Antonym of Engagement

What would you do if your employees did not meet their targets? Well! motivate them and inspire them so that they can improve their performance. May be even train them, enable them and facilitate better resources.

Most of the times though, employees falling short of targets are subjected to coercion, veiled threats about loss of job and many times even ridiculed in front of other colleagues. 

What works and what doesn't is open to argument, however there are no two words that you have to drive performance in the organization. Incompetence cannot be tolerated and hurts the business results, customers, eventually other performing employees and ultimately the entire organization. 

But how far would you go to punish the employees who fall short of their targets? Company has all rights to ask them to improve their performance, put them in QIPs and even then if they do not improve the company may ask them to leave. The whole idea is engage the 'majority' so as to elicit voluntary contributions and performance. But it still does not stop the company from treating the others going-out through their gates decently!

However a Chinese company does not think so! It has come-out with a bizarre punishment for its errant sales personnel who failed to meet their targets. Dozens of employees from a food company in southwest China's Sichuan Province ran along the wintry streets of Chengdu in only shorts and T-shirts on Monday because they failed to meet their company's annual sales quotas.

Source: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn

According to the company's rules, male employees had to run only in their shorts, while female workers had more freedom to choose what they would wear as they ran along the streets as a "punishment" for not meeting their sales requirements. Men had to run 10 kilometers, and women had to run five kilometers.

The employees who took the punishment had to face the piercing stares of the passers-by that they found most difficult to handle. Talk of putting gun on the head, the company perhaps stopped just short of that! 

However the company can still claim to have not touched the bizarre levels of punishments in the Roman era, the "death in the arena" punishment meted out to the prisoners in the Roman Colosseum. The Seesaw is seen by modern children as a plaything. The Romans had a far more strange application for this seemingly innocent school yard addition. Two condemned prisoners were strapped to either end of the seesaw, and were encouraged to begin the simple game of going up and then down. Once they got a rhythm going, however, the cages of the Colosseum opened, and out came the wild beasts. To a roar of excitement from the crowds, the two prisoners would begin their galloping up and down much faster - as a lion or a bull would be waiting on the descent, waiting to rip the poor prisoner to pieces. This resulted in a frantic attempt to touch the ground and get back in the air as quickly as possible. Eventually, however, the prisoners would tire, or slip up, and that's when the lion would pounce. Perhaps it was just a foot, or a leg, but the giant cat would grab onto the prisoner and pull. The resistance of bone meant very little - it would pull until something was disjointed and the imminent food could be pulled right off.

The Chinese firm must be thinking what engagement are you guys talking about, we will strip our employees if they do not meet their targets! Dunces!!! they should be thankful, we did not let the dogs out on them...

Banker's Bank is still not Customer's Bank

Recently, one of my close friends bought a new car. Part of the amount was financed  He chose a public sector bank, one for the tenure and second for the slightly low rate of interest. He applies for the loan, completes all the required formalities...cut to third day, he gets a call from one of the bank officials asking him to pay Rs. 127/- (a little more than $2) pending amount in a credit card issued by another bank for his loan to be approved. For a loan amount of Rs. 4 lacs, how could pending payment of such a small amount be significant to determine the credit-worthiness of the borrower? Anyways, the instructions did not stop at this...the bank official further directed my friend to physically visit the credit card issuing bank, pay the amount, take a receipt and present the same to them for sanctioning of the loan. My friend told that his bank did not have retail branches and that he would pay the amount online and send them a transaction record. The bank official asked my friend to talk to some madam, but then he found out that madame had already made a move, he agreed to my friend's offer with reluctance. My friend immediately makes the payment.

Cut to day four...the bank official calls my friend again. This time to tell him that he would have visit the PSU branch to sign the loan agreement at 3 p.m. for the loan to be released. My friend requests the bank official that considering the distance of the branch and traffic of Bangalore, and further considering that it was a working day, would it be possible for the bank to send an executive to his office or home or if the time of appointment could be shifted to a mutually convenient time. The bank official summarily turned-down both the requests, much to the irritation of my friend. For those who live and commute in cities like Bangalore, they know that accommodating such rigid appointments from service providers is not easy at all. Any other private bank would have gladly sent one of its executives without much ado. But not this PSU bank! My friend got so annoyed that he called me and expressed his desire to cancel his loan application and instead apply the same from a private bank. The higher interest, he thought, would be better to pay! But I pacified him and told him now that now that he had come this far, to just go through the pain and finish the process. My friend does as directed by the bank huffing and puffing throughout the day.

