A marvel from Mehdi Hasan

AB KE HUM BICHRAY TO SHAYAD KABHI KHWABON MEIN MILEIN
JIS TARHAN SOOKHAY HUAY PHOOL KITABON MEIN MILEIN
AB KE HUM BICHRAY TO SHAYAD...
DHOND UJRAY HUAY LOGON MEIN WAFA KE MOTI
YE KHAZANAY TUJE MUMKIN HAI KHARABON MEIN MILEIN
AB KE HUM BICHRAY..
TU KHUDA HAI NA MERA ISHQ FARSHTON JAISA
DONON INSAAN HAIN TO KION ITNA HIJAABON MEIN MILEIN
JIS TARAN SOOKHAY HUAY PHOOL KITABON MEIN MILEIN
AB KE HUM BICHREIN TO SHAYAD...
GHUM E DUNYA BHI GHUM E YAR MEIN SHAMIL KAR LO
NASHA BARHTA HAI SHARABI JO SHARABON MEIN MILEIN
AB NA WO MEIN HON NA TU HAI NA WO MAZI HAI FARAZ
JAISAY DO SAAAY TAMANNA KE SARABON MEIN MILAEIN
JIS TARAN SOOKHAY HUAY PHOOL KITABON MEIN MILEIN
AB KE HUM BICHRAY TO SHAYAD........

Reflections

Life is a great gift that has been given to us by the almighty. Duuring our lifetime, we make a lot of friends, develop a lot of relationships, and are emotionally involved with our parents, brother, sisters,children, and even mere acquaintances. Each person leaves an impression on us,and we do the same on him. More often than not, we are so involved with our busy life,or just living in the moment, that we do not reflect on anything at all. I happened to see a song on youtube today that is affecting me  in a weird way.  I get a feeling that we should always be good to whosoever we come in contact with, because you never know when that person will no longer be around, for you to say goodbye.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wtztH8op0w&feature=related 

High performance work system

A high performance work system is an integrated set of human resource management policies and practices that together produce superior employee performance.In fact, a growing body of evidence shows that the best performing companies in a wide range of industries perform so well in part because of their high performance work systems. While there’s no hard and fast rule about what comprises high performance work systems, most organizational psychologists would agree they include these practices:

1) Employment security

2) Selective hiring

3) Extensive training

4) Self managed teams and decentralized decision making

5) Reduced status distinctions between managers and workers

6) Information sharing

7) Contingent (pay-for–performance) rewards

 Transformational leadership (for instance, in terms of inspirational motivation).

9) Measurement of management practices

10) Emphasis on high quality work.

Productivity

Source : Asian Development Bank


What could be the possible reason for the low productivity levels of this country? Is it to do with our work culture, or is it to do with the rather low level of accountability that our superiors demand from us? I guess it is a combination of both the factors.In the context of the public sector, the horse does not get adequately rewarded , while the donkey does not get punished.

customer service

Cultural Dimensions

The following dimensions of culture given by Hofstede are useful while dealing with people of other countries, or taking decisions that have cross cultural connotations. I have taken them from the net and reproduced here verbatum

Power Distance Index (PDI) It is the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. This represents inequality (more versus less), but defined from below, not from above. It suggests that a society's level of inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders. Power and inequality, of course, are extremely fundamental facts of any society and anybody with some international experience will be aware that 'all societies are unequal, but some are more unequal than others'.This is high in our country,as compared to the west

Individualism (IDV) This on the one side versus its opposite, collectivism, that is the degree to which individuals are inte-grated into groups. On the individualist side we find societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after him/herself and his/her immediate family. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families (with uncles, aunts and grandparents) which continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. The word 'collectivism' in this sense has no political meaning: it refers to the group, not to the state. Again, the issue addressed by this dimension is an extremely fundamental one, regarding all societies in the world.

Masculinity (MAS) This versus its opposite, femininity, refers to the distribution of roles between the genders which is another fundamental issue for any society to which a range of solutions are found. The IBM studies revealed that (a) women's values differ less among societies than men's values; (b) men's values from one country to another contain a dimension from very assertive and competitive and maximally different from women's values on the one side, to modest and caring and similar to women's values on the other. The assertive pole has been called 'masculine' and the modest, caring pole 'feminine'. The women in feminine countries have the same modest, caring values as the men; in the masculine countries they are somewhat assertive and competitive, but not as much as the men, so that these countries show a gap between men's values and women's values.

Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) It deals with a society's tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity; it ultimately refers to man's search for Truth. It indicates to what extent a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations. Unstructured situations are novel, unknown, surprising, different from usual. Uncertainty avoiding cultures try to minimize the possibility of such situations by strict laws and rules, safety and security measures, and on the philosophical and religious level by a belief in absolute Truth; 'there can only be one Truth and we have it'. People in uncertainty avoiding countries are also more emotional, and motivated by inner nervous energy. The opposite type, uncertainty accepting cultures, are more tolerant of opinions different from what they are used to; they try to have as few rules as possible, and on the philosophical and religious level they are relativist and allow many currents to flow side by side. People within these cultures are more phlegmatic and contemplative, and not expected by their environment to express emotions.

