Time

One of our professors' who teaches 'Manufacturing Systems Design' had this to say about the concept of time, as it applies to us.In the west, the time is linear which means that once you cross a point on this line, you can never come back to it. On the contray, for the Indians, it is circular. This is reflected in our belief in rebirth, poetic justice etc, and also in our songs. Consider this one, for example," Kaal ka Pahiya Ghume bhaiya" .Does that explain the fact that we and our public services are hopeless as far as punctuality is concerned?

Six Sigma

Six sigma is an indicator of quality.All the good companies lay a lot of emphasis on quality, because according to many experts on quality, it comes free. You have to pay a price for quality in the short term, but in the long term, it more than pays you back.You avoid the cost of rework or reacquisition of equipment.In quantitative terms, six sigma quality is the probability of having just 3.4 defective parts/ processes in a million processes.Many organisations have achieved this level of quality or are trying to reach there by following strict procedures.While it is relatively easy to acheive quality till about 3-4 sigma by following qualitative techniques, it is not possible to do so as you go higher without objectivity and quantification of performance.The processes that are needed to be followed are as given below:

• Define
• Measure
• Analyse
• Improve
• Control
• Standardise

Are these processes being followed in your organisation?Have you defined the job of your subordinate in quantitative terms. Does she know the performance parameters being measured or is your organisation following fuzzy attributes of judging performance subjectively. Look at your Appraisal report and you will be amazed at the subjectivity in the whole process. You may be loyal in the eyes of one superior because you are ready to do all his bidding at an operational level, but not so to another who expects you to participate in psuedo welfare activities.In the context of my previous organisation, a commanding officer should be hauled over the coals(figuratively speaking) for

• Operational inefficiency( Just effectiveness is not enough)
• someone commits suicide in his unit
• For cases of fragging
• Increasing accidents/ incidents
• Low level of personnel motivation
• Increasing applications for release from service
• Disinterest amongst personnel towards professional courses

There could be negative/positive points for all these and many others that are applicable.Only a quantitative technique of performance measurement and analysis can save an organisation from a slow death.

Daily Trading

Lately I have fallen prey to the dangers of daily trading in equities. While I keep my targets low, and exit without making a loss, and aftermaking some profit, I do wonder if it is really worth it.On the positive side it gives me a lot of satisfaction at having hit the bull's eye,but on the negative side I feel that if I put a value to my time, I am actually making a loss.But what is my time's worth.It will depend on the salary that I draw from my employer.If I do not earn about Rs 600 every hour that I trade , I am actually making a loss,because I end up misusing my employer's time.For students it could be the waste of their parent's hard earned money.I do not know if I am thinking in the right direction, but that's what comes to my mind today.And also consider the risk that comes with trading.Investing, I think, is a better option, since you do not have to be glued to the ticker.

Professionalism

I have been having this uneasy feeling for many days that there is a serious lack of professionalism in whatever we do as compared to the standarsd set by some of the western nations.I had the opportunity to watch the movie on 'Exercise RedFlag',made by Boeing/IMAX ,and was amazed to see the technology in use in warfare.When I look back at my own experiences , I find that we are way behind the westerners ,both in our attitude and our capability.We do have some real bright people, who can and who regularly work wonders,but there is quite a malaise at a broader level.For us to improve , we need to look for ways of making a difference for the better in our own area of influence.There has to be a real effort at the use of technology to improve things.