Doraemon Musings - Lessons in Organizational Behaviour

Have you watched 'Doraemon'? Ok, you do not have to confess that publicly, but when I recently asked the same question in my MBA class and except one student, all others had seen the cartoon series. Few even watch it now! That explains the popularity of the adapted Japanese cartoon series.

Kids, for sure, are hooked to 'Doraemon'. 'Doraemon', the adapted Japanese cartoon series on television, continues to fascinate kids, at times grown up adults, even after more than 50 years since it was first telecast in Japan. Translated in many languages of the world, the show is extremely popular among kids across the world.

Even if you are not such a big fan of 'Doraemon' but if you happen to have a kid at home then chances are that you have been subjected to passive watching of the cartoon series.  Something with which I can relate to very well.

Well! I have not been particularly pleased that my son watches 'Doraemon'. However I am sure that over a period of time he will have the wisdom to differentiate between good and bad. Plainly keeping him away will not serve the purpose. Arnab like many other kids find the adventures of Nobita and Doraemon  irresistible.

'Doraemon' intrigues because everything depicted in the series should not be learnt and whatever lessons the 'characters' learn because of their follies must be. Now the challenge is whether the kids learn the right thing. I have always felt that kids who watch the cartoon series with no supervision, with the kind of characters that it depicts, run the risk of subconsciously modelling the characters. It is another story that similar issues exists with most kids series on television today.

But I also think that 'Doraemon', with all its shades, if communicated properly, can hold excellent lessons on behaviour not only to kids but to adults as well, particularly when it comes to Organizational Behaviour. Teaching this course to MBA students and being subjected to a passive watching of the cartoon series everyday, it gave me enough time and opportunity to think and introspect.

I prefer calling them 'Doraemon Musings'. Hope you like them -

Theory X and Theory Y
The protagonist of the series are two characters - Doraemon a robotic cat who has come back in time from the 22nd century to help a pre - teen boy Nobita. Nobita is a boy who is lazy and hates work - be it be going to school, or doing his studies, or his homework or make a decent attempt to play a game. He is constantly under fire from his teachers, mother and often even friends. As much as Nobita hates working, he wants all advantages or benefits without making too much effort. Basically he wants an easy life. He also dreams of an adult life where he will get a job that will have minimal things to do but 'one' that can give back lots of money. Because of his laziness, he often gets into trouble sometimes for not finishing his school work or chores at home or with his friends. He obviously turns for all the help to his robotic cat Doraemon.

OB Lesson 1

Nobita personifies the Theory X, that fundamentally believes that people are lazy and they avoid work, yet want all the benefits. They must be told and directed to make them do their jobs. Theory X is a contrast of Theory Y that believes the opposite about people. While a debate goes on in Organizational Behaviour classes that which theory about people is correct, characters like Nobita prove that  as much as Theory Y people exist, Theory X people exist too. Hiring people like Nobita could be a big mistake for any organization and essentially qualifies as 'select error' i.e. selecting the wrong person. The other error in hiring being 'Go Error' or letting go the right person. Hiring mangers must be able to differentiate between X and Y. Experts even believe that CEOs must spend atleast one fourth of their time in hiring people. Jim Collins in his famous book Good to Great had rightly said 'First Who, Then What' that in short means getting the right people in the organization precedes realization of its vision.

Leadership and Power
When Nobita turns to Doraemon for help, what does he do? Well, he doles out a gadget that can turn around the things for Nobita magically. The gadget temporarily solves Nobita's problem but makes him over dependent on itself, rather then on his abilities. Once the problem is solved Nobita is happy and somehow blackmails Doraemon into getting full control over the gadget. Nobita predictably misuses the gadget and gets into trouble again. Time for Doraemon to fish out another gadget...

OB Lesson 2

Doraemon represents a benevolent, laissez-faire and weak leader who is too kind to be effective. His benevolence often becomes the weakness of his followers and he ends up becoming their crutch in a way. They in turn fail miserably. He also does not know how to delegate power and often entrusts in wrong hands. And when total power comes in the hand of a fool then he ends up not only misusing it but also creating trouble for himself and for others. That's exactly what Nobita does! Once he is in full control of the gadgets, he misuses it and messes up big time!

