Tradition means ..

Today I had a very good conversation with Br.Basil, a theological student from STOTS, Nagpur. We discussed about a variety of matters and one thing that caught my attention was about tradition.

In this changing world there are a lot of people who are orthodox in their way of life, in their thought process or even in their dress codes. They follow a ‘tradition’ which was formulated by some great personalities. They follow it because that is the way of life that made the great person a Great Personality. But think! That was relevant at their period of time. But is that relevant now?

We are strictly imposing some rules and regulations, or some traditions, on others. What is the use? Why are we doing so? The world around us is not the same as the world some years ago. If you force a person to follow a traditional way, it is same as putting pressure on an isolated object which has in no way connection to the external environment, hoping that it will change. It may change. But how much successful will that be is a question. There is no use in changing a person without setting the proper environment for a person to get changed. Put it in the other way, that a person has to be changed if the environment around that person has already changed. Otherwise the person is considered as ‘outdated’, just like a medicine after its expiry date and of course no use to others.

Tradition means not strictly holding to what we received from our forefathers as it is, but making changes to what we received from our forefathers according to the present external environment and passing it on to the next generation. In Br. Basil’s words, tradition is like a gift that we received from our previous generation. We should not pass the gift to the next generation blindly. But open our eyes. Check the gift whether it is properly wrapped or whether it is covered with dust. Clean it up, Make changes if required and Wrap it with nice gift wraps so that it will be pleasing and useful for the whole world. Then pass it on. This is what tradition is.

You are not thinking, but vomiting others’ thoughts

Food for thought

Yesterday I was listening to a talk from a young person- around 27 years old. It was a very short speech. The young man was quoting Deepak Chopra, Robin Sharma, Osho etc. Nothing bad in that. But I found he was just ‘vomiting’ the great thoughts of others. Many of us had enough food for thought from the afore said great people. Why are we feeding with the same concepts again and again?

Or is it a problem with me only? Don’t know.

Generation Y has a lot to experience with the latest technology compared to Gen X. I really do not know whether this has any influence on the reading habit of Gen Y people. But I am sure, this has resulted in putting very less or few effort in thinking.

People simply do not think at all!

They are quoting others and vomiting what others had already said or thought. Why can’t they think for some time? They are not looking at a situation from different perspectives. This also has great impact in solving the day-to-day problems because they cannot see a problem in different angles.

Think for at least 15 minutes a day. It would be better if you jot it down in a diary. Develop lateral thinking skills. It is very difficult to think properly in the initial days. But constant practice to think in a better way will help you in the long run.

P.S: I know software engineers in MNCs drawing a salary of more than Rs.20,000 just for doing a routine, clerical job. This is the world. People are getting paid for not to think at all!!

Industrialisation in Kerala: a necessity in the near future

Even though the Communists resist industrialization, they cannot do that in the present scenario. This is because people do not need theories, but decisions for the betterment of common man. Social and economic improvement will get a place in this ‘betterment’, but I am not sure whether environmental and cultural improvement will get the adequate importance.

The social and economic improvement is possible only through more job opportunities and good education. This pave the ways for fetching more industries and businesses to Kerala by the Govt. The Communist Party always stand for the employees; against the exploitation of employees by the employers. But most people, now-a-days, think in a different manner. They do not matter their exploitation; but they need a job, a better pay package than before. They are ready to work hard. As long as they get a very good salary, they do not mind being exploited to a certain extent. I.T jobs are clear examples for this.

Today the hot topic is economic slowdown. It has affected worldwide, but not much severity in India. It primarily affects the production houses or manufacturing units. If the slowdown becomes more severe and results in more lay-off, many ‘Mallu’ people working in Gulf countries will be forced to come back to Kerala. Even though there are not much authentic records about how many Keralites are working abroad, an informal record shows about 20-40 lakhs Keralites are working abroad; out of which, around 20 lakhs are in Gulf countries only.

Think about the situation when these many people are forced to return to Kerala due to economic recession. Can Kerala handle this much population, without a job?

