Teaching as a career.............

I've been asked a few times as to what made me choose teaching as a career.I've thought a while and come up with the following:

Teaching is more than just a job. It's a calling. It's an ever-surprising mix of grueling hard work and ecstatic successes, both big and small. The most effective teachers are in it for more than just a paycheck. They keep their energy levels up by focusing on why they got into teaching in the first place. Here are the top seven reasons you should join the ranks and find a classroom of your own.
1. The Energizing EnvironmentIt's virtually impossible to be bored or stagnant with a job as challenging as teaching. Your brain is constantly engaged in creative ways as you work to solve a multitude of daily problems that you've never faced before. Teachers are lifelong learners who relish the chance to grow and evolve. Moreover, the innocent enthusiasm of your students will keep you young as they remind you to smile through even the most frustrating moments.
2. The Schedule Anybody who enters teaching solely for a breezy schedule or carefree lifestyle will be immediately disappointed. Still, there are some benefits to working at a school. For one thing, if your children attend school in the same district, you will all have the same days off. Also, your will have approximately two months off per year for summer vacation. Or if you work in a year-round district, the vacation will spread throughout the year. Either way, it's more than the two weeks paid vacation given in most corporate jobs.
3. Your Personality And HumorThe greatest asset you bring to the classroom each day is your own unique personality. Sometimes in cubicle life, there's a need to blend in and tone down your personality. However teachers absolutely must use their individual gifts to inspire, lead, and motivate their students. And when the job gets tough, sometimes it's only your sense of humor that can keep you moving forward with any sanity.
4. Job SecurityThe world will always need teachers. If you are willing to work hard in any type of environment, you'll find that you can always get work - even as a brand new teacher. Learn your trade, earn your credential, become tenured, and you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that you have a job you can count on for decades to come.
5. Intangible RewardsMost teachers find themselves encouraged and uplifted by the little joys that accompany working with children. You'll cherish the funny things they say, the silly things they do, the questions they ask, and the stories they write. I have a box of keepsakes that students have given me through the years - birthday cards, drawings, and small tokens of their affection. The hugs, smiles, and laughter will keep you going and remind you of why you became a teacher in the first place.
6. Inspiring StudentsEach day when you go in front of your students, you never know what you will say or do that will leave a lasting impression on your students. We can all remember something positive (or negative) that one of our elementary school teachers said to us or the class - something that stuck in our minds and informed our viewpoints for all these years. When your bring the full force of your personality and expertise to the classroom, you can't help but inspire your students and mold their young, impressionable minds. This is a sacred trust we are given as teachers, and definitely one of the benefits of the job.
7. Giving Back To The CommunityThe majority of teachers enter the education profession because they want to make a difference in the world and their communities. This is a noble and valiant purpose that you should always keep in the forefront of your mind. No matter the challenges you face in the classroom, your work truly does have positive ramifications for your students, their families, and the future. Give your best to each student and watch them grow. This is greatest gift of all.

Idly, Vada & Common Sense

Today, after a rather brisk walk at the "Lal Bhag', my wife & I ( my son was at his morning swim)stopped by at the 'Brahmins Cafe' for a our breakfast of 'Idly & Vada'.

Our so far pleasant day was brought to a rather abrupt end by a quartet of garrulous youth who thought nothing about blowing cigarette smoke into our faces.

The spirit of the old sea dog, in me surfaced and after a few menacing words the chaps were sent on their way, not before being reminded that it is against the law in India to smoke in public.( who cares!) ( A popular call sign these days)

On the way back, with my wife driving & me getting a bit of a snooze, I was shaken by a sudden commotion as a bus from 'Phillips' overtook us rather violently from the left. Over the last couple of hours I've been trying to lodge a complaint, but the Phillips transport department does not answer the telephone!

In this regard, a mail that a friend of mine sent me a while ago comes to mind & goes as follows:

'An Obituary printed in the London Times'
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; Why the early bird gets the Worm; Life isn't always fair; and Maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers: I Know My Rights; I Want It Now; Someone Else Is To Blame; and I'm A Victim
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothin.

While on the subject I reccomend a walk at 'Lal Bhag' followed by idly & vada at the ' Brahmins Cafe' at Shankarpura.

Its bliss!

Attack on SriLankan Cricketers

The attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Pakistan is perplexing to say the least, considering that their security seems to have been slack in light of the importance of the Sri Lankan cricketers as a terror target. While the LTTE promised not to harm cricketers and stood by their word, 'terrororists' operating out of Pakistan, have given no such assurance.

The Govt; of Pakistan seems to have been caught napping and one hopes that they will introspect their security apparatus rather than hastily pointing fingers at India.

For India, advancing the IPL to after the General elections, is a move in the right direction, considering that our security agencies would then be able to engage themselve completely with an event at a time.

Amidst the mayhem in our immediate neighborhood, India represents the only possible area where International teams from the Western World woud unhesitatingly travel and we would be well served to protect their faith in our ability to protect guests who travel to India.

