Saner hands needed
Women drivers can prevent accidents...

Shall we ever see that day in our life time when in the neighborhood bus stop we would be greeted by a bus-driven, not by a man, but a woman? And would it eventually benefit the society as a whole if at all such a thing eventually happens? Well in a country where more than 90,000 people die in road accidents per year, more than anything else, we need sober drivers who would prevent rash driving and follow the nuances of road etiquette. Well that might just be a little too distant a dream, but small journey on the same line has already begun. In Indore, a few days back, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister made similar announcement which no doubt raises hope for Indore transport to pose and be the role model for the entire country.

Nevertheeless the chauvinism of a male dominated society would take time to change. A Public Relation personnel with the Delhi Transport Corporation claims, “It will be a ‘rough & tough’ job for them.” Though, in 1982, an effort had been made to employ women in conductor’s seat, but due to excessive public dealing, the assignment proved to be failure. Moreover, CNG fuelled bus engines become 90 degree hot, which is unbearable for women and to maneuver the steering, and controlling a Jumbo DTC bus requires lot of muscle power, which undoubtedly a women cannot afford. Accepted, but in a country where women have proved their abilities as successful social engineers, police officers and entrepreneurs, is driving a bus too difficult a task? You decide.

Apna Sapna...
...a decent salary

The world is essentially not fair. And this is once again being vindicated by stepmotherly attitude shown towards the socalled unorganised sector, which in spite of contributing employment to 93% of India’s work force, does not even fall under the purview of Minimum Wages Act, Equal Remuneration Act and Workmen Compensation Act. The draft report prepared by Commission (headed by Rajya Sabha MP Arjun Sengupta) reveals that 70% of the unorganized sector work force is getting wages below what is stipulated under Minimum Wage Act. Even after decades of economic development, the minimum wages asserted for the lowest category of work remains stagnated at Rs.22.50 a day. Around 396 million people of this country survive on this measly wage by which they are supposed to cover their needs of food, shelter, education for children and healthcare. We know this is just next to impossible. It is high time that the Ministry of Labour for all its passionate talks, should make sure that the minimum wages should essentially include substantial sum to take care a family of three. Too big a demand??

Give me life...
Juveniles not criminals...

Can there be something more inhuman than when juveniles are being lodged with adults and hardened criminals on the lame excuse that there is a shortage of custodial facility? Shockingly, there are numerous cases where police sent juveniles to jail even when they are eligible for bail, and are not given to circumvent extra paperwork. Asian Center for Human Rights has revealed that the Capital, Delhi, had 3,050 juvenile cases pending in 2005 and there was only one juvenile justice board, Kingsway Camp. These resulted in massive number of inmates being incarcerated longer than the time prescribed for offence.

The largest democracy, India, is desperately suffering for its weakest laws and a Juvenile Justice Act, 1986, undoubtedly is one of them. The outcome of recent amendment (enhancement of age 16 to 18) is nothing but increased workload to the juvenile justice court. For all the big talks of being the largest democracy in the world, sadly as a society, we have not been able to translate it into a workable one, where the concepts of liberty have real meaning and people can carry their fundamental rights right up their sleeve. So long education and opportunities would remain an exclusivity of the elite. Such juvenile crimes would also become a norm rather than exception.

Smoking soul out
Can we ever stop it??

An apocalypse is just waiting to happen in India in the form of public health catastrophe due to excessive production and consumption of smoked and smokeless tobacco. It has one of the highest number of tobacco-attributable deaths, an estimated eight lakh people, (16% of global tobacco-attributable transience) from diseases like cancer, stroke, heart diseases, chronic bronchitis, impotence. A recent study in India revealed that people from the lower socio-economic strata smoke more. Shockingly, at times, smoking gets precedence over food and other essentials. However, an initiative by an NGO, Salaam Bombay foundation, in association with Mumbai police, to have ‘tobacco free police stations’, has raised hope. On the ‘World No Tobacco Day’, Chandigarh is a pioneer in banning smoking officially and Mumbai hopefully is to follow suit. Is the country heading to a smoke-free zone? Well... miles to go!

