Thursday, July 12, 2012

Appreciated in Brazil, Booted In India

A homeless couple in Brazalian city Sao Paulo living under bridges & temporary shelter did something remarkable. On one of their night strolls they found $10000/- in a trash bin by the roadside and promptly returned the same to police. The man in the couple earns less than $7/- per day. When quizzed about his exemplary act, he simply stated that his mother had taught him never to steal.


Well..! quite inspiring at a time when integrity has become such a rare commodity. Not everyone is as upright as the Brazilian couple and even if they are, not everyone is appreciated as this couple. On the contrary they may get the boot. Take for instance, Mr. E.K. Bharat Bhushan who was removed from the post of DGCA (Director General of Civil Aviation) a couple of days back. His removal raises eyebrows considering the fact that only last week he had been given an extension for one year, effective from Dec. 2011, or till the appointment of a regular incumbent. So what transpired in this one week that turned the tables for Bhushan, who has the reputation of being a honest and strict administrator.

Is it incidental that only a day before his removal, Bhushan had issued orders to the debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines to either pay its employees their past wages (the airline is said to have not paid its employees’ wages since February) in the next 15 days or shut operations?
One hopes the two are not connected…having said that one has to be naively foolish to believe the same. The matter of fact is that Bhushan was not lucky as the Brazilian couple and the Airlines not as upright as them…

Disengagement of similar honest IAS officers like Bhushan and of the employees of these airlines, from their respective organizations, should not come as a surprise.

2 comments:

Devpriya Dey said...

I am back Sir.

Does an integrity test, polygraphy test,graphology test or any such kind of test help to test the integrity of a prospective applicant!

Is there any way to check an applicant has been honest throughout his/her career!

This can prevent the work place ethics & integrity and in future we will not have another Reebok issue cropping up.

But one more questions which tickles the mind is what is the guarantee that an employee who has been ethical will not break his/her integrity in future?

Here the role of engagement arises which makes an employee responsible & his/her sense of ownership develops which can prevent such mis-deeds.. :)

Dr. Debashish Sengupta said...

Hi Dev,
I don't think that engagement can influence individual morality but can definetly prevent the setting-in of a culture of 'reflective obedience' among the larger set of employees.
This in itself gives rise to an environment where it is not threatening to question, or to differ or to freely express onself. The resulting transparency makes it difficult for anyone to indulge in hideous activites.

Best,
Debashish