studies in hr

strategic human resource management

2011-08-28T09:57:00.001+05:30

Strategic Human Resource Management: A Three-Stage Process Model and Its Influencing Factors

Career Wise : Starting your career in HR

2011-08-21T18:23:00.001+05:30

http://www.humanedgemagazine.com/highlighting-performers.html#management

Career Wise – Taking the first steps in becoming a HR professional

Oxford English Dictionary defines career as an individual's "course or progress through life (or a distinct portion of life). The origin of the word though comes from a negative connotation like “Rat Race”; these days career defines an individual. It is all about jobs, education, professional growth and learning, social status, and is related to one’s existence in the social set up. I am writing this column on how one can manage a career in the field of Human Resource Management. From beginning of a career in this field to hanging up one’s boots my understanding speaks of this as an interesting, engaging, and exciting profession to be in. In the course of this column I will try to take you through how can one develop and probably become a successful professional with comments and examples from industry experts, veterans, and role models.

I had a discussion with the students at IMT Nagpur who were in their second year and planning to take up various professional streams as part of their career. Many of them had interest in HR and I asked them to share their thoughts on why they choose HR and some of their concerns. The class discussion on HR as a career option covered various areas such as, streams in which HR career can be developed, various competencies required for the same, what are the aspects of a HR job that students like, what are the negatives of HR as a career option. Some of the streams that they were aware of were Recruitment, Training and Development, Employee Relations and IR, Performance Management, Generalist HR, and HR consulting.

As a HR professional, some of the behavioral aspects and competencies they thought were critical are, understanding of human behavior, getting well along with the people, good communication skills, and empathy. Students wanted to go for a HR job due to the following characteristics of a HR job as it involves great deal of socializing, understanding people and their behaviors, helping in the growth and development of the human resources of the organization, and aiding the individuals in improving their performance through motivation. They also pointed out some very interesting drawbacks of HR job as per their understanding. They felt that HR jobs are paid low, in the initial years the individuals are offered functions wherein there is high level of monotony involved, and less autonomy in the initial years of the job.

As a practicing HR professional myself, I feel it is a great field one can be in and if you are in the right direction gives you multitude of challenges, growth and of course good compensation. There have been a lot of thoughts about this field and discussions in research, conferences, and within practitioner communities how HR should evolve and how HR professionals should be. The first thing to note is HR is not a profession per se where the entry is restricted by a professional degree or institute which governs its work ethos or regulates.

This by means does not give monopoly of practice to a few who have those affiliations like that of lawyers or chartered accountants. A variety of people have also come into this field and added to its complexity and beauty as well. We have psychologists, sociologists, training professionals from various fields, management experts who typically have an MBA or experts from various fields who are part of HR fraternity. In recent years MBAs from various institutes have started playing a major role in the field and have also brought more business alignment to the function. Nevertheless to get started in this field and grow to be a significant business contributor one needs to have certain competencies and formal training.

Like in any function or job that one takes up, a good start and the first stint makes a lot difference. One thing that is mostly coming out from experience and experts is that HR as a choice of function to enter today is equally good or better than some other functions on certain occasions. Visty Banaji, who is the CEO of Banner Consulting, former Executive Director and President (Group Corporate Affairs) Godrej Industries where he was handling HR as well, puts it this way: “Broadly yes (HR as a career has equal growth as in other functions) , though there will always be on one or two functions in an organization which enjoy accelerated growth either because they (i) contain the core competencies essential for the company's strategic success, (ii) there is a high market demand for the professionals staffing it, (iii) they have a powerful leader or (iv) some other reason. For one of these reasons, growth in HR can also outstrip that in other functions.”

He also mentions from his experience and being a consultant to many organizations that to be a successful HR professional “some of the competencies which emerge in most situations are: (i) The capacity to elicit trust from line managers, employees and HR colleagues, (ii) Frugal innovation and (iii) The ability to reason from behavioral science first principles”. From the recent thought processes on HR, it is critical that HR professionals are able to connect with business and partner in its success. It requires considerable appreciation of business, align HR principles and processes for business growth, make sure talent is managed to deliver, and being a catalyst for change required on the people front to ensure business delivery.

