Just pissing in the wind!

A few days ago, there was a sense of déjà vu, as I was between choosing a book to buy at a Crosswords store, here in Bangalore. The book in hand was 'Summary of Broken Republic: Three Essays', by noted speaker and freewheeling democrat, Arundhati Roy. The Booker prize winner is either loved or hated for her outspoken views on issues in India and many belive she is of little value other than being a nuisance at best.

The déjà vu, came about because as I flipped through pages, a procession went by, with the national flag and all, in support of the man of the moment in India 'Anna Hazare', who in his fight against corruption has pushed politicians of all hues into a rather tight corner.

In this battle for survival the politician has received assistance from rather unlikely sources, one is Ms.Roy. Her reason for opposing Hazare being that he did little for his village when farmers were committing suicide and more importantly that he was an RSS sympathizer many years ago, thus in a way echoing the voice of politicians in the UPA.His message, well thats not important, as far as she is concerned.

Ms. Roy's logic is a tad inexplicable. She has no take on how corruption is to be fought but when there is a movement she is seen making feeble attempts to derail it by targeting its leader. With her limited wisdom Ms.Roy ought to see that the move on corruption has gone beyond Hazare and the message has captured the collective imagination of India.

Should Ms.Roy, feel very strongly about her views on Hazare a good idea would be to fast in protest and take her chances! In her book she talks about her time with Maoist guerrillas which made a profound impression. She vividly describes spending nights sleeping on the forest floor in a "thousand-star hotel", applauds "the ferocity and grandeur of these poor people fighting back", and says "being in the forest made me feel like there was enough space in my body for all my organs". She seems to root for the underdog. Yet when the common man looks to make life better for himself she makes an attempt to thwart it by pretty prose in a daily newspaper.
Just pissing in the wind, I would say.

Shooting the messenger.....................

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A couple of days ago I inadvertently barged in on a small group discussing the shenanigans of Baba Ramdev. He was labelled a nincompoop and various other names, accompanied by derisive laughter.
I remained silent and the only one to do so and my silence was noticed with some surprise. Was I a chela of the Guru? Did I admire the yogi? By my silence I was trying to indicate that while Ramdev, need not necessarily be a role model for the general public to emulate, the message that he was trying to pass on to the lay Indian was very important and worth attention.
Corruption has hit me, the middle class Indian the hardest and I'm interested in anybody who speaks up against the corrupt in this country.
Ramdev has got corruption to the centre stage and has the powers to be worried and thinking. In short he has pushed them out of their comfort zones and there is hope that we might see a less corrupt society and more value for our money.
It is important to closely look at the message rather than shooting the messenger from the hip and losing what could be a game changer.
Let's not shoot the messenger just as yet, folk!

A few crores & less......

Many years ago, a twenty day holiday, to Punjab & Himachal Pradesh was capped by a visit to the Wagah Border. This is the place, where our border with Pakistan, stays open but guarded, in Punjab. We have the BSF in India and the the Pakistani Rangers on the other side.

The defining moment is the flag lowering ceremony on both sides, as the sun slips below the horizon to the West bringing on a sombre mood. Flags are lowered, simultaneously, with much aggression, watched on by cheering 'patriotic' citizens who shout their lungs out hoping their voice will be heard in Lahore and Amritsar. I was one of them.The ceremony brings you 'goose bumps' and your heart swells with pride.

Recently, the armed forces of both countries have decided to ditch the aggression and have low key programs. I agree with the sentiment though the ceremony provided much drama and excitement.

Was my voice heard in Lahore? I know not...........however I want my voice definitely heard in Delhi & Mumbai & Bengaluru! The latest scam, is the Adarsh housing scandal with even the CM of Maharashtra being part of the dirty deal. I'm not overtly concerned. Most politicians are corrupt and it is an evil that this country can't wish away in a hurry.What caused concern was that the Armed forces leadership was there too................for a flat on Napean Sea Road.Sea Facing!

The armed forces, a pillar of democracy in this country, is probably the last one worthy of respect, with the legislature, executive & judiciary being compromised time and again. Now the leadership in the armed forces are subject to finger pointing for a few crores.Is that the cost of this country? Is that the cost for selling ones soul? A few crores?

Please, let us have something that we can look up to................

Chinese Checkers!

A couple of days ago, a student of mine asked me, as to what I considered, the most important aspects of International HRM. After mulling over the question, I said, training of expatriates and setting up policies to deal with crises that your employees faces when working abroad, would top my list.

I think I was bang on, with the Rio Tinto brouhaha in China. Rio Tinto, a London based metals major, follows a Geo Centric approach to staffing, and in doing so, placed Stern Hu, an Australian, as its rep in China.The issue is further confused because Hu was Chinese prior to turning Australian!

Hu, Rio Tinto's executive in charge of iron ore negotiations in China before his arrest last July, was sentenced in a Shanghai court yesterday to a total 10 years in prison on charges of corruption & bribery. Three Chinese colleagues were imprisoned for between seven and 14 years.

The case was closely watched by foreign companies operating in China. The rulings suggest Chinese authorities are taking a sterner stance toward foreign companies caught violating the country's often selectively enforced corruption code.

It is clear that the Chinese are playing hardball here, obviously miffed by the reluctance that the western world shows in signing extradition treaties with China. The lack of a treaty precludes China from getting its citizens back home to face trial, for offences committed against China.

The Australian's are obviously not pleased. Australia's leader Kevin Rudd said today that secrecy surrounding China's trial of four Rio Tinto workers for commercial espionage leaves room for doubt about the convictions.

Canberra says the jail sentence handed to Australian citizen Stern Hu on bribery charges was harsh, and has criticized the decision to keep media and diplomats out of the court while it considered the other charges of stealing commercial secrets.

I have that that bad feeling that seems to suggest that, this international fracas, is fast spiralling out of control.Rio Tinto said if would fire Hu and his colleagues.

"I am determined that the unacceptable conduct of these four employees will not prevent Rio Tinto from continuing to build its important relationship with China," CEO Tom Albanese said in a statement. The company is increasingly dependent on its business with China.

However corporations would be disappointed at the secrecy of the commercial secrets elements of the trial and chronic corruption that plagues industrial China.China continues to be opaque in many areas.Much of the foreign interest in the case stems from the commercial secrets portion of the charges, because government information controls add a layer of uncertainty and risk to operating in China.

Some of the information the Rio execs are thought to be accused of obtaining illegally -- including detailed mine production and operation rates -- is considered vital market intelligence in China, where official statistics are unreliable.This episode has also placed China, as a business destination,under the scanner, following closely on the heels of Google exiting China, in the recent past, over a spat with the Govt. of China & intense pressure on its business practice, back in the USA.

This is IHRM at its best!It has got all elements of a wonderful drama- International Politics, Business wheeling & dealing, industrial espionage and of course the human touch. A wonderful case study, except that poor Hu, would definitely not be downing 'Fosters' beer & watching Kangaroos, skip across the great Aussie outback, for a while, while politicians across the world indulge themselves in a war of words!