Manasvi Rai sat on the edge of her table atop the podium, taking in the arguments of her students on power and motivation debating that both were different. A student had just stated that what NGOs did came out of motivation, whereas Manasvi was clear that motivation was for the lesser human — the higher human gave to society out of a source of power inside him— and urged the students to examine this closely.“Don’t slide and fall into textbook templates,” she admonished. “You don’t need a Machiavelli or a Weber. It’s simple: if you want to empower, you need to have power within. Anything else that you do that appears like empowering is a ruse to empower yourself, making it look like charitable work!”Student: Therefore, in the exercising of power, there is always a point from which it flows and a point to which it flows. So... the source is more powerful than the recipient of power?Teacher: Who knows? Maybe even the opposite could be true! The flow of power itself may be a function of manipulation by the recipient, as in some political relationships. Different people use different power tactics. Then again, the source may be extrovert or introvert and that will influence the kind of tactic he uses. The former being sociable, venturesome and lively will have a different power than one who is introvert — who prefers his own company, and hence there is no saying how it will impact different people! Therefore, power is employed, that is definite! Anthony Giddens, a sociologist, says power is a means to ends, ‘and hence is directly involved in the actions of every person’. He also says, ‘Power is the transformative capacity of people to change the social and material world’!Student: Can the powerful be influenced? Teacher: There is research that has shown that the more power a person has, the less likely he is to receive or accept another’s perspective. Student: So they lack empathy?Teacher: There are various connotations to power; researchers talk about an internal sense of power where you are in control, where you can think, exercise discipline on yourself, be your own benchmark. They also say society at a macro level uses power to create inequity in power as that is linked with getting more resources that others cannot or do not get — hence upper caste, lower caste... all that nonsense!“French and Raven say that power is relative, so that how A may influence B will depend on B’s perception of A’s power and his perception of what that can do for what aspect of his needs. So B has to recognise in A a certain something which will motivate B to change, adopt change.” Student: But what influences power? Is it not driven by reward and punishment?Teacher: Such power is ‘exerted’ power. We have extraordinary humans who are not driven by reward and punishment and they deliver great results. They exude the power to give — out of joy, not for joy! And yet they work with the dynamism of any organisation — there is a vision, a target, a goal, a purpose, a drive, a system that supports all this. They don’t reward conventionally, yet their teams are motivated. Fascinating? Student A: Exactly! There does not seem to be anything apparent for their motivation, drive, success. Especially if you consider the fact that they work in remote places where even basic infrastructural comforts are not available, where even personal safety is at stake.Student B: Yet you say it is not motivation! Teacher: They use their lives as a tool. Pay attention. As against ‘the world is a tool to be applied for my gain’, they say my life is a tool to make the world a better place. This is true power. The power lies in feeling liberated enough to give and not feel threatened of being depleted. They give the powerless the power over their own selves. They exude a certain power which helps their target audience to help themselves.“So you can apply your education to, say, sell soap or insurance, and make your life more comfortable, and reinvest to gain even more comforts. At the end of the day, one person has gained a lot, is well known, famous. But famous is not power. Or, like some people, you can apply your skills to build other lives,” said Manasvi as she handed out sheets for them to read during the break and reassemble in 20 minutes. Anaama’s StoryAnaama was from a very rich family, with its heritage in the village of Bisner. He was sent to a school in the city for the best education, where he stayed on until after post-graduation. With the racy life of upper-class pursuits Anaama rarely saw the ground below. One day on a visit to his village, he came across a pathetic little girl. All of nine years, maybe even seven — it is difficult to tell in poorly-fed children. Falsely made up, oiled hair, nose rings and an outsized purple ribbon that stared out from behind her head — she cut a pathetic picture. She had just been sold for Rs 2,000 to a city-bred man, who was taking her with him to look after his newborn.Something shrivelled and died inside Anaama. The life he had known never indicated that there were many who lived a different life. Purple ribbon’s buyer griped that Rs 2,000 was too much, refusing to buy. The broker pleaded, “Where will she go, poor thing? Keep her as your servant, she will make your tea...” and offered to cut the price to Rs 1,500.Anaama’s stomach churned. Was this the value of a child? As he drove to Delhi, he felt chased by the nine-year-old’s scrubbed face framed by outsized purple ribbons. The journey dented his comfort zone studded with affluence, abundance and apathy, leaving him naked in a world he did not want to be identified with anymore. Unable to live with this memory, and seeking solution, which he knew his gaggle of friends would not be able to provide, Anaama went back to Bisner, to his nanoo. break-page-breakAnaama desperately wished to be rid of the pain. Handing it over to nanoo, he said, “I don’t like any of this.” His grandfather looked keenly at Anaama’s troubled face, and said simply, “Go, light (those) eyes (that can’t see).”It was a stunning reply. But it gave Anaama direction. He resolved to do as told. Anaama was not even a doctor, but something urged him onward. He went to the biggest eye hospitals in India and asked them if they would help. “I will support you financially, you just come to my village and open a hospital.” But they all declined. Bisner was notorious for crime and was extremely unsafe, they pointed out. Anaama asked if they would teach him instead, a post-graduate in humanities. They agreed. Anaama then began to work as their fetch and carry boy, understanding the minute first, then apprenticed with the technicians, watching, observing, studying.“Anaama’s Story” then went on to detail how he set up a tent first, then a rough and ready brick structure and then took over a building and then equipped it first with basic implements, then more sophisticated ones and thus created PerVision Hospital. How he managed to bring doctors across, how he brought the cataract patients by cart to the clinic, how he ferried medicines from the city to the village, how he begged for money from rich friends and richer relatives, how he faced one obstacle after another... and how PerVision was born.PerVision in little Bisner is today a 35,000-sq.ft operation, with state-of-the-art equipment, and buses to ferry the patients from deep interiors. On an average, it conducts 37,000 eye surgeries a year; surgeries which restore vision to a people who would otherwise be resigned to blindness caused by cataract and similar afflictions which progress slowly to cause vision loss and are potentially blinding if untreated.All this in a state that stands in stark contrast to the mall-magic of the cities where dispensers spout colas and pooches eat a high-protein diet; in a state where 50 per cent of the people are below poverty line, and illiterate; where there is barely any electricity or hospitals; population is high and poverty and blindness walk hand in hand among a people with monthly income of Rs 1,000. Hence one blind person in a family meant losing a part of his paltry income, and also the expense burden on the existing income.Manasvi saw that the students were re-reading select sentences, mentally savouring Anaama’s world... a world that was unimaginable.Manasvi: Anaama used to be an excellent soccer player in school and college. Hence everything in life is seen through the lenses of soccer by this Juventus fan. Taking this to another level of excellence, Anaama began training the girls of Bisner and neighbouring Bavaal, Kipru and Sarni to play soccer. Through the game he has taught them defence, attack, team work and delivering a promise. Importantly, the drive to win.