Second aspect is being a source of support to employees and being an advocate of their requirements. Another critical aspect is being an administrative expert – meaning to ensure processes are effective, maintain timelines, and are of high quality. Looking from this angle, a person taking up a job in HR – essentially somebody starting with HR Training should be looking at getting exposure to the larger organization, having a nice mentor to support, and in couple of years developing hands on experience in as many areas in HR, and grooming oneself to be an effective influencer. The starting point should give as much broad exposure as possible for somebody to look at a long term career in HR and choose what best suits him/her.

Interestingly people who have deep understanding of the job market do agree that HR is a field that is becoming more critical in businesses and finding a good HR person is a difficult job. Srimanto Bhattacharya, Partner, Spearhead Intersearch, which is a global executive search firm, comments that nowadays HR is playing a role which is making business deliver. HR person on board is the strategist who puts forth the people angle of business and ensuring profitability and sustainability. Startups, mid size or large functions are always looking at good HR people. Functions like industrial relations are critical and lack of proper management of it can question business existence. Hands on implementation experiences of critical HR functions are what one should gain in the initial years. Interestingly Bhattacharya comments, “Building your organization without proper HR inputs is like Indian traffic. We will have people coming for all sides and it would be just chaos”.

According to Anand Mutalik, Executive Vice President of Enterprise Solutions at Acropetal Technologies, a new HR professional should not leave out the Human Research aspect. He/She should understand what engages employees, use principles from his/her learning to devise mechanisms to drive it, and create processes and practices so that they become integral part of the organization.

Many forward looking organizations have developed their own modules to prepare fresh talent coming from management institutes to be groomed as HR professionals. As a person getting started in the field, it is critical that academic knowledge is blended with practical exposure and a broad one will be more helpful. In their famous book on “HR Scorecard: Linking People, Strategy and Performance”, authors – Becker, Huselid, and Ulrich speak about multiple competencies one needs to build up in the formative years as a HR professional. The five critical competencies are personal credibility, ability to manage change, ability to manage culture, delivery of HR practices, and understanding of the business. For a budding HR professional he/she needs to undergo practical exposure at different levels in recruitment, performance management, compensation, employee relations / IR, training and development, community and government relations. For example in the year one if someone is getting trained in basic interviewing, using recruitment software, preparing job descriptions to short listing and working with staffing consultants, by a fourth year he/she should be having to work in leadership hiring processes, hiring plan formulation, interviewing to closures, employer branding initiatives, and taking hiring decision including compensation. Similar trend will be in all functions which will bring a HR professional closer to understanding business. From a development perspective it is useful to have assignments that are special projects like setting up an SBU, solving an attrition issue, getting involved in consulting assignments, exposure to different cultural or national issues, and having mentors from specialization in HR or business. Appreciation across functions is also critical if one needs to support them efficiently.

To sum up, HR is a field that is growing and has immense potential in building organizations and business. It is now an integral part of any business and interestingly for a newcomer it throws up a lot of new challenges. It is up to the individual to seize the opportunity and be proactive in the initial years in having multitude of exposure, right entry, and early success.

Article By
Dr. Sandeep K. Krishnan,
vice president, HR and corporate development,
Acropetal Technologies

(www.humanedgemagazine.com)

Nurturing top talent

2011-08-21T18:20:00.001+05:30

The top talent in organisations is the extraordinary group of people. If the 80:20 rule can be applied twice, this group of talent belongs to the 20 percent of the 20 - a meagre 4 percent in the organisation.

Sandeep K Krishnan
However, in sense of performance and potential for future, the organisation might be banking more than 80 per cent on them. This brings two difficult and yet pertinent questions to the talent management framework. How to identify the top talent, how to nurture them, and how to place them in mission critical roles?

Interestingly in typical organisations, policies and processes are made for general purposes and many a times, it will not serve the interest of the highly ambitious and performing talent we call "top talent". Progressive organisations are equipping themselves in ensuring that top talent are taken due care as it is critical for the organisation. The first step is to identify who is a top talent and they are typically the fast trackers and show exceptional performance and potential for future growth. Two aspects are critical in this context – one is performance and the second is a set of knowledge, skills and attitude that can be aligned to the potential of the individual to do greater things in the organisation and career. It is important that this talent is identified and nurtured for future growth.