These people do not have a place to work due to lack of businesses in Kerala. Most people will move to those places like Cochin, where the chances of getting a job is more than that in a village. Some will more to metros like Mumbai, Bengaluru etc. in search of a ‘better’ job and for better education for their children. Some will ‘adjust’ for some time with their foreign earnings. But how long? They have no other way, but to work at a lesser pay package and position. Some will end up in starting a small business.

This is a very big blow to the pride of Keralites – working similar to a servant, where once lived like a king.

People who had gone to Gulf at their twenties and now at fifties or sixties will not face much difficulty to cop up with the situation. They must have earned enough and will definetly lead a calm and peaceful life. But the situation I narrated above is for a middle-aged man who struggles to meet the two ends.

People coming to Kerala from Gulf were worked in different fields. Due to the experience in diverse fields, Kerala is blessed with a wide variety of expertise, talents and knowledge of these returning Gulf Malayalees. Sad! we do not have enough place to occupy them, to utilise their expertise properly. Otherwise, Kerala will be the numero uno among the states in India, with its knowledge power and the hard working attitude of Keralites(I must admit that the hard working attitude can be seen only when Keralites move out of the state. In Kerala, people are lazy!!)

A couple of technoparks or smart cities are not sufficient for the development of Kerala. Those cannot provide much employment options when compared to the population in Kerala above the age of 20. We need more industries. We need not only IT companies, but manufacturing firms, food processing units, service industries, agricultural institutes and research firms. We need incubation centres for the development of new businesses. We need more private limited firms and Public Private Partnership(PPP) firms. Our public companies should compete with the private ones. In short, each and every firm, everyone in Kerala should work for the development of our state and there by the development of each individual. Betterment of a single person is possible only through a collective effort.

We need a government with ‘very less’ red tapism( I won’t say NO because it will take time to get implemented in Kerala at present scenario), ‘less’ corruption and a competent team to lead Kerala. Keynes macro economic model focuses on three factors- Government, Businesses and House holds(Individuals). So government plays a crucial role in the economic development of each individual.

We need an efficient government, we should welcome more businesses/industries to Kerala. Yes, as an individual, I’m ready to work hard, for the benefit of my nation and that ultimately results in a better life for me than what I am enjoying right now.

Media: losing focus

In India, media is losing focus. They come up with all unwanted stuffs which are in no way connected or are bothered by the common people. Is it right to discuss what Aishwarya Rai is wearing, where more than 30% people are starving? Think!

News Channels

 

 

Useless analysis

One of the majour nuisance in the TV News Channels is the ‘unwanted, useless analysis’ by the so called experts in a particular area.

‘Why MSD(M.S.Dhoni, Captain, Indian Cricket Team) lose his cool?’ This was the topic for yesterday’s discussion on a prominent news channel in India. And there were two or three people analysing this issue-the cold war between MSD and Viru(Virendra Sehwag, cricketer, Indian Team), who was injured. Only Dhoni and Viru know what is happening between them and what is the need for analysing those silly things? It is not even an issue between the U.S and the Russia!! It is shame that these type of analysis happened when the Indian students in Australia are facing racial abuse.

One thing is clear: Either there are not much news happening in India or the journalists are not searching for REAL news. And I don’t agree with the first.

Gossips

Some other channels focus mainly on GOSSIPS. ‘What was Aishwarya Rai’s dress in that event?’, Who’s the best in comdey-Sunil Shetty or Salman Khan?’, ‘How many teeth are there in the mouth of the dog of local general secretary of XYZ party?’ It’s hillarious that these are the type of news coming in that channel. They may argue that they positioned the channel in such a way. But the question is: Are these the REAL news?? They need to define what news is.

Dragging the news

Some channels drag the news so as to ‘fit’ all the news contents into a half an hour program. This is done in such a way that the same news content which is for a couple of minutes is asked to same/different person in two or three times where the answer for all the questions are the same. The audience are not supposed to by heart the news, but to be aware of what’s happening around.