Effective leaders know to be situational as well as contextual leaders. They know when to help their followers and when not to; when to direct them and when to let them discover; and, most importantly whom to entrust with power and responsibilities.

Power and Politics
Power is a function of dependency. More the dependency, more the other person wields power against the 'dependent'. Nobita  has two unworthy friends in the form of Jian and Suniyo. Jian rules the roost with his sheer muscle power and he bullies everyone including Nobita. The latter's only rescue is Doraemon, who else!

• Doraemon wields power over Nobita because the latter depends on him for protection and for special powers. 
• Jian wields power over Nobita because of his ability to infuse fear and Nobita cannot match his muscle power.
• Nobita also has some power over Doraemon as the latter is under obligation to protect the former (Doraemon has been sent by Nobita's  grandson back in time to earn some money and in return protect Nobita).
• Oh! I almost forgot Suniyo, the sidekick of Jian. He sticks to Jian by being his 'Yes Man' so that he can get all his favours. Jian again wields power over Sunioyo.

Since most of the power is illegitimate power, presence or absence of such power leads to negative political behaviour. Not to forget that almost all of them and Nobita in particular are out to impress Shuzuka the only girl among the characters who is the classmate of the boys. The display of negative political behaviour is either to use or neutralize the illegitimate power, depending upon whether one has or does not have the same, to meet their ends or to impress Shuzuka.

OB lesson 3

The prevalence of illegitimate power in organizations encourages negative political behaviour. People try to meet their 'ends' and 'means' lose their meaning. Hence it is either by 'hook or by crook'. People try and secure their advantages and engage in 'impression management' while making sure that they push all the disadvantages to their colleagues.

Conflict and Negotiations
The fact that illegitimate power and negative politics prevails in Doraemon, the conflicts among the characters are also mostly dysfunctional in nature. The conflict-handling intentions basically decide the kind of negotiation that they will have to resolve the conflicts.

• Doraemon is highly cooperative but not at all assertive - He is mostly 'Accommodating'.
• Nobita is neither highly cooperative nor very assertive - He has to mostly 'Compromise'.
• Jian and Suniyo are not at all cooperative but very assertive, infact aggressive - they are always 'Competing'.
• Shuzuka is cooperative but seldom assertive - She is also 'Accommodating'.

OB Lesson 4

If a culture of cut-throat competition with no cooperation or collaboration at all becomes prevalent in the organization then it is always a 'win-lose' scenario and never 'win-win'. Few win, others lose and organization,  Other stakeholders never really gain from such equations.Organization always gain when it can foster more 'Collaboration' in the organization. 'Collaboration' is win-win where both parties end up getting advantage and resolve conflict in a manner that is int he interest of the organization and the stakeholders. For that to happen there must be high degree of cooperativeness and assertiveness to say and do the right thing, always.

Emotions, Attitude & Readiness to Change
Most of the characters in 'Doraemon' are emotionally driven and cannot keep control over their emotions. Nobita's laziness and incompetence makes him emotionally fragile. He is basically the 'cry boy' who cries at the drop of the hat. He emotionally blackmails Doraemon who never learns from his past experiences and once again helps Nobita. Doraemon  also has weakness for 'Dora Cakes', something that makes him do anything. Jian  and Sunioyo cannot keep control over their anger and greed. And then all of them have some soft corner for Shuzuka who many times becomes the reason for competition.

OB lesson 5

The lack of emotional intelligence fosters negative attitude as it impairs both cognitive (mental processing) and affective (emotional processing) components of attitude formation. Thus the chances that they will change is very low. They never learn and never change their nature and keep repeating their mistakes.

Inability to foster emotional intelligence among members in organization, fosters negative attitudes and creates mindsets that block any sort of change. Such organizations face the threat of extinction more than any one else. Sustainability comes from positive attitudes and readiness to change.

