Dr.Manishankar Chakraborty,PhD, MBA.......The International Trainer and Consultant

452nd Publication in The Times of Oman, Thursday Magazine

2011-10-20T11:49:00.004+05:30

This is the 452nd publication overall, published in The Times of Oman, Thursday Magazine, dated,20th to 26th October 2011.

Other blogs from the blogger- www.manishankarscribbles.wordpress.com and www.twitter.com/manitwitts

500th Publication-International Journal, PROFICIENT

2011-07-28T10:52:00.011+05:30

It gives me immense pleasure to present my 500th publication overall. The case study on entrepreneurship has been published in the leading International Journal of Management, Proficient.

Recommendation/Testimonial from the President and Founder of www.knowledgeoman.com

2011-06-30T18:17:00.003+05:30

It is indeed an honour to receive a recommendation/testimonial from the president and founder, Mr. Tariq Al Barwani of the leading knowledge portal of the Sultanate of Oman, www.knowledgeoman.com . I am associated with this novel learning initiative as part of my social contributions and towards doing that extra bit for this excellent nation, in line with the dream of the great leader Sultan Qaboos Bin Said. I joined as a contributor then moved on a column coordinator and presently associated as community contributor. My profile in the portal can be seen at-http://knowledgeoman.com/en/?page_id=281

Other blogs from the same blogger – www.manishankarscribbles.wordpress.com and www.twitter.com/manitwitts

Recommendation for Dr. Manishankar Chakraborty from the Founder and President of www.knowledgeoman.com , Mr. Tariq Al Barwani

486th Publication in International Journal

2011-03-08T14:13:00.008+05:30

An Important Announcement

2011-02-20T00:29:00.002+05:30

After my blog www.manishankarthetrainer.blogspot.com and microblog www.twitter.com/manitwitts, welcome to my third blog www.manishankarscribbles.wordpress.com!

Learning from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Opening Ceremony

2011-02-17T22:34:00.005+05:30

Size doesn't matter, the attitude matters!Yours truly was stunned after seeing the fabulous ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Opening Ceremony held in Dhaka, Bangladesh.The immediate thought which crossed the mind was the comparison of the opening ceremonies held in the subcontinental world cups dated 1987 and 1996.There are some important learning which the bigger and more powerful neighbour(read India) can decipher from the recently concluded opening ceremony in the capital of its eastern neighbour.They are as follows-
(1)The country marketed itself in a commendable manner by riding piggy on the ICC World Cup 2010 stage.
(2)The homogenous and simple flow of the event without and hiccup or glitches is praiseworthy.
(3)Everyone contributed under the able leadership of PM Shiekh Hasina, which was evident from the all round support and preparations of the event.
(4)One point agenda of everybody starting from the rickshaw puller plying Dhaka to the cricket official of BCB(Bangladesh Cricket Board)was to make this event a grand success which in turn would generate lot of foreign revenues and indirect employment in the months to come.
(5)No last minute hassles like Eden Garden and CWG fiasco in India
(6)No Kalmadi type corrupt sports administrator in the helm
(7)Adequate opportunity given to fellow co-hosts like India and Sri-Lanka thereby displaying their big hearted approach towards the neighbouring country
(8)For once Indian corrupt politician, Agriculture minister and ICC President, Sharad Pawar was honest and vocal while saying this was the best opening ceremony he had witnessed, indirectly referring to the maladies of those held in India in 87 and 96 respectively.
(9)The show as simple yet modern with all the latest technologies in display, not to forget the perfect blend of Bangladeshi culture and modernity
(10)Refusal of Shakira and accepting Bryan Adams as the latter quoted an astronomical sum speaks volumes about the reality the decision makers lives in.India would have accepted that offer and the decision makers would in turn had generated personal kick-backs for the same.

Its time when Indian cricket board, supposed to be the richest, but the most fragmented within and the Indian politicos understand and learn from their small neighbour.Size and selfish approach doesnt matter, attitude, determination, passion and love for the country matters when it comes to organizing global events like Common Wealth Games, World Cups etc. Is Kalmadi and co listenting?

Unique Promotion by Red Bull in Oman

2011-02-15T23:03:00.005+05:30

Everyone globally is aware about the leading energy drink,Austria based Red Bull. A whole lot of case studies has been written about the same, focussing on branding and other allied aspects of marketing, viz. promotion. Yours truly had been witnessing one of the unique promotional strategies of this novel brand in the Sultanate of Oman for the last two years. Being a brand especially targeted to the youth segment of the society who are not only health consciousness, but also the upwardly mobile cutting across demographies (read students, corporate executives, professors),the brand presents its attributes through adventure sports. The bicycle specialist roped in from Europe having expertise in making acrobatic displays stunning jumps from one peak to another trough to the applause of the audience present. Yours truly witnessed the event two years in succession in the leading colleges and universities especially when the institutes are busy arranging events like Career Fairs/Job Fairs which in turn draw huge audience from different parts of the Sultanate.To add to this extravaganza the company distributes free samples of Red Bull and the acrobatic display has a DG in the background revealing the dynamism of the brand.The approach adopted to relate the features of the brand with the promotion and advertising is a marketing professional's delight. The video of the eye-catching promotion would soon be attached to this blog. Meanwhile,read and comment.

Muscat Festival-2011

2011-02-11T14:42:00.003+05:30

Muscat festival-2011 being underway is a gala event organized in the capital city of the beautiful country, the Sultanate of Oman.An annual event it's a blend of art, literature, handicrafts, culture and heritage of a galaxy of nations from all over the world.The confluence of so many nations, coupled with the fun-filled environs of the celebrations makes it a grand place for family and friends to meet, greet and learn as well.Yours truly along with a pal joined the celebrations and trust me the lazer show, the musical fountains and the light show were great stuff.However, what caught the attention was the education being provided to all on the fall-out of drug abuse, along with the cultural shows being presented by the artists of different countries.The traditional Russian dance and the Omani dance were absolute delight to the eyes.The arrangements were absolutely perfect and kudos to the organizers for the same.Some of the snaps can be seen from https://picasaweb.google.com/100721812686617711632/MuscatFestival2011?feat=email#

Made in India brand making it big in the Global Stage

2011-02-04T23:34:00.007+05:30

It is indeed soothing to the eyes when an Indian traces MADE IN INDIA brand in any of the other markets apart from that of the domestic one.Most of the Indian companies have gone global by either acquiring global brands (read Tata-Corus, Tata Motors acquiring Jaquar, Landrover range of cars)or by selling Indian brands to global behemoths(read Ramesh Chauhan's Parle beverages being acquired by Coca-Cola)or even made in India cars from the stable of Maruti Suzuki like Alto, Swift plying on the foreign roads. Even a Tata Nano here and there being sold in the global market under the parent brand name or that of the marketing partner is a moment of pride for all Indians, as we present our frugal engineering capabilities to the world market.Tata Tea and Tata-Tetly Coffee can be sipped in the leading hotel and cafe chains,which in turn adds to the overall flavour of the iconic Indian brands.A serious thought would make one wonder as to how these corporations found their feet in the highly competitive and regulated overseas markets after coming from an emerging nation. Indian IT brands like Tata Consultancy, Infosys, Wipro to name a few are household names and even giants like Big Blue(IBM)have felt their tremors.Inspite of the bottle-necks and red-tapism, not to forget the mammoth corruption being unearth every now and then, hats off to corporate India for taking such gigantic leaps in a cut throat competitive era.Indian leaders needs to understand the inherent capabilities of Indian organizations and its manpower thereby reducing the looting spree of the public exchequer! India can glorify even more if the so called national decision makers realize the importance of the sentiments of a billion plus population based inside and outside India.2G, Adarsh Housing, erstwhile Fodder Scams are taking center-stage for all the bad reasons, mainly due to their sheer magnitude and impact!What an irony!

Ancillaries or Vendor Development in Indian Healthcare Sector

2011-01-28T12:00:00.009+05:30

It was the second visit to Chennai's Apollo Hospital, a renowned corporate chain with its Chennai unit creating a niche for itself,both domestically and globally.The present blog doesnt get into the services provided by the chain or the other aspect attached to it.It talks about the indirect employment generation, contribution towards the state exchequer of Tamil Nadu which has compelled me to scribble this blog.Apollo in the Greams Road of Chennai with its different subsidiary like Heart Hospital, General Hospital,Children Hospital,Dental Hospital have created a wide range of employment for the local youths of the area and also indirectly in other parts of India.The number of small lodge, motels all over the area filled with patients coming from different parts of India and other parts of the world,predominantly, the Middle East, generates revenues for the owners.At no point would you witness empty rooms in those joints, which talks a lot about their occupancy rates.Most of these patients checking in stay put for a longer period of time, and also come back for follow-up and prefers to check in at the same old destination.The queue of auto drivers all around the hospital premises and hovering around the motels and hotels provides them readymade income without much effort.The travel and tourism operators are present in almost all the reception enclosures of those motels, providing ticketing facilities while they return back to their respective homes, apart from arranging tours locally in Chennai and the rest of Tamil Nadu.The number of medicine retailers offering hefty discounts ranging to even 15-20 percent on a high value bill so as to poach patients from the in-house apollo chemists and druggist says it all, about the drug retailing industry.Even the restaurants offers food matching the taste buds of all the patient and their dependent folks. As most of the patients coming are from the North Eastern and Eastern part of India, one would see signboards in Bengali,that too in a far flung Tamil Nadu, where even Hindi, the national language doesnt have any takers!Its the impact of money,honey!It is time for the Tamil Nadu government to take notice of the same so as to organize all these ancillaries, which would culminate in better infrastructure, avoid hoarding and generate more employment and money for the state exchequer.Is Karunanidi and Company listening?

481st Publication-Letter to Students

2011-01-09T16:55:00.005+05:30

481st publication published in the leading knowledge portal of the Sultanate of Oman, www.knowledgeoman.com is a letter to the favourite target audience of the author.The Omani students have positively impacted their teachers cutting across nationalities by their new found vigour and motivation so as to excel in their professional life, which would facilitate the growth of this great nation in the years to come.The opportunities created,continuous guidance and perennial motivation provided by His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos Bin Said is known to everyone all across the globe.The teacher in the author eggs on the student fraternity to take this dream of the legendary leader forward so as to reach vision 2020 chalked out for an all round development of the Sultanate.

The original article can be sourced from http://knowledgeoman.com/en/?p=832

Learning and Observation from Egypt Tour

2010-12-11T17:44:00.007+05:30

The three nights, four days tour to Egypt was an eye-opening one especially from a tourist's perspective.The tour was purely a personal one devoid of any professional hook-up and was also finalized at the last moment.The duo, including yours truly decided to venture out to witness this North African beauty known for her historical tradition, heritage, culture, and remnants of many century old structures to name a few.The tour was planned by a leading travel and tourism operator in Oman and prima facie was quite competitive in the sense that, it included insurance cover, both travel, health and other miscellaneous heads apart from the cost competitiveness. However, the travellers didn't realize conduct a thorough analysis of the competitors and therefore wasnt compared with the actual offering given by other players, head to head.The lack of adequte ground work by the traveller, owing to the paucity of time was probably one of the reason to have resulted in creased foreheads when certain things didn't go as per expectation, apropos the presumption while doing the booking.The flying was excellent with Oman Air serving delicious cuisines on board along with the top class beverages, not to forget the on time arrival and departure.The tour operator on the spot was good enough to meet the expectations and it was probably the whole lot of places which could have been ventured upon had the sites being chosen carefully with the help of adequate home-work on the part of the travellers.Nevertheless, one realized that a fantastic destination like Egypt needs at least 15 days and not three nights and four day. The duo can derive solace from the fact that the itinerary was fair enough considering the situations and the factors which were beyond their control.The partner of yours truly being a pure vegetarian initially had some issues with the reciepes served on the resort, and even while on the river nile cruise or during the city tour of Egypt and Alexandria.Felafil the popular egyptian dish came to his rescue.The best thing which drew the attention immediately after landing in Cairo was the electric fast immigration, customs and luggage retrieval resulting in moving out of the airport within 15 minutes flat!Other things which was praiseworthy were very strong marketing skills of the Egyptians encountered while purchasing Egyptian perfume and handicrafts.The marketers are thorough with the product knowledge, having the right mix of marketing acumen and communication skills, with the perfect tinge of soft skills required.A close observation across the pyramids, sphinx, catacombs, largest library in the world based in alexandria, the unique Musuem in Cairo, having mummies, process of mummification,the delicious egyptian dishes would make a tourist to come back to this fascinating destination time and again.They are in true sense a tourist's delight. The cities especially Cairo had some similarlity to India(a blend of Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata), while Alexandria had that historic and unique touch to it.The tour guides were informative,sans afew instances which weren't really good apropos the international standards.Seeking tips in airports/nile cruise after provding a tissue paper in the washroom, or after putting up the luggage for check-in within the airport,taking the tourist for a camel ride with a soft approach and then forcing to pay a specific sum, even though the tourist was hesitant to avail the service are some of the grey areas to an otherwise excellent destination!Our tourist guide explained it all saying, "Egypt has 60% unemployment".

Live on RADIO for a fourth time

2010-12-01T19:52:00.003+05:30

It was the 1st of December 2010, 12 Noon, Oman Standard Time, when yours truly got a call from the corporate relation manager of www.knowledgeoman.com, Rym Auodia.She invited him for the fourth interview on Oman Radio FM 90.4, on leadership and management.The interview was anchored by the informative host, like it was done on the three earlier occasions.The interview went on for 20 minutes approximately, from 6.00 PM to 6.20 PM, Oman Standard Time and the queries hovered around leadership and management, what makes a true leader and a manager, the difference between a leader and manager, is a leader born or made and many other interesting aspect of the topic often discussed by people from all walks of life.This small endeavour of yours truly is a humble way of giving something back to the society for the welfare of the people at large and its indeed an honour to join the cause by aligning with a novel initiative started by www.knowledgeoman.com.

A customer comments again.....Service Goes for a Toss!