“It does not end there. The girls live in the hospital dorms, study there, work there, train there. They study for their school or college degrees through a distant learning programme with IGNOU. Those who have completed their 12th are being trained in optometry, and in English. He wants PerVision to be fully run by women doctors, and with this in view, he will enrol four of the girls in a medical college...”The students heard in rapt attention, their eyes fixed singlepointedly on the screen where Manasvi had projected pictures of two old women in Bisner who smiled into the camera, a smile that said ‘I can see!’ .Manasvi: Here is a grand hospital with a grander vision, in a resource-depleted society, with nothing in terms of infrastructure, political support, funding, NRI support... nothing at all; add to this crime and casteism and you have wretchedness. The fallout is seen in nutrition, health, education and crime rate. Do you see any motivators or triggers for power? Student: For exerting power, not for exuding!Manasvi: Yet he exudes great power. A softer issue would be respect. Almost nothing is respected here. Everyone depends on destiny. So, children are born aplenty, into a life without nutrition, hygiene, education or jobs; survival is by foul means if push comes to shove. The old are worse off. Add health + disrespect + no electricity + poor vision + no education + no values + consumerism, and you get a recipe for disaster!Today, PerVision treats more than three-quarters of its patients free with the same quality that a city hospital gives. Student: No salary, I presume. Nor funds, nor increments, nor multiplexes or Pizza Hut, or Costa Coffee, no highways or flyovers... How does he keep himself driven?Manasvi: Yet he is driven. But where does he get his sense of power from? Student A: French and Raven say that power is relative, ‘that B has to recognise in A a certain something which will motivate B to change, adopt change’. As I see it, the people of Bisner see in him a source of their power. break-page-breakManasvi smiled. But she always wondered how much of all this was intellectual callisthenics and how much was internalised realisation. Student F: How would you classify Bunker Roy of Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan? This school teaches rural people to become solar engineers, dentists, doctors... in their own villages! Once again a one-man drive and initiative to return to people their own power.Manasvi: There you go! Essentially, both are finding the power within themselves to empower the powerless... No, no, no! It’s not motivation — that’s for profit seekers or lethargic people. Roy and Anaama use their time and energy to make life more meaningful for others. So the power to spend your life to do all you can to empower the powerless, what kind of power is this?“The two things for which MBAs such as you, are ready to lay down their lives, success and name, these people also accomplish. The MBA feels comfortable with his cost-to-company (CTC). He spends a great deal of his time building his CTC. What will he do with it? At best, make plans: “I will go to Kilimanjaro...”, “I will go to Budapest...”. You have turned 40, but you are unable to enjoy travel! You come back from work, switch on the TV, and open a bottle of beer. “My point to you is simple — what is the quality of your mind? How well are you integrated? Examine your life and the shape it is taking. Your career lies bright ahead of you. Do you feel that you should pick up the lesser folk and raise them to your height as well... or, do you feel I must run faster before they catch up with me? “Between these two lies your power quotient.”Student: What is the source of this power? The mind? The heart?Manasvi: You have to find it. Anaama was not born with power, nor did he know the power he has in changing the fate of a whole state!“None of us are born with express power, but we all have the ability to feel powerful; we just need a trigger. For each person, the trigger is a different thing. Anaama’s trip was to lead the people from powerless to power. He was like any young person — many friends, glittery discos — all the falsity that comes with assumed power, such as ‘I am powerful because I am educated’. Then he ran into an extremely unique moment where he saw this girl child being sold... you read about his mind-altering experience.” Pin drop silence. Manasvi: Where do you think Anaama got his power from? The patients whom he has treated and restored sight to, now go out into the interiors and encourage others to undergo surgery... They don’t get paid to do this! Anaama is committed to performing eye surgeries free. He sees before him the possibility of vision for all by 2020. Where does he get the power from?Student: And Bunker Roy? Where did Bunker Roy find his key? Manasvi explained...The way people die of starvation is different and disturbing than death due to anything else. Death looks frightening when seen through eyes that seek food. Among such people Bunker Roy started what he called a Barefoot College, a college that redefined professionalism. Roy picked water diviners, midwives, bone setters... and allowed them to celebrate their traditional knowledge. He was going to set a whole village free... He set up schools that have at heart the convenience of the students, not the convenience of the teachers. For these children worked by day — they grazed and tended to sheep, goats and cattle of various kinds. Hence they are available to study only at night. And thus he educated 75,000 children, not in Calculus or Tipu Sultan, but about democracy, their rights and their duties as human beings, about animal illnesses... all that they need to keep Tilonia shipshape.Manasvi: What did Roy achieve? He used the old and the wasted, and trained them to become productive tigers. He made them into solar engineers and told them to go forth and light up their dark villages... he sent the same people to train villages in Bhutan and Afghanistan, which froze to death in winter... now they have heat and power... as also the power to find their own solutions and be happy. “Bunker Roy is another example of someone who gave hope to those for whom hopelessness was a way of life. He need not have. Anaama need not have. Nor did the people of Bisner and Tilonia know any better. Then why wake up a sleeping dog? And while the educated elite squabble over who has the swiftest car, Roy bypassed them all and taught the wasted people in society that they held a gold mine within themselves and showed them their potential. He showed the people of Afghanistan, for instance, that they were valuable, more valuable than the drones that killed their people. Student: His work has shown to people that you can do great work without money, with just the power of thought and will....Another student: That in a crisis, you don’t need the World Bank; you need someone who thinks you can do it.Manasvi: Then why are we not doing it? Why is x% of the world needy, poor, starving, malnourished, illiterate, suffering, unwell, while the remaining (1-x)% people continue to think they are amazing because of all the fantastic things they are doing such as making green coloured soap and blue coloured toothpaste? That being exhausted driving in traffic for two hours is noble even if all you did was invent a more funky packaging for your cold cream, but a lady who walks 4 miles to bring water to her parched family is not? Why are we studying for an MBA fully knowing that it can either give us the power to fight over a river’s water as ‘mine and not yours’ – as some states are today — or it can reveal to us the power to empower others by helping them realise their inner potential? What use is an education that teaches us that if a river is located in a given state, it belongs to that state, but does not teach us that the water resources in a country belong neither to A nor B nor the host country? That river has just chosen to flow there for the time being! Yet we use tax payers’ money to pay people to use that power to deprive a people of water, the best gift from Nature! This is arrogation of power... nay, the arrogance of power!casestudymeera(at)gmail(dot)com(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 04-02-2013)Now, discuss ‘Businessworld case studies’ on Facebook