Final Reflections
Looking back, Doraemon has an excellent opportunity to reform Nobita. But he is too submissive to assert the point to Nobita  and he never mends his ways. His realization upon messing up is too temporary and never end up in real learning.

OB lesson 6

Leaders have the best opportunity to create a right culture in the organization and thereby cultivate right behaviours that promote productivity, creativity and engagement. If leaders fail, organization pretty much fails. Pampering and threat, both are ineffective. Accountability with responsibility is what leaders must promote.

You have not watched 'Doraemon'!!!

And, just in case you are among the minority who have not yet seen 'Doraemon', then here is one episodes of the famours cartoon series...Enjoy :-)

Bandh and Onions

Bandh* and Onions in India are similar in many ways. Both are costly, both bring 'tears' to one's eyes but both continue to be in demand. Onion what appears to be from outside is not what it is when you peel the same.  Bandh is also like that, what seems to be the cause, seldom is the real reason. Onion keeps bringing tears to your eyes till you chop it down.  Bandh keeps us on tenterhooks till the day is over.

As you peel the onion, you may find it to be really fresh. You never know you may also find it to be rotten from inside! Bandh also keeps playing the guessing game. The uncertainty on such days can literally get on to your nerves at times.

As the price of the onion rises, it starts to disappear from the salad plates and menu of restaurants. Bandh has similar disappearing effect on people on the streets. More high profile the bandh, more is the disappearing effect.

Finally, onion is used by different people for different purposes, sometimes as a salad, in burgers, as a culinary accompaniment. Bandh serves different purposes for different people. Those who call bandh, those who oppose bandh and then people like me who have no clue why the bandh has been called for but are forced to stay indoors - all of them are served differently.

All said and done, no matter how you slice onion it still remains ordinary, smelly and never irreplaceable. Bandh is also simply pedestrian.

'Help! I can't Breathe...'

Try to hold your breath for couple of minutes - 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds ... difficult... starting to feel deprived of oxygen ... feeling suffocated ... cannot hold on more ... give up finally ... 

It is such a relief to get your breath back, isn't it! Feels divine!

Imagine if it is so difficult to hold your breath for few seconds, then what would it have meant for those two municipal workers who suffocated to death in that manhole, in the city two days back.

Yes, you heard it right, two workers died of asphyxia in that shit hole. Manual Scavenging is banned in the country but that did not prevent the contractor to force one of the workers to get down inside the manhole, with no safety gadgets whatsoever, to clear the blockage in the drain of one of the houses on the other side of the road. 

Apparently the house belonged to someone 'important' hence instead of checking the blockage from the house, the contractor chose the manhole route. When the worker got trapped inside the manhole, the contractor panicked and tried to escape. A fellow worker who tried to rescue him also fell in the hole and both of them did not survive.

The news in the next day's daily was published, few read and soon after it was forgotten. 

The contractor will go scot-free after the issue dies out, in all probability. Reality is that no one gives a damn to those poor souls who passed away.

Last year around the same time of the year two workers had died under similar circumstances when they stepped into a 15 foot deep manhole in East Bangalore. And even the year before that, two workers suffocated to death in a sewage drain at M.G. Road, one of the top locations of the city. The apathy is very clear.

'Help! I can't breathe...' they would have tried to cry out loud but their voice and lives would have been snuffed out of utter suffocation.

I shudder to think of their final moments. What a horrible end ... 

Shame on us, Shame on this city !!!

As we go to local municipal elections tomorrow, can we stop for a minute and think about these workers who are treated like guinea pigs in keeping this great city functioning and ensuring that all the 'shit' remains under the 'ground'.

It is so surprising that in a country where we even worship animals, we deny fellow human beings of not only a dignified life, but also a dignified death.

Why Can't Men Cook !

No, no, this is not a question that I am trying to answer. You must have noticed the exclamatory mark after the title line.

Consider this...

Storm in the Tea Cup...

My wife loves tea...but only if it is made by me. Somehow I seem to have the magic recipe for the tea that she loves and likes so much that every other tea is tasteless for her. I on my part love making a cup of hot tea for her every morning and evening.

