Freedom at Work !

Some of my MBA (HR) students are offered an internship in ‘Policy Making & Administration’. They look a little puzzled. Isn’t Human Resource Management all about Performance Appraisal, Compensation and T & D. Where did policy making come into the picture?
HR Policy making is one of the toughest areas to be in these days, particularly when dealing with white collar knowledge workers and highly unionized blue collar labor. It becomes particularly important when employees are ready to take employers to court at the drop of a hat.
Look at this story!
Walt Disney Co. is locked in a big ticket fracas with an employee who claims the entertainment behemoth is restricting her right to practice her religion at the workplace and in that sense restricting her freedom.
Imane Boudlal, 26, a hostess at the Storyteller’s Cafe in Disneyland’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, claims that her employers are discriminating against her by forbidding her to wear the head scarf that her Muslim faith requires her to don.
Interestingly, Boudlal made this request after two years of working with Disney and adhering to Disney’s dress code. She says that a religious awakening has caused her to make the request. Disney for its part, first offered to modify the employee’s costume to incorporate the hijab and further to shift her back office. Boudlal has rejected these offers.
The case raises the question: What is an employer’s obligation to support its employees’ desire to express their religious beliefs through dress and physical appearance?

Disney is clearly caught between a rock and a hard place on this one, but have decided to fight it out to preserve, what they say is the Disney culture and costume.
The case is interesting because it deals with freedom of expression on one hand and an employer’s right to conduct business in a way that they see fit, as long as it is legal and ethical. Factors that conjure up a potent mix, when it gets to court and also the decision would have long standing implications.
Disney’s policies are well thought out and articulated and they are confident of winning the day…………………………having said that HR policy making is a tough nut!

On dogs and competition!

On my morning walk today, sensing the coolness of the air and twirling my baton, I marveled at how fortunate I was to live in a part of Bengaluru, surrounded by trees. The sense of well being was heightened when joined by an acquaintance with his dog on a leash. We got talking about our respective families and why we had chosen to live in 'an out of the way place'?
Well, the reason for him was that he wanted his kids to study in the 'Valley School', which is a stone’s throw away from us and a well talked about school, particularly for returning exapatriates. Knowing the answer I asked him -'Why Valley School?'He said that it kids are kept away from the mundane competition that kids in other schools face.
Which brings us to the fundamental question, is competition bad? Why does one Sachin Tendulkar, still run around a cricket field, in a creaking body, thrilling us with his genius? Why does, an all time great like Rahul Dravid, have to be advised by a bowler like Shane Warne, on his batting ( He took it in quietly )?Does Bill Gates work for the money? Behind a calm facade, the guys are competitors and will compete with you to the death, if you throw them a challenge! The world celebrates these guys.
Which brings us back to the point, as to whether competition is bad? The fact is, in my opinion, we should be teaching kids to deal with success and failure in life with equinanimity and grace, because the world is neither a fair place nor life one rollicking party! Shying away from competition is like sending our soldiers to fight at Siachen in sneakers. Ill equipped the battle is lost even before it begins.
Australian Keli Lane, a golden girl who was a water polo star was recently convicted in a court room filled with drama, of murdering her baby daughter in 1996, because, she feared that the young kid would jeopardize her chances in the 2000 Sydney Olympics! She has been jailed for 18 years!Can you think of anything more horrendous? Did her competitive spirit lead her to murder or was it a lack of values?Was it poor upbringing? As collective Australia, scratches its head, one can only wonder.
As our conversation was warming up, we were surrounded, by a bevy of dogs, in all shapes and sizes, threatening the little dog on the leash, causing us to beat a hasty retreat.The little dog, did not attempt, to show aggression even once. Not very competitive...............
Street dogs are not something we can talk about with pride in Bengaluru, I reflected!

A word, here and there!

A few years ago, I chanced upon a conversation, between the Port Control of a major port in India and an American ship. The ship was to enter port and was being delayed due to various reasons. Personnel at Indian Port Control's can be obtuse and painful, and the American ships captain was clearly getting peeved. After a point there was a change in the tone of the captain and he refused to be put off until he received absolute confirmation of his docking, from the Port Control. In contrast Indian ship captains allow themselves to be routinely bullied by the Port Control.
Why does this happen? There is a fairly simple cultural explanation. Americans are a more egalitarian society and 'Power Distance' is low. In India PD is high and as we perceive the Port Control to be in a superior position, Indian ship captains are deferential, to the point of accepting a lot of BS!We are simply afraid to speak up!
Look at the following:
Avianca Flight 52 was a regularly scheduled flight from Bogotá to New York, USA. On Thursday, January 25, 1990, the aircraft performing this flight, a Boeing 707, crashed into the village of Cove Neck, Long Island, New York after running out of fuel. Eight of the nine crew members and 65 of the 149 passengers on board were killed. Investigation showed that the crew asked for a "priority" landing which, because of language differences between English and Spanish, can be interpreted as an emergency to Spanish-speaking pilots but not to English-speaking air traffic controllers. This may have caused some confusion amongst the pilots when ATC confirmed their priority status.
It is also a fact that Columbia is a high Power Distance country (See the comparison US to Columbia) and the pilot was deferential to the Air Traffic Control at New York’s, John F Kennedy airport, whose manner was blunt and aggressive. They do not understand high context niceties.
The Columbian captain could have used the words 'Emergency' or 'Mayday' and been assertive with Air Control at JFK. All he had to say was “Chum, I’m out of fuel, the plane is going to crash & I need to land now!”
Many of his passengers would have lived, with those magic few words, but then there is culture, to contend with!
(see link)