If some majour events happen, then the news channels are like testing the elasticity of a chewing gum. They go on with that news for three or four days- Analysing the event and analysis on the analysis, expert discussions, the dissent, what had happened wrong? if it had not been happen, then what might have occur? 

I wonder how these people are making money without doing anything! Simply blah-blah-blah and get paid for their so-called ‘expert opinions’. Who is there to report the problems of a common (wo)man in India?

(Note: There are news channels and programs that deliver quality analysis, expert opinions and discussions. No offence made to any news channels.)

Do you need an MBA to become an entrepreneur?

“Why do you want to do an MBA?”
“I want to be an entrepreneur.”
“Do you need an MBA to become an entrepreneur?”

Even though I answered “Yes” with out any logical thinking, this question of my Professor Anirban Ghatak kept me thinking for the entire two years in MBA. Do you need an MBA to become an entrepreneur?

Source: http://www.vctec.ac

MBA – Masters in Business Administration – is different from entrepreneurship. To be specific, MBA is a subset of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is more than that of MBA. The roles of a manager and an entrepreneur are not comparable. The approaches to the same problem by an MBA graduate and an entrepreneur are also different. The way they think(intuitive/ systematic), the decisions they make, idea generation methodologies, their dealing or presentation with other people, the risk taking abilities, and even their appearances and mannerisms are different.

An MBA graduate, usually, focus on one particular specialisation and even into micro specialisations. But an entrepreneur is a jack of all, and sometimes may be a master in one subject. There is no need of an MBA to start a business, but to proceed further, may be after a year, one needs some knowledge about managing the business. An entrepreneur can avoid this step by appointing a manager in the firm to take care of business. But would you prefer another person to run the business to you? Three things matter here.

Effectiveness: The entrepreneur has better information and knowledge regarding the business because he/she is the one who conceives the idea. And hence he/she can manage the business effectively and efficiently.

Trustworthiness: Since the entrepreneur knows the business inside out, it is better to take the position as a manager than appointing another person.

Money: You need to pay the manager a hefty amount if one is appointed.

An MBA is good when you need to understand more financial/marketing/HR concepts, otherwise there may be a chance that your own employees fool you and take advantage of your ignorance.

The critical factor: Idea
The critical factor that decides whether you need to do an MBA to become an entrepreneur or not is “idea”. If you have a very good ‘innovative idea’, do not waste your time in doing a two year MBA course. Start it right away. Get the help from a professional to make a business plan and present your idea before venture capitalists. They will take care of the funding part. But be cautious that the professional who is helping you to prepare the business plan should not steal your idea. (It is better to prepare a business plan by yourself or patent your idea).

But what if you do not have an innovative idea? An existing business or a successful idea copied from another country is prone to more competition. You need to know how to develop your business and here comes the importance of MBA. It depends on a number of external factors like economy, politics, technology etc. If you do not want to waste your time and have good financial backing, go ahead and hire a manager.

Decisions and risk-taking ability

An entrepreneur thinks both intuitively and logically more or less the same. But intuition plays a less role in the decision taking ability of a manager. Business schools will teach you to think in a systematic way just like solving a case study. But no one in business schools will teach you how to think intuitively. It is qualitative and is difficult to convey. One need to practice it. Keep in mind that intuition plays a major role in decision taking.

Entrepreneurs are more risk taking than managers. An entrepreneur identifies an opportunity and grabs it. He/she takes the risk and acts accordingly. But a manager is more into traditional way of thinking and hesitates to take the risk. Even if a manager do not take a risk and the business goes smoothly, he is not in a dangerous position. But if he takes risk and the business flops out of the risk, his may get a pink slip. This thought hesitates the managers to take risk. Always keep in mind that the risk should be a calculated one.

Learning: an on-going process
Whether you have an MBA or not, whether you plan to take an MBA or not, whether you are a manager or an entrepreneur, to run a busiess, it is essential that you need to learn continously. It is an on-going process.

Keep on updating your knowledge. Identify the opportunities, anaylse them – its advantages and drawbacks. If it is viable, take the risk and invest in it. Reap the benefit as soon as possible.