Cut to an odd evening...some guests have dropped in home. after usual pleasantries, as is the custom in most Indian homes, tea and snacks need to be served and the rest of the conversation pretty much continues over those delectable. I insist on making the tea. We have an open kitchen in our home. So the tea that I am making is very much in the full view of our guests lounged in the living room. As I make tea and serve the same, my guest seem to be visibly restless, especially a middle aged women among them. At first I do not seem to understand the cause of their restlessness, but then I figure it out. They are feeling slightly embarrassed at the fact that the 'man' of the house is actually serving them tea. This routine in their view is reserved for my wife.  I wonder what is so big deal, however for them it seems to be! But for appearing rude, I felt like putting back those tea cups in the kitchen without them having touched them.

What's Cooking!

In our household there are no work boundaries between me and my wife and no one is really helping when one is doing a job. That is supposed to be done, that's it! The same applies to cooking. Cooking for us is a more functional job and we share it among both of us. But I have seen some members of my extended family, relatives feeling a bit embarrassed if the cooking for that day has been done by me. They seem to be sympathizing at my labour and also do not forget to subtly suggest to my wife that she is really 'smart' (that she could pass the buck!).  However when my wife does all the cooking, which unfortunately she has to do more times than me, no one seems bothered.

I just don't get it...why can't men cook! What is so big deal if they share household jobs. After all everyone lives in that house and shares the benefits!

Why should women always cook and serve?
Does it hurt the self esteem of men if they share this job?
Then, should it be assumed that women have lower respect than men?

If the answer to any one of the above questions is in affirmation, then that person definitely suffers from a mindset  that puts men on pedestal and denigrates women.

Surprisingly it is not only men in our culture who suffer from such mindset, it's also WOMEN. That is saddest part of this reality. Many women still think that men really slip off the assumed 'pedestal' if they cook or serve! C'mon...

b'Ad' Promotion

Few days back I heard a AD (advertisement over radio), that went something like this -
A man asks his wife what would she wish if God granted her three wishes. To this wife expresses three wishes that in some way suggest that she would ask her man to help her in the kitchen. Every time she makes a wish, the man makes sounds of disapproval, and by the end of the third wish the man sounds as if fainting in disgust. A baritone voice comes at this juncture that goes like ...'Women need help in kitchen. That is why we have designed a kitchen sink that has...' whatever blah! blah! features.

Consider the assumptions made in the Ad.
a) Place for women is kitchen.
b) Women always need men to help them.  (else they can't do their jobs).
c) Men feel wasted if they are asked to do kitchen stuff!
d) Wife is a dimwit that she wastes God's grant to lowly kitchen jobs.

Whereas the reality is -
a) The man in the ad is a lazy bum.
b) He is also insensitive to the fact that his wife is slogging out in the kitchen alone.
c) The wife is driven so crazy that she needs almighty's help to bail her out out of this lonely daily grind!
d) Not her man but a product comes to her rescue. Alas!

Another recent radio ad of some pre-mixed spices has a punchline- 'now even men can cook'.

Really!

No wonder ads are made like this...after all they are made by 'similar' people for appealing to the majority having a mindset that we just talked about.

cHANGe

Can this mindset change? I believe it can but it will still take a long time before real change happens. But for that to happen, I believe the change has to start from women. Women have to stop assuming that cooking or for that matter any household job is only their responsibility and that if men do the same they are belittled. And, that if men help in the house, they are being magnanimous. 'Sorry ladies they are not! It's also their job and it is anyone's job who is living in that house. If fruits are shared by everyone, the labout also must be! Start believing, for only when you believe, that the other gender will take note and change.'

One last thing...
Ladies who are homemakers also work! For God's sake stop assuming that only those 'who' go out to work are doing a job. The lady in the house is doing a 24/7, 365 days job with no salary, leaves, benefits, increments or promotions. Just because a lady is a homemaker does not mean that she has no work and that she must toil alone in the house. Not acceptable. Homemaker works and does the toughest job on planet earth in an office called home. 'And other people in the house, how come you forget teamwork when you come back home!'

