The Change Agent...

I found a recent article written by Abhijit Bhaduri[HR Head,FritoLay,India and Author of National Best Seller , Mediocre But Arrogant] regarding 'Global Manager' very interesting. Please read the article in the following link: http://hrcollective.blogspot.com/search/label/Abhijit%20Bhaduri .

After reading the article I could further understand the growing importance of the new age manager in it's role of a change agent.

I made the following comment on the article after reading it and would love to know your views regarding it:
"This is yet another article which is very thought provoking...the comments have also provided diverse and valued view points...At the risk of sounding repitative,I would like to stress on the fact that the new age global manager needs to be a change agent with great human understanding and clarity of thoughts...Firstly, He must have great human understanding in order to provide a security blanket and infuse a sense of faith to the team so that it can focus on the priorities correctly...But at this stage, he needs to be careful that he does not make this a platform for easy bargain from the team...he must not allow the team to take unnecassary advantages from him...Secondly, clarity of thought is of prime importance,as he must clearly draw the inferences from his extensive research on the culture to which his team needs to be gelled with...He must clearly know the positives and the negatives of the culture...and nullify the effect of the negative attributes and further propel the positives through team involvement,participation of experts from the new culture as well as present culture and his own instincts....Last but not least, he must explore enough avenues to infuse fun which is feasable in the new adopted culture..."

Do read the other articles and the comments as I have found them very interesting.

-Saikat Saha

Marketing is from Mars and HR is from Venus

Few weeks back while I was coming back from a shopping mall in Chennai, I met one of our family friends. After the usual exchange of pleasantries, he asked me what my future plan is. To be more specific he asked me if I want to continue with my work or prepare for any management entrance exam. I told him about my post graduation plans in Human Resource. He said it was a wise decision. However, he was not completely happy with my decision to choose Human Resource as a career option.

His first and foremost reaction was that Human Resource was meant for women. I must admit that I was not completely surprised with his response but it did make my initial doubts a little more concrete. I went back home and tried a few search in google with the combination of the words like human resource & women. The result of the search reaffirmed the fact that women were preferred in Human Resource jobs more than men. I even went to some job websites and saw a lot of jobs which clearly stated the fact that only women need to apply for the jobs. Being a man [or rather a boy as I am 22 years young] and having a passion for Human Resource, reading such stuff did give me its share of insecurities. But then being a committed and aspiring Human Resource superstar, I had two options to choose from:

* Gender change operation- My family would have not approved it nor would I have approved it .Let us not get into deeper probing.
* Finding out some way to convince myself that what I read was completely or to a large extent wrong.

I chose the second option for obvious reason. I asked my cousin sister regarding this issue who is an HR professional [a woman too]. She said that it’s factually true as women in large number get selected for HR jobs. The reason is because women by law of averages have better soft skills. Similarly men by law of averages have better skills in marketing [now I did not mean to challenge any women’s marketing skills at work, Chillax!!!!].

So basically one needs to tone up their specific skills set for the required job. It is just co-incidental that some of these skill sets are traditionally believed to be more gifted to a specific gender but there is full scope for honing these skill set by both the gender.

But still ,men will be from mars and women from venus.
-Saikat Saha

Good bye Appu Ghar...

Only the readers belonging to Delhi or those who have visited the Appu Ghar will relate to the emotions packed in this writing and for others; if you can then please book the last few tickets in Appu Ghar today...

Appu Ghar, India's first amusement park was inaugarated in the year 1984, a year before I was born. The school trips, the family trips and the trips with my friends to Appu Ghar were majestic in it's own right and emotionally varying and yet simillar in many ways, each time I went there...

The scary 'bhoot bangla rides', the stomach tickling 'appu columbus',the larger than life 'my fair lady rides' are crystal clear in my mindscape.The long ques in the ticket counter always justified the fun and frolic we had there....

From tomorrow onwards, no one will be able to re-live the euphoria which this place created in my soul as a kid.Appu Ghar is getting permanently closed tomorrow. Many of their staffs also are at the risk of getting unemployed according to news reports. I pray, hope and appeal that the employees are given alternative job oppurtunities. They deserve compensation or alternate job for the service they have rendered to millions of people and for bringing smile on their faces...

There is one deep regret I have in my heart. As I grew older, I drifted away from Appu Ghar. I probably thought that no matter how fast I grow up, Appu Ghar will remain young always, providing me the ease and luxury to come back to it's cocoon any time. It did remain young till date and will always remain symbolic to the young,lovely and vibrant 'Delhi'.

Love you always 'Appu Ghar'............