Human Resource management role and importance of values ethical, moral, philosophical, spiritual and scientific

Excerpts from the presentation of Prof. N.S.Ramaswamy at International Conference on ‘Innovation and Strategies‘, Christ University, Bengaluru.

(Prof. N.S.Ramaswamy: Former Director of IIM-B. Padma Bhushan, National Professor in Management, Director, CARTMAN.)

In every human endeavour in every sector and in every field of activity, there is a Management component as an integral part of the activity-though, words, deed, actions, transactions, policies, decisions and relationships. A Management function had existed from the dawn of civilization. But it has been made a subject for studies and practice only during last 100 years, ad that too, in business and industrial sectors during the Industrial Era which developed under the capitalist system.

It is the Management function which determines, or discriminates between what is good and bad for the doer and his/her family, society, community, religion, nation, mankind, animal species and planet. It is lack of ethical and moral component that is afflicting the three entities in the planet, consisting of mankind, animals, and Nature’s endowments. At present, Management, as taught in Business Schools and practiced in every area of activity, is governed by social science disciplines, such as Politics, Economics, Sociology, Psychology, Logic, Law, Productivity Techniques, Mathematics, Statistics, Information Technology, Accounting etc. These disciplines do not have a discriminating or humanistic component. Therefore, in order to make Management Science to become an instrument for the welfare of Man, Animal and Nature, it is essential to introduce ethical, moral, philosophical and spiritual values, such as honesty, truth, integrity, non-violence, selflessness, service consciousness, compassion towards animals, respect for Nature, sympathy, empathy, courtesy, politeness, forgiveness, concern for others, culture, aesthetics, art, yoga, meditation, fasting, silence, prayer, surrender to the divine, equanimity, balance,serenity, calmness, quietitude, fairness, justice, etc. Further, Management function should avoid, abjure, eliminate or suppress anger, arrogance,egoism, avarice, jealousy, envy, hatred, prejudice, lust, passion, vindictiveness, boastfulness, cynicism, negative tendencies and instincts which are lying dormant in Man.

Typically, fostering positive virtues and suppressing negative tendencies are part of and are largely common for all religions. Unfortunately, secular education and transactions in public life kept religion away. Therefore, fostering desirable qualities and avoiding negative tendencies ought to be taken over by Management function inherent in every human activity.

This is the only way by which plunder and pillage of Mother Earth, desertification global warming, extinction of forest, cruelty to animals, exploitation of consumers, fraud, scams, criminality, violence, sensuous behavior, break up families, terrorism, inter-religious and international conflicts and confrontation etc. can be avoided. This means that Management Science has to adopt these noble and worthy ideals and virtues into the Education System and practies in organisations in all kinds. The philosophical concept of Hinduism, incorporating theory of karma and reincarnation, law of cause and effect etc. are additional inputs, which would preempt deviant behaviour among mankind. Good begets good and bad results in failure and sorrow in this birth or in subsequent births. The Theology part of all religions, that is concept of God and His relationship with man, theory of creation, heaven and hell, punishment and reward by God etc. can be left out of the new version of Management proposed here. A reorientation of Management in Government, Business, Education and all human endeavours would be the strategy and innovation for materialistic progress, peace and harmony, elimination of conflicts, suppression of violence and passions, elimination of hatred, etc.

Stop ‘Booker’ing India

Article by: K.P. Praveen Nair

Now a days, literary circles in India are pretty much contented as two prestigious and much coveted awards for the literature came India’s way. As an Indian I feel overwhelmingly honoured and privileged and it is an encouragement for all the young and emerging talents of India who want to step into the art of literature, especially English literature. But the question that bothers me is what exactly we will have to write to get these awards?

My advice would be, writing something nasty about your own country would be a nice option like what Aravind adiga did in his first book The White tiger. Or make a movie that shows how nasty and pathetic things are in India and how people in India suffer under draught and penury. I can assure you that you will walk away with your head high with the awards bestowed upon you by white people.

