Thursday, March 17, 2011

Bahrain and the Middle East

The Middle East has changed in a manner that was unthinkable even a year back. Having been in Bahrain my assessment is that democracy could be a little difficult to handle in the ME. Indians who are in Bahrain, UAE and Oman, relatively liberal places, like the peace and order there. And things would have been okay till Tunisia and Egypt happened.

The local people there were happy, even if there were rumblings. However, the main reason for discontent is the change in the economic climate that has taken away jobs from them. At such a time, the people start seeing discrimination and adduce reasons for it. Otherwise such a thing was unlikely to spread in the Arab world. If people had jobs, we would not have seen any demonstrations or discontent.

Speaking of Bahrain, it is next to Saudi but is a much more liberal place. The people are cultured and refined if a little formal, almost British. It is sad to see the sight of troops and police everywhere. The people of this small country are liberal to a fault. Here's hoping that there is a speedy resolution to the conflict that has occurred there and that both parties find a way to bring a durable peace and thereby make it the Pearl of the Desert.

What your Doggy Attitude Says about Your Management Style


(Disclaimer: This does not purport to be anything but pop psychology and the author claims no responsibility for anyone taking this too seriously!)
What is the difference between one dog owner and another? Well, it is rather difficult to say because, as you probably know, there are dog owners and dog owners. The attitude to their adopted pets differs considerably. Likewise, we have managers and managers. Before I embark full steam ahead, I would like to provide some background, which is my theory about dogs and their masters or mistresses. Your attitude towards your pet probably says a thing or two about you as well. So why have I chosen the canine one to make a statement? Simply because a dog is, arguably, the most common pet in the world. And I think I know about dogs and their masters/mistresses.
If you have had a dog in the house, and here let me qualify that I mean a live in pet that is allowed to enter all areas of the residence, you would know that caring for it is serious work. We have had two by the way and both have now reached dog heaven. Nonetheless, the fact is that many people have a dog to show off their wealth, or to tie at the entrance of their house or as a guard dog, that cannot enter the front door. So we have people who buy a ‘pedigreed’ dog, authenticated by a proper certificate by a kennel club.
There are only two areas that this piece will focus upon, one the way the dog owner treats the dog and the second, the way he or she deals with the ‘doggy do’ or poop. Believe me, I have seen plenty of owners, and the way they treat this rather sticky aspect of dog care is a revelation.
So to get to the point, we have the following: -

Democratic Owner:

Their dogs are allowed the run of the house. They can climb on to sofas or share the master bedroom with the owners. They are not tied up at any time and, in the rare event that dog haters come to the residence and they have to be isolated, the dogs are simply kept in one of the bedrooms, behind a closed door.
Here’s what is probably the owner’s management style. He will allow his employees or subordinates the freedom to express themselves through work. He will probably give them a long rope and will spare them the hanging if they commit mistakes. This makes for a friendly and responsible employee who learns on the job and from each task he or she is required to do. Rather like the CEO of IBM who did not fire a VP who committed a blunder that cost the company a cool $7 million. When asked why he did not he said, “Hell, I just paid for his tuition!”
Dogs and children and employees need to be corrected and this also happens with such a Manager. However, the annoyance lasts for only a short while. Normally, employees respond to the needs of the organisation best, with such a Manager and he or she dotes as much on the employees as they on him or her.

Dictatorial Owner

This person treats his canine like a Military commander treats his troops. He expects complete obedience and punishes any infraction or signs of rebellion with a reprimand or a beating. What this does to the dog is to make it a canine existing without any enthusiasm. This man’s employees are also likewise, an unenthusiastic bunch of people who work because they have to and, their life or death depends on this person who happens to be their boss. I have worked with three such caustic bosses and any attempt to do my best always met with a reprimand for some unexpressed requirement that remained unfulfilled!
The organisation suffers such bosses more due to political reasons than anything else. In the long run they cause more harm than good and the employees flee faster than people leaving the Gulf, as of now.

