Punctuality leads to success

Punctuality in a city like Mumbai is rare virtue. Creative excuses that people make when they are late and most of the people fail to stick to appointed time.

It is appalling to see people arrive late to work, meetings and even seminars. Lateness is now an accepted norm and fifteen to thirty minutes delay is routine. And if one is fifteen minutes late in starting from home, he can expect his day to end at least three hours late. It’s called the law of momentum in action.

Globalization today has brought many pressures and punctuality is one of them. Asians and Americans are much tolerant of lateness whereas European and people from the Middle East can’t stand it. The Urban Indian today is quite a globe trotter and lateness can causes more damage than one can ever imagine to one’s professional life.

Time is all the while belongs to the individual and can be called his own. Respect it and spend it diligently because it is running out. Everyday you have lesser time than yesterday it is a resource that will end on a day. Realize that and make good us of it. —

Globalisation is two-way traffic: Azim Premji

"The world's richest Muslim entrepreneur defies conventional wisdom about Islamic tycoons: He doesn't hail from the Persian Gulf, he didn't make his money in petroleum, and he definitely doesn't wear his faith on his sleeve."


That's how the Wall Street Journal describes Azim Premji, Chairman & CEO of Wipro Technologies, one of the largest software companies in India, in a story about "How a Muslim Billionaire Thrives in Hindu India."


He has tapped India's abundant engineering talent to transform a family vegetable oil firm, Wipro Ltd, into a technology and outsourcing giant, notes the influential US financial daily.


By serving Western manufacturers, airlines and utilities, the company has brought Premji a fortune of some $17 billion - believed to be greater than that of any other Muslim outside of Persian Gulf royalty, it notes.


Such success, Premji says in an interview with the Journal, shows that globalization - a force Islamist activists decry as Western neo-colonialism - is turning into "two-way traffic" that can bring tangible benefits to developing countries.


Premji's rise is already inspiring some Indian Muslims to embrace the modern, globalised world, the journal says yet, to many in India's Muslim community, Premji's enormous wealth, far from being inspiring, shows that success comes at a price the truly faithful cannot accept.


But unlike some Muslim community leaders, Premji bristles impatiently when the plight of the broader Muslim populace is cited. "This whole issue of Hindu-Muslim in India is completely overhyped," the 62-year-old executive says as cited by the Journal.


Premji's private philanthropy is dispensed through a foundation that's managed by a Hindu former Wipro executive and cuts across religious lines.


After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, US officials asked the Azim Premji Foundation to help start an education programme that would instil moderate values in Islamic schools. The foundation declined the religion-focused project, according to its chief executive, because "we are working for all."

Premji, the Journal said, scoffed at the idea he should display his Muslim identity or champion the cause of Muslim advancement in India. "We've always seen ourselves as Indian. We've never seen ourselves as Hindus, or Muslims, or Christians or Buddhists," he was quoted as saying.


As a prominent Muslim businessman in the 1940s, Premji's late father, M.H. Premji, faced repeated requests for support from Pakistan's fiery founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who offered the father a cabinet minister job in the new Muslim country.


But the Premji family didn't believe in a religious state, and refused to move. "We did not think in these terms," Premji says as cited by the Journal. "There were roots in India, there were roots in Bombay. Why should one in any way dislodge these roots?"


While India's Muslim groups complain about facing daily discrimination, Premji says the only time he has been singled out because of his Muslim heritage wasn't in India but at a US airport shortly after 9/11.


In doing business in India, he maintains, "I don't think being a Muslim or being a non-Muslim has been an advantage or disadvantage. It's just been based on the merits of the opportunities."


As Wipro becomes a global powerhouse, company officials say they seek to hire the best regardless of creed. "All our hiring staff are trained to interview in English," Premji is quoted as saying. "They're trained to look for Westernised segments because we deal with global customers."

Employee Retension......

Hi All!

Been long since I wrote or gave you some views of my own or from people who wrote and think extensively into the realms of HR...............This is one of my friend's thoughts that I have tried to put in words......that other day when we were discussing on retension.....

"When a milker leaves I lose one cow"

Recruiting the right employees is easy. But the challenge is to motivate and retain them. Retaining the right employees in the right place is the secret of any organisation's success. Usually the employees are loyal to their organisations. But they become unhappy job-hoppers when they feel that they are not valued and not given enough challenges and opportunities. It is true that everyone is looking for better prospects and the present organisation is often only a pole-vault to jump into better pastures.

The CEO to the frontline executive, all are waiting for the right opportunity to migrate. Employee turnover is costly and it makes the organisations less efficient and productive. If we want to retain the top performers we need to know why people leave. The reasons for leaving may be many:

1. Lack of opportunities and challengesFor many young and bright employees of today money is not a concern. They are looking for more than compensation packages and benefits. They want challenges and job satisfaction. If you want to retain them, offer them not money but challenges and risks. They thrive in challenges and love risks. They look for job satisfaction and contentment in their work. Job satisfaction comes out of their relationship with the management; it's the effect of good work environment and is the fruit of their commitment to a vision.

2. Lack of management supportOne of the main reasons why people quit is the lack of support from the top management. The top management itself is often not aware of what is going on and not sure of what decisions to be taken. The victims of their poor communication and management are always those at the bottom. The only thing they communicate well is to tell the employees that they are responsible for every failure. If you want your employees to be loyal to you, support them when they need you. Be visibly present by their side in their struggles and appreciate their victories.

