Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill (30 Nov. 1874 – 24 Jan. 1965)—British Conservative politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and has served twice as Prime Minister. Being such a valiant man, who could have dreamt that he had a limitation too? Speech impediment!
Sir Winston Churchill took three years getting through eighth grade because he had trouble learning English. It seems ironic that years later Oxford University asked him to address its commencement exercises.
He arrived with his usual props: a cigar, a cane and a top hat accompanied Churchill wherever he went. As Churchill approached the podium, the crowd rose in appreciative applause. With unmatched dignity, he settled the crowd and stood confident before his admirers. Removing the cigar and carefully placing the top hat on the podium, Churchill gazed at his waiting audience. Authority rang in Churchill's voice as he shouted, "Never give up!"
Several seconds passed before he rose to his toes and repeated: "Never give up!" His words thundered in their ears. There was a deafening silence as Churchill reached for his hat and cigar, steadied himself with his cane and left the platform.
His commencement address was finished!
Own an unyielding, undying, & never-compromising attitude with this new year! Happy '12!
Now in the Ubuntu OS series Ubuntu 11.10 has released. I personally downloaded that and installed in my laptop. I want to say some of the important features of this Ubuntu. Some of that are listed below!!
Oneiric Ocelot was released on October 13. This version of Ubuntu comes with a major overhaul of the Ubuntu Software Centre (USC), Unity and Dash. This release also comes with some new default software, such as Thunderbird for email and Déjà Dup for backups. Read on for more.
Oneiric’ means ‘dreamy’ and in his blog, Mark Shuttleworth writes at length about choosing a suitable alliterative adjective to describe the ocelot, a small wild leopard. He even quotes from T.S. Eliot’s famous poem on “The Naming of Cats”. He finally settles on “Oneiric Ocelot” because it seems to capture how innovation happens — “part daydream, part discipline.”
This release is cosmetically pleasing, and gives developers even more options to create efficient interfaces that are aesthetically delightful also.
A completely revamped USC:
The Ubuntu Software Centre got a complete makeover — and with this release, Ubuntu dropped Synaptic completely. There are thousands of apps to choose from. The USC also adds new “top-rated” views to the main category and all sub-category pages, along with significant speed improvements for standalone .deb installer files. It allows you to edit and delete your own software reviews.
Another new addition worth mentioning is “One Conf”; enable it from the File menu –> Sync between Computers, and it keeps your installed apps in sync between computers! This feature comes handy when you have more than one Ubuntu device. It also gives options for adding applications to the launcher right after install finishes. With this release, USC is upgraded to 5.0.
Software Centre:
The new Software Centre deserves its own place in the spotlight. No doubt to compete with Apple's App Store and Microsoft's new Windows Store, the Software Centre borrows heavily from these and presents applications in an easy-to-browse category interface. The difference, of course, is that most of the 36,000 programs on offer are free.
The exception, and perhaps that's why the Software Centre has undergone such a metamorphosis, is that like its commercial counterparts you can also buy commercial software through it. In 11.04 the range on offer was abysmal, literally a handful of programs. But this is no longer the case, and while the selection is still small, it does include some popular titles, with the popular game Braid the darling of the moment.
User reviews can be read and submitted in the same place while reading about a program, and the Installed and History tabs make it easy to see what programs you already have and when you installed them (this can be further broken down into installed Updates and Removals).
Other small changes like being asked if you want to add the new program to the Launcher automatically make the new Software Centre a real pleasure to use. Canonical is relying on this too, as the Synaptic Package Manager -- the 'advanced' interface to Ubuntu's software repositories and your installed programs -- is no longer included. If you miss it, however, it's easy to install.
View:
The view of new Ubuntu11.10 is very nice when compare to the Windows 7. Its full of crystal view and provoid us a new experiance.
A new prototype house walked around the campus of the Wysing Arts Centre in Cambridgeshire, England.
The eco-friendly house is powered by solar cells and minature windmills, and comes with a kitchen, a composting toilet, a system for collecting rain water, one bed, a wood stove for CO2 neutral heating, a rear opening that forms a stairway entrance, and six legs.