2010-11-17T08:33:00.006+05:30

Customer is the undisputed king.In a world full of options with competitors vying for the mind followed by market share, no players, be it from product manufacturing or the economic driver of services sector can afford to take the customer for granted.The options available to voice out his dissatisfaction for the disgruntled customer are a plenty, thereby resulting in a cascading negative word of mouth publicity all around.It was the late evening of 15th November 2010 when yours truly decided to come to India from Oman to celebrate three days Eid Holidays with family, friends and well-wisher. As it was a planned visit the customer didn't hesitate to have an advanced booking for the travel with chances of minor alteration once the exact dates are announced.Most of the passenger travelling world wide by air would vouch for their native flag carrier as it gives them solace and satisfaction and sensible few would even think that his own small contribution would find its way into the national exchequer.That, the passengers are compelled to competing carriers owing to the poor quality of services by the national carrier, culminating in being a frequent flier with foreign airlines is indeed a shame for the national or even private carrier of a country.Same was the case with yours truly while he boarded IC886 from Muscat to New Delhi.He was given a window seat and unlike most of the private carrier or rather a regular exercise by all carriers, none of the flight attendant even bothered to come along and explain the nuances, the responsibilities and management of a seat next to the emergency exit.Air India staff were their normal reluctant self with very less of a services led mindset.It was evident that even a 'smile' was hard to come by.To the wonder of all the passengers, the airline provided an old obsolete aircraft,sans televisions, and with many of the AC duct not working including the one at 11F, where yours truly was seated.Repeated requests fell on deaf ears and the least interested lot of old, reluctant air-hostess started giving frailed responses with one saying, no other seats available for a swap, the second voicing her confidence of things falling into place once the plane takes off!Nothing of that sort happened and when yours truly retorted back saying her promise of everything would work after take-off didn't materialize, she was taken aback.After all IC and Air India are not used to such harsh questions from the passengers as most of them travel out of compulsion(read absence of tickets in other airline during festivities, thereby accepting the status-quo)or the passengers generally comprises of people who are semi-literate or at times even illiterate to question the quality of services, the legitimate rights as a passenger/customer and allied activities therein.The second instance which was even more dangerous to witness as a passenger, was when a fellow passenger occupying the seat 10F showed the air hostess the broken inside window pane next to his seat. She immediately called an IC personnel seated in the business class and he assured not to worry as there are two more linings!No wonder why so many air mishaps are averted at the last moment or few actually takes place involving the national carrier of India or its subsidiaries!On the top of it, the flag carrier seem to believe that the gulf market which has been a cash cow for them, would continue to be the same, irrespective of services level enhancement.Wishful thinking as slowly and gradually the market dynamics is changing with more Indian private carriers flying in, not to forget a wide range of world class GCC based carriers.How can Air India and its subsidiaries turnaround a multi crore loss making entity even when small but important things those can facilitate that change is not in place?The mindset of the employees from the top to bottom of the fledgling carrier is a typical that of an India PSU mentality which displays arrogance and 'I don't Care' or 'Chalta Hain'attitude.Indian aviation ministry along with the PMO is fooling Indian citizens by doling out huge public money to the ailing carrier, only to use it as their own fiefdom for their so called professional but personal visits of their OWN choice!The only accolade the airline can deserve is for their quality food and beverages served on board and for a change their fast turnaround time with on time arrival and departure.Was that an exception or a routine, only time can TELL!
A word or two about the much hyped Terminal 3 of IGI International Airport.The architectural beauty resembling the World Class Dubai Airport in terms of interior, offered a sorry figure as it was resembling a typical Indian fish market with passengers running helter-skelter.Surprisingly most of the immigration counters are meant for Business and First Class passengers, Diplomats and Special Officials with only a handful for SAARC and surprisingly none exclusively for Indian passengers, considering a chunk of the travellers are Indians and its THE capital of the country. Seems Indian government have taken its citizens for a jolly good ride, like they do in everything else!
If semi public sector corporations are known for their sub-standard quality of services and lackasiadical approach towards the stakeholders, there are quite a few even from the private sector displaying the same attitude and behaviour.Yours truly had booked a hotel room in New Delhi. Regale Inn, located in CR park happened to be the one where he intended to stay put for the day for some personal work(instead of bothering a host of relatives in Delhi).The deal was finalized with the hotel and the customer after posting a online request from their website.Subsequently, there were exchange of 16 mails including the last confirmation from the customer just a day before travelling and acknowledgement by the general manager of the hotel of sending the hotel vehicle just on time for the pick up of the passenger from terminal 3.An unhappy customer(courtesy Indian Airlines flight IC886 and chaos at Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi)was never expecting the same nightmarish horror would continue. To the dismay of the passenger the pick up vehicle didn't even turn up even after two hours of the arrival of the customer.Repeated attempts by the customer to contact the general manager on his cell, who was the one point contact wasn't possible as he was asleep keeping his cell in switch off mode.After that the passenger called up the hotel and the front office guy who took the call, after waking up from deep slumber offered a loose apology and 'rather ordered', albeit mildly to take a cab and come down to the destination(read Hotel Regale Inn).How can such stupids be appointed as service providers that too managing the front office of a hotel or an airline is beyond explanation?Is that sheer ignorance by the decision makers or the entrepreneur who started off the venture isn't serious enough with this project, as its one among many of his small set-up?Or it may be more humble Indian customers vis-a-vis their western peers who are not willing to take such companies to the logical end by filing a case or two in the consumer courts?Kindly add your comments on the same and you can also incorporate your own nightmares pertaining to customer service experience.

475th publication on 40th National Day of the Sultanate of Oman

2010-11-13T18:49:00.002+05:30

The 475th publication is a tribute to this excellent nation, Sultanate of Oman, celebrating 40th year of the blessed renaissance under the leadership of His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos Bin Said.The article was published in http://knowledgeoman.com/en/ or www.knowledgeoman.com, the leading knowledge portal of the Sultanate of Oman. Read and Comment.

My 474th publication-A Case Study on Strategic Myopia of Ilina Ltd.

2010-11-12T17:30:00.005+05:30

Volume II, Issue IV,October 2010 of the International Journal PROFICIENT, has the article of yours truly as the first one from page 1 to page 9.The case study titled,"A Case Study on Strategic Myopia of Illina Ltd." focuses on real life experiences and observations gained by the author, albeit presented under fictitious names and non-existent characters.However, the happenings are real witnessed by a host of other colleagues of yours truly apart from the author himself.More than the characters, the case study throws light on a start-up making it big in a dynamic and vibrant market,however, the closed eye approach is leading to the corporation falling like a pack of cards.The unflinching faith established by the country heads on the top management is leading to a situation when the once successful corporate would have to file for bankruptcy in the not so distant future.The entrepreneurs are allowing the system to rot by facilitating the middle level folks to call the shots, culminating in spending a huge sum of the company's budget on activities that are not at all productive for the organization, not to forget the amount spent on personal fronts.Should you want to read the complete paper drop me a line.Comment back after reading the same.

US Presidents Visit to India, November 2010

2010-11-06T22:53:00.005+05:30

Barack Obama has landed in India. Expectations on the part of sensible Indians are moderate.The recent drubbing Obama and his party got in the mid term polls back home, coupled with his dwindling popularity, not only in the US, but all over the world,provides the American President the best opportunity to claw back to his once envied position at least on the business and economic front.Although Obama signalled his arrival in Mumbai with a US$ 10 Billion worth Indo-US trade deal (complete report from Times of India in http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Obama-announces-10bn-worth-Indo-US-trade-deals/articleshow/6879901.cms) a thorough analysis would reveal that its more tilted towards the fledgling US economy rather than the rising Indian economy.On the top of it, Obama's scepticism about India's geo-politcal role vis-a-vis China and Pakistan, along with the bigger and more responsible status in global bodies and agencies starting with the UNSC bid makes the sojourn a lukewarm one from the Indian perspective.That John McCain, the top republican leader understands the significance of such partnership, while the president is showing indications on the contrary, proves the dilemma on the part of the US administration(read ToI report http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/US-should-endorse-Indias-UNSC-candidacy-McCain/articleshow/6880486.cms).US is still on a quandary when it comes to the successful outsourcing model which has given that much needed life support to many of the ailing US corporations.In spite of Obama's frenetic call to ban outsourcing, American voters have given him a thumbs down, indicating towards the fact that outsourcing is here to stay and the model is definitely contributing towards the generation of employment and contribution towards US exchequer , both directly and indirectly.American Defence manufacturers, Nuclear Power and Component Suppliers, IT behemoths, Infrastructure and Manufacturing players are trying to cajole Indian administrators by lobbying hard.They are trying to substitute the typical American carrot and stick approach with that of a pure carrot approach, realizing the importance of an emergent and vibrant India.The one point agenda of the US President's visit is to restore normalcy and accelerate the sedentary US economy, even if it means showing solidarity by lending lip service to India's three decade old problems of violence, terrorism and all other allied activities.Indian business houses are sensible enough to read the writing on the wall, especially when it comes to earning a chunk of their revenues from the US markets. Most of the Indian companies, notably from the sunrise sectors like IT, ITeS, manufacturing are trying to diversify their customer portfolio by focusing on hitherto untapped territories in MENA, China, ASEAN region. In such a scenario would it be apt for the Indian government to go that extra mile so as to accept everything put forth by Obama and his entourage in to-to?Its time to introspect as BRIC economies are the saviour for the so called developed economies of the yesteryear's.Taking things lying down without commanding what the new world order calls for would be a myopic approach on the part of the Indian government.Let the relationship be decided purely on the basis of 'GIVE and TAKE' rather than an age old adage of 'When America sneezes, the world catches cold'.To put it in the modern day perspective, its the other way round, 'When BRIC economies sneezes, America catches cold'.Time for Dr. Manmohan Singh and company to talk from a position of strength.

A new destination for tourism worth trying

2010-10-31T08:52:00.009+05:30

Sultanate of Oman has always been the main draw for tourist connoisseurs, when it comes to natural beauties. Salalah is already there in the radar for all who would like to enjoy the kharif season.Little, however is known to them about Masirah Island, especially those outside the Sultanate or even in the region(read GCC)and the world in general.It was a recent drive from Ibra to Mahoot, followed by a voyage in ferry to the island, which opened the eyes of yours truly to such a beautiful destination, that would definitely add to a tourist's delight.One can witness a whole gamut of things like a long drive cruising at high speed till one reaches Mahoot, from where one can take his belongings, self and even the vehicle in a ferry, which in itself is worth the try.Add to it the unique experience of fishing, going along in a motored boat at high speed in the calm sea,searching for turtles in the darkness with the background sounds of the sea shore or even indulging in sports in the virgin beaches of Masirah, makes it a holistic and absorbing one for any travel geek.Yours truly along with some of his colleagues were elated to experience the composite package first hand. Starting from the warm hospitality right at the shores, when an Omani citizen based in Sinaw was about to leave for his ancestral home in Masirah, aided and guided with all the information, hitherto unavailable in totality on the web, till the time the entourage was leaving the island, everything got etched firmly in the minds of the travelers, pointing towards Masirah as a memorable experience.The yummy delicacies comprising of Arabic, Indian, Pakistani and Turkish food joints only adds to the overall excitement, fun, frolic and enjoyment.It is ideal to take along ones own car, or rent a car, even while reaching the island from the other side of the shore.One can navigate through the island in the car so as to have an all around experience of the geography.The relaxed environs and easy going approach of the people, enables in de-stressing the tired minds and souls.There are rumours saying that a bridge is going to be constructed so as to connect the island with the mainland, however, from a tourist's perspective its better in the present form as one can experience an altogether new feeling while carrying self and his vehicle in that one and a half hours ferry journey across the calm seas, kissed by the cool winds.The destination however needs to be marketed aggressively so that it can join Salalah and Nizwa in drawing more foreign tourists.The time is ripe for the tourist operators to cash upon this unique spot.

Understanding LCC business model from a customer's perspective

2010-10-15T22:52:00.005+05:30

Low Cost Carriers (LCC)have brought in a revolution in the global skies.Infact during the trying times that the aviation sector is currently witnessing, most of the LCC are giving the Full Service Airlines(FSA)a hard run for their money.Yours truly witnessed quite a few of these LCC and FSA first hand as a customer with a background of understanding Business and Management.The latest one which was experienced in the last couple of days was Fly Dubai while flying on Muscat-Dubai-Muscat route for a weekend visit to the Emirate.On expected lines Fly Dubai had a good customer service experience to cater with a wide range of merchandise being sold on board at compelling prices, akin to many other Gulf based carriers.The diversified background of the cabin crew, along with their friendly and warm hospitality would make even the most jaded passenger to feel fresh and happy.However, a complete and truly satisfying service was not to be as there were some lacunae that created creased customer foreheads. Two such instances were-There wasn't any mention about the departure terminal in the e-ticket especially while boarding from a big airport like that of Dubai International Airport, which is always there in case of all FSA airlines like that of Oman Air, Emirates and Etihad.The second instance was in fact more appalling as it led to customer inconvenience and harassment. On landing in Dubai, the immigration and customs official told, as per the new amendments in the entry and exit rules of all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)residents, a passenger having their visa expiry date less than six months from the date of travel are not allowed to enter the Emirate.This resulted in many passengers travelling into Dubai via Fly Dubai from destinations like Muscat, Kuwait and Doha had to face inconvenience at the airport.Thanks to a friendly immigration and custom official at Dubai International Airport, who helped in routing the cases through a known travel agent so as to complete the visa proceedings apropos the new rules in vogue.Imagine what may have gone through with those passengers who are travelling in the sector for the first and without any contact in Dubai, leave aside knowing a travel agent!However, even the best of his efforts(customs and immigration) couldn't stop the passengers from wasting their precious 4-5 hours by being stranded at the airport.As a responsible service provider Fly Dubai would have sought all details about the passenger, his passport and visa status while he booked his ticket online and also during checking-in so as to avoid such inconveniences at the last minute.Although the other aspect of the service are truly world class, Fly Dubai need to pull up socks with players like Air Arabia fast catching up with the international best LCC practices.Indian LCC can definitely pick a lesson or two from the Middle East based LCC and their FSA counterparts.These players have strong business sense and coupled with fast reaction players like Emirates, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Etihad to name a few are giving a tough fight to all the European carriers.Gulf based carriers are smart enough to leverage the export credit benefit, along with smart services to the passengers. The European hub is being fast taken over by the gulf based carriers owing to their opportunistic approach based on strong customer service.In such a scenario can the two instances of Fly Dubai be classified as an abberation?

Observation and Learning from CWG-2010

2010-10-04T23:00:00.011+05:30

CWG-2010 being held in New Delhi, India was a fairy tale case of event management, till the stupendous inaugural ceremony stole the limelight and wiped out all the miserable happenings grabbing international headlines for more than a fortnight. These rapid developments made all and sundry sit back and ponder at the sudden emergence of the 'Numero Uno Commonwealth Games Ever' from the throes of doldrums.Even the most unorganized instances of event management wouldn't have imitated the callous approach, complicated processes and corrupt practices witnessed till the completion of the work for this global event.Thanks to the free Indian press, which left no stone unturned so as to publish all the scoops thereby publicizing the wrong doings involved in tarnishing brand India. Suddenly the billion mind powered democracy was airing their discontent, anguish, disgust and agony all over the media-print and electronic.CWG-2010 suddenly became the discussion everywhere,real and virtual.Twitter and Facebook simply complemented the platforms already available, thereby having a multiplier effect on the whole incident.All the stakeholders, save the prospective audience and the citizens were involved in alleged corruption cases, ignorance, blame game and was up in arms against the CWG bigwigs like Mike Fennel.Allegations and counter-allegations flew thick and fast and a pall of gloom descended just a few days prior to the game.The fire fighting exercise on the part of the global organizing committee wasn't enough and they soon realized the magnanimity of the situation and therefore started to ring the alarming bells in front of the government doors.The cabinet ministers, along with the Prime Minister got up from their slumber and were running helter-skelter, till someone took up the reins of turning around the preparation head-on.A handful few days to go for the gala event to take center stage, the Central and Delhi government along with the private corporate bodies collectively joined hands to avoid a complete white wash of India's brand image.The last minute saviour enabled India save the blushes, notwithstanding the jolt received by brand India, as a global emerging power.The discrepancy in a banana republic was obvious with none taking up the gauntlet of saving the country, till it became suicidal.
The major learning from the event leading to the opening ceremony are listed below for analysis and brainstorming-
(1)The decision makers in the governing bodies of Indian Sports Associations are still the powerful, corrupt and hungry politicians, whose main interest is to loot the exchequer and mar the image of the country, so as to boost up their own coffers
(2)Government takes less interest till something big erupts jeopardising national image, IPL-2010 was the latest pointer before the CWG fiasco
(3)Providing best facilities to the sports person are the last in the priority list of the sports administrators, with cricket being the exception
(4)National brand building through such a global event isn't being completely leveraged by all the concerned stakeholders
(5)Politicising events of national importance portraying myopic vision of various political parties
(6)Lack of fixed accountability, authority along with associated deadlines, and making them public for the awareness of the people at large
(7)No details of funding and the usage of the same, the source of the funds, available in public domain
(8)Hierarchical structure not known to anyone except the people having vested interests
(9)Collective effort on the part of all the states, to make the event a memorable one for the nation at large is absent owing to the shortsighted approach of the central and state governments
(10)Pre, during and post games plan so as to leverage the event in the larger interest of the national brand building is sorely missing
(11)In the information age even the smartest corrupt administrators would be under the scanner within no time

There could be more than what have been listed above. Although the grand opening ceremony have shut down the mouth of international bodies, India would find it difficult to market the destination for Olympics, thanks to the brand dilution till the resurrection exercise was initiated.Are the major decision makers listening?

