Right Questions For Right Decisions..

One thing that I learned after working these many years is that, right questions are to be asked to take right decisions. There may be thousand urgencies around you that screams and screeches to do something that you may not be that sure of. Do not let these urgencies skip that exercise of mind, thought process, as my good friend put it in words some time back, where you collect the ideas, mull over them and finally the most important part, ask questions. Skipping this process will cause several troubles in future.

Recently there was a man power issue in my department. I needed around three people, all technicians. The problem was not affecting the performance in a large way as my team put up extra effort and hours, to run things as it was before. But still it was a strain for all and this arrangement could fall flat any day if it was allowed to continue for a longer time. Another issue was that after getting man power, we need at least a month’s time to prepare them for functioning. And with the year end nearing I could not afford to make a delay.

In our company, normally interviews only happen for employee level appointments. For contract employees, the procedure is to inform the HR department of the requirement and them allotting man power directly to the user department. Last day morning I got a mail from HR department that an ITI holder is allotted to my department. I immediately called him and had a conversation as I had to allot his work. When I asked what his trade was, he answered that he wasn’t an ITI holder. Then I told him that I will have to give him training for at least two months as he is not a technical person. Finally it was revealed that he has studied accountancy and as he never got any job, he came as a contract laborer.    

He insisted that he will do whatever job I tell him to do. I thought over it. There is a real problem facing me. The immediate solution is to train up this desperate man and make him do the work. Then I asked him that question which helped me decide. I told him that the work that I give him will be physical. He has to be in shop floor and do it. Suppose he gets an accountancy job in near future, will he go for it as it involves comfortably sitting in working hours or will he stay back here at least for a year? I asked him to go back to my department, i.e. tool room, see the kind of work that happens there, interact with other workers, decide and come back after an hour’s time.

He came back after an hour and agreed that if he gets an accountant job later, he will leave this one. If I had not asked him that question and decided to take him for work, he would have silently taken training and moved out when he get a job related to his trade. I will be stranded midway again and all my time wasted giving training to him which ultimately did not do any good for him. I talked to my colleague and gave him a job in packing department where he can perform without any training. 

Peter VS Dilbert: Principles Of Promotion

Last day I was reading this article, thanks to the link shared through my blogger friend Nona's tweet. At one juncture, there is a mention about Peter Principle, which is regarding promotions in work place. I found the thought very striking and then started reading some more on that from Wikipedia and some other sources. I thought I will share what I came to know about Peter Principle as the idea can provoke some thought process. 

Laurence Peter and Raymond Hull wrote a book in 1969, called Peter principle, in which they started a study of hierarchy or hierarchiology as they coined it. They came to this conclusion that, in any hierarchy every employee raises to his ultimate incompetency level. So after a period of time, the whole order will be a collection of incompetent members causing a downfall, unless fresh blood is not induced. 

Pic Courtesy:  frontierpsychiatrist.co.uk

Take the case in a work shop. A worker who performs very well in his job will be promoted to the next level, may be as a foreman. If he shows good skill as a foreman he will be promoted to a supervisor. But if he does not perform as a foreman, he will stay in that job for eternity. There is no way he may be willing to go back to his former level in which he excelled. So we have an incompetent foreman instead of a skilled worker. This same process happens in all levels. A good supervisor gets promoted to a manager, but gets stuck in the same level from then on, as he may not be having the guts to take a hard decision. So ultimately, promotions become a tool to lock people in a level where they are incompetent and employees in every level turns out to be people who are incompetent to perform. 

Some months back I was reading Dilbert Principle by Scott Adams (the creator of Dilbert comic strip). Dilbert principle postulates that promotions in work places are a way to take out incompetent people from the front line, pushing them to upper levels where they will not have a scope to inflict much damage, so that the work will be carried on without obstruction by competent personnel who will never reach any managerial positions because, 

in many cases the least competent, least smart people are promoted, simply because they’re the ones you don’t want doing actual work. You want them ordering the doughnuts and yelling at people for not doing their assignments—you know, the easy work. Your heart surgeons and your computer programmers—your smart people—aren’t in management.

 Pic courtesy: hannibalis.blogspot.com

The main difference between Peter and Dilbert principle is that in former it is assumed that a person was competent in doing some work in the past. But latter says that even without showing any level of competency in any past endeavors, one can get promoted and even goes as far to say that experts in a field will not get promoted as they are required to keep the work moving.   

I feel that Dilbert principle is one way to cure the harms caused by Peter principle... 

Present- TENSE... Future?

Do you know what is the most difficult part in life? You take a decision that involves a tremendous risk, one that you had taken and regretted before, which takes time to deliver results, you are going more deeper to a point of no return and you have only optimism that things will work for your aid. That time between the decision making and getting a result of it, good or bad, is the most difficult time... a time through which I am going through now. But I really have a gut feeling that the future is going to be bright, even when present is risky and tensed.

Resigned....

Last week I gave my resignation from FPL. There was an offer from my friend that was standing from months. Finally I decided to take it. It is good if it goes as he has told, I get a hike of 20% and stake of 10% in his firm. Yes, this is the same place I had worked before joining FPL. Hope things goes right this time around.

Fortunately relieving from FPL wont be a big task as I thought. My reliever will join next week. Then it will be only a case of handing over the tasks to him and ESCAPE!

I will have to shift my home somewhere near Whitefield. House owner says he can give advance only on January.. have requested to do something about it. That problem also will be solved if some one agrees to come therwe soon. After all it is a much coveted house in the neighborhood.

Friends are looking for a home already. I have to go there tomorrow to check out some places. I have told amma that we wont be getting a home so big and nice as the present one in city, but hope she wont mind.

Anger Management

There is a dialogue in the Malayalam movie Adhipan told by a drunken Mohan Lal: " Wow, what a relief after calling some one a bastard."

I know it is true now because today I did it. The victim was HR executive of previous firm where I worked. I wanted to settle my old PF account, but due to a mistake from PF office, I recieved only a small amount as settlement. Thereafter it was a frantic running around for long 4 months now. I have to leave all my work and travel from Bangalore to Coimbatore and from there run around from PF office to HR dept of the company. A full day's work and a financial loss of around 1000 bucks.

Apart from that I calls PF office and HR office atleast once in 2 weeks. Each time a new guy attends the call and I have to explain him every thing from start. Ultimately last month I settled the things and was expecting the cash to come by this month at least. This week also nothing happened.... I called the HR officer today and he was asking me which PF amount I was talking about. Blood rushed into my head and I shouted to him what all came into my mind.....

After 10 minutes he called me back.... He started explaining to me and promised that he will personaly attend the case.

Moral of the story: "Only crying baby gets milk"

Some job thoughts... Some flashbacks....

Back from job just now, Eight o clock in the evening...

Timings are becoming absurd these days. Its better to shift some where near the company. Morning seven thirty I have to leave from room, and usual come back time is 8:30. About two hour goes in travel alone. But its ok... at least I am happy now, things have started working out. Seems at last rays of hope is pouring to my life. Last eight months had been terrible.

Working for my last company was my biggest mistake in my life.. I should not have allowed to be taken for granted. Wherever I had worked before I had earned a respect and well wishes from all my associates. And from this place nothing other than many criticism and mud slinging....I dont over react like them, so they think that I dont react at all... When I reacted I made it extreme. Then I did the right thing, I left the place at the right time.

And with much better results, in a month I got a good job in a multi national firm. Now I am getting the consideration of a professional, great support from seniors and subordinates, a tension free work environment...