Careless Owner

This person cannot be bothered to take care of his or her dog. The poor dear is left to fend for itself. Food is not given on time, the pooch is not properly toilet trained and the neighbours keep complaining. Not the fault of the dog. However, you can bet the owner blames the dog and says that all this happens despite the care he takes!
You know this kind of Manager, the one who delegates work and responsibility and blames the employee for any mistakes. What happens is that the employees start shirking work and woe betide the poor sod who volunteers, with sucker written all over his or her visage. Of course everyone learns fast and no one steps up on the plate after sometime. At which point, the boss berates everyone for lack of initiative, for laziness and what have you.
What about the doggy poop, the sticky part. In India where every person is a law unto himself, there are a few owners who take the trouble of cleaning up after their dogs. In Singapore, the fear of fines and lashes of the Rotang ensures discipline of cleaning up after the canines.
In places where discipline is not enforced or, if at all, very loosely, the true character of the owner manifests. Here let me get to the types, without this description claiming to be complete by any means.
One owner takes his or her canine on to the public road and is busy using the mobile while the dog sniffs around looking for an appropriate toilet space. Sometimes, the dog is not on leash and the owner is looking elsewhere. The dog will choose, as dogs are inclined to do, the entrance of someone’s house, or the middle of the road. Passersby avoid the mess and walk around it. Meanwhile big daddy is still busy on the mobile and starts walking homeward. The canine follows although in an inquisitive way as it sniffs its way around its neighbourhood including the hindquarters of other canines. If the canine gets into a fight with another not so kindly inclined one, the owner promptly puts it on leash and drags it away from the scene despite the stiff resistance it offers to the curtailment of its freedom. This owner believes in the public being spared the menial task of clearing public spaces of doggy poo by the citizen. The dog’s duty is to dirty and the municipality’s duty is to clean up. Of course, if this worthy steps on the mess made by a canine, even if it is his own, he will lament loudly about how public servants are lax in the performance of their duty.
The abovementioned person would be the one who will fudge accounts and do all sorts of slimy things and expect that others will clean up the mess made by him. Sorry, but this trait is more masculine than feminine. Only don’t tell my wife I said so!
The next type of owner keeps his dog on leash but will stop short of cleaning up. He or she ensures that the dog does its stuff away from the public gaze and in a corner somewhere. This person may be careful not to make a mess but will still walk away from it and allow others to clean up.

Ideal Dog Owner

So who is the ideal dog owner? He or she carries a scooper or at least newspapers and plastic bags, when taking the pet for a walk. These owners clean up after their dogs and take care to use the trash can thereafter. This is regardless whether anyone is looking. These owners take good care of their dogs and keep them from straying and dirtying the neighbours’ spaces. They take responsibility to clean up any public space that has been dirtied by their dogs and bristle when their pets are accused of messing up the neighbourhood. They pass on these rules to their children who grow up to be caring and careful citizens. At work such people are likely to be responsible employees who take ownership of the business and do their best, own up their mistakes and do not leave the rectification to others.
So that’s my piece. By no means does it purport to be an all encompassing treatise. Am sure that lots of people will tell me what I have omitted, an error to which I freely admit. Let’s all strive to be like the last named dog owner. And in the picture are my two precious canine sons, both of whom have shrugged off their mortal coils. Dennis, the dachshund went to dog heaven first and Rex was with us till December 2009 and he had sufficient toilet etiquette to use the toilet. He did not flush. But then he was a dog and not a man!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

The Black Swan

This is not about the movie! The Black Swan refers to the rare event that strikes in a least expected manner. And for India the Black Swan occurrence is the sudden activism that has landed quite a few punches to the Government, its spinmeisters and the Left Lib industry.

All was going well for the entire 'establishment' in India. The Queen was in her parlour eating bread and honey and counting out her money, the maids and her manservants were in the garden of the palace hanging out her laundered linen to dry, when along came the Black Swan (in the form of Radia tapes) that suddenly bit them in one of the sensitive areas of the body politic.

Forgetting sarcasm for a while, let us see it as a chance event. these things do not normally happen, and yet they do with a regularity that makes you wonder why people never learn. The Congress was in power right from the time of independence for an uninterrupted period of 30 years. There were upheavals galore for brief spells, the congress split of 1969, the emergency occasioned by the Allahabad High court judgement against Indiraji, the second split and so on. This time however, secure in the knowledge that the sycophants were in their place and all the allies had been suitably placated with their favorite avenues for securing loot or for satisfying their desires for ego massage or whatever, the Cong. went forward with its own agenda and tried to also pave the way for never getting caught by packing institutions with pliant people who would look the other way or not investigate with any vigor the crimes and misdemeanours committed by them. But black swan events are upon you suddenly without warning.

The three events that created an upheaval this time were
  1. The release of the Radia tapes by Open Magazine and Outlook. Outlook always seemed a pro Congress magazine and, all of a sudden, it released what was dynamite.
  2. The Supreme Court is now headed by a person who is an extremely honest and totally impartial jurist. Dissatisfied by the pace of investigation into various cases, the CBI was asked to report directly to the Court. Since then we saw the resignation of one of the Central Ministers followed by his arrest
  3. Even with all this the media and press had almost decided on a policy of Omerta, silence in Italian related, ironically enough, to the Mafia. The whole affair broke out in Twitter and suddenly it erupted all over.
Everyone is aware now of loot that has taken place and nothing that the Govt. does nor the whitewash attempted by fellow travellers in the media can save the day. The Govt. looks like it is fighting with its back to the wall.

Exposure is like taking toothpaste out of a tube. Nothing can put it back again and now everyone is waiting to see the next scandal come out. But all that will be after the World Cup!