Don't be a Pappu

Let's call the Indian, Pappu. He lives in:

401, Super Apartments,
Link Road, Sector 21,
Delhi.

What will Pappu say in different situation?
Pappu to an American: "Asia is way better than all other continents. We have..."

Pappu to an Thai: "BRIC countries FTW!"

Pappu to a Brazilian: "India man, that's the place to be."

Pappu to a Bihari: "Metro cities are the heart and soul of the country."

Pappu to a Mumbaiker: "Delhi is waaay better."

Pappu to a resident of Sector 15: "Sector 21 is the poshest area dude."

Pappu to a resident of MG Road in Sector 21: "Link Road has everything. Its the best."

Pappu to a resident of Duper Apartment, Link road, Sector 21: "Our apartment is more organised and classy then yours."

Pappu to his neighbor: "We have an amazing view of the garden from our balcony."

I am guessing you got the drift.

This happens all the time. Pappu doesn't change. He just says different things when he is with different people. We Indian will be competitive about anything and everything. Albeit it does not motivate us to improve things, we just argue a lot.

Next time someone tells you something like this, remember the Pappu example.

P.S. - Pappu being from Delhi is just an example. Pappu can be anyone from anywhere.

The UK Bribery Act

UK has passed a Bribery Act which will be implemented from 1^st July 2011. They had issued a detailed guidance in March. Some say that the legislation is draconian.

This Act will put additional pressure on some of the companies who are already grappling with corruption scandals. It will cover all Indian companies who do business in the UK. They will be exposed to potential criminal liability where bribes are paid by employees, agents and subsidiaries even if the relevant conduct happens in some other part of the world.

There are 4 new offences which will be introduced by this Act – offering, promising or giving of a bribe; requesting, agreeing to receive, or accepting a bribe; either in the UK or abroad, in public as well as private sectors; bribery of a foreign public official in order to obtain or retain business; and, inability of companies to prevent a bribe being paid by those who perform services for or on behalf of the organisation. [ Source: Economic Times]. 

All MNCs with offices in UK, Indian companies listed on UK exchanges, and independent director sitting on boards of such companies will all be under the purview of this Act.

Companies like Tata, Essar and Vedanta have significant presence in the UK and so they will have to review and implement anti-bribery policies and procedures.

You can find the ‘necessary steps that need to be taken’ in this article. It's a very well written and detailed article. 

US also have a US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. India has Prevention of Corruption Act. Woohoo! Well, not quite. India’s Act is not implemented properly. No wait, it’s almost not implemented. There are very few, if any, arrests and convictions. They monetary penalties are very negligible as compared to the size of the crime. Hence, it’s almost as if we have no law regarding it.

India, tera kya hoga?

Maybe this:

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

This amazing marketing book is written by Al Ries and Jack Trout. It’s a pretty old book but it still holds its own in today’s world. It is not too long and hence not boring. The length assures that people who are interested after reading the title don’t let it go just because ‘It’ll take a lot of time to read it completely’.

It’s an easy to understand and easily implementable book. The laws are simple and to the point. The examples given are relevant. The predictions made in the book are now verifiable. Almost all of them have come true.

Their analysis of companies and their marketing strategies is immaculate. The writers have shown how complex marketing strategies make or break just because of one simple thing. Their analysis of companies like Coke, Pepsi, IBM, Xerox and Apple are very interesting.

If you believe in ‘learning from other people’s mistakes’ then this book is exactly that. It is almost compulsory to follow these rules if you about to start out with a new product. The laws can be easily followed. All you need to do is read them carefully and understand how to implement them in your case.

Enough from me, read the book for more.

You can buy it on Flipkart and on Amazon.

It is reasonably priced. Actually, that’s nothing compared to what it will help you save. Hell, good things don’t always come cheap.

To know more about the book, shoot questions through comments. 

The Employment Dilemma

India might be one of the very few countries which have the unique problem of coexistence of Unemployment and lack of man power, at the same time. It's ironic.