Looking further afield we would be well advised in having a close look at our ability to host a safe 'Cricket World Cup' in 2010. The challenge is enormous!

Incredible India

Dileep Kumar to AR.Rahaman to the Oscars. What a journey for one of India's foremost composers.

This has to do with Rahman’s conversion from Hinduism to Islam about 20 years ago. Rahman was born Dileep Kumar and remained so for much of his extraordinarily difficult early years. His conversion to Islam came in 1989, after his sister went through a serious illness that was cured by a Muslim cleric, soon after which he had a dream to convert. Today, Rahman is a devout Muslim, finding enormous solace in his faith.

Is there a problem with this? Is he less of an Indian? Unfortunately for some it does. Rahman's triumph is India's triumph. It shows an India where talent goes beyond religion or narrow divisive interest, something our neighbors cannot boast of.

After all, it is our diversity that makes us Incredible India.!

Employability & Being Employable

Students passing out of colleges and universities this year should not be haunted by the spectre of wage cuts and job losses, instead focus more on developing skills as a value addition to their degrees to get placements, top executives of leading companies said."We are looking for fresh candidates who have good talents on soft skills, quick learning abilities, communication skills apart from their good track record," Infosys CEO and Managing Director Kris Gopalakrishnan said."Though we have not changed the pattern due to the economic downturn, once a candidate has been recruited by us, we are also giving them adequate training," he said.Infosys has already announced that it is not going back on its new recruitment and would absorb all 18,000 new graduates who have been enrolled last year. But the company plans to increase the duration of training programme for its candidates from the present 3.5 months to 4.5 months."We would be adding 18,000 employees and have also increased duration of training programme for the candidates from the existing 3.5 months to 4.5 months," Gopalakrishnan, who was in the city recently, said."Top companies are basically looking for young graduates to be 'humble in attitude, hungry to learn more and smart in their approach," Polaris Executive Vice President and Global Head Somas Jeevan said.The company focuses on the principle of 'hire for attitude' and 'train for skills' while recruiting, he added."We basically look for three key elements in a new hire -- humbleness in attitude, hungry to learn more and smart in their approach. Our talent discovery is designed to discover leaders who can bring a learning attitude to work."We provide opportunities which can trigger learning for professional growth," he said.Cognizant Human Resources AVP Sriram Rajagopal said, "A freshly passed out candidate may be 'skilled' but what is equally important is to be employable.""A candidate can be employable only when there is focused attention on behavioural skills, communication and presentation skills," he said.He also that apart from the above mentioned skills, team dynamics, business etiquette, cross-cultural adaptability were also necessary. Continuous learning, flexibility and a can-do attitude are clear plus points in today's environment.In the fourth quarter of 2008 (October to December 2008), Cognizant added a net of 2,200 professionals, he added.Expressing concern that only 50 per cent of engineering graduates get placed, Expertus Managing Director Srini Krishnamurti said, "Graduates need to realise that graduating from a college does not necessarily assure them of a job, hence in today's competitive environment they should actively participate or seek out ways of developing their employability skills."Students have to be much more well-rounded (both academically and from an employability perspective) to stand out, he added.Stressing that communication skill plays a vital role in an employee, Ford India President and Managing Director Michael Boneham said, "Even though we are an engineering company, we look for communication skills from our employees

Laws of the Office.......

Universal Laws of the Office...

Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings. They did it by killing all those who opposed them.

If you can stay calm while all around you there's chaos, then you probably haven't completely understood the seriousness of the situation.

Doing a job right the first time gets the job done. Doing the job wrong 14 times gives you job security.

A person who smiles in the face of adversity probably has a scapegoat.

Never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid altogether.

Teamwork means never having to take all the blame yourself.

Hang in there, retirement is only 30 years away!

Go the extra mile. It makes your boss look like an incompetent slacker.

A snooze button is a poor substitute for no alarm clock at all.

When the going gets tough, the tough take a coffee break.

Indecision is the key to flexibility.

Aim Low, Reach Your Goals, Avoid Disappointment.

Ships! Making The Workplace fun!