A collaborative effort between MIT and the Danish design collective N55, the house walks about five kilometers an hour similar to the walking speed of a human. The legs reguire a software algorithm to calculate the movement and position of the legs to provide stability over varying terrain. The house can turn, move forward or backwards, or change height as required and can be programmed with GPS waypoints for travelling to destination.
“PINKERTON LECTURE 2011 – INTERNET FOR ALL: WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS?”
IET—formed in March 2006 by a merger of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) and the Institution of Incorporated Engineers (IIE), is now the most sought after group by all. With more than 150,000 members worldwide in 127 countries, the vision and mission of IET is: “sharing and advancing knowledge throughout the global science, engineering and technology community to enhance people’s lives around the world; and also to build an open, flexible and global knowledge network supported by individuals, companies and institutions and facilitated by the IET and its members.”
IET has spread its wings across five massive cities in India: Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai. We, Vickram College of Engineering, are proud to identify ourselves with IET as its recently joined member. As our maiden meeting with IET, eight of our I yr. students—Bharath R., ECE; Manulal O., MECH; Mohamed Sulaiman A., CIVIL; Karthik R., MECH; Sakthisunpandy T., EEE; Vigneshwari V., ECE; Merlin Sneha E., ECE; and Padma Priya V.S., ECE—with three faculty members—Mr. Krishnan M.S., Prof., ECE; Mr. Uma Maheswaran, S., Asst. Prof., CSE; and Ms. Hemadarshini G.B., Lect., ENGLISH—attended the “Pinkerton Lecture 2011” held at Infosys Limited, Bengaluru on 21 Nov. '11, Monday. Dr. Mike Short, President, VP of Public Affairs, Telefonica Europe, presided over this meet. With an experience of 37yrs in the Electronic & Telecommunication Engineering, and 24yrs in Mobile Communication, Dr. Short received his honorary doctorate for his incredible services towards mobile industry in 2008. Dr. Mike Short spoke about the myriad sources of innovation and future growth within the ICT sector. The crux of Dr. Short’s lecture is given below—
Dr. Short began his speech with an instance that exemplified the advancement of technology: it was between the 29th July and 14 Aug. 1948, the first telecast of filmed Olympics and the introduction of Paraolympics were made public. The above, he considers as a remarkable mark in the field of electronics and communication through media. In his words, the financial services and transactions will be made much easier in the upcoming digital era with the vitality, necessity, and application of science and communication. While taking into account of the world's mobile connections, India and China has already crossed over one billion connections. It is indeed hoped that by 2012, India would victoriously overtake China in its expansion of network.
Smart phones are the recent innovational evidence of technology; amongst all the brands that has been successful in creating them, Nokia is in the forefront, followed by Samsung, HTC, LG,Apple etc. It is believed that by 2012, 55% of smart phone users will be found in UK. Mozilla Seabird: this might possibly be the brand that tops all other mobiles in a quick span of time. The features of Mozilla Seabird is incredible—it has got wireless charging, Bluetooth headset, haptic clicking, pan & zoom in 3D space, IR Touchpad area and so on that one would be awestruck at!
“Embedded smart phones will allow for remote management
of operator credentials while retaining the 'physical entity'
to ensure maximum security”, says Dr. Mike.
There are three waves of communication: while the first one connected people, the second one connected world, and the last one drew us to the internet world. In just around the corner, three quarters of men will not leave home without smart phones; by 2013, more phones will be used than PC's; and 50% of Americans will own private smart phones by the end of 2011. There will be a massive progress in the power of network—6 billion by 2011, 15 billion by 2020, 500 million HSPA Mobile Broadband Connections, 21 Commercials, and 206 planned LTE Network services.
To sum up the entire talk, smart phones will be used in e-health, productivity, integral patient centric services, and remote patient monitoring. To put it in a nut shell, smart phones are in the bag and will rule the world in no time!
On our students’ comment apart from gratitude, the lecture was highly technical and covered with facts. They felt elated on being taken to their dream company, and sensed the scholarly and professional vibe in them. Also, the atmosphere and the culture pursued at Infosys was regarded incredible and chanceless—the moment we entered the gates of Infosys, English was in the air: right from the watchman to the higher official. If there be one unanimous wish amongst students, it would be this: the same culture prevailing there could be brought in our soil too!