From a positive framework and what fits to a fast-growing youthful population like of India is to have dynamic talent management processes that look at both short-term and long-term in top talent identification. At senior levels, the critical top talent is identified by the position they occupy, performance parameters defined, past performance and overall potential for growth. At top management levels, the person by virtue of a huge delivery or profit and loss responsibility by itself, becomes critical. Getting selected or performing in that role also entitles the person to be considered to be top talent that the organisation cannot afford to lose. The focus here is on development and future placement. The key is also to align them to the core values of the organisation and ensure that they know their career path so that they do not leave for better opportunities.

Regarding identification of top talent at the level below, organisations have to rely on potential assessment from managers. The key here is to have well defined measures and processes so that it seen as a fair process.

It is quite possible that high potential, high performers are highly aggressive, sometimes individualistic, do not care for norms, and are over-confident. There will be requirement of attitude and behavioural modification to ensure that top talent is aligned to corporate values and culture through sustained learning and mentoring. The key is to have an individual development plan worked out with the manager. The individual and manager should own the development and career.

At the crux, the key is to understand that the whole top talent process is an integral part of talent management and leadership development and should be aligned to strategic planning of organisations.

- - Dr. Sandeep K. Krishnan earned a doctorate from IIM Ahmedabad and is currently the VP – HR and corporate development at Acropetal Technologies Ltd.

The article was published in Times Ascent (www.itsmyascent.com)

Management Teaching - ain't that funny!

2011-05-23T22:00:00.003+05:30

I am qualified to teach management - having a doctorate in management - nobody can stop me from doing that and most of the time, I really do not have time to do that being in a full time senior management job. However, I find it really interesting and seriously funny. Most of the time the students whom you teach have no idea what they are into. Let it be IIMs or other good management institutes. They come from very good most probably technical institutes and most of them do not have any sort of work experience. I mean really you are teaching the ones who are just out of their teens! Real world is far from reality for them and if you speak about the peers that you have in the institutes - the so called other doctorates ! - they never worked. I mean we are talking about how to swim to a gang who never touched waters and the ones who teach also never saw what swimming is all about ! Really can this happen ? Especially in applied fields like management ? Yes definitely !!!
Sometimes, I find it difficult to tell how life is as a management. a) The kids will think I am crazy ! b) IT is not written in the books they are taught !
Case studies helps a lot ! Atleast at a peripheral level. However, at the end of the day it becomes like some vedic sutras that you spell without knowing what it is all about!
The point is management teaching is like the priest in a catholic church who speaks of sins that he never committed ! All is upto you and the difference is only that with bible there are less Jargons and more love.

‘Captain’ Jadhav wants team Air India to win ‘World Cup’

2011-04-16T21:04:00.001+05:30

http://www.livemint.com/2011/04/12235644/8216Captain8217-Jadhav-w.html
Story published in Mint 12/04/2011. - I am quoted in the story

Mumbai: Air India is trying to use the euphoria generated by the national cricket team’s World Cup victory to inspire its employees into turning around the ailing carrier and becoming world beaters themselves. It helps that the airline employs four of the front line members of the cricket team, starting with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

“We have to behave and play like a team—team Air India,” chairman and managing director Arvind Jadhav wrote in one of several recent motivational letters to employees.

Jadhav has been struggling for the past two years to drag the carrier, which has accumulated losses of Rs. 13,300 crore, out of the trough it’s in. He exhorted employees to fight for “own World Cup—ensuring Air India’s profitability”.

“Our tournament has also begun. With the finalization of our turnaround plan, financial restructuring plan and HR (human resources) committee, we are now at the centre stage, where everyone is watching our performance,” Jadhav wrote. “We all know the legacy which burdens us, but we have no alternative other than to emerge with flying colours.”

Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina are the other three Air India employees in the cricket team.

Since March, Jadhav has shot off eight letters to each of Air India’s 31,000 employees.

“Our every action needs to delight our customers, our passengers, our patrons. Why should a single seat go vacant? Why should (the) cargo belly be half-full? Why should our esteemed patrons look around confused, seeking assistance? In short, why can’t we do better than projections made and targets given in the turnaround plan?” Jadhav wrote.