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Guten Morgen, says Germany. For a country known to be tough on Internet users by almost always holding them liable for their actions, last month’s high court ruling must have come as a surprise to many. The court ruled that the parents of a teen, who made available over a thousand songs on file-sharing networks, could not be held responsible for their son’s infringements nor (mind you!) be required to monitor or hinder his online activities. When the plaintiffs insisted that the couple had fallen short in their parental role, the court ruled that they had not, as they had informed their child of the basic ‘dos and don’ts’, including the fact that file-sharing copyrighted content is illegal. Unless parents had or have ‘reasonable ground’ to believe that their child would engage in infringing activities online, there is no reason to monitor or nanny the teen at home. In addition, the school obviously has no business monitoring the teen as nearly all such activities happen off school premises. Thanks, now let’s unpack this issue back home. So why is Shree, the principal in the case study, at a loss? As the Internet becomes more pervasive in her students’ lives, she cannot quite decide where the burden of responsibility lies. Legal or moral, my take is, that burden is anything but hers. She can help mediate an apology, but it is neither her responsibility nor her job to acknowledge what does not happen ‘on her watch’. Morally, one can argue that the school students’ behavioural toolbox is filled with sensations of love, joy, hate, grief, fear, distrust, and a host of other emotions. When events, good or bad, occur, they reach into that toolbox for a response, and based on conditioning, they let out a programmed answer. This response, offline or online, comes from learning, an assimilation of different perspectives, from parents, teachers, media, peers and environment. Since behavioural constructs like bias, religion and political logic are all learned responses, when Sharan hurts his schoolmate’s feelings or Kartik makes an anti-minority remark, Shree feels that she (or the school) didn’t do enough in helping them ‘learn’ the right response, and that though she may not be intentionally responsible she is inadvertently responsible for their remarks. Well, not true. I believe Kartik was aware of what he was posting, but what he didn’t know was how far it would go. Imagine the school’s plight, should the students start using Spraffl instead? Named after an Edinburgh slang, ‘spraff’, which means ‘talking absolute rubbish’, Spraffl allows one to post anonymous, location-based messages that anyone can read and comment on. There are no friend networks to build, no people to follow, no check-ins needed — just start Spraffling wherever you are. It has built-in community self-regulation, and users can report an update as abusive. Besides, one has to sign up through a Facebook account, so I guess this would allow the administrators to ban a user if needed. But it still makes a strong case for an open, depersonalised environment, where you can be yourself without having to apologise for it. Perhaps, this is why it is catching on fast with this age group.Whereas a school may be partially responsible for keeping its students in check offline, on school premises, and, at most, be able to ‘influence’ their online behaviour, there isn’t much else it can do. Beyond barring off-limit sites, blocking proxy servers and applying password protected security walls, of course. Shree must be clear that a school’s authority to govern student speech generally does not extend to speech that takes place off-campus or outside of a school activity. Wisdom Vidyalay cannot enforce rules for what students read online when they are at home or places away from school. Shree has much to learn from a recent debate in the UK about cyber-bullying that claimed to have interfered with another student’s right to receive an education without fear or aggression. The school in question had swiftly decided to adopt an anti-bullying policy, which all students (not their parents!) had to sign on. By law, it was read out to them, that it did not punish the opinions or beliefs but instead the impermissible conduct. Off-campus or online bullying evidence could lead to legal suspension of a student. Students were told that they were responsible for their own actions, and that their spoken word may often not be recorded but their written word will be nearly impossible to get rid of. In many ways, the online became more accountable than offline.Germany and the UK, for instance, at least defined their legal boundaries and who to pin the responsibility on should things go wrong. But India seems to have no legal viewpoint on such ‘soft issues’. So educate your kids all you may, but consider them responsible, lay out those laws (or even rules at school level), clear consequences and follow them through. And please spare that unnecessary child minding in the process.The author was a brand director for Hewlett-Packard, EMEA, at Publicis London. She is now guest faculty at ICSC European Retail School, and is an examiner at the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 21-01-2013)
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A cry for clarity! What am I, a parent, to do? What am I, a teacher, a principal, to do? Is there any position that is clear, complete and secure?There is a shakeout happening right under our noses and we are barely aware of it. It is happening in the way we cook, the way we spend our day, what we mean by ‘work’, the gadgets we use, the means we use to communicate, what we buy, and how we buy. It has been happening with an increasing acceleration with clever technology at our disposal, and easier use of air waves. Only a few decades ago, we called the television a revolution; what would we call a video call or a blog upload from a bus travelling on a dusty road in rural India? As individuals and as a society, much like a frog in a slowly heating pond, we have not registered that the ground is shifting, and that the landscape is metamorphosing into something that requires a reorientation of definitions.The two perceptions that I found valuable in the case are that “students are products in process…” and that “I firmly believe that we are what we consume”. Let me explain. There is a notion that we can dabble in something — gambling, liquor, pornography, etc. — and yet be untouched by the contact. But that is not so. It is time to digest the fact that ‘we are what we consume, what we participate and engage in’. The experiences shape us, subtly and beyond the ken of our conscious mind. For example, if a group conversing is not made up of peers, the language may be balanced and not abusive. If someone says something ugly or rude, there is scope for eye contact, or a response that is not necessarily verbal. But social media ensures that everyone hears all. Worse, even if a comment is polite and thoughtful, if it is boxed in by profanities, it is unlikely to balance the exchanges. Further, while I am all for an inclusive conversation among people of all ages, the language, metaphor and the content of social media exchanges does create a youthful ‘peer group’.Our society is searching for balance. But the times and technology have us adrift. We have not found new moorings and the ones we have, seem woefully inadequate. We are wanderers in eternal time. There seem to be two possibilities — grab the first or second straw, Facebook or Hangout. Or, be