This time again...Ladies do not rest, till it is cool for Men to Cook! :-)

Dream turns Sore, Poor Girl No More...

Dream turned nightmare for the poor four year girl who lost her life in the recent car crash. Tucked cozily in her mom's lap, travelling in her Dad's 'small' car, she was critically injured when it crashed against Hema's 'Big' Merc. 

Hema a famous yesteryear actress dubbed by many as 'dream girl' and now a politician/MP was rushed to the best hospital immediately, while the 'four year old' lay bleeding alongside her family injured in the crash. The crucial time lost in taking her to hospital reportedly cost her precious life. 

Neither Hema, who comparatively escaped with minor injuries, nor the doctor who rushed her to hospital for once thought about the kid that she too needed urgent medical attention. As if this was not enough, Hema squarely blamed the girl's dad for the accident and for the death of the child, despite the fact that her driver has been booked for rash driving. Under fire for leaving the four year old behind to die, Hema did not lose an opportunity to claim her innocence before even the family could grieve death of their baby. 

This gross insensitivity shook me and many... Hema how could you do this? You are a 'dream' no more! You and your car were no dream to the little girl and her family. It was a horrible nightmare for them.

Hema should thank her stars that she was in a Merc having international safety features that saved her life. The poor girl and her family were not so lucky and got badly hit in their humble 'Alto'.

However this should not come as a surprise. Pandering to the rich, famous and powerful is common in this nation. India claimed by many as a land of equals is more equal for some! 

Else, how do you explain holding-up entire aircraft full of 'ordinary' passengers and delaying the flight to accommodate a late minister? And not once, at least two times in the recent past. In one case even some legitimate passengers were offloaded from the aircraft to accommodate the minister!

Else, how do you explain a famous actor running down pavement dwellers in an inebriated state and even after evidence clearly against the actor, the case running for 13 long years with still no signs of justice?

These are just recent top of the mind recalls. There are countless such incidents in our country. Ask anyone on the street and he/she will definitely have at least one similar incident to narrate.

Who to Blame?

The blame for the VIP culture in India cannot be put only on the VIPs. The blame also lies with all of us. Had we not been servile and pandered the ugly protruding egos of such people, then such culture will not flourish.

The doctor who forgot the four year old kid in his bid to show his utter servility to Hema or the airline officers who meekly held the aircraft for the minister or the several on streets and social media who instead of showing sensitivity towards the poor helpless dead pavement dweller & his family, brashly supported the star actor - we are the ones to blame more.

Exception is not a rule! Unfortunately...

Not every rich and powerful is a jerk and not every middle class or poor in this nation is a servile...however unfortunately they are heavily outnumbered by those who either shamelessly wear their status on their sleeves or by those who lick those sleeves crawling on their knees.

'It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice!' - this wise old adage cuts very little ice with majority in this nation. 

Alas!

RIP four year old angel - you are in a better world! May fairies hold you in their lap and sing you beautiful melodies. You will have no bad 'dream' there!

Drive Slow !

My old car was having some overheating issues. I was advised to drive the car slowly till that time that the problem is rectified. Hence my speed dropped down to an average of around 50 km/hr. The drop in speed meant that I was moving much slower than most vehicles on road. With lane system non-existent in India, that also meant that cars, trucks, buses overtaking me from right, from left every now and then.

Frankly driving slow changed my perception in a way. Although I applaud myself for my driving skills and can really negotiate fast and tough, but for the first time really I was enjoying my drive and there was a smile on my face.

I put the air conditioner off, rolled down the windows and the cool morning breeze, music playing on the car stereo everything seemed so lovely. I was no more rushing as I usually did. The cars running past me appeared to be in a 'race' and I was no more in that. While I was never losing sight of the destination, the journey seemed equally enjoyable. Driving slow was almost therapeutic, both for me and for my car.

What was even wonderful was that I was reaching my university in the usual time. There was no delay.  Surprise! I thought I will be late, but I wasn’t.