This is not the first time India has bagged the man booker prize. Before Aravind Adiga, there were Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy and Kiran desai who managed a booker prize, adding gloss to their resume. Initially I thought of reading all the booker prize winning novels written by Indian authors and I started off with our latest one which deals with the story a chauffeur turned business man. The story nicely segued from one incident to the other constantly and uninterruptedly blaming the Indian system. It discussed poverty, corruption, deceit, political sleaziness, infidelity and treachery in the best possible way right through the book. Â I leafed each and every page with a sigh and desperately hoping to read at least one good sentence about my own country on whose behalf he proudly received the honour.

After reading the whole story, I wondered, was he talking about the same India in which I live? Â It needs a lot of guts to call ones own birthplace darkness, which he uses proudly through out the book as if he had invented the best metonymy possible. Our author seems very keen on degenerating himself when he brazenly puts it,… south is full of tamilians and you know who tamilians are? They are Negroes… (One should not forget he is Chennai born) The whites would definitely have enjoyed it, wonâ they? Who was he trying to please? ?

Aravind Adiga holds dual nationality, half Indian and half Australian (I guess, before writing such (so-called) big truths about India, at least he should have decided on his Nationality). Kiran desai, another Booker prize winner, interestingly, is an Indian citizen living in America and writes about India. I would not mind if she were an American citizen living in India and writing about India. Â Salman rushdie lives in London writes about India (Unfortunately I have not read any of their books and I dont intend to) the only exception is Arundathi Roy. And these people walk away with honours for maligning and defaming India.

The same thing holds true to the much hailed English movie The Slum dog Millionaire, the golden globe winning movie of 2008. A Film directed by Danny Boyle, an English director on Indian slums. (Apparently) It tells the story of a boy born and brought up in Mumbai slums. Is this the only slum in the world? Does not he have a slum in England? He could also have tarnished the image of his home town. Why did he choose an Indian slum casting Indian actors, and an Indian music director? Are Indian slums more real than theirs? Too many questions creep into my mind. !!!!

Tired of all this reading, my initial desire to read all the booker prize winning novels drowsed. Then I switched to R.K.Narayan’s Malgudi days. (Purely because, my professor had once told me to read his novels if I wanted to improve my English.) He tells the stories of Negroes in India as he himself is a Negro (according to Aravind Adiga). But here I saw my real India. The India where I live. The India where most of the people in India live. He talked about the ever-tolerant people of India who despite all the wickedness and flaw of the society lived a contented life. He tells the stories of a true democratic country.

All these are not to say that one has to be on sided in their approach. Address the issues that are a bane on us. Write with an intention to change the system for the better. If you are hurt by the system try to mend for the better and stop fussing and whining. Bring out or suggest a solution in the end. Individuals make the society; society is not corrupt per se. It is we, the individuals as a group who make the society corrupt. And in our story our white tiger adapts himself to the flawed society with a little bit of qualm which is not convincing at all.

“Society does not consist of individuals but expresses the sum of interrelations, the relations within which these individuals stand.”
A famous quote by Karl Marx rightly puts it. The stress should be on improving relationship and not on the individual. If our country is darkness at least make an attempt to light a lamp to show the right way, and stop moaning. It will enlighten the lives of many around you.

Fussing in the darkness for the literatures sake would have made Aravind Adiga the new face of Indian literature, but his work will never be recognized by the complete Indians (who lives, works and dies in India), unless he lights at least a candle to brighten the darkness.

(Source: http://www.globalvisiononline.net/a4.html)

Are (written) exams and marks testing the real learning?

(Assuming: Exam in this blog means written exam)

In a system, the basic components are: setting a goal, planning, strategy (selection of the best plan from the alternatives), implementation, evaluation and correction. This goes on in a cyclic matter in order to attain more and more perfection. Here evaluation is a critical component for those who consider continuous improvement in a process in the system. It is doing the gap analysis- how much is the actual deviated from the target? Hence evaluation cannot be ignored while measuring the performance of any system.

