Will the real manager please stand up

The software engineer (SE) has just found the solution to the bug thats been bugging him for a couple of days. The problem was of medium complexity and now the changes have been made in the code to solve it. He approaches the manager to report this........

Scene 1 ; Act 1

SE (looking at the manager) : " I have fixed the bug reported by the customer. The problem was *******. And the solution that I provided is ********.

Manager : " Get the changes reviewed and update the changes in the database. " ( Gets back to his work)

The SE goes back to his cubicle. Knows that he has done his job.......starts checking his mails hoping to get some forwards to pass time.

(End of Scene 1 ; Act 1)


Scene 1 ; Act 2

SE (looking at the manager) : " I have fixed the bug reported by the customer. The problem was *******. And the solution that I provided is ********.

Manager ( smiling ) : " Good job.......Get the changes reviewed and update the changes in the database. "

The SE goes back to his cubicle. Immediately sends out a mail to the tech lead to get the changes reviewed so that he can update the database. Knows that he has done his job.......starts checking his mails hoping to get some forwards to pass time.

(End of Scene 1 ; Act 2)

You dont need an apple to fall on your head to realise that there exists force a which can get you the required results from your resources. This is called the token of appreciation. All the manager had to do was to smile and add a phrase to recognize the effort put in by the employee. It then turned out to be a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Usually we come out with numerous points to criticize a person or his work but when it comes to appreciating the same there is something that holds us back. We become very stingy when we have to actually praise somebody. We think twice before we do so. What is this force thats holds us back?

I feel that people management is all about getting the best out of resources. This can be ensured if the manager can strike the right chord by arriving at a point where both the resource and you have entered the comfort zone. This is the zone where both the manager and the resource have an clear idea about each others requirements. This is the zone both have to be in for good productivity.

Getting into the comfort zone is not as difficult a task as being in it. And a token of appreciation to recognize productive effort is one way to achieve that.

Experience....How much do u have??

This was during my pre-final year in college. It was a saturday afternoon. Being in a college in the " Silicon Valley" of India we were trained in every other way for the very challenging, high paying jobs in the software industry that most of us would land up in. We followed the five day week schedule just like it is in this booming industry.

But to actually show us that the managers would never let you have a relaxed weekend we had to attend a student developement program on saturdays ( this was I guess to make us truly employable!!)

It was going to be a lecture on HR. As it was my favourite topic, next to digital signal processing (!), I decided to attend it. ( I did have some hopes that SHE will also come ) . So after successfully forcing a couple of my classmates in the hostel to come with me the three of us walked to the lecture hall about 100m from the hostel. My friends had accompanied after I convinced them that SHE will surely come and I would also pay for a couple of mango milkshakes.

There were around twenty of them present to honour the "attendance compulsory" phrase. We were loitering around the lecture hall waiting for the guy supposed to take the session. None of us had seen him before. He came in a rickety old Bajaj that was painted maroon. He had a tie and a blazer on. Both my friends were giving me a cold stare and it was not difficult to interpret the "we want u to get us dinner too " looks....

We followed him into the hall, occupied the last bench and left the rest for the nerds.

Guy to my right (GTMR) : "Let us start a game of hangman before he starts about the HR policies "

Guy to my left (GTML) : " Hey is he going to get into labour laws too ?? "

He spent around 30 seconds looking at us and then asked this question.

How many years of experience do u have?

GTMR : "How can he ask us this. Doesnt he know he is talking to a bunch of pre final year students? "

GTML : "The heat must have got into him"

Quite a few were thinking on the same lines and then the guy looked at me. Before I could lower my eyes as I usually do in situations where a question is posed, the guy chose me to answer his question. He could sense my discomfort as I looked around to see the relief on the faces of the others. They were not the chosen one.

HR guy (looking at me) : How old are you ?

And with that question I suddenly understood that he had led me to the path of enlightenment. I didnt need to answer both his questions. He just smiled.

Do we ever consider every moment of our life as a learning experience ?


PS : SHE never came........

Decoding the Uniform Civil Code

Rehana does not answer her mobile phone when her husband, Akram, calls.

In January this year, Akram threw her out of their house and got married again a month later.

Rehana now lives in constant fear.

"He might say 'talaq' on the phone to me," she says.

"I don't answer my phone when I see his number. I want to spend the remaining years of my life as his wife. I don't want a divorce."

Muslim women's rights activists are outraged by such incidents.

Yes we are talking about the Shariat that allows muslims to have four wives, can give divorce by saying talaq three times and after divorce ex-husband is not responsible for ex-wife's maintenance.

Is the much debated Unifrom Civil Code the answer to the above. This term is very much prevalent in the Constitution of India but only as a Directive Principle, but has not been implemented till now.

There have been quite a few instances in the past where the Supreme Court has directed the ruling government to frame a UCC based on the Article 44 of the Indian Constitution. But this has fallen to deaf ears.

People who support this are the ones who have been affected by the personal law set by various religious bodies. They say this will bring in some uniformity in the way of life. A sikh can actually carry a dagger. On the other hand you could be arrested if you do so.