The word ‘shangied’ was a popular one a century ago. It was a method used to get unwilling land lubbers to sail the high seas in the merchant service by knocking the unsuspecting poor soul on the head and then hauling the unconscious person on board. On most occasions the ship would be away and sailing by the time the ‘shangied’ seaman awoke. Since then conditions onboard ships in the merchant service improved and although the word has survived, someone being physically shangied has not been heard of for many a year.
With rapid increase in technology, stringent maritime regulations and port operations improving in efficiency the seafarer is greatly pressurized and so sailing on a ship while exciting can at times be extremely stressful.
Stress on board may be attributed to the following:
· Being physically away from one’s family and friends for extended periods of time takes a heavy toll on a persons psyche.
· Many a time a seafarer is forced to sail and stay with people he does not necessarily bond with.
· With improved communication the sea farer gets to know problems at home with little opportunity to solve them leading to a great deal of frustration.
· The work at times may be overwhelming.
· Rough seas, machinery noise and vibration can be a serious irritant.
· While safety standards are high, the seafarer has danger as a constant companion and he knows it.
· Fatigue may be caused due to the watch system or poor accommodation effecting rest.
· Rapidly changing technology not followed up with adequate training.
· Food on board can be very rich with little or no exercise to follow.
· Misuse of alcohol.
· Little scope to do anything different leading to boredom.
· In the past the seafarer was relatively better off than his peers ashore in terms of earning and an opportunity to see the world. However this difference has since disappeared with folks ashore catching up.
It is up to the top management ashore and on board the ship to make the workplace a happy place for crew -- the more they can play and relieve stress, the harder and more efficiently they’ll work.
Here are some creative, action-oriented ideas to help inject a little “fun” into your workplace, while side stepping the more serious plans for improving productivity on board.
On Board the Ship:
Schedule exercise breaks. There’s no reason we can’t copy what many larger corporations are doing these days -- squeezing in stretch/dance breaks throughout the day during which employees step out of their work place or cubicles to do a group stretch to music. Every week pick a new exercise and a new stretch leader to get everyone going.
· Cultivate fun. Make your ship an exciting place to be by holding frequent contests, celebrations, and team-building activities. Be creative.
· Lead with laughter. Understand that taking 15 minutes to laugh will increase productivity, not reduce it. People think more clearly and operate more productively when they've had a break that clears the cobwebs from their brains. Laugh a lot and encourage your team to do the same.
· Encourage mini time-outs. Encourage everyone to relieve daily stress by taking a few minutes to do something they enjoy. A small break in the day’s routine can really reinvigorate a person’s thought process. Take short breaks yourself and encourage others to take them. Do whatever helps you to disengage from the project at hand: work on a crossword puzzle, listen to music or browse the net.
· Laugh at yourself. Lead the way in joking about difficult situations on board. When people can laugh in the midst of a breakdown, make fun of themselves after making a mistake, or share the story of a horrendous (but humorous) experience, they can defuse a lot of tension and stress. They also clear the way for themselves and others to work on those issues with greater enthusiasm and clarity.
· Create a fun team. Ask for employees' ideas for ways to add fun to the workplace. Consider creating a “fun team” whose job is to dream up ways to bring lighthearted fun into the ship. Let people use their creativity to raise the level of laughter, and there will be creativity left over for more concrete business objectives.
· Acknowledge birthdays. Celebrate the birthday of each of the crew. Let them know how much you appreciate their contributions with a small gift, cake, or token of gratitude for the role they play in the company. Encourage them to celebrate the birthday of a loved one while on board.
· Build a “Wall of Fame.” Designate an area where you can post pictures of crew, thank-you notes from clients and customers, and clippings about the organization’s success. Celebrate your people whenever and wherever you can.
· Let your hair down. Plan occasional group excursions to get everyone out of the ship once in a while. Have a group lunch in a nice restaurant, or take everyone on an impromptu trip in a foreign port.
· Designate a humor corner. Transform one corner of your break room or other area into a humor corner. There you can post cartoons, funny quotes and pictures, and other illustrations designed to relieve stress.
· Entertain yourself. Have a well stocked library with books and periodicals as well as movies.

On the Shore:

· Grievance Handling: Have a dedicated person ashore, maybe the Crewing manager/ Manager- QHSE to look into crew grievances and make positive efforts to address them as quickly as possible.
· Training: There must be a dedicated training cell which ensures that crew is well trained at all times. Be proactive and innovative in keeping crew well informed.
· Performance Appraisal & Reviews: Make sure that performance appraisals and reviews from the ship are received in time and are well documented. This would give the management ashore a good idea, as to quality of life on board the ship.
· Exit Interviews: Never forget to conduct an exit interview for employees leaving the organization. This is vital to get to know the employees perspective of life on board.

The crews, who sail your ships, are the greatest resource a good organization will have and in this context their welfare which eventually affects their efficiency is to be paramount in the organizations planning and scheme of things.
The trend in the developed world these days is to stay away from shipping because of the hardship and sacrifice involved.
Hopefully, with the right initiative, we will not have to return to having ‘shangied’ crew on board ships again.

Like all other industries which require knowledge workers, shipping too is going through the throes of an acute shortage of skilled man power. One area where sea farers fare rather poorly is in the employment market after the quit sailing for a life on shore. The sea farer is more often than not made to feel unwanted and useless. It is the fundamental responsibility of ship owners to not only make life on board as comfortable and enjoyable as possible, but also pay adequate attention to a sea farers life and employment opportunities when he chooses to quit sailing.

India’s maritime strength should not be taken for granted, but should be strengthened, by having a committed human resource, because it is not for nothing that the British built the greatest empire in recent history only because her navy ruled the seas.

RETIREMENT!