The unexplored part of India

2010-09-27T23:33:00.007+05:30

India is gradually moving up the ladder as far as a destination for leisure tourism is concerned.The ranking is quite high when it comes to medical and spiritual tourism.Places like 'God's own Country' Kerala, 'Go Goa', Shimla, Mussorie, Kashmir and the metros like Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru to name a few are right up there in the mind of all foreign tourists.What they probably need to explore and try is the Northeastern part of India, which in itself would provide an altogether different experience than any other part of the country.The lush green surrounding embedded with ice clad mountain tops, people of mongoloid origin would for a moment make one sit back and ponder, whether its China, Southeast Asia or India.The infrastructural bottlenecks, notwithstanding, NE India with places like Sikkim, Guwahati, Shillong, Itanagar, Dimapur, Kohima, Agartala are worth the try.The central and state government are trying their best to market these destinations, what is needed is that momentum which can come only from the private sector,the absence of which unfortunately happens to be the shortcoming for that region of India.The hospitality extended to the tourists would second to none,and with literacy rate quite high, the locals(read service providers) would have no problem in managing the communication in English, even when it comes to the ordinary citizen.Companies like Cox and Kings are already trying to market these destinations,but more such concerted efforts has to come especially through public-private ventures.This can also boost up local employment, apart from the Indian exchequer earning foreign revenues.

Protectionism the synonym for Free Trade?

2010-09-26T22:42:00.006+05:30

Protectionism should be the last word in the lexicon of a country which is supposed to be the most developed economy in the world.Seems they are yet to learn their lessons in spite of the recession which is gradually subsiding and supposed to be the biggest since the great depression.Proponents of free trade especially to the emerging economies namely the BRIC nations are now eating their own words only to save their own skin from the domestic audience.Creating barriers in the form of banning government outsourcing contracts citing a silly excuse like boosting up of local employment/reducing umemployment or hiking up the fees for H1 visas are wishful thinking to say the least.For every job outsourced to an emerging nation the developed nation generates at least three jobs directly and indirectly in their own backyard and what about the foreign exchange they earn in the whole business process, which is substantial enough.China is probably the only country which has taken the bull by the horns.They have a tit for tat measure in place either in the form of the currency devaluation of the Yuan vis-a-vis the US dollar or the low cost manufacturing coupled with their huge domestic demand, which makes even the most dynamic economy beg for uniformity, albeit diplomatically.The other three emerging nations in unison with other countries should join hands so as to neutralize the impact of the protectionst moves carried out by the US and its allies.Crying hoarse in global forums like WTO or G-20 wouldn't bring much respite to these emerging economies as everywhere US or their proxies would ensure that their vested interests are kept alive, even if it means digging their own grave yard in the long run.

Is the Indian aviation landscape changing?

2010-09-25T22:29:00.001+05:30

Indian aviation sector has improved by leaps and bounds. My recent visit to India and while traveling across the length and breadth of the country during those two months summer holidays made me realize quite a few changes observed in the aviation landscape. I flew Air India, Jet Konnect and Jet-lite, Kingfisher, Indigo, Spicejet and paramount. Some of the observations which stuck me are as follows-
Indigo coming up as one of the most admired budget carrier and would definitely create a positive mark internationally once they get approval from the regulatory body, Their focus on the minimal turnaround time by involving the on board passenger is commendable, the changes in the uniform, hair style of the cabin crews and announcing the languages spoken by the crew on board on the lines of Emirates is a point to note, first by a domestic carrier. One thing which was not fitting into the bill was the fact that while the staff on board speaks more than one Indian languages quite often I have seen the languages aren't commensurate with the sector they are flying into. Overall,, Indigo as a carrier is doing a great job by being a true no frills airline. Spicejet gave me a different feeling, which wasn't a positive one at least on two counts-one their time lines and two the laid back approach of their cabin crews especially when the dinner packets were exhausted much before even half the passengers were being catered to while I was flying Pune-Chennai sector. Jet is feeling the heat from Kingfisher, while Air India is partially out of their slumber, but they have miles to go before they can clean their balance sheet completely. Air India may have roped a high flying expatriate executive; however the turnaround calls for brave and forward looking steps by the ministry of civil aviation, which I am afraid won't be there, thanks to the vote bank politics.

My Take on the Indian Healthcare Sector

2010-09-21T23:26:00.006+05:30

Healthcare sector in India gave me a mixed feeling.My prior experience in the Indian pharmaceutical sector while based in India, coupled with my insights into the sector as management trainer, consultant and also as a customer(read as patient and their dependents)gave me lot of food for thought. I am sure this small note would activate the grey cells of many of my Indian friends so as to put forth their opinion on the topic which is of immense significance to all and sundry.Indian healthcare sector are broadly classified under the following heads(Manishankar's classification)-Organized chains of corporate hospitals, mom and pop hospitals and nursing homes functioning as semi organized players and the dilapidated public sector players, not to forget the traditional medicinal players and the quacks trying to pitch their own offerings.Corporate chains are good in many aspects, especially when it comes to offering quality treatment along with their composite services which provides a good experience for the patient and their dependents. The pricing strategy is questionable especially when there is an absence of a regulator which can monitor the services, benefits and the pricing strategy followed by different chains.They have very good medicos and paramedics, however, a wide gap is existing especially when it comes to reaching out to the masses, vis-a-vis that of the classes.My experience with two chains in Nagpur and Chennai were reasonably good, sans the opaque feeling a customer have, especially when it comes to the pricing policy adopted by the players and some service related constaints encountered while the patient is metamorphosed from an out patient to the in patient.One shouldn't deny the fact that these chains offers the best services, be it the medical staff and quality paramedical support to complement each other.The loopholes exisiting in their processes are minimal, what calls for immediate attention is to target a wide range of segments through flexible pricing policies.Quasi organized players in the form of mushrooming private nursing homes and hospiatals are minting money with the exception of a handful few which are offering value for money to the consumer.As far as the public healthcare players are concerned, apart from a minsuscle few, most of them are sustaining only because the masses have no option but to lean upon so as to save their lives and that of the dependents.The handful few public operators which are benchmark of sorts are located in some metros as a result of which a chunk of the citizens who otherwise cannot afford the private players are deprived of them owing to locational disadvantage.Moreover, typical of any public sector players, red-tapism is the biggest bane which need to be resolved at the earliest if India is to serve its billion citizens who are dying only because they cannot access quality medical care.The traditional service provider have created a niche for themselves and are also making waves of sorts in the global market, especially when the awareness level of the end user is ever increasing thereby opting for something having minimal side effects.The quacks are trying to play on the ignorance of the rural household.One thing which is common across the sector is being leveraged by a wide range of unethical professionals who consider that their patients and the dependents should treat them as demi gods and never question their decision.The awareness level is always increasing with every bit of information available at the click of the mouse, the improved educational standards reaching out to the nook and corner of the country could only test the approach of the doctors and their supporting staff.Would wind up with an article read recently,authored by a professor from CMC,Vellore, where he emphasized on the importance on humanities in the Indian medical and healthcare sector sums it up all, doctors need to be good human beings first, understanding their profession always have an element of service towards the human kind, the monetary benefits would simply follow, if one knows this core value.

Ohio ban on Outsourcing would bounce back on US

2010-09-10T13:23:00.006+05:30

The ban on outsourcing by Ohio government to any of the emerging countries is more of a rhetoric, rather than a mature business move.Every sensible American knows that outsourcing is here to stay and in many ways it contributes towards the developmental curve of their nation.Unfortunately, a dwindling support base and popularity for Barack Obama and his team both at the federal and county level have compelled them to take steps in hara-kiri, which defies even the basic business and common sense.Ohio ban may be imitated by many other state governments so as to deviate the attention of common Americans as the job losses encountered with every passing day is in no way related to the outsourcing model adopted by American corporations.The most vociferous voices for free trade had to bite the bullet, simply because of the lack of proper checks and balances culminating in the global crisis is indeed a matter of shame.Emerging nations especially G-20, BRIC nations should take up this move in a very serious matter so that their unified pressure makes the US administrators to realize the stupidity they have committed.If the same move is reciprocated by the group of emerging nations notably India and China, US companies have to run for cover, as most of their toplines and bottom lines are coming out from these markets, instead of their home turf.

Seminar at Tripura University

2010-08-25T18:29:00.006+05:30

On 25th of August 2010, yours truly under the banner of www.tripurafoundation.org, an NGO conducted a philanthropic exercise at Tripura University, a central university, located in Tripura, India, for the welfare of the student community of North East India. The 4 hour seminar was divided into two parts for the MBA and BBA students of School of Management Studies of Tripura University. The deliberation focused on Opportunities for Placements, challenges post placements, and opportunities, challenges for Management Professionals. Active assistance in organizing the event was received from academic luminaries like assistant professor, Nishikant and Pro VC, Prof. Agrawal, along with the persistent effort of www.tripurafoundation.org enabled the knowledge seeking budding managers and entrepreneurs to sought response to plethora of queries hovering around placements and career development

Seminar at TIT

2010-08-25T18:22:00.005+05:30

Yours truly conducted a seminar for the final year engineering students of Tripura Institute of Technology (TIT) a government funded engineering college of state Tripura, India. The budding engineers of Electronics, Mechanical, Civil, Electrical, and Computer Technology were taken through a lively session titled, ‘Preparations and Challenges for engineering students’. The enlightened minds were inquisitive to know about the prevailing placement scenario both in India and abroad. The students heard with rapt attention so as to know the nuances of securing the dream job. Prof. Anghsuman and Prof. Bibash were instrumental in arranging the seminar. It was part of yours truly’s philanthropic activity. The seminar was held on the 24th of August 2010.

Seminar at Raisoni's Institute of Management and Research

2010-08-25T18:12:00.004+05:30

A seminar was conducted on the 12th of July 2010 during the induction program for the new entrants of MBA batch 2010-2012.Yours truly spoke on Management Profession and the challenges, which was gladly received by the students and staff of Raisoni's Institute of Management and Research,Nagpur, Maharashtra,India.The illuminating minds posed many queries facing the professionals in the light of the bouts of recession and slowdown experienced by the world at large.

A new Link on Soft Skills

2010-08-13T18:39:00.003+05:30

I was sifting through google so as to know my standing while searching for 'Manishankar Chakraborty',when I stumbled upon http://www.cte.unt.edu/home/blog_softskills.html which had good insights on soft skills written after referring to one of my paper published in The Journal of Soft Skills and quoting from similar other authors.
I found it quite interesting and presume would be interesting for my blog followers and readers as well.

Please read the link and comment.

Relationships from workplace to home.

2010-07-02T23:47:00.009+05:30

Professional relationships are fast being catapulted into personal ones. Reasons are not difficult to find. The colleagues are the ones with whom people spend a substantial amount of time in the workplace and they comprises of those with whom a person shares those intimate moments even if that means sharing a personal opinion on an issue which otherwise is the exclusive domain of his near and dear ones.Colleagues are the ones to whom people have started to confide a whole range of issues, notwithstanding the competitive pressure and professional under-currents, perennially present in the working environment. Workplace related romance are seen in full bloom these days.People often tend to forget that a colleague with whom they have to share a relationship and stop somewhere so as to avoid crossing that line separating personal and professional attachment, goes much beyond that, culminating in a colleague taking center stage in their life.They enjoy festivities, special days like birthdays or any other day for commemoration together in their lives.Even after one partner departs from the organization where the relationship blossomed, they are in touch, through email, telephone or even occasional personal meetings, sharing their professional and personal issues with ease, unless they decide to convert that into a full fledged personal relationship and bonding .At times they tend to open up more in such relationships, rather than the one which is either blood related or with a close acquaintance.The flip side of such relationships can be disastrous as well.If one is unable to draw a line separating a professional relationship from a personal one, especially when the trusted partner is not worth to be included in the personal network, there can be instances when the so called friend can take undue advantage of the same while encountering professional challenges and hardships. In a dog eat dog environment, where survival of the fittest holds the key in a competitive workplace, quite often such relationships takes ugly turn, spelling disaster not only for the person involved, but also by vitiating the working environment.To add to all these, personal relationships at the workplace may create in personal bonhomie and lead to some sort of illicit rapport between the two, drawing unnecessary attention from onlookers.Seniors, peers or even junior colleagues may at times use such relationships to their own advantage, embarrassing the people engaged in the relationships, by leveraging professional milieu out of it.The bottom line is to understand the pros and cons of such relationships before taking the plunge by metamorphosing a professional contact into a personal one.

When myopia takes over from a professional approach

2010-06-25T09:41:00.007+05:30

Teamwork is always a beneficial proposition for a modern day organization. The benefits accrued from group beats the disadvantages hands down and therefore, almost all the forward looking organizations encourages team work to the core.The de-merits if not being managed well can snowball into a crisis especially while managing teams of knowledge workers.
A small case-let is providing valuable insights into such happening-
Ram was a trainer of a leading company offering management training solutions to a diversified list of clients.The company boasted of trainers who were as different as that of chalk and cheese,however,notwithstanding their differences, they used to gel up in the overall interest of the organization.Being knowledge workers, possessing a high proportion of intellectual know-how the bunch of trainers often had ego clashes amongst themselves on petty issues.In fact these clashes resulted because of the presence of a myopic approach adopted either on the basis of seniority, project experience, training exposure one was having, apart from the scholastic profile.The departmental head being a balanced person often mitigated such issues by nipping them at the bud.It wasn't possible every time for him to know about the existing under-currents prevailing within the team of trainers.It was time for making question papers for the trainees, which happened to be the responsibility of the course coordinator, after which the same was to be approved by all the trainers involved in imparting training on the same subject, albeit to a different set of audience.The coordinator made the paper and as a routine protocol was taking it through the panel of other trainers, for their remarks, suggestions, feedback and approval, when one of them behaved indifferently.He took the paper, kept it for two days, and after the second day, when the coordinator went for seeking his feedback, he politely said the paper wasn't up to the mark, so a new one is to be made.He also added that he needed five pages to write down his comments, to which the coordinator accepted.The coordinator tried to explain him that even though a new paper is being made, there are bound to be differences as every trainer's perception is different, their target customer's vary and the like.He wasn't ready to accept that in spite of assuring the coordinator to make the comments therein, escalated the matter to the higher-ups without the knowledge of the coordinator.The departmental head as usual understood the rationale of the move by that trainer and suggested him to take the initiative of making the paper and then circulate to the team of trainers through the coordinator.He made the paper and as expected there were plethora of comments coming from all quarters so as to develop the paper apropos the requirement of the target audience.
It was myopic approach taking over the professionalism conduct essential while working in a team.

Leadership Lessons from His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said

2010-06-19T15:21:00.004+05:30

Source-Business Mirror,Second Issue,ICT,Sultanate of Oman

Rejuvenating from work related pressure

2010-06-15T00:28:00.006+05:30

Rejuvenating after a hard day's work is extremely important for all, especially when the work life balance is heavily tilted towards the former.On the top of it meeting stiff deadlines and challenging targets aggravates matters.Familial pressure and appetite to rise higher up the career ladder adds up to the woes. It is important for everyone to know the de-stressing technique(s) which is not only easy to implement, but can give that much needed respite at a short notice.Listening to music soothing to the ears, meditating, reading, brisk walking,swimming, jogging, playing a game of one's liking are few of the techniques adopted by the common man employed in organizations of all stature.There are certain myths which if properly analyzed and removed could lead one to realize that the so-called rejuvenatory techniques, supposed to activate the tired mind and body is instead having a negative impact on the efficiency of the individual in the long run.Popular among those are hitting the deck of the night clubs with booze and high decibel music generally on the eve of the weekend. The exposure can not only have a debilitating effect on ones body, but can also lead to permanent disabilities of the heart, ear and even the biological clock if persuaded for weeks and months together.Although sensible organizations are trying their level best to put in place healthy work-life balance practices, the resultant impact on the masses (read employees) is not that encouraging.This also has lot to do with the upbringing of the individual as the childhood sans the health maintenance related education can often lead to an uni-dimensional movement in the latter part of ones life, especially when he or she is employed with an organization and is also having his/her own family to look after.Professional excellence at the cost of the health is one of the flip side of the modern day workforce.The concept work hard and party hard is killing many a talented professional even before they could realize their true potential and leverage the same.