Long-Term Orientation (LTO) versus short-term orientation: this fifth dimension was found in a study among students in 23 countries around the world, using a questionnaire designed by Chinese scholars It can be said to deal with Virtue regardless of Truth. Values associated with Long Term Orientation are thrift and perseverance; values associated with Short Term Orientation are respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations, and protecting one's 'face'. Both the positively and the negatively rated values of this dimension are found in the teachings of Confucius, the most influential Chinese philosopher who lived around 500 B.C.; however, the dimension also applies to countries without a Confucian heritage.

In the above diagram,x axis represents the ability of  an employee, while the y axis reperesents his willingness to work, or the attitude in short. The four quadrants represent the four type of workers found in various organisations.A manager's job is to find who lies where, and then take appropriate action.We start with quadrant 1(red colour) and then go clockwise from 2 to 4.

• People who are low on ability, and low on willingness to work are generally the result of faulty selection procedures. They should be shown the door at the earliest,as investing in them will lead to waste of organisational resources. They are also a big drag and demotivator for the star performers in the green quadrant.

• People who are high on  both the attributes are an organisation's star performers. These people are driven more by their personal self than by the organisation self.This only means that they work for professional pride.They have  a high degree of need for achievement, and are constantly looking for targets that are challenging.Not  acheiving the targets make them frustrated ,and therefore they try their guts out to get it right the very first time. It is difficult for these people to work in  a bureaucratic organisation, as they like independence and blossom the best in  such environs.The implications for the organisation are that the manager should provide them opportunities to acheive and secondly, value extraction from them should be shortened as they are not likely to stay in one place for long.

• People who are high on ability and low on willingness are the ones that are most difficult to handle. If a manager is able to engage them meaningfully ,by providing a direction and purpose , they can be then moved to the green quadrant.They are those people around you who are seen as the problem mongers.You need to be diplomatic with these guys.Be a coach and counsellor to these people and play the developmental role that the organisation demands of you.

• In our second quadrant are the people who are low on ability and high on willingnss.They are highly energetic and enthusiastic. Since it is relatively easy to teach a skill ,but difficult to change an attitude, it is quite easy to train them so that they move to the green quadrant.

So the bottom line  is to first identify the quadrant in which the employee belongs, and then take appropriate action. You will do a great service to your organisation, if you follow these guidelines.

The Company that We Keep

Do I need to say anything at all?China is conspicuous by its absence...and we have the gall to match them in the amount of firepower!

Creativity and Innovation

It is easy to be creative ,but extremely difficult to be innovative.Is there a difference between the two? Well, there is ,and a good one at that. Creative people are the ones who throw up ideas , but who do no have the energy and the passion to follow through. They are typically the 'consultants' kind. On the other hand, innovators are those who take the idea forward to its fruition. They are the ones who really get down to the brass tacks.Creativity is thinking new things, while innovation is doing new things. And there is hell lot of difference between the two.If you observe people around you, you will find that there is no dearth of creative people. These are the people who have ideas on changing the status quo...but what organisations lack are the people who have it in them to get down to the nuts and bolts of the issue.There are three things that are necessary in a manager. He should know the following

What to change?
What to change to?
How to change?
So the next time someone is trying to give you Gyan,ask him to take up the mantle if he really means business, or else politely tell him to shut up.

Jet Imbroglio -Union vs Association

As per Section 2 (s) .- of the Industrial Disputes Act 1947.- "workman" means any person (including an apprentice) employed in any industry to do any manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied, and for the purposes of any proceeding under this Act in relation to an industrial dispute, includes any such person who has been dismissed, discharged or retrenched in connection with, or as a consequence of, that dispute, or whose dismissal, discharge or retrenchment has led to that dispute, but does not include any such person

(i) who is subject to the Air Force Act, 1950 (45 of 1950), or the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950), or the Navy Act, 1957 (62 of 1957); or

(ii) who is employed in the police service or as an officer or other employee of a prison; or

(iii) who is employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity; or

(iv) who, being employed in a supervisory capacity, draws wages exceeding one thousand six hundred rupees per month or exercises, either by the nature of the duties attached to the office or by reason of the powers vested in him, functions mainly of a managerial nature.

My View

Going purely by the above definition, civil pilots do skilled manual labour, and are not employed mainly in a managerial or administarative capacity. Their decisions ,barring those related to actual performance of manual labour ie flying, do not impact the wider organisation.Therefore it is clear that they are entitld to form a union which is a right granted to workmen. On the other hand employees who are working in an administative/ managerial capacity as officers can only form an association.Since the pilots do not fall in this category, I do not know why they should not be allowed to form a union, and thus have more rights under the ID Act. But on the flip side they will have to settle for the title of 'workmen' and not 'officers', pay and perks notwithstanding, as these are purely a function of the demand-supply gap in the present context.