On The Job - All Comments

re: … But Hari Sadu commands more respect

taru — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:03:26 GMT

Rana, a job or a prolonged job situation, like a bad marriage is difficult (but not impossible) to get out of. Whatever the compulsions be for you to hang in there, its perhaps best to say 'no right at the start to things that make you uneasy, because when things turn out the way they did for you, it can be the worst kind of let down and betrayal. But then as Krishna pointed out in the first comment to this post, life, especially within the office domain, is not always about fair play. Having said that, I guess our ‘suffering’ at the workplace at the hands of tyrannical bosses has a lot to do with our feudal mindset and a desire to please, making us blur the boundaries between personal and professional equations. A sucker for happy endings, I would still like to believe that there are good bosses and ‘senior colleagues’ who inspire us and make us want to put in more than our 100%. My gripe is that these good guys hog much less talk time amongst their direct reportees than do the monster/ weird bosses, the kind Rana, Krishna and Rukmini talk of.

re: … But Hari Sadu commands more respect

rana — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:57:33 GMT

Too Mild and gentle. Have you worked with bosses who insist on taking a ride with you every day. Or those who come over to your house every weekend and rummage through your entire stock of eats. Have you every taken over his coat to the drycleaner because he has spilt coffee and a client is coming over. Have you ever taken his wife to the doctor for a check up and yes have you ever written a letter on his behalf to a sister in law? If not your education is incomplete. Of course the truly exceptional boss grins and praises you all the time and you slog willingly for them. Come appraisal time and their country cousin gets promoted.

re: … But Hari Sadu commands more respect

rukmini — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:44:34 GMT

bad bosses have their uses too. The team finds a common enemy and bonding is at its best when the boss is a monster. In my first job, our branch manager was convinced that the entire staff was against him and he routinely held havans in the office to ward of the evil spirits. He fetched tantrics to help him control the 'evil spirits' not that he succeeded since the entire office retaliated by planting incense and flowers in his absence. He resigned soon- a very frightened boss.

re: … But Hari Sadu commands more respect

krishna kumar mangalam — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:10:57 GMT

nice piece. personal funda: there is no such creature as a "good boss". experience has taught me that such an expression is an oxymoron. by definition, a "boss" is a selfish, self~centered, egomaniac bully. people who hold important portfolios in an organization, and are good (kind, considerate and compassionate) to their subordinates are "senior colleagues" ~ and, that is how they like to be thought as. there is only one way to deal with a "boss" aka "office bully" ~ everytime there is an office spat and the "boss" breathes down your neck and threatens you...kick "the creature" below the belt (BTB offensive), hire a lawyer and allow the law to take its own course. there is a cardinal truth, embedded in a cardinal principle in this perpetual mortal combat between an "office bully" and us underlings. cardinal truth: it is either us, or it (the creature/dark force). cardinal principle: strike first. use maximum force. and always below the belt (in cold-war parlance, it is called a "preemptive and debilitating first strike against strategic assets of enemy combatant"). and remember: never weep, never complain because life is not about justice.

re: Wanted old hands!

Khosla Machines Pvt. Ltd. — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:00:42 GMT

The idea is great, we welcome responses & look for people from around Chandigarh. We manufacture wrapping machines. Our customers are HUL, GOGREJ SOAPS, COLGATE, GHARI, FENA, among soap manufacturers. BRITANNIA, PARLE, BONN among biscuit manufacturers. Please visit our website. Immediately looking for senior design engineers. Those specislising in other areas are also welcome to send resume.

re: One Dollar Curry

Rajeev Raju — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 03:51:54 GMT

I returned with my wife and kids in 2005 believing in the 'India Shining' story and was often asked by friends overseas whether I felt India was really shining. My reply was always "Shining but with a Matt finish!!". Its true that our economy/life is shining in parts viz., glitzy urban malls, top-tier restaurants, global 'same-day' hollywood premieres, world-release cars, etc. However, seen from a distance, the whole picture is all in a matt finish truly; be it coexistance of poverty with the urban middle class or educational divide amongst the urban masses. But I personally believed in a few things and, today, some of these are arguably false beliefs! Belief 1: India has a 15-25 golden years ahead - The truth is India surely has this given all the much-touted 'strong economic fundamentals'. Also, given the current mess the world economies are in, India's golden period will surely see some tough cycles going forward. Belief 2: Jobs in India are far more secure than in the developed economies - This is highly debatable as, jobs may be insecure in India today at times but the market still holds significant alternative opportunities for those willing to explore different fields. (I say this pretty confidently going by my personal experience where I am on the look out for a new job after my company - one of the world's largest conglomerates - decided to close my business vertical down!) Belief 3: 2008 is the year which will start the tide of NRIs to return home - Well, there is enough evidence here and, from the recent number of discussions I have had with friends and relatives living abroad one can safely conclude that this is a certain and somewhat welcome trend. Happy to hear back from others on my above thoughts! Cheers Rajeev Raju

re: looking for a recession proof skill? Sell wedding clothes

Aruna Viswanatha — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:02:13 GMT