alert in communion with people, the landscape, the skies and other creatures on this planet. The second option raises the level of the conversation — about life and death, what we wish to leave behind, what care we bestow on another. It is not about instant gratification that technology offers with comments, reactions and jibes. I believe that it is only by broadening our vision will we find good responses. Facebook fills a need of our times. There is a paucity of close and meaningful communication among adults and children. If one had a few friends with whom one could speak, listen and learn, would there be a need to be on Facebook and have 248 friends? The dictionary says ‘a sense of communion with others: affinity, fellowship, kinship, friendship, fellow feeling, togetherness, closeness, harmony, understanding, rapport, connection, communication, empathy, accord, unity.’We easily settle for just ‘connection’. The other dimensions are lost. The social media offers less and packages it as more. Most of us would have no problem if people expressed what we consider sane and polite opinions. Unfortunately, the medium opens the door and we have little say over what comes in. The medium is the message, and the two cannot be separated.But I also ask, have we made our choice? Are we sure that saying more is not better than saying less? At school and college, do we know how to communicate what is valuable rather than what is saleable? Have we become sellers and consumers of opinions, rather than searchers for the authentic? Are we clear that our view, however good it looks, is but another view? Is there space for the other view? Have we created ivory towers, from where we cannot but shiver in terror at the voices and screams we hear?There would be no problem with FB (or other social media), or any other outpouring of the human spirit, if a large number of us were discerning listeners and responders. Unfortunately, that has not been our priority in education, and with each other. What we have is confused blundering. Do we wish to be discerning, listening individuals? Is this what we want for our children? I do not know if the questions posed in the case can be answered without first answering these questions. That will be tilting at windmills. There is an unseen orchestration in the marketplace beautifully documented in The Century Of The Self, by Adam Curtis. We have war at our doorsteps, and as one voice said, “If you loved your children you would see to it that there is no war” (J. Krishnamurti).The author is director of The Chennai Education Centre of KFI (Krishnamurti Foundation India) overseeing Pathashaala & Outreach. He Was the principal of The School KFI for almost 2 decades.(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 21-01-2013)
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Shee Ranjan sat with her eyes shut. The stress was getting to her. A huge argument had broken out at Wisdom Vidyalay, whose principal she was. What was usually a calm and peaceful place had now suddenly sprouted camps, lobbies and groups.Today another episode had occurred queering the pitch for her. If anything, today's episode was worse. But before that, the first episode...Last Wednesday, a student went and posted some foolish stuff on Facebook about his classmate. The teachers saw it too... and they told Shree. Shree saw the words and blew a fuse. Sharan, the eighth grader, had posted that he was dating his classmate Tamara, and then made some unpleasant references to her. For all intents and purposes, really silly boy stuff, but all of Tamara’s friends had read that, as had their mothers. And then her own mother. Now hell was breaking loose at her home.Shree was at a loss. She ran Wisdom with great attention, pride and sensitivity. Every time some technology-related crime hit the news, she discussed it in assembly. Frankly. She knew her students were all active on social media. But this was the first time something ‘bad’ had happened.Knowing that Sharan was the vice-captain of the junior soccer team, she called Anuraag D’sa, the soccer coach, and shared this with him. Anuraag calmed her down and told her young people did all kinds of things and that he would handle Sharan on the field. An exhausted Shree did not want mere correction, and said, “This trend must be arrested... an example must be set! I have called his parents.”Anuraag: I just think these are simply people who have neither learnt sensitivity nor respect... And Tamara’s seeming ‘aggressor’ is our own student! To take up cudgels against our students’ behaviours, have we taught them respect, sensitivity, care? Have we ever, discussed the art of using the internet with sensitivity? “And not just what you write on Facebook, Ma’am, but what you choose to follow and read on social media. Have you thought about how our kids get impacted by these silent persuaders? You have no idea how huge the business of schooling just grew! Do we know what kind of groups they ‘follow’? What music they hear? Worse, have you heard some of the lyrics?”He then opened two different pages on the internet, both interviews with film personalities on their lives — not films. And then he showed Shree the comments. “Such sharply skewed communal comments! See? They were reading all this the other day.”Shree shuddered. “Oh my God!” she cried. Anuraag: Yes, indeed! Anything goes on the internet. Anything. There is absolutely no editing it seems! More than teaching, we have to protect their minds because of all this! “Do understand, we teach them to say ‘No’ to drugs, ‘No’ to premarital sex, we forbid them from going to pubs, but social media is the largest foul-mouthing pub going! And there are no rules! Won’t you protect the kids? Would I not be concerned that the boys who show great spirit on the field are growing monsters in their heads about religion and people?”Vice-principal Jaideep Sharma stood behind them listening. “What I post on FB,” he said, “is none of the school’s business, just as it is no business of the school if I spoke rudely to the ticket clerk at Disneyland. It just happens that Tamara is a classmate... but it does not change anything! “I lived in a government colony as a student, where everyone knew everyone else and we all went to the same school. The school never had to deal with issues such as, “Jaideep hit me! Please punish him.” If the school had decided to deal with everything that happens between schoolmates in the colony, it would have no time left to educate us. So it stuck to doing what it did best: educated us about civil behaviour, how to live in a community, how to respect everyone, how to live with everyone... and that is the task a school needs to continue to do.”Anuraag: Exactly! Except that the definition of community has now ballooned. The social media is a public space with rampant unchecked public posturing and behaviours that kids can imbibe! We need to make it our business! If we taught them values as a part of schooling, then we can pull up Sharan for non-adherence. Now how can we call the parents and say ‘here is a bad egg, take him away’? These students here came to us as toddlers; we taught them to say Good Morning, Thank you, Welcome... and then we got busy with Calculus and botany. But they continue to grow! Why aren’t we with them?” The secretary peeped in through the door and said, “Parents here to meet the Principal.”The moment Shree stepped out, she was hit by a volley of opinions. “This is the new morality; politicians are doing it, then why should students be far behind? Everywhere the mood is rudeness, insensitivity...” Another parent said, “If the environment changes and new behaviours come, I understand. But definitions of schooling need to change with the times!” break-page-breakTamara’s parents: If a school will not check conduct, who will? Some parents are deeply involved in character building. Many are not effective. So? We cannot even depend on the law, which does not desire to correct but only punish! Sharma: Parents are responsible for conduct and character building and cannot hide behind ‘Oh they don’t listen to me!’ If a child breaks the law, there is the law machinery to manage it. Not the school. The school is for education, not to manage the law. That education should include science, math, languages, history, geography, civic sense, moral science and community living. “As for your views on the law, any law practitioner will tell you that the desired goal of law is to ‘dissuade action that is harmful to society or against public good’. The law can and has to punish you. The desire to correct cannot be effective without the right to punish.”Another parent: What?! Sharan is a 14-year-old! You will hand him over to the law?Science teacher: There is no law for “everything”. There are general instructions for the use of everything that are meant to create a respectful and orderly society. Such as throwing a packet of Lays chips on the mountain path is generally not doing the right thing. Some of us know this from the cultures we are brought up in; some of us do not understand ‘do not litter’ because for centuries we have been littering everything outside our homes. So schools have to step in and teach us the value: “Littering is not civil behaviour”, or “damages the environment.” Sharma: I think it’s unfair to ask schools to bear so much responsibility. The burden of teaching — as learning needs themselves grow — is difficult enough. On top of that we want the school to take action for the behaviour of students outside school? How much time can a teacher put behind all this? First teach in school from 8 to 4, then correct papers and assignments until 6 pm, then attend to parents who have complaints until 8 pm, then go home and attend to their own children....“Let’s first draw the line where school education ends and parental or legal action begins. The school is in the business of teaching subjects. Period.”Friday, Saturday and Sunday — three days of bristling discomfort. Monday morning, Shree woke up to a foreboding sense of trouble. And it did happen. A Class 12 student, Kartik, had made an anti-minority comment on a news report late Sunday night. He did not notice that the site had cunningly pre-clicked ‘yes’ to being copied on Facebook. The young lad had clicked ‘Send’, typed in all the security codes, and gone on with life. But his angry anti-community post popped up when Anuraag logged on late night; Kartik’s post had 14 likes and 72 thumbs down. Early Monday, when Kartik reported for soccer practise, a fuming Anuraag made him run seven laps. When Kartik protested, saying, “You have no right to do this! What have I done wrong?”, Anuraag said, “Likewise, the minority ask, what wrong have we done? You have no right to do this to us! Do you have a coherent answer to give them?”Kartik did the laps but by 10 am he was beginning to feel unwell and went home. He confessed to his mother what had happened. She got into her car and drove straight to Shree’s office demanding why action should not be taken against her for instituting corporal punishment. “How dare your coach punish my son?”For Shree, barely coming out of last week’s boy-girl FB episode, it was as if a wall had collapsed on her back. She called Anuraag and gave him an earful. Word got around, parents called and voiced grave misgivings. By mid-morning, the debate in her office had become vitriolic. Shree was clear, “I will not have this school divided on communal lines. I am shocked at his comments; Kartik will be suspended.” Kartik’s father: The punishment the coach is giving is symbolic too — like all those ministers who get suspended when hit by charges or sting operations. The real meaning is lost; the underlying rot is not seen! What am I paying fees for!Anuraag: The seven laps Kartik did will stay with him as a reminder all his life and stop him when he decides to think inefficiently. And if I may add, the seven laps do not even total two miles. At his age he should be doing much more! Good for a healthy mind...Shree shot him a withering look. But her terrible moment came when three sets of parents, who belonged to the aggrieved community, called to ask her, “Is this a school for the majority or for everybody? Should we withdraw our children from here? How can we feel included when grown-up students write such venomous stuff?” break-page-breakThis completely crushed her spirit. This was not what she stood for. Everything was now completely out of control. Shree said to the vice-principal, “Whatever the case for the school’s role, people will say, that comment came from a student of Wisdom Vidyalay. Then our name is mud! I didn’t expect this. One thinks of so many things, but one does not think of our students developing ugly adult minds... We are a confused people all pulling away.”But that did not help. More parents met her and expressed concern — essentially over the soccer coach’s right to punish the students. “He does not have a right!” was their verdict. That was when Shree called a meeting of senior teachers. Vice-principal Sharma: How dare Anuraag ask Kartik to delete the post to save his neck? Nor is it the coach’s business to teach students a lesson that he deems right. This is the parents’ job. Kartik is a Class 12 student, about to set out into the world of big bad wolves. Will that world forgive him or will it lynch him for that comment?Shree: The point is, Kartik is unprepared to step out into that world! If after 12 years he feels what he feels in that post, it means there is something we forgot to do! Rajveer Swamy (teacher of Business Studies): Kartik must take responsibility. If told how badly his remarks hurt someone else’s faith, chances are he would apologize and not do that again. The reality is, such things happen — insensitive remarks, in your face ‘dislikes’ — somewhat like old school bullying. But weeding it out and having a no-tolerance zone for such behaviour goes a long way. There will always be students whose parents will protest and force their own ideologies upon us. But if the culture (as with any organisation) is built on honesty, openness and inclusion — top down, coming from leadership itself — then there isn’t much to worry about.Gitika Dutt (head of design and art): Isn’t schooling all about sensitive awareness of the feelings of others? Isn’t that why we school them? Kartik is lost. What kind of a product is that? And by the way, Mr. Sharma, parents don’t understand the Internet, and to expect them to know all this is asking for too much.Rajveer: The question is why schools are not teaching social media protection. Do we not teach Health and hence the pitfalls of premarital sex or adolescent sex? Social media is part of kids’ lives. It is here to stay, just as porn is. Either we acknowledge it and be part of the conversation, or it is one more way in which school becomes irrelevant to kids.Sharma: The anonymity that was associated with the Web is gone. There was a time when you could assume any personality you wanted, log into a chat room and say anything you wanted. That was liberating: people who held dull jobs like accountants and railway ticket checkers could pretend they were town planners on vacation, or healing therapists... just about anything you wanted but could not be.“Today, it is actually rewarding to reveal details about yourself on the Web. Which also means you cannot pretend to be someone else. In fact, you are what you are on the Web. That’s because the Web does not forget, it does not bury facts, it does not airbrush them: what you reveal about yourself, remains the way it is, waiting for others to pass judgement. Why, today HR people track candidates all over the Net!In such an environment, can you really afford to be uncivil? Can you afford to be rash with your thoughts, ideas and postures? Can you be one thing in real life and another in the virtual? Not really. Kartik will come to realise this, just as he realised when he learnt to swim what happens if he does not take a deep breath before diving. Some things have to be learnt experientially. The social media behaviours, for example. There is no boundary between the real and the virtual — they are manifestations of the same self. So it becomes necessary to weigh your words well before you cast them to the Web.