Retirement! Does it mean loss of competitive advantage?-Prof(CAPT) A.Nagaraj Subbarao



In the days of yore, retirement was a dreaded word. Employees prayed for extensions, at the work place and the possibility of staying on for a year or two more. Retirement policies in established firms dealt with ‘Retirement Benefits’ that the retiring employee would receive on retiring, and probably receive a greeting card occasionally and in smaller less organized firms, the employee would generally be left to fend for himself on retirement

We have shifted pages since then and today many people look forward enthusiastically to retirement driven by a dream of leisure, fuelled with greater economic freedom, while firms dread the day when experienced employees take flight. (Appendix II- CFO Magazine- PWC)

The world over millions will hang up their boots and leave the work place. The next 10 years will bring one of the largest "knowledge drains" in world history, as a huge percentage of the world's workforces begin to retire.

In India demographics indicate that we are one of the few fortunate nations that have a ‘young workforce’ that will drive our economy in the next couple of decades. However that does not mean that we are not without our concerns, pertaining to retirement as much of the emerging talent is of dubious quality and many agree not readily employable or of caliber to replace a seasoned employee without substantial training.

Another area of concern is the swift burnout that young people face and to counter this, change of work profiles and careers are becoming more the norm rather than the exception adding to the loss of knowledge akin to a person retiring. You might find a young IT professional setting up a restaurant!!!

Whatever may be the case it is accepted these days that ‘Human Resources’ are ‘Knowledge Resources’ and their loss can be staggering. It is imperative that the top management understands that people retiring are walking away with skills, knowledge and best practices that may never be fully or qualitatively replicated unless care is taken to see that knowledge is tapped, remains within the organization and is not lost forever.

Retaining key management talent and intellectual capital is the biggest concern of C-Suite executives and boards of directors according to a survey of HR executives who participated in Ernst
& Young’s 2007 Aging U.S. Workforce Survey: Challenges and Responses – An Ongoing Review.

What are the retiring demographics of my workforce?
(Business Case for Employee Sponsored Retirement Coaching Career Curve – Snider-1/13/2008)
If you can’t answer that question conduct a workforce assessment.

Questions to answer include:
· Who in your organization is eligible to retire in the next 10 years?
· What are your retirement policies?
· How many senior managers are eligible for retirement?
· How many knowledge connectors are eligible for retirement?
· What skills do employees approaching retirement possess?
· What is the market availability of required replacement skills?
· What key client relationships do employees approaching retirement own?
· Who is ready to take on the departing employees responsibilities?
· What mechanisms and programs must be put in place now to capture key competencies and critical work knowledge of employees who will be retiring?
· Demographic trends indicate you may be faced with large groups of both very young workers and very old workers. Will these two groups have different learning needs? Are you prepared to customize your current programs?
· Who would your competitors recruit for consulting work or employment opportunities?
· Are you ready with a ‘benefits’ program when an employee retires?

Some of the suggested ways to deal with retiring employees are:

· Keep the retiree focused.
It is very tempting for the person retiring to slacken off and work at reduced efficiency. This trend is also condoned by many organizations as the employee might have served them for many years. This is however not fair to either the employee or the organization, as it is akin to allowing a great cricketer to continue to play at the very end of his career though it is evident that he is well past his prime, making a mockery of the player and the sport. There is nothing more pathetic than to see a ‘great’ shuffling off into the sunset, head bowed in defeat. Keep the retiree motivated, focused and leave with a sense of pride and accomplishment, so that he/she would be available to you if the need arises.

Create a mentor.The retiree has years of insider knowledge about your organization, your industry, and your customers. Even the most highly qualified new B- School graduates simply can't know the organizational details, the culture, the history, and the people that the retiree knows. By creating a ‘Mentoring System’, much of the knowledge that could be lost may be tapped and retained while allowing the retiree to build bonds with youngsters who are replacing them within the organization. Why is mentoring so widely talked about? While one of the obvious reasons is knowledge management, as we have seen the other is that it is a great motivator for the person mentoring as it is recognition of the knowledge that he carries. It is also a tool that takes the retiree to the apex of ‘Maslow’s Triangle’ by showing him the path to self actualization, because after all what could be more noble than delivering and sharing knowledge.
Freddie Laker mentor to Richard Branson (founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways) told Branson, "Make a fool of yourself. Otherwise you won't survive."
Vivek Paul (President and CEO, Wipro Technologies) mentored by John Donahoe (President of eBay)