In between two verification  all the paper work happen, the loan is finally released in a week's time. Not bad! for a PSU bank. Cut to next week, suddenly I get a call on my mobile...some gentleman on the other side calling me by my friend's name and before I could react, charging me of not taking his call despite the fact that my phone has been ringing. I politely ask the gentleman on the other side of the phone about his identity. He turns-out to be a loan verification agent. He has been entrusted with verification of the loan borrower. But hasn't that been already done? Anyways I told him that I was not the borrower and was his friend. He told me that when the first number (my friend's number) did not respond he called on the alternate number that I think my friend had given my number. I told him that I would inform my friend to call him. I tried to call my friend on his mobile, the phone actually kept ringing with no answer. I tried his office number and could get him online. It turned out that his mobile was out of order. That explains why the verification agent could not get him. Anyways I gave him the message. My friend was taken-aback a little, considering this was the third time verification was happening and then the loan had already been disbursed by the bank. Then what is the use of this verification? Putting all this logic aside, he promptly called the agent. Later in the evening when my friend called me, he told me that the agent came and his visit was another formality. While leaving, the bank agent asked my friend to pay for his fuel expenses  citing that he had to visit repeatedly. When my friend refused the demand firmly, the agent left, not very happy though.

When will the PSU banks learn how to engage their customers? In this age of competition how long can they afford such ignorance and inefficiency?

An enterprise with poor organizational design would  always nurture bureaucratic and non-empathetic employees with little or no concern for customer convenience and needs. They make hassle-prone processes and execute them with no rationale.

I know you want me to name the bank...well does it really make any difference? All I can say is that the Banker's bank is still not customer's bank! Use your imagination!

Last heard, my friend has been asked by the bank to bring his new car to the branch and show the same to bank officials. Reminds me of the ancient stories where people used to take their newly bought buffaloes to the zamindar (landlord) for blessings :-)

India Gender Pay Gap 2013 Survey Findings

Leadership challenge in Engagement

Recently, The Conference Board came-out with The Conference Board CEO Challenge® 2013. This global consultancy firm has been coming-out with these challenges since 1999. For the year 2013 CEOs world-over have stated Human Capital as their top-most challenge followed by operational excellence.  I had an opportunity to attend session by Dr. Rebecca L. Ray, Senior Vice President, Human Capital -The Conference Board. She clearly stated that engaging human capital remained as the top-most priority of CEOs across the globe, including India.

Interestingly to one of my questions about what she thought was the top-most concern in engaging human capital in India, she very candidly stated that the organizational leaders need to walk-the-talk. If a senior leader of the organization does something that is not consistent with organizational norms or policies, many a times he/she is let-off. Such an incident, even if it happens only once, destroys the engagement of the employees with the organization.

Employee empowerment is talked about by mist organizational leaders these days. It has almost become a slogan for companies and institutions. But ‘few’ really seem to have the gut to listen to an empowered employees’ honest feedback. For starters reportedly a professor in a prominent law school in our country had to lose his job for challenging the decision of the senior leadership of the institution. After the barbaric gang-rape of one of its students in the campus premises, the management imposed a 9 p.m. deadline for closure of the campus gates. This deadline was challenged by the adhoc-professor and he was booted-out & his contract was abruptly terminated. But consider the published excerpts of his letter the professor seemed to have a point. 

Consider this –

In his letter, the professor stated, “While students have been and can be advised to avoid dangerous areas in the vicinity of the campus, imposing such blanket restrictions is an unduly paternalistic move. There have been numerous instances of sexual harassment and physical abuse of NLSIU staff and students in daylight. These problems cannot be eradicated with a simplistic measure such as constraining the movement of students after 9 pm. In fact, such restrictions are likely to result in more students choosing to stay off-campus in the future, thereby escalating the risks to their physical safety….

As word gets out, it may also affect our attractiveness for prospective applicants, exchange students and visiting scholars, among others. It is also quite foreseeable that not allowing students to enter after 9 pm may result in numerous instances where students can be left stranded in the vicinity. In addition to these practical concerns, there is a larger question of the symbolism inherent in the institution’s response. Given that these restrictions are clearly a knee-jerk response to a crime committed against one of our students, we are indirectly engaging in victim-blaming rather than addressing the root of the problem.”

Going by such the strategies of the institution, roads should be shut if accidents happen instead of improving roads, lane discipline, traffic surveillance systems and drivers’ competencies.