You are most likely to succeed in life if you use your talents to their fullest extent. Similarly, you'll suffer fewer problems if you know what your weaknesses are, and if you manage these weaknesses so that they don't matter in the work you do.
So how you go about identifying these strengths and weaknesses, and analyzing the opportunities and threats that flow from them? SWOT Analysis is a useful technique that helps you do this.
What makes SWOT especially powerful is that, with a little thought, it can help you uncover opportunities that you would not otherwise have spotted. And by understanding your weaknesses, you can manage and eliminate threats that might otherwise hurt your ability to move forward.
If you look at yourself using the SWOT framework, you can start to separate yourself from your peers, and further develop the specialized talents and abilities you need to advance your career.
How to Use the Tool
To perform a personal SWOT analysis write down answers to the questions in each area below.
Strengths
* What advantages do you have that others don't have (for example, skills, certifications, education, or connections)?
* What do you do better than anyone else?
* What personal resources can you access?
* What do other people (and your boss, in particular) see as your strengths?
* Which of your achievements are you most proud of?
* What values do you believe in that others fail to exhibit?
* Are you part of a network that no one else is involved in? If so, what connections do you have with influential people?
Consider this from your own perspective, and from the point of view of the people around you. And don't be modest or shy – be as objective as you can.
And if you have any difficulty with this, write down a list of your personal characteristics. Some of these will hopefully be strengths! You can also learn more about identifying your strengths in our article on "Your Reflected Best Self™".
Tip:
Think about your strengths in relation to the people around you. For example, if you're a great mathematician and the people around you are also great at math, then this is not likely to be a strength in your current role – it may be a necessity.
Weaknesses
* What tasks do you usually avoid because you don't feel confident doing them?
* What will the people around you see as your weaknesses?
* Are you completely confident in your education and skills training? If not, where are you weakest?
* What are your negative work habits (for example, are you often late, are you disorganized, do you have a short temper, or are you poor at handling stress?
* Do you have personality traits that hold you back in your field? For instance, if you have to conduct meetings on a regular basis, a fear of public speaking would be a major weakness.
Again, consider this from a personal/internal perspective and an external perspective. Do other people see weaknesses that you don't see? Do co-workers consistently outperform you in key areas? Be realistic – it's best to face any unpleasant truths as soon as possible.
Opportunities
* What new technology can help you? Or can you get help from others or from people via the Internet?
* Is your industry growing? If so, how can you take advantage of the current market?
* Do you have a network of strategic contacts to help you, or offer good advice?
* What trends (management or otherwise) do you see in your company, and how can you take advantage of them?
* Are any of your competitors failing to do something important? If so, can you take advantage of their mistakes?
* Is there a need in your company or industry that no one is filling?
* Do your customers or vendors complain about something in your company? If so, could you create an opportunity by offering a solution?
You might find useful opportunities in the following:
* Networking events, educational classes, or conferences.
* A colleague going on an extended leave. Could you take on some of this person's projects to gain experience?
* A new role or project that forces you to learn new skills, like public speaking or international relations.
* A company expansion or acquisition. Do you have specific skills (like a second language) that could help with the process?
Also, importantly, look at your strengths, and ask yourself whether these open up any opportunities – and look at your weaknesses, and ask yourself whether you could open up opportunities by eliminating those weaknesses.
Threats
* What obstacles do you currently face at work?
* Are any of your colleagues competing with you for projects or roles?
* Is your job (or the demand for the things you do) changing?
* Does changing technology threaten your position?
* Could any of your weaknesses lead to threats?
Performing this analysis will often provide key information – it can point out what needs to be done and put problems into perspective.
A Personal SWOT Example
What would a personal SWOT assessment look like? Review this SWOT analysis for Carol, an advertising manager.
Strengths
* I'm very creative. I often impressing clients with a new perspective on their brands.
* I communicate well with my clients and team.
* I have the ability to ask key questions to find just the right marketing angle.
* I'm completely committed to the success of a client's brand.
Weaknesses
* I have a strong, compulsive need to do things quickly and remove them from my "to do" list, and sometimes the quality of my work suffers as a result.