Pseudo Multi Tasking- A lurking danger for organizations

2010-06-10T17:46:00.005+05:30

The corporate world all over prefers to have multi-taskers in their roll.The need for such proverbial jack increases manifold in light of the turbulence witnessed by the American economy to start of, followed by the cascading impact it had on the European economy and rest of the world.There are professionals though whom yours truly would refer as pseudo multi-tasker, i.e. one who tries to be a multi-tasker, but fears backlash after a failure.Their characteristics would entail poking into cross-functional domains simply on the basis of the rudimentary knowledge they possess, courtesy their above average or sometimes excellent command on verbal and written English or any other communication skills. They assume that a multi-tasker's job is completed only if he knows how to communicate and understand the skeletal concepts of a subjects. Such pseudo multi-tasker's or self proclaimed master of one domain are indeed a big blot in the organizational structure.They are always in the look out to malign their peers, subordinates or even seniors on the basis of their limited knowledge of a function or they would always try to bully around those who may be a tad inferior in terms of communication, but extremely competent when it comes to their core area.Such pseudo multi-tasker may have professional efficiency in their chosen field,however, it is their habit of adulterating the working environment, which may result in having a negative on the overall organizational fabric of an organization.They should either be handled with a superior who is more agile and smart possessing excellent cross-functional knowledge or should be probed extensively while putting on fast job rotation policies. This may be a blessing in disguise as the concerned employee would be able to get away from the heavy head weight he or she is carrying and would also enable him or her to know his exact role in a dynamic organization.

Professional relationships into personal relationships at the workplace

2010-06-04T20:21:00.005+05:30

Professional relationships at the workplace have often metamorphosed into a private one.The modern day working environment is full of pressure, stiff deadlines, challenging targets and competition which results into mental and physical stress. To add to that an unhealthy work-life balance is one of the key reason for an individual to feel strained and drained culminating in the bondage being broken with the near and dear ones.The long hours one has to spend at the workplace also contributes to this aspect and the employees are always in the look out for that shoulder to lean upon, that hand to hold or that caring eyes to understand the problems one is facing at the workplace. Healthy competition at times changing into unhealthy competition notwithstanding, employees are trying to forge relationships with people from the workplace at the personal level. This is leading to the creation of new relationships, not only at the professional level but also at the personal level. It is tantamount on the part of the management to understand these relationships and encourage the same which would not only reduce employee unrest, but would also contribute substantially towards the employee motivation and productivity.The grey areas however, has to be addressed as too much of intimacy at the workplace especially between the employees of the opposite gender may lead to illicit personal relationship.The management should sniff out the bondage and its impact on the personal lives of the respective employees before encouraging or distinguishing the creation of such relationships.

Challenges in Family Owned Business

2010-06-03T13:00:00.007+05:30

Family based organizations are often devoid of a solid and transparent organizational culture, sans those which brought in professional hands to manage their strategic and operative affairs.The reasons are not difficult to find, on one hand the family run businesses are always willing to keep everything close to the chest of the promoters whether they are able to take the company or the conglomerate to the next level or not.Bold decisions of inducing external professionals within the rank and file of the organizations calls for a big heart and mind as the promoters should be confident of holding on to the reins, while allowing the company to benefit from a professional approach brought in by the external persons.Tata Sons, Wipro catapulting themselves into global entities after being family run businesses are exceptional cases in point.The organizations globally which were family run to start off,gradually metamorphosed into global behemoths, primarily because of the boldness shown by the promoters and the stakeholders, directly and indirectly responsible for facilitating those bold decisions.The importance of succession planning not only for the family members, but also for the smooth transition from a family owned operation to that of a professional managed one.The real clashes of thoughts may arise when the organizational culture undergoes a face-lift by the changing of hands and the actual ownership or control or even management of the company.

Employees need empathy or sympathy?

2010-06-01T09:34:00.005+05:30

Modern day organizations spanning across industries have realized the importance of human capital. The companies both from the private and some selective public sector players are going out of the way to woo, cajole and pamper them with freebies, add-ons, novel perks and fringe benefits. In spite of all these novel motivational tools why do most of the companies in the emerging market witness high attrition rate.Employees need that human touch in all the endeavours as a chunk of their duration almost five days a week are spent in the workplace.Presuming that the employer can ride piggy of the pay packet along with other perquisites so as to motivate their flock of employees is nothing short of wishful thinking.The employees doesn't want even sympathy from the employer.What builds the trust culminating in a reliable relationship between the employer-employee duo is to empathize with each other. On one hand the employer should put self into the shoes of the employees and vice-versa so as to resolve indifference existing in their relationship.This aspect can be incorporated into the relationship chemistry over a period of time as sudden transition would not work out.Confidence building measures mainly by the employer starting from the day of the joining of the employee, taking a personalized approach, rather than one size fits all approach so as resolve issues would go a long way in being emphatic towards each other.Once the employees realizes the sincerity of the approach by the employer, they would definitely go that extra mile and consider the organization is their own and they are a well knit family in the true sense.

Small Things can Do Wonders in your Business

2010-05-26T07:51:00.006+05:30

The common belief doing the rounds of organization,is that we are the best in the class, not because we have set in the best benchmarks, but because we boast of the the unique human capital mix, which many of our competitors may not possess.However, one need to go behind the scene activities and observe each and every move with a magnifier and hear the sounds with an amplifier to know whether the statements are only lip-service or reality.It has been observed that in spite of having the best employees, most of the organizations, care a damn for their most important resource, namely the human capital.Ironically these practices are often found in knowledge driven sectors, where human resources are supposed to form the fulcrum of every activity.Short term myopic approaches often reflects the endeavours of the management, thereby reducing the confidence of the employees on the organization and its ability to protect their well-being.Protecting the well-being of the employees are not restricted to doling out an attractive pay packet with some perks and fringe benefits, here and there, it calls for that human touch from the employer towards their professional and personal issues, giving them that confidence, that the organization is standing rock solid behind them even during the moments of crisis.The small deeds so as to make that permanent mark in the mind and soul of the employees can result in with that birthday wish or by complimenting him on his new house or car or even greeting during the anniversary.All these does not cost much in true sense for an organization, but it's the absence of that culture of showing that we care which results in employee morale dwindling, affecting the productivity over a period of time.Did anyone say employee turnover and erosion of talents can also be attributed to this factor, big time, especially in knowledge driven companies.

Advancing age a barrier to the modern day workplace?

2010-05-17T20:45:00.007+05:30

The common perception that goes around is the amount of grey hair one has is directly proportional to the sensibility of his mind.The experiences gathered recently proved me wrong and after observing quite a few of the so called experienced campaigners, I have concluded that its more of an exception than a rule, especially in the modern era.The employees who are comparatively younger presents not only an added thrust in the workplace, but also shows more maturity especially while dealing with a host of stakeholders. The grey haired experienced hands are often at the receiving end mainly because of the head-weight they carry along with their personality. A normal individual who was a thorough professional during his prime now presents instances of childish/kiddish behaviour either through their peer management handling or through the estranged relationships they build with other staff members, including those at the helm and the ones below their level. The workplace having an equitable mix of old and young minds often comes across this crisis, and the positive channeling of the accumulated energy depends on the abilities of the organizational masthead. If the man at the helm happens to be an old mind he would generally favour the staff of his clan and age, however, the same cannot be said about a young boss as the 21st century folks are always on the look-out for new things and are fast learners and adapters. On the top of that if the workplace boasts of a diverse workforce comprising of different nationalities, the job is even more cumbersome for the leader.The ideal situation would have been to respect the grey haired individual owing to their age especially in a culture where age is considered head and shoulders above the exceptional talents possessed by the young minds. It is imperative for the decision makers to respect the young blood who are responsible for bringing in fresh perspectives, mindset and approach.The overall satisfaction lies in complimenting the old hands with the young ones in a way which is symbiotic for all concerned and is beneficial for the organization at large.

Is Peer Learning successful everywhere?

2010-05-03T18:23:00.003+05:30

Peer Learning is a very strong tool in the modern day learning.It helps an organization to inculcate a culture of learning by sharing apart from saving on a substantial sum incurred by the learning and the development domain/function.However, prima-facie it may look like peer learning can be imbibed by all organizations,a microscopic study and minute observation would reveal that not many organizations can successfully align their organizational culture with that of the peer learning model.Some reasons which contributes towards the failure of the implementation of the peer learning model in an organization are- Lack of awareness at the top management level,Absence of cohesiveness amongst the rank and file of the organization,Unhealthy competition amongst peers where success at the cost of ethics and values are appreciated, encouraged and acknowledged,a sense of false ego in the mind of the decision makers,favouritism and nepotism forming the backbone of most of the decisions taken by the strategic and middle level managers, absence of an open communication system and culture,unequal motivational level amongst the staff members, lack of corporate focus,haywire and shoddy management information system are few of the reasons. Some companies try to adapt to these situations by practising pseudo-peer learning which are more of an eye-washing exercise.It is either to manage their annual internal and external audit exercise by filling up their files with papers showcasing peer learning through some exercises, get-togethers and other allied activities here and there.A thorough analysis by quizzing the key stakeholders so as to know the depth of peer learning either through the indirect organizational indicators like peer relationship, cooperation and motivation across the functions and levels or through the periodical understanding of the direct learning quotient of staff on a continual basis provide enough food for thought for an analyst to decipher the reasons of success and failure of peer learning.

Diversity can be a boon and a bane

2010-05-01T21:18:00.006+05:30

Organizations which are willing to grow always thrive on diversity.The ones which are contented with their current positions and are not willing to disturb their status-quo or which pretend to be a growing organization under the garb of nepotism, favouritism as there is yawning gap existing between the top management and the ones managing at the operative level.The organizations which tend to take global shape would always develop a neutral culture and thereby provide a level playing field to all the stakeholders representing different ethnicities.Handing over the reins of an organization to a specfic nationality having a global perspective would always lead to such titled endeavour thereby affecting the organizational culture.Indians have always thrived on their Unity in Diversity tag, especially when it came to represent the varied culture, language, food habits, dress codes of the country.This boon which is often emphasized by the leadership of the most populated democracy, albeit as a lip service, to serve their own myopic visions with a self centric agenda, translates into a bane when Indians join a global organizational set up.Reasons are not difficult to find, in a foreign land where Indians should do away with their diversity, which are considered their USP back home try to leverage the same with some amount of ulterior motive, so as to serve their vested interests.The favouritism shown by one bengali towards another, one tamil towards another, one punjabi towards another, one Malayali towards another, without even bothering even an iota for the bigger objective of serving the organization commensurate with the larger organizational goals and objective and their national fabric of unity in diversity poses serious doubts about the importance of diversity to an alien.These favouritism driven personal approach on the basis of language, state, dress, food, caste, creed culminates in the development of a global organization more on aspiration and short on perspiration.This stagnates the growth of the employees, not to mention the impact it has on the overall trajectory of the organization, which can only be arrested with the dawning of the realizations by the higher ups, taking firm action with a neutral stance in the overall interest of the organization concerned.

Policy of appeasing others in an organization

2010-04-29T08:08:00.003+05:30

Many of the modern day organizations have developed a culture where the truth presented point black and white isnt accepted and instead the culture developed over a period of time appreciates appeasing others, buttering and oiling only to saisfy their egos.The egos can be derived from various reasons, one because the so called senior pros in the organization wants to show that they are different from the juniors especially when it comes to knowing the organizational systems and processes, the popularity of their brand name with the higher echeleons so on and so forth. The million dollar question is the overall impact the culture may have on the organizational growth.This policy of appeasement, humility beyond expectations can often go beyond the requirement so as to set up a professional culture, culminating in a feeling amongst the rank and file a feeling of "You Save Me, I Save you", "You Respect Me, I Respect You".These mutual understandings are often observed between peers aho are either at the same level or have the same level of seniority within the organization, even though they may be at different levels, functions or domains.The reason for the emergence for such culture is not difficult to find.On one hand immature heads at the top always craves for opportunities to satisfy their bolstered ego, which happens to be the right opportunity for those below so as to get their objectives being met.This is done both in cash and kind, depending on the surrounding environment, the status of the stakeholders involved,commonality of interests between the stakeholders,survival in a polluted environment with a specific objective in mind, which may be related to ones experience profile or to his earnings while being employed to the organization.Whatever may be the reason, over a period of time such organizations are full of Yes Man, rather than bold upright professionals who would call a spade, a spade.This further deteriorates the working environment and stagnates both the individual growth of the employees, along with the collective growth of the organization.

Is it correct to Save your own Skin at the Cost of the Organization

2010-04-25T22:09:00.003+05:30

It is indeed suprising how organizations under the garb of competition transforms into an working environment which has dogs eat dogs as the major thrust area for all endeavours.However,this behaviour gradually metamorphoses into a bane for the organization as it leads to a feeling of insecurity within the rank and file of the company, culminating in everyone irrespective of their level and domains start to protect their own skin at the cost of the organization.Infact a rank outsider after observing these phenomena is surprised as all and sundry are always on their toes not to put their best foot forward, but to protect themselves from being fired due to one reason or the other.Such type of organizations are always in the look out for scapegoats so as to save themselves from their own mistake.The culture also alters from that of growth and development to that of fault finding where pointing fingers happens to be the order of the day.The employees working in such a set up initially may try to be ethically correct with an open and learning approach, but, over a period of time, the environmental influencers results in changing and adopting the protect your skin approach.Every one is trying to pass on the buck, accountability is the last word in the lexicon of the employees and all their positive characteristcs and behaviours goes for a toss.Knowing the developments very well, none is willing to be the whistle blower fearing backlash and being targeted.This continuous approach of fault finding across the length and breadth of the organizations impacts the overall creativity and innovation as most of the discussion and activities hovers around protect your skin at the cost of others.

465 publication on "Sports as a Rejuvenator and Unifier"

2010-04-24T18:08:00.009+05:30

The article is published in the home page of www.knowledgeoman.com (http://knowledgeoman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9321). It presents a snap shot on the annual sports at Ibra College of Technology, Sultanate of Oman, proving beyond doubt the fact that Sports play a pivotal role in rejuvenating the mind and also unifies people across domains, industry, regions, languages and culture.The annual sports extravaganza at the college campus gave the real life meaning of sportsmanship, competitive spirit and never say die approach to name a few.The event brought together all the staff and students on a single platform, which helped in knowing each other, not to forget the boosting of the friendly relationships between one and all.This culminated in a new found spirit and exhuberance amongst the stakeholders.

When Your's Truly was Live in FM Radio in Oman for the Second Time in One Year

2010-04-14T20:12:00.006+05:30

It was indeed a pleasure to be online in Tariq Talk radio show on the topic of success on Wednesday,April 14th,2010,5.40 PM to 6.10 PM(Oman Standard Time) in 90.4 FM in the Sultanate of Oman,similar to the previous participation in the same channel an year ago.(details in http://manishankarthetrainer.blogspot.com/search/label/Cyber%20Talk%20Show . The 20 minutes interview hovered around success, where your's truly responded to a volley of questions from the host, Mr. Tariq of www.knowledgeoman.com along with the customized response to callers queries on a host of issues pertaining to Success.The epicenter of the discussion was success, its defintion,the ingredients to achieve success, the roadmap to achieve success, contributors to success,to name a few.