Exams! (Source: mnjovu Tanzania blog)

Exam is an evaluation for a student’s performance; his (her) learning. Marks are the tool for the evaluation. Thus these two are inevitable. But how much we should rely on exams and marks is a big question?

We can classify students into three categories.

1. those who are very keen to learn
2. those who are forced to learn
3. those who will not learn even if they are forced to learn

For the first category, the evaluation process does not matter as they are always on track in terms of learning. Interestingly, the last category are also not worried about the evaluation process as they are pre determined not to learn anything or their interest may be in some other subjects other than what they are learning.

Here, the discussion is about the second category- those who are forced to learn. In a typical class, these students constitute more than 80% and are chances to bring them to the first category or they can fall to the last category. Exams are killing the real learning of these types of students.

Exams- mug up?

The second category students do not prepare well in advance. They usually burn the mid night oil, trying to mug up everything and attempt the exams. Yes, they will pass. But what is the learning here? Some times I feel exams are for memory test and are not examining the real learning. What is the point in conducting an exam- an evaluation process- which will not satisfy its real purpose? We are conducting or taking exams because the rule says so; for the sake of conferring a degree!

Better evaluation systems…

1. Allow the students enough freedom with respect to the time period for taking exams: A degree should be conferred only after earning specific number of credits. But the Universities should drop the time period (typically 3 or 4 years for graduation and 2 years for post graduation, in India) within which one should earn the number of credits. Only when the student is thorough with a subject, (s)he should take that exam, whatever the time period (s)he is going to take.
2. Test the knowledge of a student through application oriented questions in written exams
3. A mix of written exams and viva-voce; focusing more on viva-voce.

Written exams vs. viva-voce

Written exams help a student to answer in a time frame. The student applies his/her strategy for the exams based on the time limit and the questions to be answered. It provides a structured way of answering and the strategy adopted will vary based on the question. Some times it tests the ‘writing ability/ writing capacity’ of the student, which is not the purpose. Written tests have the advantage of doing it parallel as one teacher can control a large number of students taking exams at a time and thus saves time.

Viva-voce tests how much a student is comfortable with the fundamentals and basic principles. It requires a logical thought process and clarity in thinking. Real evaluation can be carried out through viva-voce. Without beating the bush, viva-voce expects crispiness in the answer. But viva-voce consumes a lot of time as it happens on a one-to- one basis.

A combination of written exams- which tests the application of learned concepts- and viva-voce- which tests the clarity in understanding the fundamentals- may be a best method for evaluating the learning of a student.

Good quality faculty in higher education: a myth in the future?

Think about the situation where the student gradutes from an institution with a salary higher than its director’s; that is what happening in Indian Institute of Management (IIM). The student is offered a lucrative pay package and looks forward to annual promotions and increments. Now turn your focus to the teacher who moulds those students. Are the teachers satisfied with what they are? What is going to be the future of teaching profession in graduation and post graduation levels?

Quality faculty is an asset for the nation

Importance of teachers

On an average, a student in high school or in graduation spends about 6.5 hours with the teachers. This reduces to 5 hours in post graduation level. This itself explains how much a teacher can influence the student. The future of every country depends on its young generation who are moulded by the teachers. Even though factors like Television and Internet are having a great (positive/ negative) impact on youngsters, the teachers can direct the young potential of India to the economic development and welfare. Teachers are the key for national development. The students believe their teachers much more than their parents!

Teaching profession

We (Indians) are having a very great history in teaching profession, which goes back to the old guru-shishya days of teaching methodology. Those days, the teachers were the epitome of knowledge and wisdom. They shared their knowledge to those who seek; not because of any resultant benefits, but out of passion to make the world rich in knowledge. Coming to 2008; what is happening over here? There are only a few, very few who shares their knowledge out of passion. The majority of teachers consider teaching as a ‘job’ or a ‘profession’.