* This same need to get things done also causes me stress when I have too many tasks.
* I get nervous when presenting ideas to clients, and this fear of public speaking often takes the passion out of my presentations.
Opportunities
* One of our major competitors has developed a reputation for treating their smaller clients poorly.
* I'm attending a major marketing conference next month. This will allow for strategic networking, and also offer some great training seminars.
* Our art director will go on maternity leave soon. Covering her duties while she's away would be a great career development opportunity for me.
Threats
* Simon, one of my colleagues, is a much stronger speaker than I am, and he's competing with me for the art director position.
* Due to recent staff shortages, I'm often overworked, and this negatively impacts my creativity.
* The current economic climate has resulted in slow growth for the marketing industry. Many firms have laid off staff members, and our company is considering further cutbacks.
As a result of performing this analysis, Carol takes the bold step of approaching her colleague Simon about the art director's maternity leave. Carol proposes that both she and Simon cover the job's duties, working together and each using his or her strengths. To her surprise, Simon likes the idea. He knows he presents very well, but he admits that he's usually impressed by Carol's creative ideas, which he feels are far better than most of his.
By working as a team, they have a chance to make their smaller clients feel even better about the service they're getting. This takes advantage of their competitor's weakness in this area.
Key Points
A SWOT matrix is a framework for analyzing your strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats that you face. This helps you focus on your strengths, minimize your weaknesses, and take the greatest possible advantage of opportunities available to you.
A tribute to NRN (N. R. Narayana Murthy), the symbol of an entrepreneur, visionary, lucky man...
How Effective Leaders Lead
Every great leader I have encountered has displayed a keen, perhaps inherent, awareness that true prosperity is a combination of achieving short-term financial gain and positioning their organizations for sustained, long-term success – and that working to make both of those end states workplace realities is a paramount responsibility of leadership.
Exceptional leaders believe that and they behave it. They move people in a forward direction with emphasis on progress and improvement. They encourage magnificence rather than settling for mediocrity. They focus on “means” (doing right) as well as “ends” (doing well). And they work on today’s tasks with an eye on tomorrow’s possibislities.
For them, job one is MAKING EVERYONE A WINNER – and included in that “everyone” is the organization, its management, its customers, its team members, and its stakeholders. Yes, great leaders accept that role. They cherish and honor that role. And so must you!
So, emulate the best of the best. Here are the 30 Lessons to learn.
An Article from Times of India is composed and formatted.
1-Seize Your Gandhi Moment Murthy, a self proclaimed socialist in the mid '70s was jailed for 72 hours in Bulgaria. The experience taught him that entrepreneurship and job creation is the way to alleviate poverty.
2-You might fail, but get started
Learn from mistakes and move on. In 1976, Murthy founded Softronics, a company that lasted a year and a half. When he realised that his first venture wasn't taking off, he moved on.
3-Think Big. Don't Hesitate to Start Small
In 1981, a determined Murthy started Infosys with Rs 10,000 he borrowed from his wife. In few years, Infosys went on to become one of the largest wealth creators in the country.
4-Cut Yourself a Slice, Not a Large One Always
When Infosys was set up, Murthy took a pay cut while salaries of other co-founder's were increased by 10 percent. According to Murthy, a leader needs to show his or her sacrifice and commitment.
5-Lend a Hand and Throw in a Foot Too
After Murthy convinced seven of his colleagues, when there was a problem lurking on Infosys future. Nandan's future in laws were not happy and convinced about future of Infosys. Murthy met Nandan's uncle and convinced him.
6-Own Up, and Then Clean Up
In the '80s Infosys developed an application for a German client. Murthy noticed a single character error and informed the client immediately.
7-Trust in God, But Verify with Data
In God we trust, the rest must come with data, is perhaps Murthy's favourite statement. When confronted with difficult decisions, he tends to rely on data.
8-Keep the Faith
Infosys almost wound up in 1990.Murthy did not want to sell the company. He asked co-founders if they wanted out and offered to buy their shares. All of them stuck together.
9-Get Involved
Infosys won a contract from Reebok in the early '90s. Seeing the founders involvement, the software, was nick named 'Dinesh, Murthy and Prahlad.' Infy veterans still recall those days.
