I have noticed this so often that it's second nature to know the result of a fight soon after one starts.
Scene 1
Civic Issues
The auto driver of Chennai never flags the meter 'on' but agrees to ferry a passenger for a fixed amount of say 100/- after coming down from his demand for 150, 130, 120, 110...
On the way the driver starts 'asking' the passenger which place he 'actually' wants to go and starts complaining that this was not the destination that he thought was agreed upon!
The passenger keeps on explaining and the driver keeps on complaining about how this distance is longer....
By the time the destination comes, the fight becomes unbearable. It's about who has stronger vocal chords and gets away with how much fare. If the passenger wins he pays only 100 despite the driver shouting and fighting. If the driver wins he extracts a bigger amount than 100!
Focus is to extract more but the fight is about, 'I told you.. No, you din't.. May the street smart person win.
Scene 2
Office politics.
There is a problem with some facility at office. The administrator takes no notice of it even though he may be very much aware of the problem which is 5 or 6 years old. Whenever new entrants 'discover' the problem they are referred to and complain about it to the admin who sweetly promises to 'look into it very soon' but never does anything about it, as usual.
There's an accident about to occur and the matter is brought to the notice of a higher up in the hope it may see daylight. The higher up responds to the issue with sincerity and promptness but copies the instructions on to the administrator whose domain it is anyways! Back to square one. The problem still exists but the new entrant gets enlightened about the 'proper' channels to go through for addressing them - he also gets to learn that he is a marked man from then on for by-passing the important chair of the administrator!
Here the faulty facility which could prove fatal to anyone is not the real issue. The real issue is with bloated ego, meaningless heirarchies, drawing up 'territories' where no one is allowed to question putting even our jungle lions or tigers to shame!
Family Issue:
Errant son.
A well wisher of a family may try to bring to the notice of parents matters regarding their errant son. Any parent will outright deny that any such thing exists, even though it may be common knowledge in the inner circle.
The parental instinct to protect the son is seen. The son gets 'aware' of this protective ring.
Then starts the emotional blackmailing by the son because he 'knows' his family knows, yet will never expose him for the sake of family honor. The charade goes on until a girl-friend or the newly wed wife of the son makes the same complaint, makes it heard and stands by it!!
Focus here is not to reform the erring son but to reform the informer into thinking that something is actually wrong with him/her.
That's life for us mere mortals.
Mahalakshmi.
Showing posts with label Office politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Office politics. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Monday, June 21, 2010
Work Culture
Dear Friends,
Going to work. This is a task by itself.
Here I am not talking about qualifying oneself, applying and landing a job.
Working in some place and what goes on within office and among employees is what I wish to deal with in this blog.
I have always felt the management phrase of 80% doing 20% of all work there is and 20% doing 80% to be very true.
It may not be office politics nor disinterest in working on the job. This 80% also can be made to contribute their 100% to their jobs.
Basically it is the lack of knowledge about what and how to work efficiently.
Many in an office do not understand the nature of their jobs. They just drift aimlessly in offices. They tend to concentrate more on someone else's job than their own. If employed in a private such employeess are shown the gate very soon. But in government jobs that is not the case.
Some may be working very hard but just in the opposite direction!
Some may complain of their superiors being partial to others.
Maybe superiors just expect their subordinates to complete their work even if they dont understand how that work has to be done.
Superiors do not take the time out to teach the lower level cadres about how to work.
There is no proper leader who guides them about their role and the way they should work. No training either obviously.
Any human is capable of some work, whether skilled or unskilled. An unskilled worker can very easily learn the skills by observation, practice, hard and sincere work.
The person has to know what he is doing to be really interested in his job.
This lack of knowledge is most times responsible for all trouble between higher and lower cadres.
I think a strong training and induction should be given to each and every entrant in any workplace. Induction should include training by rotation in all departments so that the new entrant knows how inter-connected all departments are with each other. If this knowledge is lacking many have chances of falling into a pit thinking their work is superior to others or vice versa.
It is like a person who has headache saying thats the worst of all ailments. All organs should work together to keep the body healthy, so too is the case of all departments coming together to make a success of the company or organization.