Distant Echoes

The perils of International Business are many. A case I discuss in class deals with a Capt.Rinen and his ship the Tampa, where the good and conscientious Captain picked up a clutch of Afghan refugees off the Christmas Is.
The refugees insisted on being landed in Australia, for what they thought would be a better life. The Australian government had other ideas and it turned into a huge international incident causing much heartburn in
Australia, Norway (the ship was Norwegian), Afghanistan & Indonesia.
There is yet another recent incident involving Norway again.
An estimated 30,000 Norwegians seeking justice for the rape and murder of student Martine Vik Magnussen in London three years ago have launched a boycott against Coca-Cola products. They’re protesting Coca-Cola’s business ties with the wealthy father of her suspected murderer, who has eluded arrest by British police.

The girl was a regular fun loving youngster, who is said to have had her fair share of alcohol and drugs, tragically suspected to be butchered by her Yemenese boyfriend, who fled Britain for Yemen, post the murder, in 2008, after a night long party.
Now here comes the rub. The boyfriend’s dad is a billionaire who runs the distribution for Coca Cola in Yemen, Egypt and Libya and has ties with Xerox and Daimler Benz. Pressure built in Norway and then threatened to spread to the rest of the western world against doing business with the allegedly tainted Arab family, as they refuse to extradite the suspect to Britain.
A few days ago, finally, Coco Cola severed ties with Shaher Abdulhak the alleged suspect’s millionaire father three years after Martine was raped and murdered. The point is an event in London, involving a Norwegian miss and an Arab youth has implications across several nations and lead to business realignment.
Shaher Abdulhak lobbied hard with politicians in Norway and Yemen. He threatened to sue politicians in Norway, as well, but public pressure was a little too strong. Business, politics and ethics are all wonderfully juxtaposed as this case shows you and when it goes international the going gets complicated.
Interestingly the campaign to preesure the soft drink giant was run on Facebook. Social Networking and technology. A modern day panacea for an age old crime!
Will the dead girl get justice? Martine's family belives she will and the struggle to get the young suspect to Britian to stand trial continues.

Human Touch !: Mastering luck!

Human Touch !: Mastering luck!

Mastering luck!

The Times of India, created a virtual storm, by stating that MS Dhoni had blundered into the finals by not playing R.Ashwin, on what was a slow turning track at Mohali, in the World Cup Semi final between India & Pakistan.
MSD was smart enough to take cover by saying, in a post match interview, that he had misread the wicket, but hadn't Ashish Nehra bowled brilliantly. The general hoi polloi tore TOI to pieces, calling the reporter a nitwit, a scumbag and various other names, including his competence to comment on the issue.
I wonder why? Because, India had beaten Pakistan? I find the logic strange. It is Dhoni's business to read wickets correctly and make tactical decesions.Dhoni has admitted that he erred and I hope he does not err in future because against a more determined and focussed opponent it would spell curtains for the Indian team. At Mohali it was Pakistan's incompetence rather than anything else that got India victory. Imran Khan says that his team’s loss to the west Indies in 1983 in the SF in England rankles less than the Pakistan loss to India at Mohali a couple of days ago. Why, because in 1983 the Pakistani's were baeten by a far superior team, at Mohali they committed hara kiri.
Dhoni is a wonderful and regular guy. No questions there. Is he the best captain that we have seen? I reserve my comments. Dhoni leads a team built by Ganguly & Dravid and tended in a crucible of fire called Australia by a certain Anil Kumble. Dhoni's test will come, when the likes of Sachin, Dravid,Lakshman, Zaheer and Sehwag move out of the Indian team. The day is not far.
Many say Dhoni is a lucky captain.
Napoleon, the French Emperor and military genius, when told the virtues of a new General, eg. the man's heroism, bravery, skill in battle and so on - waved his hand impatiently. "That's all very well," he said, "but is he lucky?"

In the present euphoria you might replace Napoleon with the Indian public. Napoleon’s luck finally ran out at the famous Battle of Waterloo, where the French were decimated by by a combined Anglo allied army lead by the Duke of Wellington. That is the issue with luck. It deserts one at the most inappropriate of times and history changes for ever.
I hope Dhoni's luck holds, because he will need a lot of it, unless his decision making is sounder and his team's cricketing skills better!