Profit from death
Safety, not profit is the need

While the annual death toll of passengers travelling in the Indian Railways refuses to come down amidst the burgeoning profits of the organisation, it would not be entirely improper to raise questions as to whether the zooming profits of the entity is oft en at the cost of the compromising the safety of passengers who have trusted it. The latest report of The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) raises precisely that very point. It pinpoints the railways’ ignoring of safety measure just to make profit and condemned it for overloading wagons, which in turn, affects the already bad shaped rolling stock, bridges and tracks. The increased tariff receipt of 15% was achieved by overloading wagons and ignoring the safety standards. The impact of these overloaded wagons on railway track is life taking due to rail fractures and weld failures. The desire of increasing revenue without increasing the freight charges is at the crux of this immature strategy. Could they have been able to compromise on safety of passengers if there was competition in this sector from private entities? Well that’s why competition is not all that bad.

Pssst...How do I tell an interviewer I was fired?

(column by Jack Welch and Suzy Welch Authors of the international best-seller Winning)

Que: In my previous job, I was one of those cases where I supposedly “resigned,” but was really sort of fired. What do I tell prospective employers when they ask, “Why did you leave your old job?” (Name Withheld, Hartsburg, Mo.)

Ans: Welcome to a club with thousands upon thousands of members After all, who wants to admit: “I was asked to leave because I was in over my head and couldn’t deliver?” Or: “I jumped before I was pushed because my boss and I just couldn’t get along?”

Now, such “excuses” may have an element of truth to them. Sometimes a boss or company situation is so untenable you just have to get out, and sometimes a job is too small for the person who holds it, or is the wrong skills fit. And, of course, no one wants to burn bridges, so a certain ambiguity around why you left may seem like the only approach.

Most prospective employers, however, hear vague departure stories for what they can be. They hear warning bells that say a candidate is hard to get along with, an inveterate underperformer or a career dilettante.

There is a much better way out of the common hiring bind you find yourself in: Full ownership.

You need to say, “Here’s why I left and here’s how I was responsible for the breach.” Don’t pass blame. And, just as important, don’t play the victim. You need to say, “Here’s what I learned from the experience that will make me a better employee for you.” Make no mistake. We’re not suggesting you pour out every detail of your job implosion. We’re just promoting a perhaps counter intuitive level of specificity.

We have a friend who, after 12 years with the same company, was asked to move on because he couldn’t deal effectively with direct reports who weren’t delivering. Additionally, he just couldn’t cut costs in his operations, even in the midst of a downturn.

Here’s the interesting twist: Our friend didn’t respond to his firing quite the way you’d expect. Most people in his position become defensive and depressed. They enter a state we call the “vortex of defeat,” in which lack of self-confidence feeds upon itself in a downward spiral.

By contrast, our friend took full accountability for what occurred. He told prospective employers, “I’m sitting here with you because I didn’t have the guts to move out employees who couldn’t meet their numbers and I tweaked costs instead of taking the fullbore approach that was necessary. But I can assure you, those mistakes won’t happen again.” And chances are someone will for you too – with full ownership.

Que: What do you think of executive search consultants? (Bill Bryan, New York.)

Ans: A: Ideally, a company has a training program, consistent coaching and succession planning. As a result, it primarily promotes from within. What better way to give employees a sense of opportunity, not to mention to foster speedier, more successful job transitions? Reality, of course, doesn’t work that way.

Many companies consider management development more of a chore than the priority it should be. Still other companies just don’t have enough talent. They’re expanding into new businesses where they have no expertise, or they’re too small to have a bench or their boards have been sleeping and can’t come up with a slate of internal CEO candidates.

And so it happens. They need help looking for help. That’s why executive search consultants exist.

Yes, they’re expensive, slow down the hiring process and can too easily become a crutch. And, yes, internal promotions should always be the first line of defense.

But given the competitiveness of business today, there’s no reason to give up a good offense too. Executive search consultants can give you just that.

(End of Jack Welch and Suzy Welch column)