10-Sharing is Caring
After the IPO, Infosys decided to share a portion of its equity with employees. This helped them retain talent and gave employees a sense of ownership. Murthy is proud of having given away stocks worth over Rs 50,000 crore to employees.
11-Treat your People Good, but Your Best Better
Murthy always had a thing for good performers. And he rewarded them well. When Infosys decided to give its employees stock options, Murthy insisted that some shares be given to good performers through the 'Chairman's quota.'
12-Hire a Good Accountant, Even if he is Argumentative
A young, argumentative Indian, was asking too many questions at an annual general body meeting of Infosys. More impressed than irritated, he hired Mohandas Pai, who went on to help Infosys list on Nasdaq.
13-When in Doubt, Disclose
Keep your books clean and leave the cooking to the chef. Murthy's philosophy about being open and transparent has given the company a lot of credibility. He often says, "When in doubt, please disclose.
14-Leave the Family Out
Murthy told his wife that only one of them could be with the company. Murthy, along with other founders, said that none of their children would work for Infosys. This left no room for nepotism at Infosys.
15-Don't be a Pushover
In 1994, when General Electric wanted to re-negotiate rates, Murthy said no to selling services any cheaper. This helped Infosys not to be overly dependent on any one client.
16-Make hay While the Sun Shines
In late 90's, India's tech companies made use of the Y2K opportunity to make themselves known in the global market. For Infosys, it was a great opportunity to enter into long-term relationships with their customers.
17-Brand-aid First, Get Clinical
When the sexual harassment case against Infosys' top sales guy Phaneesh Murthy threatened to tarnish the company's brand, Murthy decided to quickly react. He let go of Phaneesh, and settled the case out of court despite Phaneesh wanting to fight it out.
18-Mind your Business, you'll See Things Coming
Murthy carries and updates a mental model of Infosys' business all the time. According to him, every leader must have a model, consisting of six to seven parameters that might affect business.
19-Keep it Simple, Not Silly
Keep your life simple and straight. That way, you get to work more and worry less. Murthy is known to be frugal with money. Despite being one of the richest Indians, he leads a simple life. However, he does not cut corners on buying books or brushing up on literature.
20-Founders Keepers, but Not Forever
Murthy's decision to not allow founders to continue with the company after the age of 65 set another standard for the company. This way, younger leaders at Infosys had a greater chance at the top positions.
21-Talent Spotting and Division of Labour
Murthy is known to have an eye for talent and a talent for dividing labour. Nandan was given sales responsibilities while Kris and Shibu did the tech stuff. N S Raghavan was asked to handle people and Dinesh was assigned quality.
22-Hold on to Your People but don't Cling
Letting go is never easy but its not good to cling on to your colleagues either. Amongst the founders, Ashok Arora, Nandan Nilekani and K Dinesh have quit Infosys. Infy veteran Mohandas Pai has also left Infosys.
23-Give, it only gets you more
In 2010, the Murthy's donated $ 5.2 million USD to Harvard University Press for a project that aims to make India's classical heritage available for generations to come. He is also supporter of the Akshaya Patra Foundation.
24-Do it First and Do it Right
Infosys did many things first. And most things right. For example, it was the first Indian company to list on Nasdaq. It was the first Indian company to make it to the Nasdaq 100 list and it was the first Indian company to attain the highest level of quality certification
25-Perils of Being a Poster Child
Being the poster child of Indian IT industry, Infosys and Murthy have been at the receiving end of many criticisms. The company has been accused of taking away American jobs and been called a "chop shop.
26-Get Rich. HonestlyRich
Businesses were considered to be dirty in the days when the country had a socialist bent. Infy was a company which got rid of this sentiment. Murthy, with his 'no compromise' policy on greasing palms and doing ethical business, set the standards.
27-Do Not be Afraid to Court Controversy
Ever since Infosys became a success, Murthy was under constant public glare. This did not deter the straight talking Murthy from courting controversy or voicing his opinions openly. Recall the statement on IITians recently.
28-Invest in Learning
With big investments in training, development and building facilities, India's IT bell-weather has always been keen on grooming the younger generation. Murthy drove the culture of learning in the company in its early days.