Employees have been asked to come up with proposals that ensure 10-15% improvement in revenue or cost savings of a similar magnitude. If the four-member turnaround committee okays such proposals and they get implemented, incentives have been promised.

Such plans will also be owned by the individuals who come up with the idea and they will report directly to the turnaround committee.

In the latest letter on 12 April, Jadhav said he got overwhelming response from employees, adding “and I am happy to share that over 120 full savings and earning project ideas have already been received since 6 April 2011”.

After watching the India-Pakistan semifinal at Mohali, Jadhav wrote on 31 March: “One thought crossed my mind and that is—if four Air Indians can propel India into the World Cup final, why can’t 40,000 Air Indians turn around the company?”

Apart from the 31,000 employees on the payroll, the carrier also outsources work to others.

Jadhav has also dispelled fears of job cuts while assuring Air India will incentivize employees to acquire new skills.

“There will be no retrenchment. The only expectation from our employees would be to find an area where they can excel and give 100%. The company would facilitate acquisition of new skills for redeployment, if necessary,” he wrote.

Air India has created a turnaround committee to monitor the change management.

Union civil aviation minister Vayalar Ravi said every single member of Air India is contributing to the efforts of the top management, although he wasn’t as familiar with the sport in question as Jadhav. “I am not a cricket man, I cannot draw a parallel with cricket,” Ravi said.

“These letters are positive reinforcement from the top management for their employees as there will be negativity and resistance to change,” said Sandeep K. Krishnan, vice-president (human resources and corporate development) at consultancy Acropetal Technologies Ltd. “This is a positive communication to encourage the workforce, which is largely unionized and pretty safe compared to private sector labour.”

Krishnan is a fellow of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and was previously employed with IBM India, Ernst and Young India and RPG Group, handling performance management.

“These inspirational letters (by Jadhav) are a part of the change management process at Air India,” Krishnan said.

At the same time, “positive talk alone will not work for Air India. This has to backed by solid changes in the structure, considering the legacy of Air India,” he added. There has to be “performance management, training and benchmarking of employees’ performance vis-à-vis international private carriers”.

Before its merger with Indian Airlines, the losses reported by the two state-owned carriers were Rs. 447.93 crore and Rs. 240.93 crore, respectively, aviation minister Ravi told Parliament on 10 March. The company has also taken on Rs. 40,000 crore as debt through short-term and long-term loans.

Air India aims to restructure a large part of its working capital loan—which currently has a short repayment period and carries an 11-13% interest rate—into a 10-year facility at a lower rate of 9-10%.

The cash-strapped airline expects to turn profitable by 2014 with the help of its third financial restructuring plan in as many years. It’s been prepared by investment banker SBI Capital Markets Ltd and vetted by consulting firm Deloitte Consulting India Pvt. Ltd.

pr.sanjai@livemint.com

Clean your house from Cockroaches !

2011-02-27T21:36:00.002+05:30

It might be intriguing for you why I am writing about cockroaches in this blog. For an HR professional cockroaches are the frauds in the organizations. The ones who are frauding the company, have come with false credentials, who give false hopes, and do all dirty stuff without even you noticing it. Imagine they are surviving in the organizations without their own knowledge and operate without you even realizing they are there. How to stop them ?

Coverage in NDTV Profit

2011-02-10T11:25:00.002+05:30

Shortage of skilled labour and solutions : NDTV Coverage of mine
http://profit.ndtv.com/video/show/190329

Human Resource Management : Course Outline

2010-12-29T16:44:00.001+05:30

Attached below is a course outline me and Professor Kunhikrishnan (my father) developed for students at School of Management Studies , National Institute of Technology Calicut. Interestingly, I could use many of my own articles here !

SOMS - Human Resource Management - Course Outline

Why we do not learn !

2010-12-06T20:12:00.003+05:30

I am surprised that with the large amount of information flowing around, why we do not learn. I think half of us do not think we need to learn ! We think we already know everything and it is just that we are already there to teach it to others. While we are all set to teach others, there are a few audience to listen to learn !! Next is most interesting that there are so many learning opportunities that people do not bother to take up and learn something !

