interviewee's true feelings or attitudes, we probably would avoid biased questions If, however, we are trying to persuade the interviewee, biased questions can be extremely useful. Research in attitude change suggests that if we can get an interviewee to state a certain opinion, he is likely to adopt that opinion as his own. Thus, if the interviewee initially has no intention of SUPP011ing our strike but, because of social pressure, responded yes to our "dirty pinko commie scab" question, he would be much more likely to support the strike when it actually

occurs.

Explain briefly the powers of liquidator to disclaim onerous property

Disclaimer to be in Writing. The disclaimer shall be in writing and shall be made within 12 months after the commencement of the winding-up.

However, where any onerous property has not come to the knowledge of the liquidator within one month after the commencement of the winding-up, the power of disclaiming the property may be exercised at any time within twelve months after he has become aware thereof or such extended period as may be allowed by the Court.

The disclaimer shall operate to determine in respect of the property disclaimed, the right, interest and liabilities of the company as from the date of disclaimer. It shall also release the company and the property from liability, but it shall not affect the rights or liabilities of any other person in respect of that property.

Liquidator to Decide Disclaimer Within 28 Days. The liquidator shall not be entitled to disclaim any property when he has not taken any action on the application of any person interested in the property within 28 days requiring the liquidator to decide whether he will or will not disclaim [Sec. 535(4)].

Powers of the Court. The court, before or on granting leave to disclaim, may require notices to be given to persons interested in the property and may impose such conditions, as it thinks fit [Sec. 535(3)].

The court may also, on the application of any person who is, as against the liquidator, entitled to the benefit or subject to the burden of a contract made with the company, make an order rescinding the contract. The rescission shall be on such terms as to payment, by or to either party, of damages for the non-performance of the contract, or otherwise, as the court thinks just. Any damages payable under the order to any such person may be proved by him as a debt in the winding-up [Sec. 535(5)].

Further, the court may, on application by any person who claims any interest in any disclaimed property, make an order for the vesting of the property in the person entitled thereto [Sec. 535(6)]. However, where the property disclaimed is of a leasehold nature, the court shall not make a vesting order in favour of any person claiming under the company, whether as under-lessee or as mortgagee or holder of a charge except upon the terms of making that person

(a) subject to the same liabilities and obligations as those to which the company was subject under the lease in respect of the property at the commencement of the winding-up; or

(b) if the court thinks fit, subject only to the same liabilities and obligations as if

the lease had been assigned to that person at that date.

Injured Party Deemed to be a Creditor. Any person injured by the operations of a disclaimer under Section 535 shall be deemed to be a creditor of the company to the amount of the compensation or damages payable in respect of the injury and may accordingly prove the amount as a debt in the winding-up [Sec. 535(7)].

Powers of the Liquidator Without the Sanction of the Court Besides the powers as aforesaid

Powers of the Liquidator Without the Sanction of the Court Besides the powers as aforesaid, the liquidator shall have power:

(i) to do all acts to execute, in the name and on behalf of the company, all deeds,

receipts, and other documents, and for that purpose to use, when necessary,

the company’s seal;

(ii) to inspect the records and returns of the company on the files of the Registrar

without payment of any fee;

(iii) to prove, rank and claim in the insolvency of any contributory, for any balance against his estate, and to receive dividends in the insolvency, in respect of that balance, as a separate debt due from the insolvent, and rateably with the other separate creditors;

(iv) to draw, accept, make and endorse any bill of exchange, hundi or promissory note in the name and on behalf of the company, with the same effect with respect to the liability of the company as if the bill, hundi or note had been drawn, accepted, made or endorsed by or on behalf of the company in the course of its business;

(v) to take out, in his official name, letters of administration to any deceased contributory, and to do in his official name any other act necessary for obtaining payment of any money due from a contributory or his estate which cannot be conveniently done in the name of the company, and in all such cases money due shall, for the purpose of enabling the liquidator to take out the letters of administration or recover the money, be deemed to be due to the

‘liquidator himself;

(vi) to appoint an agent to do any business which the liquidator is unable to do

himself.

Contributory’s Right of Set Off

Can the amount due to a member by way of dividends, share of profits or otherwise be adjusted towards the amount due against him as a contributory? Section 426(1)(g) provides that a sum, as aforesaid, shall not be deemed to be a debt of the company (in liquidation) payable to a member and therefore it cannot rank in competition with the amount due to other creditors [Rajeshwar Prasad Vs. Simla Banking and Industrial Company Ltd. (1955) 25 Compo Cas. 476 (Punj.)]. Dividends due cannot be adjusted against amount due as contributory [Rajeshwar Prasad’s case (supra)].

19. State the (!>osition and powers of the liquidator in winding-up proceedings.

.9Lns. According to Section 457 of the Companies Act, 1956, the liquidator can exercise certain powers with the sanction of the Court. He also has certain powers which he can exercise on his own, i.e., without the sanction of the Court.

Powers of the Liquidator With the Sanction of the Court

These powers include:

(a) to institute or defend any suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding civil or

criminal, in the name and on behalf of the company;

(b) to carry on the business of the company so far as may be necessary for the

beneficial winding-up of the company;

(c) to sell the immovable and movable property and actionable claims of the

company by public auction or private contract, with power to transfer the

whole thereof to any person or body corporate, or to sell the same in parcels;

(d) to raise on the security of the assets of the company any money that may be

required; and

(e) to do all such other things as may be necessary for winding-up the affairs of

the company and distributing its assets.

• Non payment of salary to an employee-whether a debt

The High Courts of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Bombay have offered different opinions. Whereas Madhya Pradesh and Bombay High Courts in Pawan Kr. Khullar v. Kaushal Leather Board Ltd. (1996 MP), and Indo French Time Industries Ltd. In re [2002] respectively have held that payment of salary to an employee is not a debt, the Andhra Pradesh High Court said that unpaid salary of an employee is also a debt -Capt. B.S. Damagry v. VIF Airway Ltd. (1998 AP).