Life mirrors roads and most of us seem to be on the fast lane, rushing, racing, at times even cutting lanes, jumping signals in a mad rush to reach our destination.  In the midst of all this we forget to enjoy the ‘journey’ - pick some ‘cool breeze’ on the way, enjoy the ‘sun rise’ and the ‘sun set’, the ‘clouds’, ‘rains’ and catch an innocent smile of a child, hum a ‘song’... the journey can be so enchanting.

But then we seem consumed with destination. More of everything and more of more…destination seems like a shifting target. In the end it is like a mirage, and we like the desert’s lost travelers.  We just never get there because we never targeted a goal; we just wanted more and more.

As a result our body ends up like my car – over heated, over stressed and on the brink of a breakdown. Only like for my car, no one is there to warn us to slow down a bit in our life. Hence we keep revving our muscles, nerves and bones till they ‘wear out’ and ‘breakdown’.

For a moment, stop and think… and in case you see what I do then atleast for sometime... Drive Slow !

(Also suggest reading 'Stress kills: Father remembers son, a Goldman Sachs analyst, who died at 22' @ http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/stress-kills-father-remembers-son-a-goldman-sachs-analyst-who-died-at-22/article1-1354791.aspx )

Do Poor lack Values?

Valuable or less valuable, anything goes missing in an average household, the first and the usual suspect is the housemaid. ‘She must have stolen it’ – this is what most residents of that household say with utmost confidence. To add more credence to their theory they also add – ‘I saw her lurking suspiciously for no reason yesterday. She must be contemplating the same.’ At times the maid is even quizzed or indirectly made to feel that she is the suspect, much to her embarrassment.

Parallel search for that object continues and one would agree that 95% of the times that object is found in the house itself, that someone kept carelessly or too carefully, and then blissfully forgot about the same.

The missing has been found and everyone is happy in the house, but the poor maid? Her self-respect has been crushed once more by her suspecting rich employers. No one feels any need to even say sorry to the poor soul who stays with the blemish and lives with the stigma ever after that she was called a thief, when she was innocent.

Ditto happens in many offices and the suspects more often than not are the petty workers. 

Does being poor means being less honest?

Do most of us somewhere deep down feel that less privileged people lack values and cannot be trusted?

Few days back, I encountered an acclaimed academician's piece of advice for his alma mater from where he graduated 5 decades back. His advice startled me. His alma mater known for being very sophisticated and traditionally open to kids of the elite, after decades of exclusivity was opening doors to less privileged students coming from lower economic strata.

He wrote...

“Traditionally our institution has been known for the kind of values that our students are endowed with. However now that we have decided to open our doors for the less-privileged we have to more careful. These students coming from poor families may not have that kind of access and hence may not have the kind of values that our students generally have. It is philanthropic that we have decided to open our doors for the poor boys and girls but we must do extra diligence to ensure that the values are instilled in them.”

Clearly the assumption is that boys and girls who come from poor families do not have good values and they need to be educated on the same as well. This reflects the same mindset?

How far is this true?

Recent disclosures by Swiss authorities show how some India’s rich industrialists are stashing away millions in foreign banks to evade tax.  The size of India’s black money market is enough to make you feel a bit dizzy. A World Bank report puts India’s shadow economy at close to one-fifth of economic output. Obviously poor people did not stash away these millions in foreign banks; and those rich people who did surely will not score very high on values.

A survey conducted by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) shows that an average urban household in India pays around Rs 4,400 annually as bribe, while rural households have to shell out Rs 2,900. How can people laden with values pay and accept bribes?

All this cannot be the product of high values; and all those people are not poor.

Government defines BPL (below poverty line) as those whose average monthly per capita expenditure is not more than Rs. 816/- in rural areas and Rs. 1000/- in urban areas. That is much lower than the bribe being paid.

Wait! We must not give rise to another stereotyped perception here that all rich people lack values. As much as this is not true, can then it be conclusively decided that those devoid of riches are devoid of values as well?

Think…