Employer Branding

2010-11-11T09:31:00.001+05:30

Employer branding has been a very popular concept with HR professionals, branding consultants, and market researchers in the recent past. While attracting the right talent and retaining them becomes a critical aspect for business success, research has shown that right brand for an employer can really help in this regard.

Read more here. This was an article of mine published in Deccan Herald.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/109808/importance-employer-branding.html

Coverage in Hindubusinessline on a talk at SEA College

2010-09-24T22:56:00.001+05:30

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/09/18/stories/2010091851451900.htm

Industry & Economy - Education
Columns - BL Club
States - Karnataka
Sandeep K. Krishnan, Vice-President, (HR and Corporate Development), Acropetal Technologies Ltd; SEA College, Bangalore

Hitting bull's eye:Mr Sandeep K. Krishnan, Vice-President, (HR and Corporate Development), Acropetal Technologies Ltd, delivering a lecture at SEA College, here recently.
Our Bureau

Bangalore, Sept. 17

A career is important to achieve one's goal and one needs motivation to achieve it, said Mr Sandeep K. Krishnan, Vice-President (HR and Corporate Development), Acropetal Technologies Ltd, here.

Delivering a lecture “Crafting your career” organised by the BL Club and sponsored by Syndicate Bank for the students of SEA College, he told them that the first five years of their career is crucial as this period provides huge learning opportunities.

He said that one of the major prejudice about communication skills is that many presume that language is the most important aspect in communication skills, but in reality body language and voice modulations are far more important and quintessential to become a better communicator. He spoke in detail on the difference between a career and a job, and also on the expectations of the present day corporates. “Remember, life is not divided into semesters. You need to craft your career. A career is a long-term goal and a great career is a long-term goal with difficult but achievable ambitions,” he said.

Mr Krishnan said that understanding the connotation of attitude was a complex task. “Attitude is our acceptance and reactions of certain ways of life which originates from our individual mindset, which again develops from various factors which can be family and upbringing, environment experiences in human relations and so on,” he said.Mr Sridhar Udupa, Chief Manager, Syndicate Bank, said that the Bank was aggressively promoting its products for the youth especially SyndVidya and SyndYuva that helps students pursue their higher education.

Mr C.B. Gopinath, Head, Commerce Department, SEA College was present.

More Stories on : Education | BL Club | Karnataka

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Case study on leadership development

2010-08-18T22:30:00.003+05:30

Case study on leadership development and an interesting tale of use of assessment centers as a process for same

Casestudy Leadership

India rocks!!

2010-07-26T08:52:00.002+05:30

I always wonder why people feel great about working in other countries. Let it be europe, US, or Singapore... I have been travelling to these places and now I am convinced. Nothing matches to what India offers to a middle class person here. The life ..the fun .. tremendous growth..and all the way the feel that you belong to where you are supposed to be ! Why to be a second class person in a different country ??

General Motors Diet ( GM Diet )

2010-06-27T21:50:00.002+05:30

General Motors: Weight Loss Diet Program ( I have taken this from B H Jajoo, Prof site) I have seen how successful he was executing this programme.

The following diet and health program was developed for employees and dependents of General Motors, Inc. and is intended for their exclusive use. This program was developed in conjunction with a grant from U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. It was field tested at the Johns Hopkins Research Centre and was approved for distribution by the Board of Directors, General Motors Corp. at a general meeting on August 15, 1985. General Motors Corp. wholly endorses this program and is making it available to all employees and families. This program will be available at all General Motors Food Service Facilities. It is management's intention to facilitate a wellness and fitness program for everyone.

This program is designed for a target weight loss of 10-17 lbs per week. It will also improve your attitudes and emotions because of its cleansing systematic effects.

The effectiveness of this seven day plan is that the food eaten burn more calories than they give to the body in caloric value.

This plan can be used as often as you like without any fear of complications. It is designed to flush your system of impurities and give you a feeling of well being. After seven days you will begin to feel lighter because you will be lighter by at least 10 lbs. You will have an abundance of energy and an improved disposition.

