Can Culture be Imposed ??

India is a country which has been termed as a country which has imbibed various cultures & the people who have come from different backgrounds & nationalities over a long period of 2000 years. The Culture of this country is so open & rational that it could absorb all the different tributaries to it very well. Over the period of time, the behavioural practices of people evloved & they deviated from the standards & the ancient & prudent practices of the past in order to be MODERN.

With the advent of Globalization, the impact grew & cross cultural practices & traditions were being followed. India has seen a greater impact of such an overlap of cultures as more than 50% of the population today in India is less than 25 years of age, & susceptible to adaptation.

These days there has been a lot of Hue & cry over the MORAL POLICE who has tried to stop the WESTERN PRACTICEs that the YOUNG CITIZENS of India. Few activist groups in various parts of the country erupt every year from somewhere during the V-Day & try to stop people from indulging in such practices. They try to stop people by force, but will they be successful in stopping them ??
I believe that culture & awareness about the same can be injected over a period of time & must come from within. Any forceful attempt to stop such activities would lead to the eruption of VOLCANO with a far greater force. This calls for a Long & sustained effort with the onus lying on the parents & other family members in cultivating such values right from the childhood so that when s/he grows up, should be able to distinguish between the DOs & Don'ts. The Self Awareness & the Self-Restraint is the only remedy to stop & control such pollution of the culture.

Let's not try to cut the tree or the rotten part , but let us try to remove the problem that lies in the root of the tree & cure the same so that the same couldn't spread to other branches of the tree.

Let’s be Fair in our actions

These days there is a hell lot of noise in all the newspapers & the magazines & other media stating the phenomenal success & the accolades won by SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, a movie directed by a FIRANG Danny Boyle.

This movie is based upon the novel of an ex-bureaucrat's fiction novel of the same name, which revolves around a character called Jamal Malik who has seen his life grow from Rags of Slums of Mumbai to the Multi Millionaire status through a game show " Who wants to be a Millionaire". This movie has got a few amazing facts to reflect which are actually opposite of the actual reality, though the movie's production & the direction has been good & deserves appreciation. But, IS IT WORTH THE APPRECIATION that it has received in the International Platforms of likes of Academy awards, Golden Globes, BAFTA & many more. Is the movie such a Magnum Opus which has surpassed the likes of Lagaan, Taare Jamin Par etc. The movie has been nominated for the Best Picture , Best Music, Best Direction & 8 more categories in the Oscars. But, as far as I remember AR Rehman has performed many times over at earlier occasions viz. Guru, Taal etc. & this music is in the category of average with nothing exceptional about it. The performance of the Protagonist Jamal Malik played by Dev Patel has been completely sidelined & the recommendations has been won by the other supporting characters.

What is the reason behind such a great appraise & the appreciation that it has received ?? Is it that the Movie has been Directed by a FIRANG ?? OR the movie depicts the Pathetic condition of the India & shows India as a country still a land of Misery, Poverty ,Inequality, Religious Hatred & many more defacing adjectives?? The great actor of present & the past, Amitabh Bachhan has raised a very valid point regarding such a gaga about the movie. Is India a land of all such adversities mentioned above, or a land of great history, rich in Science, Education, Software Giant, World's second fastest growing economy, a land of peace & harmony, & above all World's largest Democracy.

I think the answer lies somewhere else," White mens' burden" & the apartheid that has extinguished from the Public consumption but, is still been revived in the hearts of the people with white skin. These white people can't accept & recognize in the EQUALITY of the Human Race. The agony of being second to the best is indigestible to the WHITE People who control such great positions where they decide the fate of such GREAT MOVIES. Lagaan was nominated & reached in the last five movies in Oscars but finally died out, because it wasn't the best & one-up against those in the competition. NO, it failed to make it because it had rekindled the spirit of Unity amongst the INDIANS & the Britishers were shown as the Houghty, & arrogant losers in the end.

Another important point to be noted out here is the over concentrated focus of Indian media & we Indians on these foreign awards & recognitions. Aren't we capable & great enough to recognize the performances of fellow Indians. How many times we see a HOLLYWOOD movie vouching for an award in IIFA or FILMFARE awards, I believe not even once. So, Its high time that we must understand the value of being an Indian & recognize our value & earn respect & not buying the same at a price which is detrimental to the Nation's Prestige & respect as well as to the feelings of Crores of fellow Indians.