Symposium on Technological Development: Challenges and Perspectives @ SCAS, Sohar,Oman

2010-04-13T13:57:00.009+05:30

The two day knowledge extravaganza at Sohar College of Applied Sciences, Sohar, Oman, on the 12th and 13th of April 2010 presented plethora of issues targeting the higher education sector. The academia from the Arab World addressed issues pertaining to different domains of technology, viz. electronic learning, novel learning methodologies, the sphere of the applied sciences, engineering and technology and business studies.The cross section of the presenters comprising of on stage and poster presenters detailed the nuances either in the form of research paper, case study or a mixed of both.Yours truly presented a case study titled, "A Case Study on Technology and Higher Education in the 21st Century"(abstract attached alongside this blog) presented real life experiences encountered in the Arab World as a faculty and corporate trainer.The major takeaways for yours truly were, usage of e-learning as a blended tool, the need for a perfect relationship between teaching faculties and laboratory attendants, as in the era of technology driven education it is important for the duo to compliment each other, rather than compete with each other.The big list of takeaways also entailed the need for the academic administrators to understand the importance of technology, thereby sourcing the state-of-the-art technologies and alter the same from time to time, rather than keeping them stagnant for a longer period of time.Moreover, the importance of training so as to imbibe the technological tools in the repertoire of all the stakeholders involved in the higher education sector needs to be understood locally and on an one to one basis, rather than a one size fits all.The snaps from the conference and Sohar is present in the following link-http://picasaweb.google.com/117563529873132697910/SymposiumSoharCollegeOfAppliedSciencesOman#The certificate can be viewed from the link http://manishankarthetrainer.blogspot.com/2009/09/details-of-conference-participation-at.html
Kudos to the SCAS, Sohar Team and the Ministry of Higher Education, Oman for conducting an excellent knowledge generating and disseminating platform!
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463rd on Training Day

2010-03-25T14:23:00.003+05:30

The 463rd publication carried out by the leading daily of India, The Indian Express, dated 25th March 2010, presents a snap shot of Training and its Significance for an organization.Organizations today are putting less emphasis on training and development and that is understandable especially when the recently subsided recession(in parts of the globe, sans Europe and Americas completely.The organizations which aren't following a myopic approach are spending more or less the same amount in T&D as they know once the opportunities springs up they have to leverage the same through their manpower and therefore it is better to sharpen their axe before they move out to the woods.The organizations in the emerging economies knows this proposition pretty well and are therefore leaving no stones unturned so as to train their human capital.Companies are also trying to innovate so as to devise new methodologies which can not only reduce the cost, but also help in increasing the training effectiveness.Technologies like E-Learning, Blended Methodologies are coming to the rescue of the training department during these trying times.

Building a Champion Team through Teamwork

2010-03-19T19:53:00.008+05:30

Making a champion team rests more with the leader than the followers, although one school of thought proclaims that the leader is as good as his team. After seconding this view, yours truly adds the fact that if the leader is empathetic with his team members and understands their respective strengths and weaknesses, adopts a customized strategy to handle them individually rather than a common one size fits all,the man at the helm is sure to groom mediocre talent into exceptional team members, culminating in the formulation of a cracking unit.Yours truly witnessed the same first hand at the Business Department of ICT, when the team which were at the bottom of the table in the inaugural annual sports event on 2009 went for a podium finish in 2010, solely on the basis of teamwork.Every member were motivated to give that extra bit,and this was possible because of the pep-talk and adrenaline flowing non-verbal approaches,without making them feel that they are undergoing that grind.Moreover, the approach adopted by the departmental leader with his troops is quite friendly,which makes everyone realize their respective latent potential.The ever-smiling presentation of the team leader even during the moment of crisis speaks a lot during those trying times which creates a permanent mark in the follower's mind and heart.To add to the official itinerary, of commitments and engagements which is as professional as it can be an outfit willing to be the champions need to undertake the same professional, unifying, never-say-die approach even while going for extra-curricular or fun filled moments.In fact,one common theme which gets percolated to the team members permanently,ireespective of the events that includes even departmental get-together, picnics,sporting activities is the ability to enjoy each other's success and peer learning, resulting in the development of group dynamics.Being two of the major pillars of a successful unit,the leader always considers everyone at par and is not willing to consider anyone greater than the team or its cause.The involvement of the team leader for the nurturing of a unified team having the common goals and objectives commensurate with that of the organization hinges on his sincereity towards the cause, not to mention the treatment meted out to every member from time to time.All these aspects were observed in aplenty and probably are the reasons as to why the business department of ICT came from no where in the annual sporting event and finished at the top!This should also explain the department's leadership in other professional exercises periodically, at times drawing attention from other competing departments, often found lagging behind.

Diversity Management in the New Era

2010-03-13T21:37:00.005+05:30

Management of diversity is an important prerogative for all modern day organizations,especially the ones which are global enterprises.The significance of diversity increases manifold if one takes into account the slowdown observed in the global market, not to mention the stagnancy in innovation as far as new products and services are concerned, courtesy slack in customer paying capacity in most of the markets, sans the emerging economies where the customers are out of their shells.Handling and managing a diverse workforce cutting across ethnicity's, culture, language, work habits, personal profile especially when the global market is on an support system (read government sops to boost up their respective economies)calls for innovative approaches which in turn needs out of the box thinking.Management of diversity in the modern day is more than mere equal opportunity benefits being offered to the employees, especially when the downward turn in the economies are responsible for one and all to leverage these diversity related problems and metamorphose them into opportunities.Gone are those days when diversity related issues in an organization was allergic not only to the employees,but also to a host of other stakeholders. Today companies crave to incorporate an element of diversity with a specific intention often recruiting new staff from different industries so as to inject fresh mind in the organizational fabric.The need for Chief Cultural Officer (CCO) has never been felt more than the last decade or so, when companies notably from the knowledge sectors have cut across geographies so as to share their number of customers, staff and even shareholders.Indian Information Technology companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro to name a few are cases in the point.
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Website outlook for this blog as on 13th March 2010

2010-03-13T19:23:00.003+05:30

461st Publication on 'Doing Business in the Sultanate of Oman'

2010-03-09T17:48:00.004+05:30

The 461st publication titled "Doing Business in the Sultanate of Oman" has been published in the special edition of MBA Review,(Publisher www.iupindia.org,Icfai University Press) March 2010 issue on Entrepreneurship.The issue is a special one for all the stakeholders willing to learn the nuances of entrepreneurship at the global level.Yours truly has chosen the topic so as to leverage his learning's while guiding the emerging and prospective entrepreneurs of the Sultanate and also by observing the entrepreneurial spirit thrown by the country as a whole.An investor friendly climate coupled with the forwarding looking approach of His Majesty,Sultan Qaboos bin Said has made the Sultanate a sought after destination amongst the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council(AGCC).The strong fundamentals on which the Omani economy hinges has proved beyond doubt the resilience, as the country went unscathed in the just concluded global recession, which had brutal impact even on the neighbouring economy of Dubai.Availability of quality manpower is just what the doctor ordered for the economy to leapfrog in a short span of time. Read and Comment.Source- http://www.iupindia.org/MBA_Review.asp

460th publication on sea change in communication

2010-02-23T16:28:00.007+05:30

Read and comment on the 460th publication published in the leading English Daily of Central India,The Hitavada,dated 23rd February 2010.Technology has taken the world by the storm.Communication is therefore no exception.Communication all over the world be it at the personal and professional arena has undergone a sea change.The day of having stale records of communication is a passe.Fresh and real life communication cutting across borders have given a new dimension to the world of communication.Networking so as to establish relationships both for official and personal reasons are now being built at the global level without knowing the other person on a one to one basis by meeting him/her in person.The article has projected some of the moves made by yours truly,which I am sure can be refined by getting your valuable comments and suggestions.

International Conference @ SCAS,Sur, Sultanate of Oman

2010-02-21T19:40:00.011+05:30

The international conference(Snaps in http://picasaweb.google.com/maniisonline/InternationalConferenceSCASSurSultanateOfOman#) on 21st and 22nd of February 2010,titled,Managing in the new world order:Strategies for sustainable business development,held in Sur College of Applied Sciences, Sur,Sultanate of Oman was an apt one considering the turmoil in the global economy.The welcome address by Dr. Hamad Bin Ali Al Alawi,Dean, Sur College of Applied Sciences rightly initiated the proceedings by throwing light on the diverse challenges the global economy was facing in light of the downturn being witnessed all around, with variable impact.The industries starting from services based ones to those in the manufacturing, and even the knowledge sectors are learning the lessons from the fast changes brought in the business cycle.Prof. Subash Chandra Sharma, Symposium Director was spot on while referring to the threats faced by the modern day economies and the comparable shift in the organizations functions and strategies globally in light of the burning issues like recession, climate change, novel expectations by the stakeholders and the like.These issues which were insignificant or even non-existent even a decade ago has come back to haunt organizations of all stature and sector, culminating in the revision of the approaches adopted towards various elements related to the success of an organization. Dr. Bruce Cronin,Head, Department of International Business, University of Greenwich Business School, London was focusing on the alterations brought in the strategies crafted by organizations during and after the slowdown/recession/meltdown,and the latent opportunities emanating from the emerging world and how this moment of crisis can be metamorphosed into an opportunity.There are economies globally which had a varying impact on their bottom-lines especially because the drivers in different economies were sometimes as different as chalk and cheese.That does not veer away the fact that in a connected world, where everything is accessible at the click of the mouse, it was imperative on the part of the decision makers to forecast and analyze the consequences of such incidents happening in a different part of the globe.The key note speaker,Prof. L.S. Rathore,former Vice Chancellor,Jodhpur University,India rightly pointed out how the solid fundamentals of the economy of the Sultanate and high domestic consumption driven economies in China and India have had a minimal impact on their economies, apart from being the rescuer-in-chief for the world economy at large.Prof. Rathore also emphasised on the visionary approach of His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos bin Said in ideating and implementing an alternate economic model as the non-renewable energy based model is fast eroding was commensurate with the expectations of the august audience comprising of academics, industry executives,research associates,academic administrators from different parts of the globe.It was therefore expected for the individual paper presenters to touch upon a wide array of topics in business and management which was soothing to the minds and ears especially when the world was groping in the dark pertaining to the handling of the after-effects of the recession, biggest since the great depression.The conference deliberations stimulated the closed group interactions amongst the visiting faculties and head of the department,head of the section,Business Studies Department of Ibra College of Technology. They tried to decipher and brainstorm the source and cause of the present recession,the future of the global economy in particular and Omani economy in general, the importance of the blending of concepts like Islamic banking with the shaken and disintegrated investment banking and financial management approaches,the shift from socialistic to capitalistic to a neo-capitalistic cum socialistic model of economy where resources would be shared equally amongst the haves and haves-nots,comparison of Dubai economy which is loosing its sheen globally vis-a-vis that of the careful, solid and futuristic approach adopted by economies like that of the Sultanate continued on and on so as to find remedies to the problems emanating globally, in light of the topsy-turvy global business environment.
The recent news published in The Times of India (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/Serious-resentment-brewing-among-Chinese-as-rich-become-richer-Survey/articleshow/5600007.cms)has now offered a new food for thought for the conference audience as it says all is not well even with the major guiding force during this hour of crisis-CHINA!
One should indeed compliment the Ministry of Higher Education, Sur College of Applied Sciences and sponsors OMIFCO, Qalhat LNG, Oman LNG and Al-Ghubrah Power & Desalination Company to plan and execute such a fantastic and timely symposium!!!
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458th publication on networking and its importance

2010-02-10T12:04:00.003+05:30

Published in The Hitavada,dated 9th February 2010,leading English Daily of Central India.

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457th publication on "Entrepreneurship in Oman

2010-02-06T16:46:00.004+05:30

Sultanate of Oman is one of those economies which were least affected by the recession which the world is recovering from.The strong fundamentals coupled with a vibrant economy,makes it the ideal ground for entrepreneurship to flourish.The article published in leading knowledge portal of Oman,www.knowledgeoman.com throws light on few of the aspects pertaining to entrepreneurship in Oman.
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Some Management Learning's from the Arab World

2010-02-06T00:07:00.006+05:30

Management training in qualitative subjects like Marketing Management, Organizational Behaviour, Entrepreneurship, Management of Diversity to name a few, in the Arab World has given many new insights about the subjects in particular and imparting of training in general.Training in marketing management enables one to understand the importance of ethics while indulging in marketing, as the stakeholders are always willing to know whether the offering being presented were part of an ethical process or not starting from its manufacturing till the time it is delivered at their door step.The slightest doubt in the mind of the customer and even other stakeholders may lead to the reduction of their confidence level, culminating in direct and indirect losses for the concerned company.A glimpse across organizations like Oman Air, PDO, Sohar Aluminium, Bank Muscat to name a few from the Sultanate of Oman would show that ethics is strongly incorporated into the cultural fabric of the organization. This definitely has to do with the strong and rich Omani Culture which also emphasizes on ethics as a prime factor, even if that means taking a backseat in the profit related aspect momentarily. As far as Entrepreneurship is concerned, yours truly was completely moved by the backup and support provided by the administrators in bodies like Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry,when he was privy to a seminar where experts from Knowledge Oasis Muscat and Shell sponsored Intilaaqah Oman, which nurtures entrepreneurship all across the globe as part of the Shell funded Live WIRE program dwelt on aspects of starting an enterprise and managing it ethically with a profit motive.Even while training the budding professionals the details of business management,from engineering, business studies and information technology, coupled with the opportunities created by the leadership of the countries, one can strongly feel that there are plethora of opportunities to be grabbed.Organizational Behaviour gave important perspectives pertaining to the cosmopolitan yet strongly embedded local Arabian culture led organizations, where integrity and honesty is given the prime importance.The cosmopolitan aspect of these companies would make one understand how employees from different background which entails ethnicity,language,dress sense, food habits, joins hands in shaping up the organizational culture commensurate with the vision and mission of the company.This aspect also provides valuable lessons for the management of diversity, which is a very big challenge for organizations globally as they are into cross border deals, establishing relationships with stakeholders from all over the world.The other factors which are crucial are the importance of maintaining the cultural sensitivity of people working in the organizations which is observed in abundance across the organizations present in the Arab World.

The learning from other countries like the UAE would follow subsequently in another post.

Publication number-454 on Networking and its importance

2010-01-29T14:35:00.004+05:30

The article published in the leading English Daily of Central India, dated 26th January 2010, speaks about the importance of networking in the modern day world.Networking these days can be done in two ways, real and virtual. Although the former is still a old and tested way of sewing relationships, the latter has taken over from the former when it comes to establishing relationships across geographies.In virtual networking the skills needed to build rapport and make contacts are slightly different from the real world.Even the need for technology is more in virtual networking, not to forget the knowledge of various relationships portal, targeting different set of audiences, some for personal, some for professional usage.

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When yours truly was quoted in The Times of India

2010-01-29T14:25:00.007+05:30

It was an evening when yours truly was working online to look for some management literatures when one of his old student, now an upcoming scribe came online.She wanted to take the opinion on a burning issue of whether it was adequate for all taxi drivers in Mumbai to learn Marathi within a 40 days deadline as suggested by the government of Maharashtra.Being an ardent and responsible Indian citizen, yours truly didn't see any meaning and substance in it as knowing Marathi or not is not of much significance as the majority communicates in the national language, Hindi.

Job Search Technique

2010-01-28T18:25:00.003+05:30

This is the 454th publication of yours truly published in the leading English Daily of Central India, The Hitavada,dated 26th January 2010. The article leverages the practical and theoretical experience of the author while observing and researching the complete cycle of the Job Search Techniques, both in the Indian and the market of the Middle East. The conversion of these concepts into a subject, titled "Job Search Technique" has in fact helped in metamorphosing the practical insights happening in the job market, into concepts which can be understood, customized and internalized by the professional students and working executives of different functions and domains.Although the article does not provide a detailed insight on the process of Job Search Technique, it offers the major highlights which can help the stakeholders concerned to finalize their strategies for securing the right job at the right time and cost, for the right person!Did someone say getting the dream job is now more easier, if you are smart enough?