People against it are the ones who feel that an UCC will invade their private space. And their worse fear is " How uniform will the UCC be !! ". If we are going to let the leaders of today form the UCC then we might as well live without it.

The following is an excerpt from a recent article

"The spine of controversy revolving around UCC has been secularism and the freedom of religion enumerated in the Constitution of India. The preamble of the Constitution states that India is a "secular democratic republic" This means that there is no State religion. A secular State shall not discriminate against anyone on the ground of religion. A State is only concerned with the relation between man and man. It is not concerned with the relation of man with God. It does not mean allowing all religions to be practiced. It means that religion should not interfere with the mundane life of an individual. "

So where is the solution? I believe each religion should actually have a relook at the laws that it lays for personal life and bring about changes to accomodate the changing midset of the 21st century individuals. And how can the common man help? He must broaden his sphere of thinking to be able to take in the best practices from various religions. He must be able to adopt it as a way of life rather than follow it cos the State is asking him to.

Otherwise the misery of people like Rehana will only increase...........

"Love = Relationship" ???

I had just seen some pics sent by my friend. There was a girl along with him in some pics. The two were pretty close and I decided to ask him.......How did u end up with a girl like her!!!! We had a conversation over email and this is a part of it

Friend : " Met her during training. Now stays quite close to my place. We go out often. Actually I meet her at around 11 every night after work. Both like each other " ( could actually feel the pride in him!!)

Me ( going green with envy ) : Atta Boy!! Get going man. So when are the "I luv u" pleasantries going to be exchanged????

Friend : " I have already told her I love her. And we are pretty happy spending time loving each other. But we will not have a relationship. "

Me ( Going greener with envy and kicking myself ) : Hey this is every guy's dream!!!! I have no words to say

Yes I really didnt have any words to say but this did set me thinking. Love.....the misused and uncomprehensible word ( atleast to me !) is perceived by different people in different ways. I still remember there was whole section dedicated to this word in the Wren and Martin book on english grammar.

Is it possible for two people to be in love and not have a relationship. Or have I not understood the meaning of this word. Wiki has this to say on interpersonal and intimate relationships.

You could always argue that love is perceived by different people in different ways. Some could use it as a tool or means to achieve their goals. Some could say its an emotion. Some, like me, perceive love as........( here I wud like to quote sunshine from one of her posts......

" Because what we perceive as love is not love. Love has no existence. It is the single-minded instinct to survive, to procreate, to propagate, and to ensure the existence of our species. We have been endowed with this responsibility to go through the painful process of reproduction. Love is just an anodyne to make it bearable.

Love initially is a compatible surge of hormones. Love in youth is the joy of exchanging hushed glances and anonymous letters. Love post-marriage is the responsibility of generation homework and the joy of raising a family together. Love in old age is the need for companionship. Love at different stages of life means different things. We are programmed that way. This is instinct. "

Some people usually try to relate the word love with the people they usually interact with, be with. They say they love their parents, friends, some colleagues at work ( ahem!! hope my manager is not reading this!).

To me its the word infatuation or limerance that holds more significance. This is an emotion everybody can relate to. People might say they have never been in love but they at least once expereinced this feeling " I have a crush on someone or something ". Its a feeling that can be one sided or in some lucky cases, can also be reciprocative.

Then what is that emotion that leads to a relationship. Well thats the topic for another post.

PS : I am looking for her

Are we there yet ?

Lady : Are Nisha tu aa gayi.....Movie kaisi thi.....Rahul kaisa tha....( laughing) ......Haan Haan muje sab malum hai.....(serious now) Beti thuje patha hi hoga aaj-kal AIDS .... HIV......

I am lookin with keen interest to see what happens.......and oh!!!! The lady is looking at a mirror

*door bell rings*
*Nisha enters*

Lady (hugging daughter) : Are Nisha tu aa gayi.....Movie kaisi thi.....Rahul kaisa tha....( laughing) ......Haan Haan muje sab malum hai.....(serious now) Beti thuje patha hi hoga .........

Are we there yet ?

This ad has been created to stress on the fact that education on AIDS should start at home. But even in the ad we fail to hear the lady telling her daughter the actual word AIDS. And why ?

Let me take a middle calss family for example with a daughter ( of very vulnerable age of course ). The mom looks at the ad. She tries to relate her life with it. She too has a daughter of the same age as Nisha who has a quite a few friends who are guys. She thinks she too has to warn her daughter. But there is a mental block. Her mom never told her all this and she turned out good. Why not just trust her daughter.

There is mental block in her. She does not know how her daughter will react to this. Even in the ad they never show the lady actually speakin about it. If they had at least she could know what is the reaction she can expect.

There arises the problem with the ad. There are quite a few of them being aired on the media but most of them actually dont convey the message as they protray the fact that mothers want to talk about this to their daughters but never actually show them doing it. (This can be cos even the directors might not know how the conversation would go!!!!)

On the other hand read this article to find out whats happening on the other side of the world.

Are we there yet ?