· Get organized and ready to hand over.Get the retiree to leave a well organized office for his successor and not in a state of confusion where valuable time is spent by the new incumbent in searching for data and information. In fact the retiree must be motivated to see that his successor is as comfortable as possible.
· Get people retiring to actively review the ‘Induction Process’ and ‘Employee Handbook’.While passing on well documented policies & procedures is very important the retiree can ponder over the following:
What do you wish you had known when you first started your job?
What are your secrets for getting the work done?
What shortcuts have you found along the way?
Can any best practices be documented to assist new employees?
What pit falls may be avoided?
Can the Employee Handbook be modified to stay current?
If you're serious about your organization, you ought to be nervous when you look at just how much human capital you'll lose over the coming years due to retirement or various other causes. But it doesn't have to be a disaster if you start preparing systematically and immediately. Identify which potential retirees are likely to leave with tacit knowledge, which is likely to leave a deep hole within the processes of your organization. Formulate a ‘Retirement Strategy’ and follow it through.
And don't make the cardinal error of focusing on only the C-Level executives. For example, the office manager who makes flight reservations, looks after the facilities, orders office stationery, and hires company vehicles probably knows the best vendors and which negotiating tactics work best for each of them. These skills are often overlooked, but they may save your company a great deal of money and time each year. Teaching all of this to a new worker would be very time-consuming, costly and often paved with mistakes that could have been avoided.
Be flexible.Many companies are creating strategies to keep their older workers longer. This gives them more time to train the next generation. Offer flexible scheduling, telecommuting, or part-time employment to your older staff. This will probably be appealing, especially for those who would enjoy a more gradual transition from the busy world of work to a life of retirement.
Get them to volunteer.Many large companies ask retirees to volunteer as mentors or trainers to their replacements, even after retirement. They can be particularly useful as trainers to get new generation workers up to speed quickly, in order to mitigate loss of talent. Many retired workers are open to this suggestion because it places a value on their wisdom and the new incumbent feels less threatened by a retired person, rather than an employee breathing down his/her neck. ( Appendix I)
Job Rotate.It is often assumed that job rotation is an exercise to motivate junior level employees, but this need not the case if it can prolong the longevity of an effective executive.Many upper-level managers and executives might be at the "burnout" phase right before they retire. They're tired, sick out of boredom and ready for a change. But they may be open to staying on in a slightly different role. For example, if they started their career in marketing and worked their way up to senior management, perhaps they'd like to go back to marketing for a year or two. This would give them fewer responsibilities and lower stress, but still keep them in the company and available for mentoring.
Capture their knowledge!.There are two types of knowledge: explicit and tacit. Explicit (obvious and easy to define) knowledge can usually be learned by simple questioning. It's the "this is how I do my job" knowledge. Tacit knowledge, on the other hand, is less easily defined, and people often don't really know they have it. Tacit knowledge refers to experiences, stories, and creative solutions that have been found over the years. ( Appendix III) Many companies are starting to use knowledge retention techniques to capture both types of knowledge. For example, you could conduct several recorded exit interviews, questioning the retiring person about her/his job, to capture her explicit knowledge. And you could also partner her with a younger replacement, which will "shadow" her/him for weeks or months before she leaves, to capture her/his tacit knowledge.
Knowledge Management programs are typically tied to organizational objectives such as improved performance, competitive advantage, innovation, developmental processes, lessons learnt transfer (for example between projects) and the general development of collaborative practices so as to allow an organization to remain competitive and confident. Knowledge Management is frequently linked and related to what has become known as the learning organization, lifelong learning and continuous improvement. Knowledge Management may be distinguished from Organizational Learning by a greater focus on the management of knowledge as an asset and the development and cultivation of the channels through which knowledge, information and signal flow. This is possible only if knowledge is tapped, sifted and converted from implicit to explicit knowledge and then on to manuals/records which may be perused in a systematic way.
Organization, in the need to face competition and survive is striving for speed of action and creativity of thought and innovative practices, leading to increasingly complex organizations or complex systems.
Complex adaptive systems are special cases of complex systems. They are complex in that they are diverse and made up of multiple interconnected elements and adaptive in that they have the capacity to change and learn from experience. The term complex adaptive systems (CAS) were coined at the interdisciplinary Santa Fe Institute (SFI), by John H. Holland, Murray Gell-Mann and others.
Examples of complex adaptive systems include the stock market, social insect and ant colonies, the biosphere and the ecosystem, the brain and the immune system, the cell and the developing embryo, manufacturing businesses and any human social group-based endeavor in a cultural and social system such as political parties or communities. Organizations in today’s flat world are increasingly beginning to look like complex systems and cannot afford to deal casually with knowledge that has been accumulated by employees over time
Show the thumbs up!When the time comes for the person retiring to finally depart from the shores of your organization and sail his own ship, take the trouble to get the champagne out. For the retiree, make sure his or her time at work ends on a positive note, so that he/she acts as your ambassador and well wisher and is less inclined to join your competitor and help them with their SWOT Analysis.
· Strategize and win!

You don't want all that hard-won knowledge, which your company needs to succeed, to just waltz out of the door.

Manage team members who will retire soon, find out if they would be willing to mentor younger workers. Start creating strategies to slow this outflow of knowledge – capture future retirees' knowledge through exit interviews and "shadowing," and consider allowing flexible work arrangements.