29-Never Lose the Common Touch
The big man of Indian IT kept his personal life simple. He lives in a simple, middle class house and flies economy till date. Murthy has always been accessible to people around him.
30-Do Good, Look Good
Murthy knew the importance of creating an image for Infosys. He invested in creating a sprawling, world class campuses early on, bigger than any other company's headquarters in the country, that would make his global customers feel like they were in a global office.
In one of my travels, I got a good company. That gentleman was from Kurichikulam, near Thirunelveli and presently a program manager in Wipro.
We were discussing the plight of Indians abroad – Non Resident Indians (NRI) to Non Required Indians (NRI).
There were series of incidents that rocked me in the last one week and one thing or the other seemed to narrate the same tale.
Such instances, I believe, of synchronicity, that coincidences may have deeper meaning and relevance.
Tale of Small Cities
A person from Kurichikulam, near Thirunelveli, struggled his way up to Program Manager in a leading Software company- scaling up from a Govt.School, then an engineering degree in Govt. College, several job hops owing to company going bust or for better salaries. Back at home, father- a small time tailor and Mom and brothers in support of the trade to see at least one person get his full education. Choices were to wear the same cloth every day or wear a dress that is torn. That was him. Today, he owns a flat in Bangalore and requires to keep the job well maintained for the EMI commitments of Home and Car loans. Wife, a simpleton struggling in Pompous Bangalore managing the children and their ambitions.
Same with me or any of the migrants from a Tier 2/3 cities to Tier 1.
1. Now that, we counted on what we earned and what we saved. Balance sheet never shows a profit. WHY? 2. There is nothing called good health is left in the body. There is a no age left to continue any longer. WHY? 3. Sense of security and level of Commitments are determining the choices. WHY? 4. When there is a possibility of earning 9 crores with 1 Crore investment; It is not possible with INR 900 investment to earn INR 10,000 in a year’s time. WHY? 5. Place of work and Place of origin is different leaving the nativity and the loved ones uncared for. WHY?
In Seventies and Eighties, Indians went abroad – that we called Brain Drain.
In 90s- 2000, Villagers reached Cities – What do we call this?
The people who went abroad, when they returned back had turned supercilious, contemptuous and evermore judgmental. This social arrogance, is this brought about by fistful of foreign currency or social craze for foreign products? I hardly know. But that was retro time. I still remember an episode when a old time professor, whom I respect even as a kid then will retort to any one of those foreign returns he confronts – ok, with those money and exposure what is that are you going to do the society. I guess now, that it must have been jealousy.
Now the people are flocking capital or metro cities – for education, for vocation, for job hunt, for jobs, for a lifestyle……………………..or to be suffered, to be punished, to be distracted, to be permitting or strangled on economic or social contexts. Yet they come back on festivals or some good/bad occasions back home-(lovely home where the childhood was spent dreaming, playing and yet always in the warmth of the parenthood) - supercilious, contemptuous and evermore judgmental. The social arrogance is back with just fistful of 500 INR.
History repeats – But magnitude is changed.
The common thread is “THE OPPORTUNITY”.
As the water reaches to the slope; fly on the food, Flirts to cute girls – where there is Opportunity, there will be crowd. (India is highly populated, you see!)
But with the Crowd hovering on an opportunity – competition sets in; recommendations set in; entry criteria set in; rules set in; regulations controls and eventually the disappointment awaits the Under- served and undeserved.
Under-Served – it is a good coinage of a word and that interests me.
Un-deserved – may be the one of the choices the “Haves” have.
Who are Under – Served?
Under- Served are those who have their own (psychological), parental, social, physiological and above all, emotional challenges that are inherent in accomplishing their basic skills; Under-preparedness that can be attributed more to the external factors than to himself/herself.
If we get back to answer those “WHY” questions that might lead to the solution.
The struggle of life starts with the definition of “What is called an opportunity”?
For somebody a Turners job in Abu Dhabi is an opportunity. For somebody Turner’s training is the Opportunity. For few Sales Manager is the opportunity but for few nothing less than a Senior General Manager is an opportunity. An upcoming election is an opportunity for some and the demise of the candidate and a reelection is an opportunity for some.
