Soft skills are the bridge between knowledge, skills and excellence in performance. It is the cutting edge which distinguishes between the good and the excellent. This is especially so in the service industry as interpersonal relationships within the organization are as important as customer relationships. A lot of training goes into shaping various members of the organization to ensure synergy. Mary Ipe in her paper, "Soft Skills: Core Competencies in the Hospitality Sector", examines the perspective of the hospitality sector, as it relates to its approach to the softer aspects of the industry.

The workforce of the IT industry by and large comprises of people who are highly qualified in technical aspects. In view of the rapid globalization, the adverse effects of deficiency of `soft skills' among the workforce is being felt by the industry, especially since most of the business is generated by overseas clients where cross cultural sensitivities are crucial. Anuradha Verma and Monica Bedi in their paper, "Importance of Soft Skills in IT Industry", discuss the various aspects of soft skills essential and the approach taken to train the workforce as they relate to the IT industry.

Effective interpersonal relationships are the result of a large number of seemingly heterogeneous factors. The most important and influential factor which dictates the state of relationships is emotional intelligence of all the parties concerned. Inner peace or balance and sensitivity towards others' emotions influence to a major extent the quality of relationships. Suvarna Sen in her paper, "Interpersonal Skills Through Emotional Intelligence: A Psychological Perspective", examines the impact of emotional intelligence on interpersonal relationships.

Cross cultural sensitivity is one of the critical ingredients of effective communication across countries. Much has been achieved or lost because of this factor. One of the most difficult to appreciate and imbibe, cross cultural sensitivity is one of the most sought after attributes among the senior echelons of management. The paper, "Cultural Intelligence and Business Behavior", by Teenna Sawhney discusses various aspects of cross cultural intelligence and how one can imbibe it.

Experimental learning is the best way of learning. It is only when life throws some crisis that one gets to see the best and the worst of human behavior. Most often human beings bond together to face the event and resolve the fallout of the crisis. Rajan Mani presents a case study of a tragic event in an academic institution in his paper, "Crisis Management: Real Time Learning", where in the crisis management team addressed wide ranging issues.

One of the biggest challenges any trainer/faculty faces is to create and sustain the interest of the class/trainees. Boring sessions can be made interesting by skilled trainers. One of the most important tools of facilitation which is often ignored or ill-used is `humor'. This is a dangerous tool in the hands of the unskilled, while it is a magic wand in the hands of a skilled trainer. The paper, "Humor Quotient in Soft Skills Training", by D G Kulkarni and A B Kalkundrikar studies the effect of humor in soft skills training.

There is one common problem that corporate professionals face or individuals have to cope with in personal life—the problem of stress. Indeed, this problem has become so pronounced that many studies are being conducted to examine the various factors related to stress. IT call centers because of their peculiar working conditions and demands face this problem in a big way. In the paper, "Stress Management at IT Call Centers: A Case Study", P Nagesh and M S Narasimha Murthy discuss the various factors which contribute to stress in IT call centers.

- T D Prasad
Consulting Editor