Leaders seldom walk-the-talk. They hate to be told that they are wrong and worse to be challenged. This in turn breeds a flawed organizational design that creates rigid hierarchies, a culture of intolerance and a control system based on hire and fire. Engagement is the biggest loser in this case. 

My name is Khan and I am proud to be an Indian!

Culture of intolerance and politics of opportunism is sweeping this nation. Shahrukh Khan is the latest target of such insanity. His matter-of-fact article that drew reactions from across the border had some politicians in this country baying for his blood. As Shahrukh said in a statement later that it is sad that he had to clarify that he is proud to be an Indian and he is safe in this country. Isn’t that what he lamented in the article that he wrote for Outlook Turning Points 2013 (Published by the New York Times)? All evening news channels yesterday had  debates going-on on Shahrukh Khan's article, although it was evident that most of the panelists (a sizeable number of them politicians) who had been invited on such shows and were baying for SRK's throat had not even read the article!


But Shahrukh is not the lone victim of such absurdity in this nation. Not so long ago, Ashish Nandy’s comments at Jaipur Lit. Festival were twisted and construed that he is anti-dalit. A Kolkata based professor is arrested and is thirsted in jail simply because he dared to draw a cartoon of a politician who is at the helm of the state. Shashi Tharoor loses his ministerial portfolio for his tweet. The list can go on on…Who cares? Politicians care for the mileage that they can get out of the vote-bank or caste-based or religion-based or region-based politics, fanatics care about declaring fatwas and people of this country… by and large they seldom care to check the facts. When Justice Katju said that 90 percent of people in this country are idiots, we slammed him but did anyone read his open letter and what he really meant when he gave that statement?

Majority of people do not check facts, they just react! Am I surprised? No, not at all! In fact, if it were any other way, I would have been.

This is also good news for all the politicians and the likes in this country for they can continue to create hysteria and draw mileage out of the same. The bad news is that in the long run the disengagement and disenchantment of the same people would be huge. It is simply a win-lose game, where people only stand to lose!

Organizational leaders who also wish to believe that engagement rides the unintelligent emotional horse more than a rational stallion can be rest-assured that they are sowing seeds of destruction in the future. Short-term manipulative gains shall not prevent the systemic disengagement of people in the long-run and crisis would loom large one day on organizational sustainability. Curbing opportunism-based management & leadership in organization and building a strong inspiring culture is the only way to create long-term engagement.

APPLE intensifies labour audits in China

Apple Inc stepped up audits of working conditions at major suppliers last year, discovering multiple cases of underage workers, discrimination and wage problems.
The iPhone and iPad maker, which relies heavily on Asian-based partners like Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group to assemble the vast majority of its iPhones and iPads, said on Thursday it conducted 393 audits, up 72 percent from 2011, reviewing sites where over 1.5 million workers make its gadgets.
Apple in recent years has faced accusations of building its profits on the backs of poorly treated and severely underpaid workers in China. That criticism came to the fore around 2010, after reports of suicides at Foxconn drew attention to the long hours that migrant laborers frequently endure, often for a pittance in wages and in severely cramped living conditions.
Foxconn is the trading name of Hon Hai Precision Industry and employs 1.2 million workers across China.

Under Chief Executive Tim Cook, who took over from Steve Jobs in 2011, Apple has taken new steps to improve its record and boost transparency, including the extensive audits of its sprawling supply chain. Last year, it agreed to separate audits by the independent Fair Labor Association. In an interview on Thursday, Apple senior vice president of operations Jeff Williams said the company has increased its efforts to solve two of the most challenging issues - ensuring there are no under aged workers in its supply chain and limiting working hours to 60 hours a week.

Child Labour
While child labor reflected a small percentage of the workforce, Apple is now investigating its smaller suppliers - which typically supply parts to larger suppliers and hence face less oversight on such issues - to bring them into compliance, sometimes even firing them. "We go deep in the supply chain to find it," Williams said. "And when we do find it, we ensure that the underage workers are taken care of, the suppliers are dealt with."
In one case, Apple said it terminated its relationship with a component maker Guangdong Real Faith Pingzhou Electronics Co Ltd after discovering 74 cases of underage workers. Officials at Pingzhou Electronics could not be reached despite three telephone calls from Reuters.
Apple also discovered an employment agency that was forging documents to allow children to illegally work at the supplier.
Apple reported both the supplier and the employment agency to local authorities, the company said in its latest annual report on the conditions in its supply chain. Apple has audited both small and ancillary suppliers, as well as large ones such as Korea's Samsung Electronics Co, for working conditions. It found 95 percent of sites audited complied with avoiding underage labor.