Reasons for Financial Turmoil globally

The recent upheavals in the financial sector have brought a series of Tsunamis in all the countries of the world. The age old adage, “ TOO BIG TO FAIL” has failed following the fall of Biggies of the financial sector. What were the reasons behind for such a free fall of such big entities like Lehman Brothers, Wachovia, Merill Lynch & countless others.  Experts say that the main cause behind such a turmoil is the Sub-Prime lending of loans by the banks & the further trading of the related derivatives done by such Big-Wigs complicated the whole matter & made it all the big.

Another reason commonly known which is frequently published in the public domain is that of the decrease of real estate prices in USA which made all the assets of these banks redundant & thus the banks were not able to extract their principal amount out even. But, I beg to differ from the above mentioned logic & sport an altogether viewpoint by going a bit beyond the obviously looking answers to such a problem which has created havoc in all the economies of the world. I would reason two factors behind such a abysmal fall , one The excessive CAPITALIST mindset & the unbridled autonomy given to Capitalists in the world & second, The increasing globalisation which is exposing the economies to all the lucrative but the most risky wrong doings of the Bullish capitalist nations.

The former reason is all the more powerful & pervading than the latter, because the whole world danced on the seemingly fabulous symphonies of these Modern Mozarts which originated out of whims & fancies of the Capitalists. For long, the whole world has been hailing the Capitalism as it has brought prosperity & growth to nearly all parts of the world wherever it has gone.   CAPITALISM has certainly improved the quality of life that we live, it has exposed us to better technologies at competitive prices which are available to us at our convenience.  But, does that define the overall happiness for a human being. Capitalism has PROFIT MAKING in its roots & stands tall on the same, ignoring the basic utilitarian premise of  Larger Good for Larger mass. This has provided a firm footing for western researchers to develop texts & papers which focussed on developing strategies & maximising the value.  But, a basic question that arises here is , “ Does Profit making is the only way to sustain in this world ?” which in my view attracts a big NO.

Few entities in the western world who had profit making & value maximisation only on their minds which they got sharpened at few of the best training grounds of the planet revolved the money many times over so as to get the maximum output which was not optimum. They trusted(un/intentionally) on the people who had a bad credit worthiness in the market & charged huge interest rates. They treated the above as a bait for the still bigger capitalists & sold these sub-prime but high yielding assets thus taking out their investments & passing the buck to others & booking the profit in the process.  This vicious cycle continued again & again pacified the high return desire & finally culminated into such a big abyss that it has engulfed the entire world.

Globalization which got a boost with improvements in technology has made this world with over 6billion human beings & over 200 countries a small village with enhanced capabilities of doing business at any hour of time from any part of the world. The formation of regulatory agencies which have an aim to increase world trade exposed the people of different countries to each other & also their businesses. People invested in diiferent businesses in different countries to diversify their risks & also in order to increase their ROI. But, things always don’t happen the way you  desire them to be & that’s exactly what happened in America.

The optimisation of the risk & returns was

The above writings doesn’t mean that I support communism or something similar but it is just that I oppose the Extremism. As also the Sanskrit adage goes, “ ATI SARVATRA VARJAYET”, i.e. excess of everything is undesired for. The criticism here is for the unbridled freedom that the capitalists enjoyed in the world’s economic power which has led to this chaos. Capitalism is for sure good for the human society & its growth because of the very fact that it promotes competition which leads to improvements & development. But, tigers if left untamed are for sure going to create bloodbath in the society . This is where I praise the Indian leaders who decided to have a Mixed economy in India , though India faced the music for not switching to capitalist policies for long, & ultimately shifted to a more regulated & controlled capitalistic outlook. This step wise & well regulated process of exposition of Indian Economy has so far ensured a sustainable damage to Indian Markets & Indian Companies. So,this is the time when the Indian Leaders (Business & Political ) to take a note of such a turbulence & make strategies which would spell out safer heavens with moderate returns for the country ,thus achieving the socialist motive of Larger Good for larger masses.

 

 

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THE GREAT FINANCIAL MELTDOWN

The present financial crisis under which the whole world is reeling into has left everyone awestruck. The whole world economy is shifting towards recession & the fears about the situation getting even worse are increasing day by day as the real reasons behind this goof up are revealed. It seems like an abyss with its bottom not to be seen anywhere nearby.

It all started off with the disclosures of the defaults of the sub-prime loans doled out to not at all trustworthy clients. These people were encouraged by the US Govt. to buy houses & easy finance was made available to them & the loans were so designed so that they should get into the system. This led to a boom in the housing market as the property rates went through the roof.

Actually this all started off in 1970s when the Bretton Woods System was done away with by USA,& the USD(Int'l Currency) was debased. This led to creation of imbalances in the Balance of Payments account between the trading countries. The US also used this as an opportunity to utilise & take maximum advantage of the same by financing its fiscal deficit through printing more amount of dollars which in due course of time increased the Inflation levels in various countries across the globe. This problem was further accentuated by the increasing influence of globalization which essentially is a Zero Sum Game but was so modified by US in such a way that it looked like a WIN WIN situation.