“It becomes necessary to ensure that the images you publish reflect yourself. Now, is that self a believer in civil rules? In social norms? In legal processes? That’s the key question we need to ask ourselves. That is what the school needs to involve itself in — in completing the understanding of law, how it is applied, what it does and how do I work with it. I think Kartik learnt that today and he will continue to learn. That world will teach him.Anuraag: Punishing one ignorant student for dark behaviour has only made it easier for all of us to shift the blame and responsibility away from ourselves. I believe some things have to be specifically taught. We tell a Class 1 student that fire is hot. We don’t wait for experiences. Yes, I know, I know we use website filters, but filtering should not be a tool to block but a tool to manage. But only if you have walked with them down cyber space and shown them how the March Hare fell down a bottomless pit.“Previous generations of kids would also write abusive things on papers and walls of the class rooms but no one took away pencils and papers from them! Students are still forming a sense of self, they are trying to build their identity and may not be exactly where we want them to be. Mr. Sharma, the point being missed here is this: students are products in process, not finished products like managers, like politicos. I believe in the adolescent brain being as yet impressionable. I think it is important for educators to understand these young students and try to meet them halfway. To ignore how our students learn would only push them away from enjoying the process of learning. But it is we who need to develop the skills to manage this.”At the parent conference that evening, various parents urged Shree to think deeply about whether the school could participate in building values. But one parent, Nandini Satpute, said, “I firmly believe that we are what we consume: including from parents, from media online or offline, and just about everywhere. “We returned to India last year. What I witness leaves me numb. People shout when they can talk softly; they honk when they can wait patiently; they clean their homes but throw litter right outside; they pray at places of worship, and come out to spit on the road and bribe a cop. The handicapped and fat people are for making fun of. The old are disrespected only in India. And all these are people who went to school!“It has nothing to do with consumerism in my opinion. Rather it has to do with the way we prioritise our lives. We start teaching our kids tables at two years of age, instead of teaching them the magic words ‘please’, ‘sorry’ or ‘thanks’. The law of the land — the police and legal system — will register your complaint only if your surname matters. And understanding!? An MP thinks rapes will go up if we register an FIR! “So if bulk of the brick and mortar society is nearly lacking in every human dimension and the governance in ethics and morality, how can online responsibility, given the anonymity involved, ever be? It’s no more about what teachers should teach but, what can they teach! If I teach you to be honest and your environment teaches you otherwise, will my teachings last? If I teach two genders alike, but they get treated poles apart, will my teaching make any difference? If I teach you to be polite and respectful, yet the culture teaches you that symbolism is enough, will my teachings go far? Nah!”Classroom Discussion Should educational institutions spell out a value statement and, like organisations, get students to walk the talk?casestudymeera(at)gmail(dot)comNow, discuss ‘Businessworld case studies’ on Facebook(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 21-01-2013)
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In late 1990s, when I accepted the role of managing director for Unocal India, it was a mandatory requirement for all individuals serving in global senior leadership roles to be instructed and certified by a reputed US law firm on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Every year one had to take a refresher course and recertify that was one fully trained and aware of the statutes, and also affirm that one did not violate the law. It was with part amusement and part serious consideration that one learnt the subtleties of what is a ‘bribe’ and what is ‘lube’. We were taught that presenting a life-saving medication or assistance to a government official to his or his family’s lives was deemed as bribe whereas perhaps a small payment to expedite the release of machinery at a sea port or to get your passport stamped at a Nigerian airport was considered as lube. (Not that the lesser was pardonable; the American manager was culpable all the same.)As I read through the case, I relive some of my past experiences with conflicts when dealing with governments across the world. Business could not be done in countries in South-east Asia at that time because every contract required an agency agreement that provided a remuneration to a member of the ruling monarchy or party; and this process had FCPA breach written all over it. Similarly, others had warned that capital investments in India would require similar agency agreements with enablers and agents. In that context there used to be guidance that partnering with Indian companies was mandatory since Indian companies had their ways of handling approvals with the government. Indian companies in return asked for annuity interest in projects that did not require a capital outlay other than the monies they had to pay for the required approval process. One could possibly argue if this was appropriate or not as per the FCPA statutes. In this case, Elzy India decided not to partner with an Indian firm and instead pursue its interests directly by hiring Effort Little, which proceeded as instructed (by Sahil Wazir) to create the desired outcome at any cost, and billed back that cost to Elzy. This clearly shows the lack of good judgement and due diligence on Elzy’s part for not clearly engaging Effort in a description of the itemised costs when there is so much wrong doing in real estate. I contend that Elzy is accountable for poor judgement notwithstanding the perceived naivety that can be debatable.On the aspect of doing business with India, India does need to relook at its procedures and processes to create more transparency. How this will happen and what would it take to institute this transformation, one cannot say. The problem of payoffs to get work done exists at all levels. One has heard of utility line men come to the house looking for a baksheesh (tip) for ‘fixing’ the meters to enable lower telephone bills. If one did not subscribe to this behaviour, the meter read in error, generating exorbitant bills! There is no formal escalation process to remedy these practices. This is not what real India wants! This is so because the real Indian was unable to speak up. But the time has come for change. The Economist had once published an article listing the most corrupt countries to do business in. Sadly, India was right up there. There is wide trepidation in the US regarding doing business in countries where approvals come with a FCPA price tag. I had been engaged with two US firms that looked for energy investments in India that were heavily dependent on government approvals. Both companies eventually had to ultimately withdraw because of the difficulties in getting the right approvals to conduct business and due to the constant revisit of agreements that were already in place. There were several other energy companies that were unable to set up business in India for similar reasons. Energy is a vital source for industry and for daily living, and ultimately India was deprived of energy due to the inability of the US companies reaching appropriate agreements to set up their business. Having been in the US for over 33 years, I can unequivocally state that US companies operate under a very strict code of ethics and conduct to the extent that most firms do not allow a corporate gift of more than $25. I have run into situations where we have invited folks for a user’s conference and they have refused a free hotel room and stayed at their company expense to avoid any bias when making informed decisions. It is this clarity of propriety over impropriety that lies behind the American capability, so that even in recessionary times, the heart does not seek value-less business conduct. As a final reflection, India desperately needs to infuse full transparency in the decisions to award contracts and negotiate terms and conditions as per published standards to attract and retain foreign investment. The time for change is now and I am confident that India is ready and willing to move forward. The author, a graduate of IIT-Kanpur & Carnegie Mellon University, is managing director of CSC India, a fully-owned subsidiary of CSC(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 31-12-2012)