Yesterday’s opportunity when achieved, no longer remains an opportunity for you. Opportunity always comes with the expiry date – whether you use it or keep under wraps, opportunity dies.
So when somebody is trying to conclude as what is an opportunity for him/her, he/she is tried with the challenges that are parental, social, physiological and his/her own attitude. Many succumb to make the first breakthrough as the opportunity that they were looking for. A week later their emotional and psychological well being is tormented and continuously harassed until they define again as what is the opportunity for them to be gripped again by growing Stress. Life is an Irony.
Opportunity= Fn ( Skill Sets, Money, Status, Place of work, Security, Propensity to Grow, Free time, Privileges and Freebies, Job Challenges, Supervisor )
(Presented in the order that majorly is the priority)
Skill sets, Status and Money takes precedence to the Place of work and so most of the educated people do not have choice but to migrate to so called big cities and as described earlier, strangely go through the evolution of process as an adult. Few survive, many lose. But survivors are made leading examples for more people to migrate. And the struggle is never ending. How?
This is how.
Lifestyle is to be created immediately to match with the profile. No mistake. But at a cost. Cost is to buy now and pay later than save now and buy later. This is a trap. Invariably falling in this trap also defined by a strong reasoning. RISING PRICES. But the economists say that trap is one of the reasons for rising prices. (More demand and less Supply). This keeps the Human machine to continuously run as if on a tread mill. This kind of run gives you bad health, poor appetite, more supports to sleep and above all more desire to live longer as there are EMIs to pay until 60 years old.
So…
What is the solution?
Opportunity should get equable than concentrated at a place.
Opportunities in learning, training and earning should be well distributed.
If your grandfather/father could be born in a place, where he grew to his potential, bred his family happily, concurred with the society, earned the respect deserved – these mean that he found his opportunities in the same place.
People travel on trains/buses for 2-3 hours. 6 hours gone. Minimum 6 hours of Sleep and personal time. Remaining 12 hours, companies demand 9 hours. 3 hours left to catch up with the children’s education, house hold work and search for a better job, better house, better deals, better…better… better… when turns bitter nobody knows. Once it turns bitter, to save on 2-3 hours of bus travel a neighborhood near the office is taken for rent. This erodes the pocket. Else, they end up in hospitals paying the medical bills as by then there would be pains in all the joints or gasps in lungs.
But for the Generation Next –opportunities are in US, Europe, Gulf, Australia or in New Delhi, Mumbai, Noida, Bangalore, Hyderabad or Chennai.
Education – I have heard people commenting on the educational standards as better in Bangalore than in small towns. Agreed. But the cost of that is INR 100K in Bangalore and INR10K in a small town with the decent syllabus. Is it Dream of India as dreamt by the Leaders of the nation?
A well educated person can never get retained in the homeland as where he was born. Because - lack of opportunities.
Could he be retained, his wealth creation will be better to what he could create in the migrated city. The reason is that there is no need for him to create the space for himself and attune to the lifestyle. If not for great wealth he could inherit the space that his family was occupying – when I say space, it is just not the place to stay.
Opportunity – is the key.
Education is the first door to be opened
Doors of education were closed not long ago. Just in the last 15 years it got closed. New schools with better standards – in varying levels of sophistication that much to meet the affordable ranges in the society need to be available. The sustainability is there for the management if well communicated to the society, well managed within and with quality of the teachers.
Does a big campus do any good to a college student as it were to school children? No. A college with good faculties and thorough attention is required to teach a program on commerce, science, arts or technology. The governing body’s prescriptions that demand mammoth infrastructure to approve an education institution never insists on the quality of the deliverables.
Engineering, Medical colleges mushrooming across – if the needed insight is passed on with the faculties from good background those in upcountry markets as well can do enormously good. The management should run the college to change the prevailing paradigm. The existing students and aspirants should appreciate and support. This is not just promoting the college they are studying but ensuring better lives for themselves.
There must be more land donation from the State governments and Gram Panchayats to go in for more Regional Institutes for technology research and training Partnering with the Public and Private partnership.