Organizations will have to strategize with the following parameters as their base line.
The five major considerations that management should recognize before designing strategic solutions to address the issue include:
Succession Planning
Recruitment and Retention
Talent Management
Cross Generational Learning
Knowledge Retention
Each of these unique elements plays a defining role in identifying proactive strategies, but they all intersect in various ways.
It could be the greatest ‘Strategic Intervention’ that your organization has just made and differentiate your organization from predatory competition. Retirement planning should be a ‘Human Capital Process’ and treated as such and not as a knee jerk reaction.
Remember that only the fittest survive and in today’s Corporate Jungle, knowledge and it retention will determine success.
Sources:
1. Mentoring Executives and Directors
By David Clutterbuck, David Megginson.
2. DEED, Labor Market Information & U.S. Census Bureau, Local Employment Dynamics. Website: lehd.dsd.census.gov/led
3. Kathy L. Hagen, Innovative Capital Strategies. “Knowledge Retention and Transfer: Introduction to Protecting an Organization’s Deeply Held Knowledge” Interview and Presentation to Northeast Minnesota State Colleges Conference: “Where will all the Boomers go? May 24, 2006.
4. Chindia's Workforce Worries- JULY 31, 2006 Business Week-INSIGHT By Nandani Lynton
Appendix 1.
Mr.Narayan Murthy as Chief Mentor of Infosys post retirement
Mr. Murthy is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies Limited, one of the largest global Information Technology (IT) consulting and software services providers in India. He founded Infosys in 1981 along with six other software professionals and served as the CEO of Infosys for twenty one years before handing over the reins of the company to co-founder, Mr. Nandan M. Nilekani, in March 2002. Under his leadership, Infosys was listed on NASDAQ in 1999. He served as the Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Mentor from 2002 to 2006.

Appendix II
Goodbye Baby Boomers
The next decade may bring an unpleasant surprise to many companies: beginning in 2010, 25 million employees will be poised to leave the workforce. For many employers, that will represent a loss of knowledge and skills that will be costly to replace. CFOs are starting to get nervous; 63% are at least a little concerned. Solving the problem will require some unconventional thinking. Among the tactics companies are considering: mentoring programs to pass on older workers' knowledge, partial-retirement options, and actively recruiting employees over 50.

One Question

January 15th 2009. New York City. Air craft in distress. The Mayday shout is out, the minutes tick by and ground control is revving up for what could be the city’s worst air disaster. The pilot needs to land his plane with 155 passengers aboard immediately, after suffering bird hits to his engines and as he claims losing engine power and thrust.
Ground control at LaGuardia airport advises him to land at a nearby airport further south, but the pilot negatives the advice and decides to ditch his plane in the Hudson River!
As history tells us Captain.Sullenberger the pilot and chief architect of this amazing story did manage to put down his bird, an A-320 airbus safely down in the Hudson River, nose up, after a risky low level glide over high rises and saved every one of his terrified passengers and crew. The act turned him into a national hero overnight and an inspiration across the rest of the world.
While a careful and detailed enquiry is underway, to determine, with radar data and cockpit audio tapes as to clues to the pilots action in taking a radical and entirely innovative approach in saving his passengers and crew and whether the circumstances warranted such an action, Capt.Sullenberger is as mentioned earlier the man of the moment and a rare role model who seems to think unconventionally and has what it takes to back his judgment.
What has Capt.Sullenberger shown us?
1. Leadership of the highest order.
2. A cool disposition in the face of imminent and immediate danger.
3. An ability to make a calculated and controlled decision in a flash.
4. The strength to take a contrarian approach in the face of diversity and go against the advice of a pilot’s best friend, the ground control.
5. An ability to back his judgment when the stakes are gargantuan.
6. A creative mind under pressure. Remember he was in a situation that was rapidly spiraling out of control!

Would you like to have such a man on your team or such a man who will lead your team? As of now, I guess the univocal shout would be a firm ‘yes’, but while many a organization may not be able to attract a talent as great as that displayed by the hero, it would be a great tragedy if a man turned up at your interview and you let him go or worse you let him go for a lesser talent.
While there are tomes on interviewing skills and staffing procedures, which unfortunately still do not guarantee a candidates great job or organizational fit, what measures might interviewer’s further take to hit upon a right talent or where should the interviewer look to drill deeper to get a man such as our hero Capt.Sullenberger, aboard.
Most ‘well prepared’ interviewers’ would have a well researched job description and position profile in place and during an interview would explore the following key areas:
1. Education.
2. Previous experience.
3. Job Accomplishment.
4. Skills and knowledge.
5. Personal attributes.
6. Previous appraisal or ratings.
7. Discernable competencies.

What are you trying to assess about your candidate? You are checking, if the candidate in front of you meets the requirement of the job description and position profile that you have created in terms of qualification, skills, knowledge and experience.
Significantly you are also assessing the person’s personal qualities such as leadership, communication, problem solving ability, team work, motivation and whether the candidate will provide for a great organizational fit and not rock your boat once selected.
While on paper the above modus operandi looks fool proof and cast iron, where you should land the man or woman of choice, research has shown that it does not work that way and many selections turn out to be poor, leading to enormous tangible costs and if the recruit is a C-Level manager, intangibles like scuppered deals and lost opportunities.
It is also to be remembered that one of the main factors for employee attrition are poor managers.