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Article on the Sales Promotions in the Sultanate of Oman

2010-01-28T18:09:00.005+05:30

Publication numbering 456 of yours truly, published in the January 2010 edition of the prestigious advertising magazine, Advertising Express of IUP, focusses on the sales promotional techniques adopted by companies in the Sultanate of Oman. Every market is unqiue with the market related dynamics varying from one another.The article deciphers sales promotional techniques adopted by companies from diverse sectors. This would provide a snapshot to the structured, highly organized and having rich potential market of the Sultanate of Oman.The objective is to this provide an idea to the existing and prospective marketers, to understand the needs and wants of the customers here, not to forget the valuable insights the piece can provide to the researchers, students and teaching community in Oman and elsewhere.

Source-http://www.iupindia.org/Advertising_Express.asp

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451st publication on 'Reinvent Yourself'

2010-01-19T16:31:00.005+05:30

Read and Comment on my 451st publication published in the leading English Daily of Central India, The Hitavada, dated 19th January 2010.The article provides a snapshot on reinventing self as often one tend to get stuck either with his profession or his personal life and house hold chores.In order to succeed,in both the domains, professional and personal, it is important to look for new strengths, which may have developed over a period of time,subconsciously.This helps in rejuvenating the life of the concerned individual and also enables a feel good factor all around, thereby spreading all round happiness.A happy person and happy surrounding can do wonders in ones life!

Feedback on the article, Salary Negotiations:The basics, by Lama Ataya

2010-01-05T21:06:00.008+05:30

Yours truly was indeed impressed after reading an article on the topic Salary Negotiations:The basics, by Lama Ataya of www.bayt.com published in the business section of the leading English Daily of the Sultanate of Oman, Times of Oman, dated December 31st 2009.Knowing Lama Ataya(albeit through a tele-talk, long time back)and his leading job portal company in the Middle East, the article was on the expected lines touching upon the skills of negotiation while one goes for a job.The article starts with an emphasis on negotiation after one is selected for the position applied for. The author added that this is what is even being expected by the employer.However, the perspectives of yours truly would have added the stage the job seeker is in.This is significant especially when he/she is a fresh candidate, as it may not be apt for him/her to go for hard negotiation on two grounds. The first one is that he/she being a fresher, the first few years in the job when he is completely raw and devoid of any practical experience, is essential for learning, rather than earning as the investment in these formative years, in terms of learning the nuances of the game goes a long way in making hard bargains more effective subsequently in ones career.The second aspect would apply not only for a fresh candidate, but relate to the experienced campaigners having years of experience behind them. Yours truly is referring to the slowdown being witnessed by the employment market, including the one in Middle East, although it should be admitted that the Sultanate is better placed than many of its rivals at the AGCC and global level owing to the solid business fundamentals laid down by the visionary, His Majesty!The time may not be ripe for the job seeker to go for an all out negotiation especially when companies are trying to downsize employee strength and every one across levels and functions would simply be happy to retain their jobs.In this time of hardship yours truly finds the article a mismatch especially when he is involved in training and nurturing the future Omani managers and entrepreneurs, as a faculty of business studies in one of the prestigious colleges of technology in the Sultanate.Salary negotiation during a downturn would have been the right topic in the current scenario.The article may not impact an experienced professional as he/she is not going to get swayed away by the same, however, it may definitely impact the fresh candidates as they would go for an all out hard negotiation, failing to realize the fact that the job market is on a gradual upward movement and coming to the terms from the jolt received from the recession, biggest since the greatest depression of the 30s and 40s..The just receded recession is yet to fade away completely and especially when the Dubai crisis was the last alarmaing bell to make the stakeholders aware that it is not yet over, followed by mass removal of manpower in the companies of the Emirate(notably from the realty sector with an indirect bearing on other sectors),the article would not give the right direction to the job seekers.On a positive note, the article discusses threadbare, the skill of salary negotiation and how the same should not be limited to salary only and rather encompass the overall package, only after knowing one's own skills, knowledge and abilities, and commensurate skill-sets required for the position, the opportune time for starting and closing the negotiation related to salary are important takeaways for any job seeker.One should congratulate Times of Oman, and Lama Ataya to initiate such excellent pieces which are going to help all the job seekers across the Sultanate to know their real worth in the job market. From the employer's viewpoint it would lead to the attraction and retention of the right talent as the hard times being witnessed presently by all the organizations would soon see the dawn of a new business cycle, with full of opportunities, especially when Oman is on the cusp of a growth.

450th Publication on His Majesty,The Sultan of the Sultanate of Oman

2010-01-02T16:36:00.000+05:30

My 450th publication carried out by www.knowledgeoman.com presents a human being, who is a leader in the true sense.Having taken his country and countrymen to dizzying heights within a short span of 39 years, that too when the globe witnessed chopping and changing either due to natural disasters or man made catastrophes is indeed a great achievement!Yours truly is only a year old in this blessed nation to study the greatness of His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, however, within this short time it was the motivation derived from mere observation of this personality, which motivated the author to present one contribution, with plans for many more in the pipeline.Hands on experience, coupled with his penchant for learning by knowing the problems of his people and solving them instantaneously makes him a one of its kind leader in the whole universe.His simple living, high thinking is the mantra the corrupt world should adopt.This is only a beginning as yours truly has started to author a book on this excellent leader, role model and statesman, who can provide ready reckoner, in terms of lessons either for political statesman,for corporate leaders, or even for a common man like you and me.Sharing the achievements and learning from this great persona would be the right way to step into 2010,a world free from all the evils, whether natural or man made.
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448th Publication on the IUP Journal of Soft Skills

2009-12-30T19:42:00.001+05:30

My 448th publication is a case study on soft skills, published in the prestigious IUP Journal of Soft Skills and also carried out by the global publisher SSRN.

Kindly find the snapshot of the article appended below taken from http://www.iupindia.org/1209/IJSS_Importance_Assertiveness_12.html

Abstract

Organizations across the globe are finding it difficult to sustain their competitive advantages, thanks to the stiff competition, turmoil in the global economy and other allied problems. It's imperative for the organizational decision makers to assure to the stakeholders so that viability is sustained against all odds which, in turn, calls for having an assertive approach in one's life rather than being aggressive. There are instances when people tend to use the words, assertive and aggressive behavior interchangeably without even realizing the yawning gap existing between the two. Assertive behavior within and outside the organization not only helps an individual employee grow but also provides a roadmap to the company to move higher up the ladder. The paper portrays the importance of assertiveness at the individual level and at the organizational level with a blended approach of theory and case study. The hypothetical case on a company Finnie Inc., brings forth the importance of assertive behavior at different levels of an organization. The importance of presenting assertive behavior by the management of an organization and subsequently percolating the same at the lowest ebb is what the case reflects upon as success of any global body.

Description

Organizations of all shapes and sizes from all sectors around the globe are witnessing fast changes within their rank and file. There are various reasons which make it imperative for employees as well as the management to take note of these changes in their surroundings, primarily because of the vital impact they have on their organization, thanks to technology and globalization. In such cases the workplace dynamics undergoes a metamorphosis which has a serious bearing on all the stakeholders. The cut throat competition has contributed to these changes as organizations are vying for the customer's wallet, resulting in embracing newer approaches in their overall scheme of things. Aggressiveness was hitherto the most favored word in the lexicon of all professionals as dog-eat-dog situation called for a fire in the belly approach in employees in order to even out the competition. Aggressiveness, however, was not liked by a host of stakeholders, i.e., customers, employees, shareholders to name a few. Aggressiveness at the workplace, within the office, or outside the precincts of the office is often construed as something which is wrong. It has now been substituted for assertiveness. There are instances where assertive behavior has paid an individual in a very big way.

Assertive behavior is quite often misconstrued either as aggressive behavior or as passive behavior. The organizations which are successful globally for years together have understood the relevance of assertive behavior in all their endeavors and therefore encourage their stakeholders to embrace the same. In the final analysis it becomes a winning proposition for all concerned whether it's the company, the employees, the shareholders, distributors or even the society at large. Sam Walton of the Walmart fame had two golden rules—Rule 1 said that customer is always the king, and Rule 2 said that if the customer is wrong, refer to rule number 1. This showed that the success story of the retailing giant was on the basis of serving the customer through assertive behavior.

Keywords

Soft Skills Journal, Global Economy, Global Body, Assertive Behavior, Global Organizations, Information Technology, IT, Corporate Citizens, Symbiotic Growth, Decision Making, Global Operations, Organizational Fabric, Organizational Culture, Organizational Level, Global Operations.

447th Publication

2009-12-30T19:30:00.000+05:30

My 447th publication on career management is an article published in the leading English Daily of Central India, The Hitavada, dated 29th December 2009.The article provides a snapshot on career management, and I am sure it's going to serve some or the other purpose for all career aspirants cutting across domains, levels and industries.

Read and Comment.

Articles from www.knowledgeoman.com

2009-12-27T19:57:00.001+05:30

It is almost a year now that yours truly joined the novel cause of knowledge generation and dissemination through state-of-the-art knowledge sharing portal of the Sultanate of Oman, www.knowledgeoman.com. Being a community based activity where one isn't paid a copper in cash or kind, contribution and participation is purely interest oriented and knowledge driven.Along with yours truly's new assignment in the Sultanate of Oman, he joined this community and continued with his favourite concept of symbiotic learning and growth,the backbone for his blog as well.After joining as KO Columnist, yours truly was promoted by the authorities of www.knowledgeoman.com to be the KO Column Coordinator which was gleefully accepted by him.Now, when the portal www.knowledgeoman.com is gaining prominence and momentum, not only in the Sultanate but all across the globe, as evident from the awards received, the accolades flowing in from all corners, not to forget the ever increasing memberships in this virtual learning get-together, it becomes the responsibility for yours truly to present all the contributions contributed to the esteemed portal in the last one year.

The links below would provide the same-
http://knowledgeoman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8168
http://knowledgeoman.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=181 (parent page)
http://knowledgeoman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8166
http://knowledgeoman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5159
http://knowledgeoman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5183
http://knowledgeoman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5302
http://knowledgeoman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5346
http://knowledgeoman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5379
http://knowledgeoman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5411
http://knowledgeoman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5461
http://knowledgeoman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5521
http://knowledgeoman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5241
http://knowledgeoman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6689
All the forthcoming articles and write-ups would also be included in this post.

Happy Reading followed by commenting for symbiotic learning and growth!!!

First Mover Advantage for Employees

2009-12-24T09:06:00.000+05:30

First mover advantage is known to be a strategic advantage for the marketers so as corner market shares from their rivals. The same holds true for individual employees working in an organization, since inception or since the initial few years.The personal experience of yours truly, along with the experiences observed in some of the colleagues in other organizations revealed so.The employees joining during the formative years of the company gets into the corporate nerve and understand all the processes and systems to an extend that they become indispensible for the higher ups.In such cases two of the following consequences were noted by yours truly-One the top notch performers elevated to the top rung to manage the show once the enterprise expands and two some of the other peers, sans the leadership skills are given more prestige, honour and value especially by the new staff as the latter thinks the former would be instrumental in the career progression of the new staff, owing to his/her alleigiance to the top bosses, mainly due to his/her seniority in the company.In such cases if the company does not have a good working culture, the seniority and issues related to their experience in that company goes into their head and they start to show off their hegemonistic attitude and designs, thereby throwing tantrums to the new joiners. These so called old pros are retaining their seat mainly because they are now the proverbial jacks, with an all around ability to work across functions in the organization.However, when it comes to grooming the new joiners on the same lines, they generally show a lackasidiacal approach fearing lossoing their grip in the organization.They will generally avoid or dislike any newcomers moving up the learning curve fast and therefore try all methods possible to bring them down, culminating in maintaining their status-quo and firm grip on the decision makers.

Managing indisciplined peers

2009-12-22T03:32:00.000+05:30

Peer management had always been a topic of debate.This play a vital role not only in ensuring that the organizational harmony, but also because, a healthy spirit and competition is maintained in the overall interests of the individual employees and also the organization as a whole. It always becomes a catch 22 situation for employees when they are to walk a tight rope especially if their peer's personality, behaviour and attitude are as different as chalk and cheese.Although this may be a normal thing, taking into consideration the personality traits which every individual presents, however, the contrast is also visible even when homogeneous groups on the basis of common likings, seating plan, department functioning,peer learning in a group is observed.Yours truly is privy to one such happenings off-late whereby the group of a four after coming together as an informal group, based on individual requirements and to an extent organizational need often are at loggerheads either mentally or physically.The mental discomfort is more than the physical unease, primaraly because, the individual concerned have smaller sub-groups even within that single group based on their values, faiths, seniority etc.This classification further fuels intragroup conflict as there are disaggreements amongst the opinion on personal and professional issues.Moreover, the diversity in the personality traits of all the members within the group catalyzes these unrest even more.An introvert within the group has to encounter an extrovert and vice-versa.In such a situation individuals concerned often ask themselves, do they need to alter their persona, especially their major characteristics while in the group or they need to maintain the status-quo thinking that it is only a momentary phase.Joking and making fun of the other members at the cost of ones sentiments and emotions often rattle members which may lead to a slow unrest within the subgroups, the group and then gradually spreading into the organization.How to arrest the pollution of the working environment in such a scenario is a million dollar question?

Read and Comment.

The safest professions during recessions and slowdowns

2009-12-20T23:55:00.001+05:30

Almost all the professions are prone to slowdown, recession or even a depression.However, there are certain professions which are either remaining unscathed completely or are partially impacted by these economic and market turbulence. There are a section of professionals just out of the recently concluded recession, or yet to conclude slowdown, since the great depression, who thinks about the so called protected professions during the time of slowdown, recession or depression.This sense of belief has led many a professional turn to these selected band of professions either by switching their career graph or by acquiring a new set of educational degrees or diplomas. Grapevine knowledge would point out to professions like teaching, healthcare, utility services to be those dreamt ones which may remain unmoved even by the mightiest economic turbulence.This is more of a wishful thinking as professionals representing these industries are getting affected intangibly(in a networked economy) as their respective employers are finding novel ways to reduce their expenses, which at times indirectly lead to forced or voluntary resignation en-masse.The ones who leave behind their lucrative professions for these selected band so as to make themselves immune against the market forces realizes that they were involved in a hara-kiri or one which is shortlived. These chopping and changing also allow the employers to segregate the genuine ones from the opportunist and thereby reward those who had weathered the storms even when the going was tough.It is therefore fool hardy to think that some professions are immune to recession/slowdown/depression.The actual happening is market driven, irrespective of the sector one is in.Its time for the common sense to sink in.

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Oman.....A Tourist Destination Par Excellance

2009-12-20T20:43:00.001+05:30

This blog is one on management training and consultancy and therefore all the posts have some or the other, direct or indirect linkage with the main theme, i.e. management, either for trainers,for consultants or for both.This post is a little different though.This one throws light on yours truly analyzing destination Oman as a spot for travel and tourism.Although, I am not an expert on analyzing the industry in detail, my analysis, partly as a customer(read tourist), partly as a consultant would definitely throw some light on few of the major attractions the Sultanate has to offer to all tourists, visiting from within the country,coming from the GCC region or from other parts of the world. In the last one year, I have travelled to places like Sur, Muscat city, Salalah, Nizwa Fort to name few. All these places are unique in their own way, for example, Muscat(view http://picasaweb.google.com/maniisonline/SultanateOfOman), the capital of the Sultanate is the perfect blend of modernity with a strong affiliation with the rich Omani culture.Nizwa fort(view http://picasaweb.google.com/maniisonline/NizwaFortSultanateOfOman) presents the ancient details to a nicety.One is compelled to recall and activate his/her grey cells so as to remember the history lessons learnt during the school days, which are depicted in such a unique manner, in the interiors of the fort. Sur, showcases the age old boating industry where Sultanate once reigned supreme.The boat museum presenting ancient boats is worth going down the memory lane.One simply cannot resist admiring the expertise of the Omanis in making the best boats in the world during those ancient days, when technology was totally absent.Add to it the natural landscape where mountains and sea converge and one can get a delight which a connoisseur can only dream in his wild imagination.Off late, in fact yesterday, I arrived from Salalah(view http://picasaweb.google.com/maniisonline/SalalahTrip), the destination of its kind in the whole of the Middle East.Its awesome to visit that place even during the off season and yours truly was wondering what would have been the case during the season, i.e. when the Khareef festival sets in, and everything in a desert is having a greenish tinge and touch!The mountains kissing the sea, caves surrounded by natural springs,the clouds touching your face in the mountain top, the caravan of camels, the puff of sheesha, zero gravity point where your vehicle moves on its own even when in neutral and brought to complete halt(view http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX_7jp-jgF8),Al Baleed archaeological park(one of the few sites in the prestigious United Nations Heritage list) the warm hospitality of Omanis to mention are some of the highlights that makes this blessed nation memorable to one and all. The broad roads, connectivity by land and air,strong law and order enforcing authorities, coupled with a wide offering for the travel and tourism freaks, makes it a real Ecstasy for all the stakeholders involved in this industry.