On one side we have a very large portion of our country's population which is looking for a job and on the other side we have companies and other institutions claiming that they are not able to get enough people to fill in their vacancies.

How can this happen?

Some people say that it is because the unemployed youth is not skilled and the demand is only for skilled people. Okay. I accept. But then why are there not many training institutes which can transform these unskilled but willing people to skilled, employable people?

NIIT has training institutes which are a huge success. They have contributed more to the Indian economy than a lot of established universities. They have created employable youth. There is no bigger service to society.

Although, my reason for writing this post is different. I recently read some stuff about jobs offered to students to National Law Schools. Students are made to believe that they have a higher chance of getting a job if they go to a certain university. I would like to change the statement, ' They have a higher chance of getting a better job if they go to a certain university'. I believe that students from all universities will get jobs. It's just a matter of persistence.

India is growing. Professionals are in demand and will be in demand for a long long time. We don't just need more lawyers. We need more professionals in general. We need efficient and more doctors, engineers, plumbers, carpenters, drivers etc. Everyone has a scope to get a job. 

Okay, this might seem a bit too optimistic but I am not bluffing. I have talked to a lot of HR managers in companies and they have all told me that there is always a demand for good professionals. They have to take under qualified or not so good professionals just because there are not many available. 

So don't choose a profession if you don't like it just because the job prospects are good. Job prospects will always be good. You just have to be efficient. 

You might have to relocate and you might not get the salary that 'you think you deserve' but I am pretty sure you'll get a job. 

All the unskilled people out there can become drivers, traffic policemen, courier guys, work for fast food chains and other such jobs. No offence to any of these professions. No job is small. Everyone has to learn dignity of labor. It's better to have a small job rather than be unemployed. 

So well, do what you want to but do it well. If you do your part then you will definitely find means to survive. Everyone who knows how to work, will find a job. The only people who don't get jobs are the ones who don't want one. Sometimes, all you need to do is keep trying. You'll get it.

P.S. - No offence to anyone. Just my view. Nothing personal. :) Also, I am a bit tired right now so this might not be my best work on this topic but yes, this is my view. If you disagree then post your view in the comments section. I will be happy to 'talk it out'. :) 

Anna Hazare is like an Old Lady

Okay, before you go all hyper on me, read the entire post.

This is a story someone told me yesterday. It's relevant to the current fast-ing trend. I hope you find it interesting.

Once upon a time in a small village there was a wealthy merchant. His son. his only child, was to be married. He started looking for a bride. An old lady in the village heard about this. She devised a(n) (evil?) plan.

Next day she sat in front of the merchant's house and declared that she will not eat anything until and unless the merchant marries his young son to her. Everyone in the village was surprised. All of them knew she was being unreasonable. Most of them laughed her off. Almost no one took her seriously.

A few days passed but the old lady was adamant. She had become very weak. The people in the village started getting anxious. Now they were asking the merchant to marry his young son to the old lady just so that she would end her fast.

The merchant obviously did not want it to happen so he was very worried. He offered the old lady money but she refused it. He offered the old lady a house to live and a lot of luxuries but she refused. He tried everything but the old lady refused to budge. The villagers started supporting her just on humanitarian grounds. The merchant was under tremendous pressure.

One day, a man came to the merchant and said that he could make the old lady go away if the merchant wanted. The merchant was surprised. He told the man that he did not to force the old lady into anything neither did he want to beat her up or kidnap her or something. The man said that he had a plan and through it, the old lady would voluntarily go away. The merchant agreed.

Next morning, the old lady was gone. Everyone including the merchant was surprised. The merchant went to the man who had made this possible. He asked him how he managed to convince the old lady to leave. The man smiled.

He said he found a person who had leprosy. He asked that person to go to the old lady and tell her that if she did not marry him then he would not eat anything and hence go on a fast himself. The old lady understood that her plan had been foiled and so she left.

Moral of the story: [It depends on individual perception of the story. Find your own learnings.] :)

P.S. - If you can't relate this story to the fast done by Anna Hazare then you can take the heading of the post as an independent statement and blast your comments based on that.

Cheers

A