All these manipulations continued over a period of over 2-3 decades till mid 1990s when Internet era came before busting in 2000-01 & followed by the Housing Boom which is sending tremors across the globe & are very severe. As per an estimate the overall size due to the MBS & CDSs size is around 62trillion USD & the housing loan market which grew from 4.8trillion USD in 2001 to 10.3 trillion USD. The US Govt. actually promoted this  by pushing the purchase of houses so as to bail out the economy which was reeling under the setbacks after the dot-com bust.

But, these short term measures are creating havoc in present times & the global leaders are working their way out of this carnage & let's hope something sustainable comes out..

Socio-Economic Impact of 11/26 in Mumbai

The evening of 26^th November 2008, on Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus marked the beginning of a renewed era of Terrorism which has left the India as well the entire world awestruck. This carnage started from CST where indiscriminate firing was opened to all the passengers who were boarding the trains in the peak hours back home. Simultaneously, at the same time terrorists(ISLAMIC  JEHADIS) struck at 3-4 other locations in the nearby locations, one of these unlucky places were the likes of India’s First FIVE STAR hotel THE TAJ MAHAL, APPOLOBUNDER & THE OBEROI. The inmates were held hostages & the a huge firing & the grenade attacks started off.

The entire drama ran over 62hours continuously only to end with the deaths of those terrorists & a huge number of Civilians (156 as per official estimates & 20 security personnel). A wave of terror spread like the jungle fire & engulfed the entire country & also drew huge attention of International community as well. This incident has offset the impact of the global economic slowdown of the world economy  for a while, though adversely impacting the attractiveness & risk profile of India as an Investment destination for the investors who have been treading a cautious path & are taking out their invested capital from the Indian markets thus creating another bloodbath in the financial territory. The FIIs ( Foreign Institutional Investors) who had  invested over  USD52bn into the Indian markets since year 2003 till date withdrew about USD12bn to fund their home country fund requirements. The recent attacks which were more focussed on the High Profile Society & Elite of Indian Society & to the Foreign visitors, Delegates & the tourists who were staying in the above facilities or were there when militants struck the town.

These attacks have increased the risk of India as a safe Investment Destination with Higher returns & having a moderate risk profile to Moderate to High Returns with High Geo-Political risk. The economy which has grown at an average GDP growth rate of 6.3% in 1990s & 6.2% in the new millenium has been looked up as a LAND OF MILLION OPPORTUNITIES.The markets which are mainly SENTIMENT driven will be adversely impacted. Thus, in this scenario the responsibility of the ex-chequer has also gone up dramatically as it has not been able to deliver on multiple instances. India has been reeling under terrorist activism for over 2-2.5 decades & we have not been able to develop the capabilities to counter such Terror strikes & stop them & ultimately weed them out through their roots. India’s defence expenditure has been always in the vicinity of 2.5-3.00% for over the past few decades , but was downgraded to a mere 1.99% this year in order to build & improve rapport with our neighbours which are none but a pack of GOONS & hooligans who have found solace by doing anti-social activities in India.

In an era of Technology , Indian Security forces are still fighting the AK-47s of the militants with the age old rifles & similar artillery & lathis at times. An average Indian soldier/commando who is willing to risk his life & put the aspirations of his dependants at bay earns a meagre amount as salary & has the age old facilities, protective equipments like Helmets, Shoes etc. This reduction in the Budgetary allocation has fuelled a huge debate on as to how can the GoI  leave the issue un-addressed & unattended . If we look at the statistics of defence expenditure worldwide(3% global average as a % of GDP), it is realized that the scale of allocations needs to be increased to much higher levels given the threats of similar magnitudes. 

This terrorist attack on Mumbai has already resulted into the loss of INR 4000crores in a single day apart from the loss incurred due to the closure of the stock markets for a day which have an average turnover of over INR 32000 crores. This loss can be replicated if the authorities don’t take a note of it right away & prevent the movement of money from Indian Markets & the foreign Investments in the Indian ventures by boosting the confidence of not just investors but also that of the Tourists & other foreign dignitaries. 