Child labor is an issue that is part of the larger supply industry as the component maker that Apple found violated child labor laws supplied parts to more than a hundred different companies, including automotive companies, Williams said, vowing to eradicate under aged labor from the industry.
"I don't know how long it will take to get there but that's our goal," said Williams, who has spent a significant amount of his 14 years at Apple in Asia managing the supply chain.
Exploitation of Student Interns
For 2013, Williams said a key focus for Apple will be student interns and ensuring that suppliers do not abuse the internship system, especially in China where many colleges require students to complete internships as part of their curriculum. Some companies in China are solving labor shortages by employing students. Last September, city officials of the northeastern Chinese coastal city of Yantai ordered vocational high schools to send students to a large plant run by Foxconn - a key contract manufacture for Apple and other large electronics companies like Hewlett Packard - to overcome a shortage of workers.

Bonded Labour
Another focus areas has been "bonded labor", where agencies who help immigrant workers find jobs take a substantial portion of the worker's pay. Apple said in the report that it asked suppliers to reimburse $6.4 million in excess foreign contract worker fees in 2012, according to the report.

The company said it achieved 92 percent compliance with a maximum 60-hour work week in its supply chain. Where violations were discovered, Apple took action, it said in its report. Apple also found and stopped discriminatory practices against women workers in 34 supplier facilities that required pregnancy testing and 25 facilities that tested employees for certain medical conditions, the report said.

(Source: Apple steps up labor audits, finds underage workers. By Poornima Gupta and Noel Randewich
Reuters – Fri 25 Jan, 2013)

Women in this country, stand no chance...

After all the public outrage over the shocking & gruesome rape & murder of Nirbhaya in New Delhi, the 630 page Justice Verma panel report’s recommendations on laws dealing with women safety comes as a disappointment . Those expecting something radical from this report’s so called suggestions for tougher laws to protect women, would be seriously let-down. This report does not recommend death penalty for the rapist, does not favour chemical castration of rapists (under the garb that human body mutilation is not favoured under the country’s constitution) and is still ready to let juvenile rapists go scot-free!


Raping a woman is mutilating her body and soul and her trauma is worse than death. Many a times in our country the rape victim is ostracized by the society on grounds of morality! Juveniles raping, torturing women are less criminals? If murder is horrendous, rape is ten times more monstrous and devilish act. And we want to keep them in jail at the cost of taxpayer’s money? You and I shall pay for them to be kept alive in jails? By any chance if anyone is inclined to believe that these rapists would reform, then its’ time to re-check some facts.

Recently, serial rapist who had raped and murdered a minor year old girl in 2002 and had been serving jail sentence since 2003, was released on parole for showing good behaviour. Immediately after his release he kidnapped another nine year old girl, raped her and murdered her. He then disposed the victim's body at an isolated place near Shirdi railway station (source: Serial rapist on parole rapes, murders minor girl). All we are doing by keeping them in jails is that we are keeping these wolves alive for them to tear-apart some other girl or women later. Death penalty creates fear and only then such criminals can be deterred.


“The measure of punishment in a given case must depend upon the atrocity of the crime, the conduct of the criminal and the defenceless and unprotected state of the victim.

Imposition of appropriate punishment is the manner in which the courts respond to the society's cry for justice against the criminals.

Justice demands that courts should impose punishment befitting the crime so that the courts reflect public abhorrence of the crime.”

- Justices A.S. Anand and N.P. Singh, Supreme Court of India, in the case of Dhananjoy Chatterjee


Justice Verma panel’s recommendations for adding acts like disrobing a woman, voyeurism, stalking and trafficking, intentional touching, spoken words and gestures made as advances under sexual misconduct is an welcome move but by not advocating death penalty for the rapists, the weapon has been left blunt & rusting.

Our society has no qualms in killing millions of girls in mother's womb (source: India loses 3 million girls in infanticide), in killing a new bride for dowry (source: Dowry death: One bride burnt every hour) but when it comes to awarding death penalty to rapists we back-off advocating principles of humanity. In this country of a girl escapes being killed in the womb, she might end-up being burnt alive by her in-laws for dowry. If she escapes that too then the society and in some cases even family members are there to get her and either she is tortured & killed or she lives in fear throughout her life!What an irony! Do women in this country stand any chance? If some cannibals must die for millions of innocent people to live, so be it!

Engagement principles are always based on rationale concrete outcomes. Civil societies & organizations have responsibility towards protecting the innocent & for that if there is a need to strongly punish the offenders, they should not hesitate.