Hire & Fire - a correct approach?

Once I happened to visit a friend of mine who was Head of Sales Department in his company. When I visited him he was planning to fire one of his boys. He was telling me why he wanted to fire him. His reasons appeared small when I really think about the issue. He promised a target to his management for that month which he failed by 60%. So, he thought that one of his sales persons must go.

In my 23 years of working in the corporate world I have seen many incidents where Managers have found an easy way out to excuse themselves from awkward situations by firing their poor subordinates.

What are the fundamentals of Management? This question comes to mind almost every day in various situations. A manager must be able to manager the resources. The materials, the machines, the Money and the Men. The three resources are lifeless and obey they way we programme them. But the fourth factor The Men is a very complex resource. A good manager must be able to identify the right men in the First stage, train them according to his ideas, and then let them loose. Supervising the men is a definite necessity. Humans tend to get bored with their routine, loose the morale, loose sight of where they are heading. Especially the people who are not trained in a disciplined curriculam.

Unfortunately the Education system in most of the countries is still lacking the fundamentals of training. We are teaching Scientific principles, Mathematics, Economics, Computers to our children but the Systematic Psychological approach is missing in our education. We have something called moral science in our schools, but only as a formality. There are no exams to make children seriously think about the subject. In Vedic Education system the major approach towards life was taught with the basic fundamentals such as "Dharma" in the spirit of Bhagwad Gita. It is a complete package. How to to do your duties, what are the guiding factors while performing your duties etc.,

However, the present day managers are mostly driven by the success rates, the bottom lines etc., They say it is in the interest of the organization they took the decisions such as firing people. In fact, it is their own interests they are serving. They are protecting their jobs forgetting the purpose of Effective Management practices. One disgruntled employee can cause a lot more damage to the company than a strong competitor. Each individual whether he is intelligent or otherwise has his own ideas. When he leaves an organization with dissatisfaction he is not going to sit at home silently. He will be out in the world looking for his own place to grow. He is definitely going to share his experiences about People, Places, Organizations. That is likely to damage the organization's image.

So, Shall we stop firing people? No. We can do it if the situation demands it. We should practice the same decent ways and behaviours with them while we were hiring them. A little patience on the manager's side will create a lasting impression on the person who is leaving the organization. He is definitely going to talk about it when he is in the newer environment.

Profession vs.Passion

Somebody once asked me a question. A particular job assigned to me does not fall in his responsibilities. Then how can he be expected to complete the assigned job?

This is a common question that arises in many people's mind. This takes me back to my IIPM days when I was a student of Management. I still remember the lecture on Effective and Efficient management styles by Dr. Joy Mitra. Most Managers tend to become efficient managers with a clear target ahead of them. The Targets are in numbers. They speak numbers, dream numbers. Their life revolves around numbers.

I have invested One crore on so and so property one would say and another such amount in shares & debenture portfolio. People listen to him and look at him. Some respect him. Some are envious. Some come out with suggestions on how to wisely invest etc., This person totally enjoys the attention.

I remember having seen some Short story on TV long back on Doordarshan played by Benjamin (if I recall correctly) and Neelima Azim. The Hero of the story is proud of his achievements and always talks about it. He is in love with this woman who meets him at the Lobby of a fivestar hotel. Suddenly a friend of his appears in the hotel lobby and enquires about him and the woman. The hero introduces his girl friend as a Journalist who came to interview him. Taking the cue the heroine starts asking him certain questions like his childhood passions etc., For every question his answer is the same. I worked hard and reached the present position. His friend in fact recalls certain incidents of their childhood but this hero does not. When the lady persists on finding answers for such questions as childhood pastimes, and hobbies the hero is dumbstuck and feels awkward. In the process of becoming successful in his profession he forgot even such beautiful childhood memories. In the end the balloons were shown flying in the air. Most percentage of people fall in this trap of getting conditioned. They never ask questions and review. They have a fixed formula and follow it. They call it meticulous working. But, somewhere down the line chasing the targets, they fall in the trap of getting completely conditioned and flow with stream.

The stories of Great Heroes who later became statesmen, and legends convey similar message. Whether it is Jesus, Adi shankara, Ramanuja, Prophet Mohammed, Galileo, Meerabai, William Wallace, Maharana Pratap, Mahatma Gandhi and innumberable such saints, politicians, Scientists the basic fundamental characther is not deviating from the Principles they have set for themselves.

If we go back in to history, billions of people have born and gone. But how many have made a mark? As our Ex-President Dr.Abdul Kalam says how many have left "their mark on the sands of history"?

In our society, why people are always afraid of taking the risk to become just more than efficient? Why every family member, every friend, every well wisher always advises to go slow and steady, to ensure that you have the arrangements and then think many times before you jump? Imagine if Dhirubhai did the same thing, could it be possible that the world would have known the Ambani family today?

Then why our society does not allow us to develop "passions" . We are always directed towards making a profession? Humanity needs Heroes, not cowards. Businessess need a completely Effective solutions only and Effective management style can provide. Efficiency is definitely a need but it must be combined with Effective style of management.

Life in Saudi Arabia

After living for 13 months in Saudi Arabia and comparing the life in India there are some interesting points to note.

The life of an average middle class man in India involves putting all his efforts in making the day. That includes travelling from Home to the office and vice versa. The day naturally is for some accomplishment. The one who respects his work does his best and by the end of the day he feels pride in it. The hard work he puts into his work surely worth waiting for the 7th day of the week. And what I observed is he prefers to laze around than indulging in a picnic or some sort of outing. Evenings are for going out with the family.

A similar culture exists in Saudi as far as family is concerned even though there are some work culture differences exist. Arabs, as I found take pride in joining their immediate and close family on weekends. The non existing public entertainment places does not seem to be a problem with them. A typical working day starts at 8 and ends at 4.30. However, by the end he is not likely to get tired unlike his counterpart in India. The overall work loads are much lesser than in India. And there are no extra hours. Neither commuting back to home is a problem.

For an Indian who lives alone it does pose a problem. He is having ample free time to do anything he wants. May be pursuing a new diploma course etc., But rarely anybody seems to be working in that direction.

There are a number of shops catering to daily needs. However, I have hardly seen any shops selling magazines and books. In the name of books (English) i could only see some dictionaries.

Ultimately what is the difference? you may ask.

Life in Saudi is more laid back and less hardworking. Not only that it is better paying and better saving. But what is your need?