For those of you interested, here's a brief list of relatively safe jobs:

Claims processor: It’s a core function for the insurance industry, says Amit Bhatia , chief executive of training company Aspire Human Capital Management Pvt. Ltd. However, if your job profile in insurance involves something like using advanced econometrics to figure out market possibilities, your job is more likely to be axed. Generally, “boring and unglamorous” jobs are safer, he says.

Team leader:One of the first things a company might do if it needed to cut costs, Bhatia says, is to look at “layers” of management and attempt to “delayer”. “If there are four levels between the CEO and the front line,” he says, “can we make it three?” Team leads are the safest, Bhatia says, while the easiest to slash are the posts of vice-presidents, or assistant vice-presidents.

Professor of engineering:Since the recent budget allocated more funds to open a slate of new Indian Institutes of Technology and Central universities, says K.V.K. Ranganathan of the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, teaching jobs aren’t disappearing anywhere.

Retail attendants: With so many malls coming up, jobs in malls are probably here to stay, says Ranganathan.

re: looking for a recession proof skill? Sell wedding clothes

Arby K — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:41:48 GMT

Let me get this straight. U went for wedding shopping in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi? Scary, I must say :)

re: IIM Ahmedabad: Sympathy for Lehman (or the batch of 2009)?

Nitesh Poonia — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 16:24:29 GMT

i think that instead of playing the blame game, we all need to focus on how these graduates are going towards the places the feel more secure to play. i think what they've been doing is playing safe, i'd rather expect or shall i say i'd rather be (if my time comes) in a place which matches my profile and workplace aspirations, the second priority should be financial expectation.

re: Problems with Airtel? The secret to service is...

sri — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 05:27:36 GMT

Whatever may be the size of these telcos and whatever may be their standing in the country they still have traits of a vegetable vendor. Sell the vegetables and forget about the customer. These companies simply think that customers are a given and all they have to do is get the subscriber and no attention is paid for the longevity of this customer nor his satisfaction. As long as they can keep the steady stream of new subscribers every month, they will just continue to do good. Even before this market matured, they gave attention to profitability and started outsourcing the customer service. Suddenly they started thinking on the lines of west. At this point, whoever pays attention and invests heavily in customer service can walk away with few hundred million customers and this is very easy to do. Most of the complaints are related to billing and investing heavily in improving billing software can cut down their service calls. Technology alone can alleviate the problems of these telcos. Sense of ownership comes only if you make these third party entities own a piece of the company. Only a stake can make these entities serious about their role in providing the quality service. Also economic downturns like the one we are facing now coupled with job security can also force these entities work extra hard. In any case, technology is a must and there is one in the market thesecompanies can afford to buy. Thanks sri

An honest appeal to all Smokers...

An honest appeal to all Smokers... — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 02:18:25 GMT

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An honest appeal to all Smokers...

An honest appeal to all Smokers... — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:14:33 GMT

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re: B-school student? Then compete for a job

Mofussil Media Manager — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 08:50:24 GMT

Bit like courtship before marriage. Dinners (accompaniments to pre-placement talk), gifts (for the winners) and midnight chats (loads of the wooing/contests and the after talk happen after dinner) are there galore... But once you are engaged then ... he he... Full circle and every year the youngest beauties get all the attention while the older ones toil in oblivion!

re: B-school student? Then compete for a job

Ranjith Kollannur — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 08:36:12 GMT

The inter B school events competitions (conducted by the B Schools) start coming thick and fast in October, peaking in November and simmering down in December and January in time for placements (At least it was the case two years back when I completed my MBA). Make sense for companies to hold their own events before that. On the downside, these events may take away sponsorship money from the B school events and erode their value. B School events provide good training ground in terms of organizing the events and managing it. More on the job than an MBA classroom assignment.

re: Problems with Airtel? The secret to service is...

manish mathur — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:09:04 GMT

Subject:- wrong information on the display. I Manish Mathur R/o G-4/82-83 Sector XI, Rohini, Delhi. The display of mobile misleads the user by providing wrong information of the place. While at Rohini sector XI it shows Haider pur. Which is 5 km from Rohini sector XI, despite many complaints to customer care cell claims its right, but it is wrong. Kindly do the needful and don’t misguide the customers. Thanking you Yours faithfully Manish Mathur G-4/82-83, sector XI, Rohini, Delhi Ph. No. 9818893262