3. Lack of monetary rewardsFor many people today telling, "I don't care about money but I need challenges" is a fashion. Most of the employees are there with you because of the rewards you give. When they feel that they are paid less than what they deserve, when they feel that you are not faithful to your promise to increase their package, when they feel that you don't reward hard work and commitment its time for them to bid you bye. Better compensation and benefits will always keep them by your side.

4. Lack of career development possibilitiesNo one likes to be in the same place for long. People long for new experiences, changes and growth. Once they know that their present organisation doesn't provide them opportunities for their career, personal and professional growth they feel suffocated in that rigid system. In such a dissatisfied atmosphere they long for liberation and when the right opportunity comes they pack up and leave you.

5. Lack of visionary mangersThe supervisors are one main reason why many employees leave. Supervisors and mangers are often shortsighted and fail to place the right employee in the right place. They make a highly talented person become a failure and the employee alone is made accountable for the losses. The management should consist of visionary people who are able to assess the potentials and strengths of the employees and give them the right opportunities and right challenges where they can excel. It must create a positive work environment where people are rewarded and recognized, where free and open communications exist and where people feel excited and thrilled to work.

6. Lack of friendly atmosphereOften our workplace is so boring with so many serious people around. The workplace should be a home where people smile, relax and enjoy working. Every morning the person should long to come to work. Friendly and homely place is a must if you want to retain your staff. The management is so much caught up in the web of profit and revenues that it looks at people only as a means to higher profits and forgets to look at them as persons. Listen to the employees, respect them and make work fun for them if you want them. Provide an employee-friendly environment where they can participate in decisions making, execution and evaluation.

7. Lack of freedom If the employee can't express his ideas and thoughts freely in the organisation he won't last there. We must create an atmosphere where people feel free to contribute their ideas, criticize the existing systems and try out alternatives to make their work more productive and satisfying. There should be freedom for him to use his talents and skills. There should be freedom to make mistakes. We need to invest in building up retention if we want our organisations to be successful.

Recently I read about a dairy manager who said: "Every time a milker leaves I lose about one cow." We have recruited the best talents; now it's our duty to motivate and retain them for the health and success of our organisations.

Basics of conflict management

Conflict is when two or more values, perspectives and opinions are contradictory in nature and haven't been aligned or agreed about yet, including:

1. Within yourself when you're not living according to your values;

2. When your values and perspectives are threatened; or

3. Discomfort from fear of the unknown or from lack of fulfillment.

Conflict is inevitable and often good, for example, good teams always go through a "form, storm, norm and perform" period. Getting the most out of diversity means often-contradictory values, perspectives and opinions.Conflict is often needed.

1. Helps to raise and address problems.

2. Energizes work to be on the most appropriate issues.

3. Helps people "be real", for example, it motivates them to participate.

4. Helps people learn how to recognize and benefit from their differences.

Conflict is not the same as discomfort. The conflict isn't the problem - it is when conflict is poorly managed that is the problem.
Conflict is a problem when it:

1. Hampers productivity.

2. Lowers morale.

3. Causes more and continued conflicts.

4. Causes inappropriate behaviors.

Ways People Deal With Conflict

There is no one best way to deal with conflict. It depends on the current situation. Here are the major ways that people use to deal with conflict.

1. Avoid it. Pretend it is not there or ignore it.a. Use it when it simply is not worth the effort to argue. Usually this approach tendsto worsen the conflict over time.

2. Accommodate it. Give in to others, sometimes to the extent that you compromise yourself.a. Use this approach very sparingly and infrequently, for example, in situations when you know that you will have another more useful approach in the verynear future. Usually this approach tends to worsen the conflict over time, andcauses conflicts within yourself.

3. Competing. Work to get your way, rather than clarifying and addressing the issue. Competitors love accommodators.a. Use when you have a very strong conviction about your position.

4. Compromising. Mutual give-and-take.a. Use when the goal is to get past the issue and move on.

5. Collaborating. Focus on working together.

a. Use when the goal is to meet as many current needs as possible by using mutual resources. This approach sometimes raises new mutual needs.

b. Use when the goal is to cultivate ownership and commitment.

CHANGE................a revolution

Change
Let's face it. Just about the only people who like a change are wet babies! For the rest of us, a change is rarely welcomed. Change of any kind, personal or professional, is one of the most common sources of stress.

Change evokes a series of emotional responses that, left unmanaged, can eventually take a toll on health and performance.

The question is not will you adjust to change. Yes, you eventually will. The real issue is how long will it take? Your performance and success may depend on your ability to quickly move through the change cycle.

A strategy for change management:

Acknowledge where you are on the change curve. Observing your reaction to change as normal adds objectivity and enables you to neutralize the damaging effects they can otherwise have.

Identify your core values. Remembering what matters most during stressful times is a quick way to shift your internal experience. It will reduce stress in the moment and create the physiology that supports a shift in perception.

If you manage a team, know where each person falls on the change curve and provide what is needed to help them move to the next stage: Information on the down slope; support during the trough; recognition on the up slope.

Take time each day to appreciate everyone, talents and contributions, including your own. Doing so is energizing and helps minimize emotional drains.

Revisit organizational values. Starting staff or team meetings with a discussion of the groups shared mission or vision helps create an emotional shift that positively impacts the meeting and facilitates adjustment.