Why does this happen? While this too has been widely talked about it would not hurt to review a few common evaluation mistakes.
1. Being impressed with a typical Type-A person with a busy beaver personality which you assume to be a sign of great energy and motivation levels and showing the calm, composed candidate the door because you assume he/she lack drive.
2. Mistaking a great communicator to be highly intelligent.
3. The horns and halo syndrome, where the candidate reminds me of my hated physics teacher of years of yore and so is a definite no-no.
4. Assuming that candidates from premier educational institutions are god’s gift to man kind and may be placed on board without further question.
5. Focusing on a key strength while ignoring others.
6. Solely relying on what a candidate says without carrying out any kind of reference to verify the information that he has submitted.

Most people would have little or no acquaintance with a shotgun, and for the uninitiated, a shot gun sprays pellets or shot over a wide arc and you hope to hit something of your target with a blast. Many interviewers follow this approach with rather disastrous results. It would be more fruitful to have a concentrated, drill down kind of approach wherein a candidate’s persona is looked into with care over a wide span of time rather than adopt a scatter or shot gun approach.
Research today indicates that what determines a candidate’s future success is his/her passion for the entailed work and so corresponding motivation levels.
Is your candidate prepared to eat, drink and sleep the job? What is the level of involvement and interest in his/her work? It is the interviewer’s skill that is on show when these parameters are to be determined and determined they have to be because they can be the discerning factor between a good selection and a poor one.
So what is the important query that you cannot miss asking your candidate?
While many of us quiz a candidate about his hobbies a pertinent question would be ‘How do you spend your leisure time’?
After you have knocked down your pool of applicants to those with the skills, experiences, and knowledge to do the job, ask each potential Capt. Sullenberger one last important question ‘How do you spend your leisure time’?
Before pressing on further let’s see how Capt. Sullenberger, spent his.
Sullenberger got his pilot’s license in his teens for the sheer love of flying and that he was an accident investigator for the Air Line Pilots Association in his free time. In short he had a passion for aircraft and flying, from a young age. This, apart from being a US Air force pilot and flying full time with a private airline after he quit the forces. Sullenberger displays an obsession with aircraft and flying and while to some, he may not present himself as a broad based well rounded guy, he comes across as a serious and competent person who will deliver every time, at the work place. Passionate people have a natural motivation to excel and this is what Capt.Sullenberger demonstrated when it mattered.

In determining what determines a correct answer to your missive, would require you to be thorough with the requirements of the job and the position that you are selecting for. The requirements for selection of a faculty member at a B-School would be obviously different than that required for an aircraft pilot.

So, the next time you need to get your hot shot ace pilot on board don’t be afraid to ask-
‘How do you spend your leisure time’?

References:
1. HBR; Hiring and Keeping the Best People.
2. Intercultural Communication for Business: Elizabeth A.Tuleja.
3. Strategic Interviewing: Richard Camp, Mary Vielhaber, Jack Simonetti.

Good Manner's in the office!

It has become fashionable to be seen as no nonsense, tough talking person at the workplace. What is the effect of this tough talking on your team or colleagues? There is a fine line between being rude and being straight and as managers it is fundamental that we recognize this.
How proactive must the HR department be and what is at stake in terms of poor Organizational Behavior or Dysfunction. Unfortunately the issue of dysfunctional office behavior has thrown up a whole lot of other critical HR issues ranging from attrition to grievance redressal.
My boss calls and I’m in the middle of a meeting with a colleague, but I grab the phone and answer it, ready to run. It must be important – after all, it's the boss! Never mind that my colleague and the meeting are important too. The colleague can lump it. He does not do my appraisal.
We know that behaviors like this are rude. We wouldn't behave in this way outside of the office. So why do we then allow ourselves to behave dysfunctionally at work?
Is it the pressure of work or on occasions we believe that we can get away with poor behavior? There is a definite double standard when it comes to workplace manners. But you can't allow these behaviors to persist if you want to create and maintain a healthy work environment.
Not to be confused with bullies, rude and undermining colleagues are those who question others’ judgment, exclude others from situations, interrupt others when speaking, make derogatory comments, withhold information or belittle others’ ideas.
A few examples of poor office behavior in India are.

· Gossiping in the garb of 'networking' is the favorite pass time as nearly 60 per cent respondents love to indulge in it and do not consider it unethical. ( Bangalore-IT)
· Taking credit for subordinate's ideas is not unethical, says Bangalore and Ahmedabad, while rest of the cities beg to differ with an average score of 42 per cent.
· Interestingly, one in every four respondents in Chennai has experienced mobile/wallet thefts at the workplace!
· An astonishing 74% of those surveyed in Ahmedabad do not think that falsifying time (of arrival at or departure from work) in the attendance register is unethical.