OBAMA & impact of his election on global economy & India in particular

When on the evening of 5^th November 2008, trends which started getting converted to the declared results brought about a sea change in the global perspective of millions of people across the world. A democrat candidate was elected who has all the dissimilarities wrt to most of the fellow Americans. He is a Black with a Muslim syllable in his name though has been following Christianity for years but believes in Lord Hanuman(keeps an Idol of HANUMANJI). Thus, a person with so much of conflicting traits & attributes in his personality has been looked upon with immense hope of revival of WORLD ECONOMY & various other burning issues. Obama since has hailed from a very modest background & thus has a strong belief in the equitable distribution of wealth in the masses which he plans to address through the differential Income Tax structure & other booties.

From the recent stats of an EXIT Poll done in US, more than 62% people voted for OBAMA because of the financial turmoil that has been thrown at them by the incumbent government. Just over 10% people responded that IRAQ war & the army deployment was the main issue for voting in favour of Obama. These statistics clearly indicate the change in world order which a common American has now starting accepting by choosing someone whose class/race was considered second to the Caucasians. The main issues before OBAMA are the following:

1.       Address the Global Financial Crisis

2.       Put an end to the atrocities meted to inmates of Guantanamo Bay Prison

3.       Address to the Climate change issues & behave in a more responsible manner.

These above issues as they say are most important & will be sorted out on top priority by the new administration at white house which will take control on 19^th January 2009. But, I think Obama has some other equally important duties & tasks to accomplish as in the liberal policy towards the WTO Regime & not switch to the PROTECTIONISM for which Democrats have been (in)famous for in the past. This broader mindset will indicate the respect for the merit & bring more transparency in overall decision making at the highest level. Obama has been prudent in saying that he believes in Con-census making by taking into account the viewpoints of all the stakeholders concerned. This clearly points to the shift in the Thinking of the West towards the emerging economies of the world,viz. India & China. The American markets have also started looking at these markets of India & China for determining the prices & thus making these Asian giants the PRICE SETTERs from the PRICE TAKERS in the past.

India’s position is a slightly different & better than that of China as India has come much closer to US in the past few years, thanks to the Bush Administration which helped in lifting of the Nuclear Aprtheid that India had been facing for last 34 years  & helped address its Energy Needs. India has also been given special status in the world forum  as Indian Premier was invited to the G8 summit for past few years continuously. Though there are a few issue on which Obama’s viewpoints seem adverse for India :              

1.       Kashmir issue & third Party Mediation

2.       Stern Stand on cutting down of Outsourcing of US jobs to Countries like India.

India has been a staunch opponent of any kind of 3^rd Party mediation to resolve out the Kashmir Issue & this comes as an adverse view on that note. Moreover, Indian outsourcing Industry which is worth USD 40bn & employs most of the Highly skilled inexpensive workforce is very difficult to ignore & if that happens then, it may spell out a disaster for the Indian Economy. But, Som Mittal NASSCOM Chief, “ Its very difficult to ignore India & the value addition done by the Indians in the IT space at a very competitive rates is unmatchable & thus is difficult to remove . This would be against the very Fundamental principles of Economics & the Comparative advantage theory”. 

But, let us wait & watch what all the future has in its store for the world & India per se.

Ancient Indian values & ethics & Modern Management Practices

 

The ancient Indian values & ethos have their basis & foundation rooted deep in SANATAN DHARAM which is eternal & has evolved  over centuries. These eternal & ever relevant principles focus on making the life of a common as fruitful & as relevant as themselves. These principles have been imparted to the masses through various channels viz. Scriptures, Guru-Shishya Parampara, Rites & Rituals to name  a few. The language of the scriptures has been predominantly SANSKRIT which has been termed as DEVBHASHA, & was spoken by the elite in the olden times & thus could sustain itself amongst the masses. Thus, these values were communicated to masses in their own dialect which happened to be the offshoot of Sanskrit( Awadhi, Hindi etc.) by various poets, writers such as Goswami Tulasidas, Surdas etc.  Since, most of the reasoning for the various methodologies & practices were beyond the comprehension of common man, they were incorporated as a religious ritual so that people would follow them which would ultimately help them only.

In Modern times, there has been furore over the relevance & application in the day-to-day life & management practices. These ancient values hold a great relevance & form the basis of modern management principles & have their scientific explanations. When the Indian Sages & Gurus called the rivers, animals etc. as  Mother ( GANGA MAIYYA, GAI MATA  etc.) , amongst myriad others they referred to the Sustainable development in hindsight. These are the natural resources which must be cared for & used judiciously. They meant for MILKING of these resources & not EXPLOITATION.

On the administration & taxation front, Indian ethos propound a very healthy framework by giving an analogy of Honeybees which suck the juices from the flowers in such a way that they are not harmed in any way. When Indian Culture talks of the lesser focus on the outcomes & more on the karma, & propounds that man doesn’t control the fruits & results, it essentially talks of Strategy being put to work. In modern management, there is a concept of Strategic Inflection Point which comes not due to the managers/management concerned but comes from external environment, thus the output is affected adversely whose control goes beyond the Management.