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US laws have haunted American MNCs for decades. Look no further than the current tirade about Walmart’s declared expenses on lobbying in India, a matter now of a top-level investigation. No one would have been any wiser about the expenses unless US laws required Walmart explicitly to make those disclosures. While lobbying is perfectly legal in the US and material payments to lawmakers are effectively proscribed, in India it is taken to be synonymous with bribery.The case under consideration is another example of a law that has been hated by American companies operating around the world but has probably done a lot of good to countries where they operate, to their own brand in the long run and, consequently, to business. In the short-run, the FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) appears to tilt the playing field against American MNCs operating in environments where corruption is routine. As Thomas Friedman notes in The Lexus And The Olive Tree, in Indonesia under General Suharto’s regime, it was possible to get receipts for paying bribes. How is an MNC likely to be competitive if its parent law ties its hand behind its back from partaking in what is standard business protocol in such a setting? Before answering that question, it is perhaps relevant to ask whether India belongs to that category. Going by the Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, which ranks India at 94 out of 174 countries in 2012, it clearly belongs to the more corrupt half. But among the BRIC countries, while China and Brazil rank better than India, Russia comes in at a poor 133. So most emerging market economies are in a similar state of corruption.Do Indian businesses partake in this corruption? Hardly a debatable issue. Nevertheless an observation made by Raghuram Rajan a few years back is pertinent. Rajan pointed out that if one looks at the ratio of the number of billionaires to the nation’s GDP, then India is second only to Russia. India has the same number of billionaires as Germany with about a quarter of the latter’s GDP. Further, the billionaires are not software wizards, but mostly in sectors that are heavily regulated and depend critically on national resources. So let’s face it, big corruption is mostly B2G (business-to-government), though as most citizens would aver, the C2G (citizen-to-government) component is also significant.Now is it fair to expect the MNC to be restrained from playing by the rules of the land and still expect it to be competitive? My answer to this is an unqualified yes. Competition can lead to superior quality and efficiency, or a race to the bottom, depending upon what is the winning characteristic in the rivalry. MNCs enter foreign countries with superior technology, global resource base and world famous brands. And with far deeper pockets. Allowing them to play the same game as the locals would let it succumb to the temptation of virtually buying up the administration and take the nation down the slippery slope to kleptocracy. The result would be a loss of global brand value not just of the product, but possibly of the source country itself. It is a plot we have seen too many times in resource-rich developing nations particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. In the long run it has not helped the businesses involved either, not to speak of the immense harm it has caused to the local economy and the bad name it has earned the idea of globalisation and FDI. Restraining the MNCs from doing what they would not do at home, forces them to win against the local competition by playing up their strengths — efficiency, and brand strength. Riyaaz’s point that the CEO is always culpable underlines the fact that using a local agent is no escape from the clutches of the FCPA and ignorance is a not an effective defence. Once again this is exactly how it should be, otherwise a simple smokescreen of a local partner would render the FCPA completely ineffective. Jaideep’s frustration in the case about how it is impossible to acquire land without bribing is a real concern. Indeed land records is a problem area in India with lack of clarity of titles as well as the custom of using black money in land purchases. However, improvements are happening in this area with computerisation of land records being an important step in this direction. Here too, in a purely transactional sense, the participation of large organised players has cleaned up the black money part of the story to an extent, though corruption here may have switched to a more complex regime of swapping of favours between government officials and realty players.At the end though, the question remains whether the approach to corruption is a matter of convenience or corporate culture for large MNCs. Would reputed MNCs export their ethical cultures to the foreign shores, or do they play by local norms irrespective of ethical issues to stay competitive. That would, to a large extent, impact the debate on social benefits of FDI. The author is executive director of Bharti Institute of Public Policy, and a clinical associate professor at Indian School of Business(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 31-12-2012)
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The case throws up many issues around human struggle. Western mind struggling with eastern thinking, notions of right and wrong, professional and personal conduct, issues around fairness and above all, individual versus collective beliefs and norms. While at an individual level this struggle is between self and environment, the problem gets accentuated when we are part of organisations where the third layer comes into play. Laws are basic guidelines by which we are expected to behave in a society below which there is a consequence of non-compliance. But the eternal human endeavour is to tame the instinct so that we evolve as better beings and create a climate conducive for posterity to flourish and perpetuate. But the current view of the world paints a very gloomy picture of diminishing hope and lack of collective will to stem the tide. It is with such backdrop that the happenings at Camfor India make us realise that more laws does not mean more justice. We all can respect the letter but bury the spirit hundred fathoms deep and yet construct a reality around us that we are shining! Our biggest challenge is building a sense of fairness and moderation. Given the immediacy of all issues, expediency takes centre stage in all our actions and thoughts. Human evolution is a story full of such mental constructs to guide the good over evil and ensure that we survive and evolve. The daily human struggle to align individual soft boundaries with shared beliefs throw up many issues, and Abhay, Rajdeep, Samanta, Paulose, Jai and others are at a loss to understand the dynamics at play.Individual awareness creates ease, but to make that a collective one is an eternal challenge. We occasionally find sweet spots, but never a perfect winner. Yet the journey goes on to contribute to the collective wisdom and will. But providing the balance between humanitarianism and resource optimisation has to be the corner stone of all leadership endeavours.Organisations provide us those opportunities as the scope of that challenge is limited to the boundary of the entity. Of course, we are part of the larger system, but we can extend our circle of influence. The team members at Camfor have that opportunity and Abhay Kaul