Hats off to His Majesty, The Sultan and his vision that transformed this country within a short span of 39 years!!!

I would be happy to help you out in any form whatsoever, so as to discover this excellent country.

My 444th publication-A Case Study on MJFIL

2009-12-15T16:58:00.000+05:30

The 444th publication happened to be a case study on Mohanlal Jangid Financial Investments Limited(MJFIL),a Nagpur, Maharashtra,and India based investment consultancy firm.At a time when people all across the globe are sceptical about investments in the stock market,especially after burning their fingers in the year old recession caused by investment bankers like Lehman Brothers to name one, MJFIL have shown many a novel business practices where profits are blended with ethics in such a manner that the end-user or rather all the stakeholders are relieved from all the unnecessary tensions attached to the world of investments.On the top of it, the customer service practices initiated by MJFIL should be a benchmark for all companies, private or public, Indian or Multi-national, while trying to bring in the confidence of the retail investors. It is because of the amount of the integrity, diligence and care shown by the company, that it proves beyond doubt the fact that for MJFIL, customer is always at the epicenter in all their endeavours.That, MJFIL happens to be the investment consultant for yours truly coupled with a time tested relationship being shared with the top boss of the company, Mr. Mohanlal Jangid acts an added incentive. Therefore, one can safely say that the information are coming out from the top brass of the company, happens to be from the horses mouth,without any questions of their validity and authenticity whatsoever.It was my first hand experience and detailed observations of all the staff including the top management, their business processes and practices, the solidness attached to the business model itself which provoked me to write this case study as many of these can quite easily be customized and leveraged by other organizations from same or different sectors, benefitting a bigger audience globally.
This case study is published in the reputed Marketing Management Magazine,Marketing Mastermind,December 2009 issue, published by Icfai University Press, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India,

Source

http://www.iupindia.org/marketing_mastermind.asp.

Read and Comment.

Managing Hidden and Well Disguised Animosity

2009-12-14T20:39:00.000+05:30

People often complaint about hidden undercurrents and animosity which are often invisible to a rank outsider and one who is unwilling to involve and immerse self in the nuances of the human relations.This is bound to happen in the personal and professional sphere and therfore such happenings at the workplace are no exceptions, rather they are routine. It depends upon the individual as to how he/she can manage these challenges without vitiating the environment and more importantly going unscathed.The first important thing to keep in mind during these trying situations is to shed even the slighest amount of ego one may have and then allow one to imbibe maximum learning from every encounters, so that he is richer with experiences.Keeping a neutral stance and open attitude not only helps maintaining the relationships, but also contributes in a very big way towards the developmental curve of the individual concerned, not to mention the positive impact on the working environment.It is however, easier said than done as many people during these trying situations takes up fights, clashes or simply surrenders meekly by giving way to the undercurrents.For such individual, either it is the sense of false ego or the absence of managing relationships which act as a dampner.
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Barack Obama and his Nobel Peace Prize

2009-12-11T10:13:00.000+05:30

Barack Obama has finally received the coveted award after lot of hue and cry all across the globe, some favouring the decision of the committee, some against it. My personal perspective is that the yardstick to zero into the most suitable candidate for the prestigious award has undergone a subtle change.If one compares the past receiver with Obama, one can safely say that they were awarded after they proved themselves, whereas Obama is being awarded surrounding his much hyped selection as the US president along with the accompanied hoopla around his peace efforts all across the world. If one tries to dissect the alterations made by Obama in his global strategies since his name was disclosed for this award, one would not find strong evidences of peace.The Middle East peace process is still in a turmoil, Iran and Korea are being handled in a piece-meal fashion, Af-Pak policies are finalized without keeping in mind the sufferings and after-affects on the common citizens there, who are being massacared, right, left and center, Indo-Pak peace efforts are not being fuelled by stimulating both the parties to part ways with their hitherto violent policies, Taiwan-China dialogue is in a limbo, where the former is at the mercy of the later and so forth.The progress report indicates that even after the prize being awarded on the basis of a new model of future expectations, rather than past efforts, there is no perceptible changes in the US policy so as to make this earth a peaceful one. In such a sceanrio one should debate the basis of the men in Oslo, who were responsible for naming the US president. Moreover, Obama after receiving the award while comparing with his heroes, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, made a statement which may not have made his heroes happier either.To quote him "We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth,We will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes. There will be times when nations — acting individually or in concert — will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified." (Source- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/War-has-a-role-in-peace-Obama/articleshow/5324682.cms) only shows that his peace efforts would not be a purely peace based ones like his predecessors,rather they would be blended with a reciepe of war and peace.Will this approach bring in real peace or the peace achieved would be momentary is a question to pondered upon. The onus lies on the American president and his whole-sale changes in his efforts in reaching out for a long lasting global peace which effectively means changing the US stance altogether in certain issues, for which in turn he may have to face the wrath in his home turf. Does he have the willingness, does he have the guts to go that extra mile, does he want to be one at par with Gandhi and King, only time will tell!

Meanwhile, read and comment.

Why Oman Model would be more successful

2009-12-08T20:36:00.000+05:30

The developmental model of the Sultanate of Oman if compared to that of Dubai or even the Emirates as a whole have more solidity. The recent Dubai crisis, nothwithstanding, the growth model adopted by the Sultanate under the wise leadership of His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, have understood the local needs and have precisely devised a model whereby the local Omani populace move up the hierarchial graph quite faster than many of its Middle Eastern peers. The results are there to be seen. While Omanisation have been successful in increasing the reliability of the country on the local manpower, emiratization is still in its infancy. It definitely has to do a lot with the vision of the respective leaders, the confidence of which in turn has percolated to the common citizens in both the countries. Emirate is still dependent on expatriates in most of the sectors, whereas Oman is gradually trying to shift the emphasis from expats to local talents, in a phase-wise planned manner.The other thing which need to be appreciated is the response of the Omani's to the call of His Majesty in contributing whole-heartedly towards the development of their country.Add to it its rich culture, tradition and heritage and one can safely say that the Omani model has more credence and this is precisely the reason why the economy in the Sultanate was comparatively immune to the global recession and even the impact from the Dubai world crisis was minimal or negligible.

Even an article in the reputed Economic Times (Source Link- http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5315230.cms) cites that of all the gulf countries, Oman had the least job losses at 6 percent vis-a-vis that of UAE at 16 percent,in the present scenario, which is fearsome for all employees, notably the expatriates.

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Climate Change Summit at Copenhagen

2009-12-08T09:57:00.001+05:30

Copenhagen climate change summit has been built up with much fanfare as if there is no tommorrow.Accepted the fact that, the climate is witnessing a free fall in light of the frequent catastrophes like Tsunami, earthquakes,floods, heavy downpour, landslides, melting of glaciers etc. I am unable to understand the fact where was this concern some 10, 20 or even 30 years back when the so called industrialized nations had been on a rampage under the garb of industrialization?Now, when the alarming bells have started ringing, they have only the emerging nations to blame, that too for those economic steps forward which are directly related to the welfare of their citizens, i.e. a chunk of the world's population. It is time when countries like India and China should avoid taking an unilateral stance as that would enable the so called developed economies to continue with their hegemonistic design in all global affairs. The world is watching with a bated breath what is going to emanatevfrom the Copenhagen summit and believe me yours truly knows very well at the end its going to be a deadlock.WTO met the same fate time and again, and unless the discriminatory policies of the west are amended, its going to be a difficult proposition for the world at large to come on a single page.India and China have made their stands on emission cuts in the next decade or so, however, the moot question still remains-Is it going to be a dampener in their developmental curve?Is it another way by the west to block the rising clout of emerging nations, notably the ones from Asia?Many questions directly and indirectly still remains unanswered, only time will tell, what are the hidden motives behind such policies.
Meanwhile read and add your comments for symbiotic learning and growth.

Knowing the underlying happenings

2009-12-04T17:32:00.000+05:30

There are any unknown or lesser known facts about 26/11, especially from the perspective of organizational culture, imbibing practices within the cultural fabric, which in turn can culminate in to a world class level, spreading these benchmark practices within the length and breadth of the organization with comfortable ease, not to forget the spill over affects they have on other strategic business units of the groups, finally leading to a world class diversified business conglomerates. Tata Sons needs no introduction at the global level. The Salt to automobile manufacturer have reached the crescendo in most of the businesses they are in,their style of working and the organizational culture are always the topic of discussion during case analysis by MBA students or while the top corporate executives undergo executive development program. I just chanced upon a document, an extract from 26/11 where the speaker, Mr. H.N. Srinivas, Senior Executive Vice President, Taj Group of Hotels, presented these lesser known facts about the Tata group, more so about their hospitality business, during and after the 26/11, a test of its character as an organization. Once you go through the quoted details presented below, you can very well conclude and decipher the reasons as to why Tata as a group is growing in this competitive world when many of the other established business tyconns and their businesses are finding it difficult to handle the uncertainities during these challenging times-

Read and comment-

EXTRACT TAKEN FROM 26/11 INCIDENT-

Meeting with H N Srinivas – Senior Executive Vice President, Taj Group of Hotels
Last evening, the author had a dinner meeting with HNS in Goa (The author was there for a National Institute of Personnel Management conference – as a speaker).

He narrated the 26 th November 2008 terror attack on Taj Mumbai and there were some important points which provided a snap shot about the organization in particular and the group as a whole.

A. Terrorist entry

1. They entered from the Leopold Colaba hotel entrance and also from the northern entrance – spraying indiscriminate bullets on the Taj security personnel and guests in general.
2. Though Taj had a reasonable security – they were surely not equipped to deal with terrorists who were spraying 6 bullets per trigger.
3. The strategy of the terrorists was to throw chunks of RDX in an open area that will explode and burn – creating chaos so that the guests and staff run helter skelter so that the terrorists could kill them. The idea was to create maximum casualties.
4. There were several critical gatherings and functions happening in the hotel on that day – a Bohra wedding, global meet of Unilever CEOs and Board members and 2 other corporate meetings were being held in the hotel – besides the usual crowd.
5. The firing and chaos began at about 8.30 p.m. and the staff including employees on casual and contract basis displayed exemplary presence of mind, courage and sacrifice to protect the guests who were in various halls and conference rooms.

B. Stories of Staff Heroics

1. A young lady guest relation executive with the HLL gathering stopped any of the members going out and volunteered 3 times to go out and get stuff such as ice cubes for whiskey of the guests when the situation outside the hall was very explosives and she could have been easily the target of the bullets
2. Thomas George a captain escorted 54 guests from a backdoor staircase and when he was going down last he was shot by the terrorists
3. There were 500 emails from various guests narrating heroics of the staff and thanking them for saving their lives
4. In a subsequent function, Ratan Tata broke down in full public view and sobbed saying – “the company belongs to these people”. The wife of Thomas George who laid his life saving others said, she and the kids were proud of the man and that she did not know that for 25 years she lived with a man who was so courageous and brave
5. The episode happened on 26 th November, a significant part of the hotel was burnt down and destroyed – the hotel was re-opened on 21 st December and all the employees of the hotel were paraded in front of the guests
6. It was clearly a saga of extra-ordinary heroics by ordinary people for their organisation and in a way for their country. The sense of duty and service was unprecedented
7. The young lady who protected and looked after the HLL guests was a management trainee and we often speak of juniority and seniority in the organisation. She had no instructions from any supervisor to do what she did
a. She took just 3 minutes to rescue the entire team through the kitchen
b. Cars were organised outside the hotel as per seniority of the members
c. In the peak of the crisis, she stepped out and got the right wine glass for the guest
8. People who exhibited courage included janitors, waiters, directors, artisans and captains – all level of people

C. The Tata Gesture

1. All category of employees including those who had completed even 1 day as casuals were treated on duty during the time the hotel was closed
2. Relief and assistance to all those who were injured and killed
3. The relief and assistance was extended to all those who died at the railway station, surroundings including the “Pav-Bhaji” vendor and the pan shop owners
4. During the time the hotel was closed, the salaries were sent my money order
5. A psychiatric cell was established in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences to counsel those who needed such help
6. The thoughts and anxieties going on people’s mind was constantly tracked and where needed psychological help provided
7. Employee outreach centers were opened where all help, food, water, sanitation, first aid and counseling was provided. 1600 employees were covered by this facility
8. Every employee was assigned to one mentor and it was that person’s responsibility to act as a “single window” clearance for any help that the person required
9. Ratan Tata personally visited the families of all the 80 employees who in some manner – either through injury or getting killed – were affected.
10. The dependents of the employees were flown from outside Mumbai to Mumbai and taken care off in terms of ensuring mental assurance and peace. They were all accommodated in Hotel President for 3 weeks
11. Ratan Tata himself asked the families and dependents – as to what they wanted him to do.
12. In a record time of 20 days, a new trust was created by the Tatas for the purpose of relief of employees.
13. What is unique is that even the other people, the railway employees, the police staff, the pedestrians who had nothing to do with Tatas were covered by compensation. Each one of them was provided subsistence allowance of Rs. 10K per month for all these people for 6 months.
14. A 4 year old granddaughter of a vendor got 4 bullets in her and only one was removed in the Government hospital. She was taken to Bombay hospital and several lacs were spent by the Tatas on her to fully recover her
15. New hand carts were provided to several vendors who lost their carts
16. Tata will take responsibility of life education of 46 children of the victims of the terror
17. This was the most trying period in the life of the organisation. Senior managers including Ratan Tata were visiting funeral to funeral over the 3 days that were most horrible
18. The settlement for every deceased member ranged from Rs. 36 to 85 lacs in addition to the following benefits:

a. Full last salary for life for the family and dependents
b. Complete responsibility of education of children and dependents – anywhere in the world
c. Full Medical facility for the whole family and dependents for rest of their life
d. All loans and advances were waived off – irrespective of the amount
e. Counselor for life for each person

D. Epilogue

1. How was such passion created among the employees? How and why did they behave the way they did?
2. The organisation is clear that it is not something that someone can take credit for. It is not some training and development that created such behaviour. If someone suggests that – everyone laughs
3. It has to do with the DNA of the organisation, with the way Tata culture exists and above all with the situation that prevailed that time. The organisation has always been telling that customers and guests are #1 priority
4. The hotel business was started by Jamshedji Tata when he was insulted in one of the British hotels and not allowed to stay there.
5. He created several institutions which later became icons of progress, culture and modernity. IISc is one such institute. He was told by the rulers that time that he can acquire land for IISc to the extent he could fence the same. He could afford fencing only 400 acres.
6. When the HR function hesitatingly made a very rich proposal to Ratan – he said – do you think we are doing enough?
7. The whole approach was that the organisation would spend several hundred crore in re-building the property – why not spend equally on the employees who gave their life?