During the first seven days you must abstain from all alcohol
You must drink 10 glasses of water each day
Day One All fruits except bananas. Your first day will consist of all the fruits you want. It is strongly suggested that you consume lots of melons the first day. Especially watermelon and a loupe. If you limit your fruit consumption to melons, your chances of losing three lbs. on first day are very good.

Day Two All vegetables. You are encouraged to eat until you are stuffed with all the raw or cooked vegetables of your choice. There is no limit on the amount or type. For your complex carbohydrate, you will start day two with a large baked potato for breakfast. You may top the potato with one pat of butter.

Day Three A mixture of fruits and vegetables of your choice. Any amount, any quantity. No bananas yet. No potatoes today.

Day Four Bananas and milk. Today you will eat as many as eight bananas and drink three glasses of milk. This will be combined with the special soup which may be eaten in limited quantities.

Day Five Today is feast day. You will eat beef and tomatoes. Eat two 10 oz. portions of lean beef. Hamburger is OK. Combine this with six whole tomatoes. On day five you must increase your water intake by one quart. This is to cleanse your system of the uric acid you will be producing.

Day Six Beef and vegetables. Today you may eat an unlimited amount of beef and vegetables. Eat to your hearts content.

Day Seven Today your food intake will consist of brown rice, fruit juices and all the vegetables you care to consume.

Tomorrow morning you will be 10-17 lbs. lighter than one week ago. If you desire further weight loss, repeat the program again. You may repeat this program as often as you like, however, it is suggested that you are allowed two glasses of white wine in addition to the instructions on the program. You may substitute champagne for white wine. Under no circumstances are you to drink any other alcoholic beverages with the exception of beer which is allowed. Any liquor (bourbon,vodka, rum) is forbidden. Cream drinks are especially forbidden. You may have an occasional cordial such as creme de menthe or schnapps, but you must always limit yourself to two drinks. If you wine, drink only wine that day. If you have beer, drink only beer that day, etc. Alcohol adds empty calories to your diet. However, after the first week it will help your digestion and settle your stomach.

G.M.'S Wonder Soup

The following soup is intended as a supplement to your diet. It can be eaten any time of the day in virtually unlimited quantities. You are encouraged to consume large quantities of this soup.

28 oz, Water, 6 Large Onions, 2 Green Peppers, Whole Tomatoes (fresh or canned), 1 Head Cabbage, 1 Bunch Celery, 4 Envelopes Lipton Onion Soup Mix, Herbs and Flavouring as desired.

Additional Comments

Vegetables as may be taken in the form of a salad if desired. No dressing except malt, white or wine vinegar, squeezed lemon, garlic, herbs. No more than one tea spoon of oil.

You have been given a recipe for the WONDER SOUP which can be eaten in unlimited quantities. This soup is a supplement while you are on the program and it should be a pleasure to eat. Not everyone likes cabbage, green peppers, calory etc. This recipe is not inflexible. You may substitute vegetables according to your taste. You may add any vegetables you like: asparagus, peas, corn, turnips, green beans, cauliflower, etc. Try to stay away from beans (lima, pinto, kidney, etc.), however, because they tend to be high in calories even though they are very good for you.

Beverages you may consume while on the program :

Water (flavoured with lemon/lime if desired).
Club Soda is OK.
Black Coffee. No cream or cream substitute. No sugar or sweetness.
Black Tea = Herb or Leaf.
Absolutely nothing else except the fruit juices which are part of day seven. No fruit juices before day seven.
How and Why It Works

Day One you are preparing your system for the upcoming programme. Your only source of nutrition is fresh or canned fruits. Fruits are nature's perfect food. They provide everything you could possibly want to sustain life except total balance and variety.

Day Two starts with a fix of complex carbo-hydrates coupled with an oil dose. This is taken in the morning for energy and balance. The rest of day two consists of vegetables which are virtually calorie free and provide essential nutrients and fibre.

Day Three eliminates the potato because you get your carbohydrates from the fruits. You system is now prepared to start burning excess pounds. You will still have cravings which should start to diminish by day four.

Day Four, bananas, milk and soup sound the strangest and least desirable. You're in for a surprise. You probably will not eat all the bananas allowed. But they are there for the potassium you have lost and the sodium you may have missed the past three days. You will notice a definite loss of desire for sweets. You will be surprised how easy this day will go.

