An Obituary printed in the London Times

Interesting and sadly rather true.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: -

• Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
• Why the early bird gets the worm;
• Life isn't always fair;
• and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Source: The London Times

The 5S of house-keeping

This is a Japanese concept which denotes seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu and shitsuke.

The English versions are sorting, straightening, systematic cleaning, standardizing, and sustaining. At times, another S. safety is included.

Briefly, the implications are:

• Sorting: Eliminate things which are non-essential. Keep only those things which are necessary.
• Straightening: Set things in order in such a way that it is easily accessible.
• Systematic cleaning: Tidiness, cleanliness are the rules of the game.
• Standardizing: Consistency should be maintained so everyone observes the first 3S's through awareness of responsibilities.
• Sustaining: Prevent rollback to old ways;even think of better ways

The sixth S refers to workplace safety.

5S principle is observed by companies through signs and posters which help to educate employees on the 5S's.

Contributed By:
Prof. D. P. Chattopadhyay
(Globsyn Business School)

Cardinal Principles of Discipline

Discipline is the key to success in whatever a person does. Here are five cardinal principles of discipline:

• Showing respect to seniors: Talent itself will lead nowhere unless an individual is disciplined in this area. This improves one's acceptance and trustworthiness.
• Commitment to work: Involvement in one's work and attention to details 'without looking at the watch for an early close' pays off phenomenally.
• Punctuality: Meeting cut-off dates and setting priorities right is the rule of the game. Distinguishing between things urgent and things important is essential.
• Being cooperative: Teamwork matters. It generates synergy and fosters a sense of togetherness which is necessary for mutual charm.
• Ethicality in action: Rectitude 'keeps the house in order'. The voice of conscience should be listened to.This generates an atmosphere of sanctity and piousness.

Contributed By:
Prof. D. P. Chattopadhyay
(Globsyn Business School)

New Public Management

The public sector has always been at the vortex of controversy and debate as regards its style of functioning. A management philosophy,by way of modernisation, which is used by governments throughout the world is referred to as New Public Management(NPM). The key to NPM is more market orientation in the public sector. This will lead to greater cost efficiency in governments while being devoid of other deleterious effects resulting from such an approach. Bureaucracy is less and personal characteristics of employees are more customer-friendly. Hierarchy gives rise to networkedness and political influences in decision-making are minimal.

Contributed By:
Prof. D. P. Chattopadhyay
(Globsyn Business School)

Organizational Citizenship Behaviour

One of the contemporary areas in the field of Organizational Behaviour and Development is Organizational Citizenship Behaviour under the acronym OCB.

OCB is unique in that it is non-traditional and out of the clutches of a formal reward system. Though it is beneficial to the organization,it is purely under the volition of the individual who indulges in behaviour triggered by personal choice and is non-mandatory in that it does not fetch any punishment lest such behviour is not displayed.OCB enhances the effectiveness and efficiency of an organization and enhances its productivity.Two specific examples in point would include an employee who is apolitical by nature at domestic or social life will also act likewise in her/his professional work in the organization.;alternately,an employee who voluntarily takes part in collective decision-making process will tend to be more involved in work and perform better than those who are indifferent when it comes to joint-decision-making.

Contributed By:
Prof. D. P. Chattopadhyay
(Globsyn Business School)

CII National Conclave

March 05, 2010. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organized its national conclave on “IT for inclusive growth, at Hotel ITC Sonar, Kolkata. The event started with the inaugural session, outlining the importance of inclusive growth in a diverse economy like India; in this important era of globalization coupled with major technological changes. Mr. Tamal Dasgupta, Chairman Eastern Region, CII ICTE sub committee and Managing Director, WEBEL, mentioned the initiatives of CII member organizations in promoting inclusive growth as a point of focus among corporate India. Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman, CII National Committee on IT/ ITeS /E-commerce, and Vice Chairman & CEO, Zensar delivered the theme address of the conclave citing examples of how smart ICT interventions have led to social inclusion and how West Bengal has led the way for the rest of the nation. Dr. Debesh Das, Minister of IT, West Bengal, Mr. Siddharth, Principal Secretary-IT, West Bengal and Mr. Ashis Sanyal, Sr. Director-IT, Ministry of Communications and IT, Government of India; reiterated the various flagship programmes of the governments at the center and states, in promoting inclusive growth, including NREGA, NRHM, SSA and the role of IT in the same.

The following sessions were lively with presentations from senior corporates of KPIT Cummins, Cognizant, Beyondcore, Mckinsey, Zensar, Cisco, Canon, HP, Intel, Educomp, Deloitte, HSBC, Metalogic, Wipro, etc. the audience were appraised of the newer innovations in IT and its benefit to the masses. Mr. Arijit Sengupta, CEO, Beyondcore and Indian Ambassador to IAOP (International Association of Outsourcing Professionals) outlined the important measures taken by IAOP in certifying the aspirant organizations and individuals of outsourcing sector; hence decreasing costs of client organizations, prospective recruiters and also uplifting the employability factor. The themes hovered around India’s opportunities in leveraging its ICT potential, transforming the nation to a knowledge e-economy, etc.

A special session was focused on the improvement of the ICT scenario in the East and North-Eastern states of India. The sessions witnessed engrossing discussions, supported by thought provoking data, and the participative audience asked critical questions; thus leading to serious debates on certain issues; like “if government would incentivize entrepreneurship in underdeveloped areas for the cause of inclusive growth?”, etc. The need of using ICT for agriculture, education and healthcare were discussed in detail. The conclave ended with a lot of learning for the participants and in the concluding remarks, the chairman vowed to organize many similar events in future.

By:
Prof. Debajyoti Majumder
(Globsyn Business School)

Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is a concept that is generally viewed as managing discretionary effort, that is, when employees have choices, they will act in a way that furthers their organization’s interests. An engaged employee is a person who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about, his or her work. Engaged employees care about the future of the company and are willing to invest the discretionary effort. Engaged employees feel a strong emotional bond to the organization that employs them.

An organization’s productivity is measured not in terms of employee satisfaction but by employee engagement. Employees are said to be engaged when they show a positive attitude toward the organization and express a commitment to remain with the organization.
Organizations that believe in increasing employee engagement levels focus on:

1. Culture: It consists of a foundation of leadership, vision, values, effective communication, a strategic plan, and HR policies that are focused on the employee.
2. Continuous Reinforcement of People-Focused Policies: Continuous reinforcement exists when senior management provides staff with budgets and resources to accomplish their work, and empowers them.
3. Meaningful Metrics: They measure the factors that are essential to the organization’s performance. Because so much of the organization’s performance is dependent on people, such metrics will naturally drive the people-focus of the organization and lead to beneficial change.
4. Organizational Performance: It ultimately leads to high levels of trust, pride, satisfaction, success, and believe it or not, fun.

Contributed By:
Prof. D. P. Chattopadhyay
(Globsyn Business School)