Its not a question of superior department or inferior department at all. It is the synthesizing of all work to represent the whole.
One who knows his job enjoys his work. To know one has to train himself first and be aware of the role he is playing, however small it may be, take pride in his role and deliver performance day in and day out.
Here again such routines can be transformed to meaningful changes by thinking the whys and hows of doing a process or a job.
By thinking and applying our minds to why we should be doing a job the way it is done and/or how best we can improve upon the existing model without involving complexities or adding higher costs.
When a person loves his job it means three things to me.
He knows his job.
He forgets everything else while on his job and
is able to give quality inputs due to his dedication and love for the work that he is doing.
Such people are not rare to find provided the training is good, the person is placed according to his capabilities and gets due incentives for his level of work.
A job means earning money and supporting our families.
Good workers should be rewarded with good pay so that they dont worry about money. Incentives are a must to keep good and talented people working for the organization.
I have found this mantra to be so true that I keep applying it to all who do jobs. Workers who please their superiors in some other ways and get by, never last or putting it in another way, they last only until the superior lasts in the organization.
If you know your job well enough, then superiors may come, superiors may go but our work goes on...until one is promoted to a higher job.
Dint we notice that a good worker is never touched unnecesarily by the management.
Cheers!
Mahalakshmi
Going to work. This is a task by itself.
Here I am not talking about qualifying oneself, applying and landing a job.
Working in some place and what goes on within office and among employees is what I wish to deal with in this blog.
I have always felt the management phrase of 80% doing 20% of all work there is and 20% doing 80% to be very true.
It may not be office politics nor disinterest in working on the job. This 80% also can be made to contribute their 100% to their jobs.
Basically it is the lack of knowledge about what and how to work efficiently.
Many in an office do not understand the nature of their jobs. They just drift aimlessly in offices. They tend to concentrate more on someone else's job than their own. If employed in a private such employeess are shown the gate very soon. But in government jobs that is not the case.
Some may be working very hard but just in the opposite direction!
Some may complain of their superiors being partial to others.
Maybe superiors just expect their subordinates to complete their work even if they dont understand how that work has to be done.
Superiors do not take the time out to teach the lower level cadres about how to work.
There is no proper leader who guides them about their role and the way they should work. No training either obviously.
Any human is capable of some work, whether skilled or unskilled. An unskilled worker can very easily learn the skills by observation, practice, hard and sincere work.
The person has to know what he is doing to be really interested in his job.
This lack of knowledge is most times responsible for all trouble between higher and lower cadres.
I think a strong training and induction should be given to each and every entrant in any workplace. Induction should include training by rotation in all departments so that the new entrant knows how inter-connected all departments are with each other. If this knowledge is lacking many have chances of falling into a pit thinking their work is superior to others or vice versa.
It is like a person who has headache saying thats the worst of all ailments. All organs should work together to keep the body healthy, so too is the case of all departments coming together to make a success of the company or organization.
Its not a question of superior department or inferior department at all. It is the synthesizing of all work to represent the whole.
One who knows his job enjoys his work. To know one has to train himself first and be aware of the role he is playing, however small it may be, take pride in his role and deliver performance day in and day out.
Here again such routines can be transformed to meaningful changes by thinking the whys and hows of doing a process or a job.
By thinking and applying our minds to why we should be doing a job the way it is done and/or how best we can improve upon the existing model without involving complexities or adding higher costs.
When a person loves his job it means three things to me.
He knows his job.
He forgets everything else while on his job and
is able to give quality inputs due to his dedication and love for the work that he is doing.
Such people are not rare to find provided the training is good, the person is placed according to his capabilities and gets due incentives for his level of work.
A job means earning money and supporting our families.
Good workers should be rewarded with good pay so that they dont worry about money. Incentives are a must to keep good and talented people working for the organization.
I have found this mantra to be so true that I keep applying it to all who do jobs. Workers who please their superiors in some other ways and get by, never last or putting it in another way, they last only until the superior lasts in the organization.
If you know your job well enough, then superiors may come, superiors may go but our work goes on...until one is promoted to a higher job.
Dint we notice that a good worker is never touched unnecesarily by the management.
Cheers!
Mahalakshmi
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