Srimad BhagawadGita , which is the song of the LORD himself is the gist of all ancient Scriptures, & has YOGA as its underlying theme. Yoga, in truest of its sense means Combination, Addition or culmination of various ethos. This also signifies the importance of Dexterity & Skill in all the actions undertaken by the man(agers). Perfection is the key to success, & must thus be practised with fullest of concentration. If we have a look at the learnings from each of the ancient Indian Texts the illustrations would be much more clear & lucid.

SRIRAM CHARITMANAS by Goswami Tulasidas

The above is a scripture which depicts the life of an able administrator, Team Leader, Manager & someone who knows his job very well. The very fact that Lord Rama, was able to form an army out of monkeys in the jungle & motivated  them to walk with him across the sea depicts the true leadership traits that a modern manager should have. Managers should be able to keep their team motivated which has been clearly reflected  in the epic. Management principles such as encouraging lower category of employees, rewards for good work, self-motivation, decision-making, recognition, market survey, market exploitation, time management and the art of communication are aligned with several instances in this scripture.

 

 

MAHABHARATA by  Bhagwan Vedvyas

 

This scripture is the longest epic ever written in the history of mankind. This encompasses a whole lot of knowledge in itself as in Vidura Neeti, SrimadBhagwadgita etc. are a part of the scripture only. The main learning out of the entire scripture is the Governance ,i.e. how should an administrator run his government efficiently by following the DHARMA & not resorting to unfair means which are not in the benefit of the stakeholders. Mahabharata offers valuable lessons in international diplomacy as well  as in management of public finance.

In today’s modern management when ethical judgment and importance of recognizing the

ethical dimensions is talked about, Mahabharat gives excellent analogies to identify the ethical  boundaries. "Rules of ethical conduct", dharmayuddha, for the war were framed by the supreme commanders of each side. Both sides broke most of these laws at least once.

 

BhagvadGita….the song of the LORD

 

Gita  explains the theory of non-attachment to the results of work as under:

If the result of sincere effort is a success, the entire credit should not be appropriated by the

doer alone. If the result of sincere effort is a failure, then too the entire blame does not accrue to the doer.

The driving forces in today's rat-race are speed and greed as well as ambition and competition. The natural fallout from these forces is erosion of one's ethico-moral fibre which supersedes the value system as a means in the entrepreneurial path like tax evasion, undercutting, spreading canards against the competitors, entrepreneurial spying, instigating industrial strife in the business rivals' establishments etc.

 

The main message that has been imparted through the Gita is that “ One should be very focussed while undertaking his mission, & should not rethink while executing the work. The mission should be well thought of before starting & managers should follow  the guidelines religiously.

 

 

 

 

The age-old wisdom of the Indian seers seems to have caught on today in the world of

management. It will only be a reclaiming of our own heritage if we in India return to our spiritual

lineage and reshape it, if need be, to suit the present claims. It is apparent that, we are well

placed to take advantage of this knowledge economy owing to our celebrated spiritual heritage.

Indian spirituality is waiting in the corporate corridors ready to serve the business community.

The need is for self-awareness of it.

A number of factors have brought the spirituality to the centre stage of discussions. A few of

them are:

* Corporate downsizing and retrenchment

* Luxurious lifestyles

* Balancing the personal and professional life

* Materialistic Business approach

* Role conflicts

Besides these spirituality has gained importance because of problem of survival in this hyper

competitive world where growth of education, social upliftment etc are common features.

Employees no longer are happy with professional success or material gains.

 

·         According to Kautilya, four elements that define management excellence are: gaining possession of non-possessed; protecting that which is gained; making the protected grow; and deployment of employees. These are very much relevant to the modern management though the roots are in ancient Indian ethics.

·         Enterprise management forms the basis of the science of ethics, as one learns in a chapter on rajya-niti.

·         Learning about competing enterprises is essential not only for collaborating, but also for `standing alone', reminds Kautilya.

·         To those who ask if materialistic pursuits deviate from virtue, a sutra clarifies that coveting wealth/resources is not counted amongst vices. A corollary is that wealth leaves those who are satisfied with resources they possess.  This implies that without working for growth, even maintaining the given level of performance becomes difficult to achieve.

·         Another sutra reminds that in law enforcement lies one's own protection. "Employment is sustained through enforcement," is a helpful clue to the HR department.

·         And the golden rule, that today's management gurus would also vouch for, is: "When the number of tasks is many, priority should be given to that work which is most fruitful."