When your ex-boss suddenly becomes your subordinate

2009-12-01T07:46:00.000+05:30

There are instances in different fields owing to different situation which may lead him/her to a tight spot.The person whom you always considered to be your boss and you were growing under his/her tutelage is suddenly working as your own subordinate.It may be because of various reasons-demotion, went on long leave and therefore his/her role was handed over to the new person, study leave sponsored by the organization to name a few.In such a situation it is problematic not only for the new manager but also for the new subordinate as the personal chemistry undergoes a change apart from the different influencers too changing their respective stances with the varying situation.It is therefore ideal for the duo to understand that inspite of the hierarchial shake-up they are human beings first.This would enable them to open up and re-do the doubts which may have crept up in their mind. It is also important to manage the squabbles which would be at the mental level and remove the cob-webs which may be leading to the friction.If the newcomer, i.e. the erstwhile finds it difficult to submit to the present situation it would be apt for his ex-subordinate and current boss to show him/her the right place in an assertive fashion.This,however should not blow out of proportion as this would have a fall over on the overall organizational culture.

Slowdown and the aviation sector

2009-12-01T07:17:00.000+05:30

The recent slowdown witnessed by the global economies(recession to be fair)including the Indian economy had its perilious impact on all the industries. Aviation sector was the one which was badly affected globally. Many filed for bankruptcy, while a most of them had been negatively impacted which resulted in drastic cost cutting measures.Being a frequent flier on the India-Gulf Cooperation Council route apart from within the Indian skies, I observed that most of the renowned Indian airlines, including those which were the darling of the stakeholders not a few months back, were suddenly trying to reduce their operational cost to such an extent that a frequent flier having a loyalty status with those airlines started to feel the heat.Things became obvious and it was visible to my eyes that the airlines were trying to move into the black through all means. What was painful though was the fact that these airlines weren't understanding the fact that the targeted heads to reduce the cost won't fetch them a big return and instead would threaten their brand image in the long run.The sense of complacency was even felt in their services quality, as the routine on-board and ground services were different from that of the normal situations.May be cost cutting right, left and center had a rubbing effect on the staff as they themselves started to feel the heat, and therefore moved away from the routine courteous way of serving the passengers.On the contrary airlines like Oman Air aggressively expanded their routes in the European sector by acquiring state-of-the-art aircraft, by enhancing their level of services.The major difference between these two claases of airlines were-One thought recession is permanent and the other thought it was momentary and so shouldn't tinker with the basic business fundamentals.

The Dubai Crisis

2009-11-29T11:16:00.000+05:30

The breakdown of the Dubai Real Estate sector is having a suspicion in the mind of the Indian realty investors.In spite of the pep-talk by Indian finance minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, and declaration by leading banks including State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and ICICI Bank, about their minuscule investments, the public at large, notably the ones having small and large investments in the realty companies is having their fingers crossed. The confidence building measures shown by Indian giants, notably players like Emaar MGF having a partner in the UAE,is acting as the much needed soothing balm, to an otherwise jittery investors.Dubai World, more specifically its subsidiary Nakheel is now at the mercy of the government of Abu Dhabi and apropos the first statements emanating from the capital of the Emirate, they are going to bail out the company after seeing all minute details on a case to case basis. Indian economy may take some beating as a million of Indian expatriates working in different Emirates, more so in Dubai may find it difficult to hold on to their job, thereby having a spill over affect on the remittances sent every month.The confidence shown by Indian experts is not an opaque one as they know the strong fundamentals of Indian economy would again come to their rescue like it was the case in the just receeding global recession, biggest since the great depression of the forties.However, wait and watch is the best way suggested by the experts and the astronomical rise in the price of properties even in India may soon see the bubble bursting and reaching their rightful place.

Read more from the following links of The Economic Times, leading financial and economic daily of India-

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/quickieslist/5274021.cms

The fun of teaching a new subject to the professional students

2009-11-29T00:30:00.000+05:30

Although I had been teaching BBA, MBA, Diploma, Certificate, Higher Diploma students of business and management studies and training corporates for over a decade now, I have recently discovered the fun of teaching a novel subject.The routine subjects of management I was covering included marketing, human resources, strategic management, principles of management, soft skills to name a few didn't incite me much when it came to pedagogical innovation.It was when I was asked to train students on a new subject, Job Search Technique(JST),that my grey cells were activated beyond imagination.Prima facie it appeared that the subject was a cake-walk, however after realizing the diverse background of the target audience, I realized the importance of innovating so that I can reach out to them individually.I therefore started understanding the profile of students from different disciplines like Engineering, IT apart from business.I coined a unique method to analyze job advertisement analysis, somewhat similar to job analysis, whereby the trainee was supposed to list out the job profile on one side, his personal profile, along with the SWOT on the other, followed by marking right and wrong, depending upon their similarity and dissimilarity respectively.If the end result had more right, they concluded it is the right job for them and on the contrary more wrong indicated it wasn't the right job for them.Similarly, I asked them to research on various ways as to how internet can be leveraged to land up with the right job, pros and cons of conventional and unconventional job search techniques and more.

My 441st publication on the Master Blaster

2009-11-23T17:56:00.001+05:30

Some Quotes about Sachin Tendulkar-
A MUST READ FOR EVERY CRICKET FAN. JUST READ IT TILL THE END.

"Nothing bad can happen to us if we're on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it."
- Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards a flight.

"Sometimes you get so engrossed in watching batsmen like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar that you lose focus on your job."
- Yaseer Hameed in pakistani newspaper.

"To Sachin, the man we all want to be"
- Andrew Symonds wrote on an aussie t-shirt he autographed specially for Sachin.

“Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their TV sets and switch off their lives."
- BBC on Sachin

"Tuzhe pata hai tune kiska catch chhoda hai?"
- Wasim Akram to Abdul Razzaq when the latter dropped Sachin's catch in 2003 WC.

Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal.
- Brian Charles Lara

"We did not lose to a team called India...we lost to a man called Sachin."
- Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)

"The more I see of him the more confused I'm getting to which is his best knock."
- M. L. Jaisimha

"The joy he brings to the millions of his countrymen, the grace with which he handles all the adulation and the expectations and his innate humility - all make for a one-in-a-billion individual,"
- Glen McGrath

"I can be hundred per cent sure that Sachin will not play for a minute longer when he is not enjoying himself. He is still so eager to go out there and play. He will play as long as he feels he can play,"
- Anjali Tendulkar

Question: Who do you think as most important celebrity ?
Shah Rukh Khan: There was a big party where stars from bollywood and cricket were invited. Suddenly, there was a big noise, all wanted to see approaching Amitabh Bachhan. Then Sachin entered the hall and Amitabh was leading the queue to get a grab of the GENIUS!!
- Shah Rukh Khan in an interview.

“India me aap PrimeMinister ko ek Baar Katghare me khada kar sakte hain..Par Sachin Tendulkar par Ungli nahi utha Sakte.. “
- Navjot Singh Sidhu on TV

He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also.
- Waqar Younis

'I Will See God When I Die But Till Then I Will See Sachin'
- A banner in Sharjah

Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has many medals on his chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over the world. I was bowling to Sachin and he hit me for two fours in a row. One from point and the other in between point and gully. That was the last two balls of the over and the over after that we (SA) took a wicket and during the group meeting i told Jonty (Rhodes) to be alert and i know a way to pin Sachin. And i delivered the first ball of my next over and it was a fuller length delevery outside offstump. And i shouted catch. To my astonishment the ball was hit to the cover boundary. Such was the brilliance of Sachin. His reflex time is the best i have ever seen. Its like 1/20th of a sec. To get his wicket better not prepare. Atleast u wont regret if he hits you for boundaries.
- Allan Donald

On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!!
- Peter Rebouck - Aussie journalist

"Sachin cannot cheat. He is to cricket what (Mahatma) Gandhiji was to politics. It's clear discrimination. "
- NKP Salve, former Union Minister when Sachin was accused of ball tempering

There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others.
- Andy Flower

"I have seen god, he bats at no.4 for India"
- Mathew Hayden

"Commit all your sins when Sachin is batting. They will go unnoticed coz even the GOD is watching"
- A hoarding in England

NOW THIS ONE IS PROBABLY THE BEST AND MOST CUTEST OF THE LOT

"Even my father's name is Sachin Tendulkar."
- Tendulkar's daughter, Sara, tells her class her father's name after the teacher informs them of a restaurant of the same name in Mumbai.

This is my 441st publication overall, carried out in The Indian Express, leading English Daily of western India, Pune, dated 23rd November 2009.The article dissects the learning one can derive from the life of the master blaster, SACHIN TENDULKAR.People from all professions and walks of life can very well derive important lessons from his on the field off the field activities and behaviour.
This same article with more details was again published in The Hitavada, dated 15th December 09, leading English Daily of Central India, looking into its significance to one and all. That happened to be the 445th publication for yours truly.
Read and Comment!

My article on "From Teaching to Learning"

2009-10-24T13:04:00.000+05:30

This is my 438th publication. The article published in the Thursday Magazine of The Times of Oman,22nd october 09 to 28th october 09 talks about the metamorphosis from teaching to learning,keeping in mind the alteration sought by all the stakeholders.

WHEW! This article fetched me a prize as well from the publisher!!!Just check the attached document with the article.
Read and Comment!

My 436th Publication titled on "OJT"

2009-10-14T14:10:00.000+05:30

OJT or On the Job Training play an important role in the learning curve of a professional.The write-up published in the www.knowledgeoman.com is based on my experiences in India,The UAE and observations in the Sultanate of Oman.

Read and Comment!

My article on "The Modern Day Paradox"

2009-10-10T16:40:00.000+05:30

Read and comment on my 435th article published in the leading english daily of central India,The Hitavada, dated 6th October 2009.

My 434th Publication in a Marketing Journal

2009-10-06T12:42:00.000+05:30

My 434th publication in the Journal of IMT,Nagpur,titled, Connoisseur-2009, Volume 1,Issue 7,by invitation from the publishers,presents the marketing dynamics of the Arab World.
IMT,Nagpur is the sister concern of the leading B-School of India, IMT, Ghaziabad. Read and Comment.

Manishankar Chakraborty.......The International Trainer and Consultant: Two Day's Workshop Proceedings at RGI,Nagpur

2009-10-03T21:03:00.000+05:30

Manishankar Chakraborty.......The International Trainer and Consultant: Two Day's Workshop Proceedings at RGI,Nagpur

Two Day's Workshop Proceedings at RGI,Nagpur

2009-09-21T12:33:00.000+05:30

The two day's workshop on the 23rd and 24th of September 09 for RGI group's colleges of management and business administration was a thrilling one where the faculties from all the domains of management were brought together to understand, analyze, disseminate and percolate the ideas gathered to the students and the peers who couldn't make it to the forum.The workshop chaired by yours truly, as the facilitator, was broken into components like "How to write a case","Teaching through Case Studies","Myths about Case Based Teaching", "How to Write Articles", "How to make and run projects","Global happenings in the Management Education", followed by an open house.A total of 25 teaching staff from different domains of management representing different B-schools under the RGI banner, hailing from Nagpur, Amravati,Jalgaon, Pune participated in the two days deliberations.The homework sent to all the delegates comprised of a 30 page case study for their critical analysis. The title of the case was "HRM in Affiliates of companies working in Estonia". Another homework in the form of spadework for "Article Writing" was also given to the delegates,whereby they were supposed to gather the information, which in turn was to be converted into an article. Five power point presentations detailing the topic, apart from a simulated case presentation was put forth by the workshop facilitator.He also shared few of his published articles, research papers and case studies.The workshop hovered around the model of learning by doing as the delegates were either involved in group or individual exercises.
The workshop was inaugurated at the august hands of group chairman, Mr. Sunilji Raisoni, in the presence of Executive Directors and Directors, Mr. Mahadev Shastri and Mr. Yasin Sheikh respectively. Mr. Varadpande, Placement Manager compared the inaugural event, followed by the extempores by Mr. Shastri and Mr. Sheikh. They empahsized the importance of learning and novel training techniques in the modern day management learning.The event was managed by GH Raisoni Academy For Human Execllence Pvt. Ltd.
In a nutshell, my small Eid vacation in India was a perfect blend of earn, learn and some fun!!!

Details of conference participation and lectures given at the national and international level

2009-09-21T10:11:00.003+05:30

My article on Leadership and Team Management

2009-09-16T14:07:00.000+05:30

My 431st publication in leading English Daily of Central India, The Hitavada,dated 15th September 09.

My article in www.tripurainfo.in

2009-09-16T13:59:00.000+05:30

Read and Comment on my 432nd publication taken out in www.tripurainfo.in

My Article on "Divided we Fall"

2009-09-08T12:28:00.000+05:30

Read and Comment on my 429th publication published in the leading English Daily of Central India, The Hitavada, dated 8th September 09.

My article on blending Soft Skills with Hard Skills

2009-09-03T16:25:00.000+05:30

This is my 427th publication published in the leading English Daily of Central India-The Hitavada.The article presents the importance of the adequate mix of hard skills with that of soft skills in order to succeed in the professional world.
Read and Comment!

My article in the August 09 Issue of Advertising Express

2009-09-03T16:02:00.000+05:30

This is my 421st publication and the second to be published in professional publications after joining ICT, although I had published in the dailies of the Sultanate of Oman and www.knowledgeoman.com. The article talks about the excellent communication patterns followed in the business sectors of the Sultanate through various platforms-both print and electronic.
Read and Comment!

My article in the August 09 Issue of HRM Review

2009-09-03T15:53:00.000+05:30

The article on "A facelift to Management Training" is my 422nd publication overall and my first after joining ICT,in a professional publication platform although I had contributed on the dailies of the Sultanate of Oman and also on knowledgeoman.com.
The article details my experiences as a trainer in different countries using different resources with a diverse set of audiences.
Read and Comment!

My Article on "The Need for a GLOCAL Approach"

2009-08-25T19:14:00.000+05:30

This is my 424th publication,published in the leading English Daily of Central India-The Hitavada, dated 25th of August 2009. It talks about the importance of blending local and global approaches so as to offer globalized offering with localized specifics.This enables companies to reach out to the customer in an way which can build long term sustainable relationships.

Read and Comment!

My Article on 'Managing Challenges'

2009-08-13T12:45:00.000+05:30

This is my 320th publication, carried out by the leading English Daily of Central India-The Hitavada. Managing Challenges is essential for every individual, both in the personal and professional domain. Its a mix or art and science or its a art is something we need to dwell upon.

Read and Comment!

My Article on Sense of Insecurity Kills Everything

2009-08-07T11:00:00.000+05:30

This is my 418th publication published in the leading English Daily of Central India-The Hitavada. The article tries to present the destroyer in chief-Sense of insecurity, which is often a hindrance and throws spanner on every plan, be it professional or personal.
Read and Comment.

Few of the recent articles from The Indian Express

2009-08-01T14:38:00.000+05:30

Reforms in the Indian Education Sector

2009-07-30T16:10:00.000+05:30

The topic reminds me of one of my article published in a leading and prestigious daily of India, The Hindu, way back in the year 2004. The article can be referred from http://manishankarthetrainer.blogspot.com/2009/01/one-of-my-old-article-on-privatization.html .The right noises is being made by Mr. Kapil Sibal and company, the report submitted by Prof. Yaspal os spot on. I had contemplated on the same lines while authoring that article 4-5 years back, but now on hindsight, I feel privatization is impossible without proper regulatory and monitoring mechanism, as quite a few incidents where pseudo-privatization of the sector have led to sheer profiteering at the cost of value based of education, have made me little skeptical and jittery.However, the moot point still remains that privatization is a necessity and sonner than later the country would have to open the floodgates.My experience for the last one and a half year in different countries outside India, made me realize, there is no other alternative for privatization of higher education, however the million dollar question to be answered before that is "whether we would be able to put the right checks and balances in place or not"?
Read and Comment.

My article on workplace politics

2009-07-29T10:26:00.000+05:30

This is my 415th articlethrowing light on workplace related politics.While this is common, there are instances where politics takes precedence over the core objective of work.Moreover, there are individuals who considers politics to be their main bastion so as to cover up for their inefficiencies,a second type would intentionally involve or foment politics just to save his skin and chair.This may lead to the downfall of the organization concerned as negative politics have a cascading effect on the work flow and work culture of an organization.Read and Comment.