· The inability to pay debts should be interpreted in the commercial sense of company being unable to meet current demands though the company may have large assets (Tripura Admn. v. Tripura State Bank Ltd. (1960). The company buried under heavy losses was ordered to be wound up though the demand was not immediately due as it was felt that t.o wind up such a company would be an act of social service by preventing directors enriching themselves at the expense of petty shareholders (Navjivan Trading Finance (P.) Ltd., In re (1978). However, the fact that liabilities exceed assets does not necessarily mean that the company is unable to pay its debts. It may still be in a position to meet the demands of the creditors as and when they are made. (ROC Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and

Chandigarh v. Atlas Transport (P.) Ltd. (1974).

6. Just and Equitable. The Court may also order for the winding-up of a company if it is of opinion that it is just and equitable that the company should be wound up. In exercising its power on this ground, the Court shall give due weightage to the interest of the company, its employees, creditors and shareholders and the interest of the general public. A few of the examples of ‘just and equitable’ ground on the basis of which the Court may order the winding-up are given below:

(i) When the Substratum of the Company Has Gone. The substratum of a company is deemed to be gone where its main purposes have failed or become impossible of achievement (Re Bleriot Aircraft Co.). However, a temporary difficulty which does not knock out the company’s bottom shall not be permitted to become a ground for liquidation (Re. Shah Steam Navigation Co.).

Explain the terms ‘reconstruction’ an ‘amalgamation’.

Who is a dissenting shareholder in case of amalgamation of companies?

Explain the provisions of the Companies Act with regard to the acquisition

of shares of dissenting shareholders. fC.A. (Final) May, 1986]

f1Lns .

(a) Meaning of Reconstruction

The term ‘reconstruction’, inter alia, indicates the process which involves (i) the transfer of undertaking of an existing company to another company, usually incorporated for the purpose. The old company ceases to exist. However, all the assets might not pass to the new company; (ii) the carrying on of substantially the same business by the same persons; (iii) the rights of the shareholders in the old company are satisfied by their being allotted shares in the new company.

A reconstruction is made for any of the following purposes:

(i) To Extend the Operations of the Company. If the shares are fully paid up and it is desired to raise further capital, the shareholders in the old company may be issued only partly paid shares in the new company so that by calling up the uncalled amount, the company would have the necessary funds for carrying on its business.

Also, if the company wants to do business which is totally unrelated to its objects, it may resort to reconstruction. The objects clause of the new company may include the business which it wants to pursue.

(ii) For Purposes of Reorganisation. It implies alteration or modification of the rights of shareholders or creditors or both.

There is also the concept of internal reconstruction, wherein the company continues to exist and operate with adjustments of rights of shareholders and/ or creditors, lender, etc. In such a reconstruction always some sacrifice is pn’!sent for members and creditors to enable the company to operate as a going concern.

Meaning of Amalgamation

Amalgamation is the blending of two or more undertakings into one undertaking, the shareholders of each blending company becoming substantially the shareholders of the other company which holds blended undertakings.

What is Debt

· ‘Debt’ means a determined or definite sum of money payable immediately.

It must be an undisputed debt. In case of a dispute, the dispute must be a gem,ine dispute.

· A contingent or conditional liability is not a debt unless contingency or condition

has already happened. * Application money due for refund or the interest thereon is not a debt. * The Punjab and Haryana High Court in the case of Dr. S.J. Sodhi v. c. T. Scan

Research Centre (P.) Ltd. (1995) and again in Pritam Singh Batra v. Deol Agro Oil Ltd. has held that the application money due for refund and the interest thereon is not a debt since the petitioner was not a creditor.

Intonations as to Compromise or Arrangement [Section 393]

Section 393 lays down the following rules regarding providing of information to the

affected persons under a scheme of compromise or arrangement:

1. Where a meeting of the creditors (or any class of creditors), or of members (or any class of members) js called under Section 391, the notice calling the meeting must be accompanied by a statement setting forth the terms of compromise or arrangement and explaining its effect. The statement must, in particular, state any material interest of the diredors, Managing Director or Manager and every trustee of debenture holders of the company, whether in their capacity as such or as members or creditors of the company or otherwise.

2. In case notice calling the meeting is given by advertisement, there must be included either such a statement as aforesaid or a notification of the place t

which and the manner in which creditors or members entitled to attend the meeting may obtain copies of such a statement as aforesaid. Such copies must be furnished by the company free of charge.

3. If default is made in complying with any of the above requirements, the company and every officer of the company who is in default, shall be punishable with fine, which may extend to Rs. 50,000”. The company and its officers can avoid liability if it can be proved that the default in sending the notice and the statement was caused by the refusal of a person responsible to supply the necessary particulars as to his material interests.

Approval of the Court: The Government company

Approval of the Court: The Government company shall approach the Central Government for consent/approval wherever the Companies Act, 1956 provides that the consent of the Court is to be obtained (vide Notification No. GSR 238 dated February 2,1978).

Cognizance of Offences: Sub-section (1) of Section 621 shall be applicable to a Government company with the omission of the words ‘the Registrar or by a shareholder of the company’. So no Court can take cognizance of any offence under the Companies Act, 1956 committed by a Government company or any of its officers in default unless a complaint is made by a person authorised by the Central Government to do so. Thus, discretionary powers are vested with the Central Government to lodge a complaint with the Court of law against a Government company.

Statutory Meeting and Statutory Report: Government companies have been exempted from holding a statutory meeting or filing a statutory report with the R.O.c.

under Section 165.