has to lead from the front. I wonder why Paulose is taking a particular stance. But creating a compelling case for change and driving that will lend a lot of credibility to Abhay’s leadership.Even though organisations have codified values and behaviours, we see a total lack of collective will to make members feel engaged, fulfilled and productive. Economic progress is possible without inclusiveness or vice versa, but then the ultimate dual purpose of any organisation is profitability and people realising their individual and collective dreams. If an individual’s ultimate goal is to become a better human being, organisations too need to become better to enable that. But this can happen only if boundaries are strong, understanding is collective and interdependence is enjoyed. History is replete with examples of individuals who have gone beyond the realm of letter of law and embraced the spirit of ‘being’. The journey from ‘doing’ to ‘being’ has to be a conscious endeavour of organisations, and should be as important as profitability. There is enough historic evidence that companies with strong cultures produce better results.In such an environment you would see discretion being put to use so that Jai Raman gets his date of birth corrected, and continued employment of Shannu Guha at Camfor India. It takes courage, compassion, collaboration, commitment and character to build ecosystems where possibilities expand to enable everyone to bring their conscience to work. In Responsibility At Work and The Five Minds Of Future, Howard Gardner talks of the ‘Ethical Mind’ where he envisions work to be good in the sense of being excellent, responsible and engaging.Larger good is possible only when we move away from confines of work and embrace the spirit of collective winning. The inner journeys of individuals is at the root of creating such minds. While the western world has taught us the value of winning, it is time for us to bring back the tenets of the eastern world where value has always been the central theme. Taming the instinct and a sense of restraint for the larger good is what will transcend us from being strong individuals to stronger communities. Blurring boundaries will have little or no negative impact when human beings seek ideologies that promote progress through collective frameworks. Gandhiji listed seven deadly sins: “Commerce without ethics, Pleasure without conscience, Politics without principle, Knowledge without character, Science without humanity, Wealth without work and Worship without sacrifice.” If left unchecked, these will drive our destiny and we will log one more day of wasted time. Creative dissatisfaction will fuel our drive to work on this challenge daily. The choice is truly ours.The author is executive vice-president and global head of human resources, EXL Service. Views expressed are personal(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 03-12-2012)
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Formal work places have clearly written policies, rules and criteria for evaluating performance and conduct; just as a nation has law which articulates what citizens can and cannot do. But language has constraints, because while it spells clearly, it often does not communicate the spirit of what it stands for; and this is why codification of norms does not ensure compliance. Several examples in the case illustrate that actors have acted unfairly even though they do not explicitly violate a rule. Paulose transgresses principles of human resource management when he refuses to make the simple correction regarding Jairam’s date of birth in official records, because he is peeved with Jairam for having refused Alisha an out of turn promotion. Shannu Guha is asked to leave the company, without much ado, because Shannu, though competent is slow. Rajdeep’s explanation of a company which manipulates the length of cigarettes to reduce tax liability in excise, fulfills in letter but not in the spirit of law. Finally, the minister’s disparaging comments about women is misuse of legal privilege. Wholesome families and societies do not have written rules and regulations; neither are members saints above ordinary human needs. Yet individuals are conscious of duties, responsibilities and social obligations and while pursuing self interest do not usurp or encroach on prerogatives of co-inhabitants. This attitude is called lajja, a term that subsumes several other qualities like deference, modesty, dignity, respect for social role, relationships and integrity. Lajja is the glue that keeps social systems cohesive. Lajja is not inborn — it is learned and can be inculcated. Hiri Ottapa, a Buddhist concept necessary for spiritual evolution, comes semantically close to what lajja means. Hiri is a sense of shame or conscience, and Ottappa is moral dread of doing something wrong (not to be confused with guilt, repression, or neurotic shame). When Hiri Ottapa is developed, we shrink away from the inappropriate, considering the significance and appropriateness in our relationships with others and with our natural environment. Ottappa specifically means reflection on our actions; that willingness and preparedness to stand back and think it through. By analogy, this makes lajja an essential moral — an emotional mind force that all individuals in a family, commune, organisation or society must possess in order to hold back at times, or perhaps take that extra step for the benefit of collective wellbeing.But lajja has many derivates: when we cling to it obsessively, it degenerates into shame and often leads to self destructive psychopathology. When shame for having transgressed is combined with reason and reflection, we experience guilt that makes us initiate positive and corrective actions. Collective lajja degenerated as shame is responsible for intergroup and honour crimes; and manipulated by marketing gurus in advertisements to sell, for example, fairness creams. A gendered version of lajja restricts women from expressing themselves holistically, which both men and women manipulate to sustain the power inequity in patriarchal system. Thus lajja can be a virtue, an emotion or a tool for manipulation. In the present society we find a denatured version of lajja playing out. There is increased consumerism stemming from a feeling of shame for not having, say, a particular car, and marketing professional use this to increase sales.Individualistic involvement in ones career pegged as working for family prestige (lajja as virtue) is often an excuse to shirk less rewarding family responsibilities. Imposing strict norms of conduct and dress code on women under the garb of lajja are ways to deprive them from enjoying resources that men can have.There is greater cultural, gender, caste and class diversity in work places today and ideological systems in all progressive nations support egalitarianism. Codified values and policies are meant to uphold this new workplace ethos, but human intelligence ends up subverting these for vested gains. Lajja is an Indian value with deep cultural roots and is well aligned with modern organisational and societal needs, albeit it has become denatured. If revitalised it can teach us to adapt to the ever-changing context of desh (place), kaala (time) and paatra (actor) without diluting ethics, morality and self interest.The responsibility for nurturing this meta value lies with parents, teachers and leaders. The roots of lajja are embedded in the ontological assumption of Indian philosophy which posits that human endeavours are meant to be responsible actions because we are all in an obligational relationship with other beings, specially the guru, rishi, pitri, bhuta (teachers, spiritual individuals, ancestors and nature). It is because of others that all human beings come into existence, evolve, remain alive and live a harmonious life and lajja enables this unification.The author is associate professor at Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, where she teaches Business Ethics & Personal Power and Leadership through Asian Values(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 03-12-2012)
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