The Famous Doon School is in Dehra Dun,Uttrakhand. The illustrious history as started from mid 1930s is one of the story to be inspired of to build a good education environment as on those days the vision, the execution and most of all the hard work behind convincing people to travel to such a place to have education. We too have many hill stations around the Western Ghats or for that matter, why only likes of Rockford? Can’t a good school of international standards be on plains?
For that matter, the Regional and Indian prefixed engineering, management, technology schools should be opening up centers of excellence to carry out research and development out of Tier 2/3 cities.
Major advantage in this era is the independence from Brick and Mortar.
Employment – Second Door to be opened.
When education Diaspora is opened up the employments will also infiltrate.
Employments need to be created. People’s productivity need to be tapped at their respective places. If the qualified stay just at their place of birth, then for the kind of quality delivery won’t the organization come towards it? That is the fundamentals of the thought. There are reasons as why outskirts of Chennai belt were chosen by Ford, Hyundai and Mahindra. That is because of the talent pool created by the Industrial Estates and the TVS group of companies since 60s-70s.
Various vocational training centers if created by the glowing corporates for their respective fields that itself will help the people there trained and by the time trained the talented resources can serve the company. The developmental plans can get diversified to the rural belts.
Agriculture – Third Door to be opened.
Agriculture more than rain requires Capital infusion for technology based farming. Capital infusion required to convince the society that even agriculture is not a bad investment option. The kind of money eroded in the Stock trading in value every two or third year in the last 2 decades would be much lesser than what in Agriculture people might have lost since independence. (No facts or figures to support this claim, but definitely a hypothesis based on the chaos of Stock market madness).
Capital infused to get properly managed with development of proper training, adoption of cooperative farming, latest research inputs, support systems of supervision, pre harvest conditioning, time to market and post harvest treatments and storage. In developed countries, the loans are provided to the farmer to lay a road to ensure easier/quicker time to market of his produce in as much as no interest for a very large tenor. This example is to highlight the importance they give against the importance in India we associate with very agriculture, development or their farmers well being. There is also enumeration of demand done for a town/society. The Production plans for the domestic consumption depend on the demands in the neighboring society.
Conclusion
The businesses that are staged in the Tier 2/3 for the production and consumption are having a strange stage in their business lifecycle. The demographics are facing a vast change that what is been depicted of India in Nandan’s book Imagining India. Somebody with very little education dreams and works hard to move to Gulf for menial jobs and so he ends up after a visit with the small shop or the kinds. Somebody with the graduation or so does innumerable computer courses and writes all possible government sponsored exams and invariably settles for a sales job in which he can never progress as he is the one who turns the first available breakthrough as his opportunity. One who plans and performs gets out of the small town to face tough challenges in the career in a bigger city in a better role. Other set of people who go through the dreams of making after PG ends up searching for a good job in the big city only. Even PG courses he does it in style in bigger cities. The left overs could be school dropouts or those who can never be fitted in a paradigm and they are strays. They can surprise with smart businesses; right marriages can land them in different league; or they rule the land as politicians.
But as for production of goods/services there are none in the society of the age group of 17-40 years.
Then is this a consumer market? The answer is Yes, for that matter whole of India is a consumer market for Globally branded and Asian manufactured goods only. But for now, the people working in bigger cities create the businesses for those there in those bigger cities – for their consumptions, usage and most of the times for their loved ones too.
The families with old age people or very early age throng the streets and roads and they live on leaving a huge dependency on the person earning big sum from a bigger city. So the Tier 2/3 can never propel itself to a bigger league even as a consumer market.
Naturally, the Big cities even become more bigger making the commutation more problematic, disappointing civic obedience, increasing the oil consumption, increasing the pollution, degrading the water levels, increasing the land values, poor creation of wealth leaving almost nothing for the heirs, kids missing the time to sleep and play on the travels, the poor aged parents unable to adjust wait for festivals to come to meet the cherished ones, more accidents as more unregulated overnight journeys, middle men looting the end user by hiking the price of consumables otherwise he would perish and the list is endless.
Today’s society is moving towards – Few and Centralized for the Goodness; Rest of all and Common for Badness. Before this becomes the order of the society we may have to take efforts to change.
.jpg)
.jpg)