While the above may border on the unethical there is no shortage of disrespectful and uncouth behavior which makes members of your team unhappy, and damages the cohesion of your team. It is a de motivator and will eventually destroy team cohesion. Research found that victims of bad manners or incivility are less engaged at work, less committed to their organization, not as prepared to go the extra mile and more likely to resign,” said Barbara Griffin, an organizational psychologist with the University of Western Sydney. The sample of 54,000 employees from 179 organizations across Australia and New Zealand, reported a higher frequency of bad behavior from their co-workers, but when their manager or a senior leader was the instigator the negative effect on engagement was even stronger.
As a Manager or the HR team to make sure your workplace is free of dysfunctional behavior requires a two-pronged strategy:
Reward good manners.
Drive out poor manners.
Reward Good Manners
Most of the time when bad manners surface at work it is unintentional. It's easy to get caught up in your own tasks and projects. People's focus gets so narrow that they forget to consider the impact that their words or actions will have on other people.
In an attempt to be efficient and productive we take a few liberties with our manners at work. Perhaps, at one time, we apologetically said, "I'm sorry, we are running out of time and move onto the next point." But now we blurt out, "Next!" or "Let's get on with it, folk!" or even worse ‘Cut the crap’.
While the intention may be the same, the degree of bluntness, or even rudeness, used nowadays is unacceptable – at work or anywhere.
If good people are bruised by someone else's rudeness once too often, you risk losing them. How long is it going to take to find an equally good replacement, and bring them "up to speed"? How much is this going to cost? And what opportunities will you have lost in the meantime?
When disrespectful conduct starts surfacing throughout a company, or when it's used by executives or other key people, it can become part of the organization's culture. Poor manners can be quickly absorbed into cultural norms, especially when no one stands up and demands courteous and polite behavior. The HR team must be alert to the situation and act before poor behavior turns endemic.

So what can you do if rudeness is already deep rooted within the culture of your organization?
In conjunction with your colleagues, focus on the problem behaviors and create a list of the behaviors that are expected within your team. Be specific so that people really understand what constitutes good manners. Depending on where the problems lie, you may want to include these items:
Email and Internet expectations.
Where people eat.
What people wear?
Meeting routines and etiquette.
Working in close proximity.
Communication style – tone, manner, language.
Use of supplies and equipment.
Telephone manners.
Request key executives to demonstrate all the appropriate behaviors in your own actions. Acting as a role model is one of the most effective means of reinforcing what is acceptable and expected.
Until things improve, consider adding this as an agenda for your regular team meeting to emphasize and entrench the importance of change.
Reward people for demonstrating polite behavior. Make a point of thanking people for turning off their cell phones before entering a meeting.
Until things improve, consider adding a manners category to your performance review process.

Driving Out Bad Manners
Encouraging good manners is one side of the coin. On the flip side, it requires developing mechanisms and strategies to eliminate poor manners from your workplace. When workplace manners begin to slip, it can be hard to stop the slide and regain control.

Open communication and empathy are perhaps your strongest weapons for controlling discourtesy in the office. When people stop talking or sharing their experiences and concerns, or when they stop considering how their actions make others feel, poor behavior can start to work its way into the fabric of the organization's culture.

You start noticing that your pen or writing pad are missing from your desk. You don't say anything because it's not a big deal. You don't want people to think you're cheap or a complainer so you keep quiet.

First, you have to have a workplace where there is open and honest communication. When you do, your co-workers feel comfortable voicing their concerns and there are mechanisms in place for resolving conflicts.

Along with these, people must also believe that something will done to address their concerns and grievances. They have to see that their issues are taken care of and that management is just as concerned about poor behavior as they are.

On the flip side, people must take responsibility for their actions. They must think about the impact of what they say or do has on other people and the workplace in general. Whenever you have people working together, there has to be a high level of respect and concern for others.

Some tips for creating this type of workplace include:
Developing a staff feedback system.
Clearly defining what is not acceptable in terms of appropriate workplace behavior. This should refer to the "good manners" document you create as part of the process of encouraging good manners.
Applying a fair and consistent discipline procedure.
Creating a conflict resolution process that begins with people speaking directly to one another, but where they then get progressively more outside support and assistance if a solution can't be worked out.
Depending on national culture, consider encouraging people to use the words "I'm sorry" or "I apologize" – and mean it.
Encouraging people to ask themselves, "How would the other person like to be treated in this situation?" Perhaps even put these words and phrases in prominent areas of the office as reminders to be polite and courteous.
Tips for dealing with bad mannered co-workers:1. Do not reciprocate the behavior. Reacting with similar actions can quickly spiral into increasingly aggressive behaviors.2. If circumstances permit, set up a discussion with the person and tell them that you find their behavior offensive.3. Understand your organization’s policies and procedures. If the situation worsens, you can then report the offensive behavior in an official manner.4. If you are stressed and upset by the behaviors, talk to a psychologist or make use of confidential employee assistance programs.
As HR managers we must quickly rise to the occasion, to stamp this rather insidious lack of discipline which can destroy a great organization.

Sources”

1. The study titled Nothing Ethical about Ethics encapsulates views of the corporate workforce on workplace ethics across eight cities in India — New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune.The study commissioned by TeamLease Services and conducted by global research company Synovate in May and June, covered top 500 companies and had a sample size of 401.
2. University of Western Sydney website.
3. HBR- Feb 2004. Breakthrough Ideas for 2004: The HBR List
4. The No Asshole Rule—Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t.- Robert I. Sutton
5. Managing Emotions in the Workplace: Do Positive and Negative Attitudes Drive Performance? –Knowledge@Wharton, 2007