We are having a great number of teachers. But how many of them are competent enough and have the real ‘thrill’ in sharing knowledge? We are lacking quality faculty, especially in graduation and post graduation levels. It is a hard fact that India is a lagging indicator of U.S in different aspects. 60% of IT jobs in U.S are outsourced to India. So atleast a part of India is also turning to U.S lifestyle. What is happening in U.S may reflect in India in the near future. Like U.S, India may face a crunch in quality faculty in higher education in the coming years, unless necessary actions are taken. There are many foreign firms who are ready to pay lucrative salary even for those who are not as competent as teachers. Then why should the teachers stick to their profession?

Challenges

According to UGC report(2007), the total number of teachers in India is 4.88 lakhs. Out of which almost one-fourth positions are vacant. There is no proper mechanism to evaluate the number of faculty available in colleges and are required in colleges. Measurement is the key towards achieving quality. But what if there are no accurate figures?

The ratio of teacher to students is increasing. This is either due to the increase in number of students for a particular course, keeping a less increase in number of teachers or due to the decrease in number of teachers keeping the student numbers as constant. Most of the business schools are having a faculty to student ratio of greater than 1:50. A teacher is handling a class of 60 sutdents in a post graduation level. How feasible is this while considering the real learning? I am wondering whether the b-schools are business schools or schools for business! In a PG class, the teacher to student should be around 1:30 for better discussion and interaction.

Another problem is lack in competency among teachers. Those who are doing quality research work are not getting much recognition. This results in decrease in number of teachers doing research work. Also the UGC’s policy of promotion is an obstacle. A person is automatically promoted to the next higher position after the completion of a fixed number of years. These factors results in less competency among teachers.

And obviously the pay package. The salary package of teachers are not attracting much talented people into the teaching profession. Most of the students opt for a management education after their graduation rather than pursue a PhD. What is the use of spending years pursuing PhD when the students can earn more after an MBA? ( Here only salary factor has been considered. But there are more factors like technological addiction, work life balance etc. play a crucial role in pursuing a PhD and a career thereafter)

Solutions

It is time to come up with innovative approaches in enhancing the quality of faculty in graduation and post graduation(PG) levels- in IITs, IIMs, other higher education institution etc. Otherwise the losers are none other than ourselves. India is going to loose in the long run.

Below points focus on some of the basic suggestions:

Most of the teachers who start their career in PG level teaching are in their middle age(for statisticians: they follow a normal distribution with 2sigma). So the importance should be given to salary and work-life balance.

1. Provide reasonable and better pay package.
2. Enhance a work culture than balances work and personal life.
3. Promotion and Increments should be given on a competency basis.
4. Due recognition and incentives for those who are doing quality research work and there by promoting research work.
5. International exposure through foreign University tie ups- atleast six months to one year teaching in a foreign University during a period of 5-7 years.
6. No compromise on quality. Compromise on anything leads to degradation of quality.
7. The most important is continuous evaluation of teachers. It should be a 360 degree evaluation. How many schools/colleges are evaluating the teaching methodology of a teacher in a class? Are they bringing any new and innovative changes in the teaching methodology according to current situations?

You can also contribute some innovative ideas. Please comment your ideas/suggestions to improve the faculty quality in higher education.

Response to ‘Problem Solving, Creativity, Brains, & Co-coaching’

This blog is a response to Mr. Graham’s blog on ‘Problem Solving, Creativity, Brains, & Co-coaching’:

http://catchthevision.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/problem-solvingcreativity-brains-and-co-coaching

The four stages mentioned in the blog is a systematic approach converting intuition into a rational thought and it is true in all the cases. But people will not realise this as they are overwhelmed with the solution.

The incubation stage is very important in those areas where the usage of creativity is essential, like ad agencies. The work culture in some MNCs underlines this fact, where creative flow happens only when the work environment supports the incubation stage.

What I felt about co-coaching is nothing but ‘Synergy’. But it will be utilized to the maximum only when the persons coming together for co-coaching are complementory in nature. There should be some understanding between the co-coaching people. That does not mean they should be like-minded personalities. Like-minded persons will give a small portion of the overall result. But persons who are complementory in nature helps in team winning- where one person lacks, the other one strengthens and vice versa.