BOBKANNAN BLOGS

On a holiday to Pattaya in Thailand on a deep sea dive I ventured to catch fish. Touching the ground I struggled to stand as waves from many directions hit me hard and the oxygen mask too getting loosened needing attention. Ultimately sea water entered my mouth and I rushed out forgetting the fishing. Politician in power is similarly placed with pulls from many directions jostling and support systems not helping in time yet there is a compulsion to achieve goal of development with no option to back out. A police head can be strict, uncompromising, stern and even authoritarian and demand obedience. People would appreciate it as they are at home with a dominating personality as policeman.   A politician needs to compromise, negotiate, cooperate, consult, bargain, hold parleys and ultimately establish his authority thro widely acceptable decision. Even a dominating politician dominates after the above process. If people are honest, (ha ha ha !!!!!)   a police Head h...

Perspective is a bundle of viewpoints with choice of angles for individuals. Prudence, maturity and good judgment are the ingredients of discretion. In decision making involving discretion there is always a battle with perspective. A decision is viewed as bad, prejudiced, favor or disfavor  based on perspective on which it is seen. Here below is a classic case of a decision viewed as blatant favoritism but having another perspective.                                 Again Ram escaped a transfer from Bombay and people who were transferred far away were fuming. Complaints flowed to the Officers' Union on partiality, favoritism, nepotism and what not and even some of the top executives received appeals to intervene and render justice. It is a perennial issue for the bank, having more branches in rural/vill...

“You have to pay a deposit of Rs. 1000/- and sign a fidelity guarantee Insurance for joining the bank as a cashier” was a condition to join the nationalized bank as a cashier. The amount of Rs.1000/- was fixed when the salary of clerks was around Rs.350/- p.m. The amount continued to remain the same though the salary was increased manifold. Similarly there is also financial reward of Rs. 5000/- which was fixed by the government when the salary was less than thousand and continued to remain so. As a Management Consultant while I could suggest changes in such archaic rules, the Law that still continues beyond my control baffles me. Professional Tax ( only in some states), Labor welfare fund (Rs.7/- per year per employee even today in Tamil Nadu and Rs.3/- for six months or so in some other state) the Shops and Establishment Act that comes for implementation in bits and pieces by whims and fancies of some officials  and many more. All these acts and rules prescr...

What is meant by Presenting Officer? This question by an eight year experienced HR manager coupled with a chat show where the HR community prided on their skills to force an unwanted staff to quit made me feel aghast. But when aptitude and flair in a task were measured by a yardstick that has relevance to productivity, cost to company, yield and efficiency, right of employment and right of opportunity become optional offers from the employer.   Cost over justice may be the compulsion of the era of competition as well as global marketing. Pollution through plastic and other chemicals may get ignored in the world of convenience, yet when it starts hurting in the form of disease and death the Government wakes up to ban or restrict pollutants. The comforts of profit and productivity would have similar impact on the society since the labor force as a group would again start reacting as they did when trade unions were formed due to continuous oppression by the employers.  ...

The vegetable cutter in a famous restaurant was not getting overtime and also lost the benefit of having dinner free as his timings got over by 6 p.m. Since recession was felt by the IT industries when Obama became President of USA there were fewer crowds in costly hotels. I was intrigued by the economics where when the rich cut on luxuries the poor has to lose on his necessities. While this was the effect of a reduced salary in an industry that pays the highest    with matching perks and onsite visits that earns in dollars, what would be the effect if a factory that pays the lowest (minimum wages) with no perks decides to close down? I looked at the closing down of both Nokia and Foxconn in that perspective. When people who are not educated or skilled enough do not have a job they do manage a living by odd jobs that become even regular over a period. When factories open and offer jobs the people who join as unskilled or semi skilled workers take comfort ...