Day Five, Beef and tomatoes. The beef is for iron and proteins, the tomatoes are for digestion and fibre. Lots and lots of water purifies your system. You should notice colourless urine today. Your allowance calls for the equivalent of five "quarter ponders". Do not feel you have to eat all this beef. You must eat the six tomatoes.

Day Six is similar to day five, Iron and proteins from beef, Vitamins and fibre from vegetables. By now your system is in a total weight loss inclination. There should be a noticeable difference in the way you look today, compared to day one.

Day Seven finished off the program like a good cigar used to finish off Victorian meals, except much healthier. You have your system under control and it should thank you for the flushing and cleaning you just gave it.

Publication : Outcomes of Intention to Quit of Indian IT Professionals

2010-06-07T09:35:00.002+05:30

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123457448/abstract

Above is the link to my latest international publication.
KEYWORDS
intention to quit • organizational deviance • performance orientation • citizenship behavior
ABSTRACT
Intention to quit has been getting attention in the context of employee attrition, with focus on its antecedents. A related aspect that needs attention is the outcome of intention to quit, where little research has occurred, especially in the Indian context. The present study explores performance orientation, organizational deviance, and organizational citizenship behavior as outcomes of intention to quit of Indian IT professionals. These factors become critical in the context of human resource management because employees who want to quit may become less productive or even dysfunctional for the organization. Interviews and a questionnaire-based survey were used in this research. The survey was conducted using software professionals with work experience of less than four years, with the results based on 533 responses. The initial results show that as hypothesized, intention to quit does lead to less performance orientation, higher organizational deviance, and less organizational citizenship behavior. Further, exploration using structural equation modeling shows that performance orientation mediates the relationships between intention to quit and organizational citizenship behavior as well as between intention to quit and organizational deviance. This study's findings imply that organizations need to understand that employees with a high intention to quit can prove costly from multiple dimensions.

Incase you would like to have a look at the original paper, email me at sandeephrm at gmail.com. I will send a copy.

Reference Check !

2010-05-15T10:23:00.002+05:30

I find it very interesting how much time companies are spending on reference check and still not getting it right. The most interesting part is the unwillingness to explore alternate paths. I find in my experience that a lot of a person's life is out there in public. Social networking sites provide you with ample information about a person. Looking at frauds, they manage a very subtle life. Nowhere their life is available. They do not exist on linkedin, orkut, facebook or any such places. Leading an aloof life with the fraud they are continuing.

Hobbies that make your life...

2010-04-20T21:42:00.002+05:30

It was something very interesting to know about how hobbies that you cultivate as an adult can make life and work more enjoying. First it was Mr. Pradipto Mahapatra who was Ex President of RPG who spoke to me at length of collecting watches. May be he would have a spent a fortune on his collection. Next it was Mr. Prabhakar Kini who had very similar interests and also a very unique one (collecting Ganeshas) Check it out here : http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/10/2009082120090821113410343f491565/Ganeshas-3000-%E2%80%98Avatars%E2%80%99.html?pageno=1.
I am sure that these interests are the ones that make their life interesting. I also understood that I severely lacked of a hobby that I can really nurture. May be it is cultivating, managing a small garden, travelling, taking some lectures, or even driving. But all these I am following up and seriously think that a few of these would make life more engaging :)

T V Rao

2010-04-20T17:01:00.002+05:30

I have known Prof T V Rao as a teacher and a good person to talk with (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._V._Rao). He is often known as the "father of Indian HRD". I saw this blog of his and thought it might be very interesting for people to read http://tvraoblogs.blogspot.com/ .

Commoditization of Human Resources

2010-04-06T09:48:00.003+05:30

I found it very interesting to read the front page column in ET interviewing Erich Clementi of IBM. He speaks of commoditization of IT services. Wherever the services does not require unique thinking / skills, the industry becomes highly unviable to operate because of huge competition. I want to draw an analogy to this for IT professionals. At Acropetal when we put up a post for recruiting freshers, the number of applications were close to 5000 +. I mean more than 5000 engineers applied. Forget about that. Imagine a company like Infosys. They have more than 25000 people who are 1-2 years of experience. All working mostly on generic technologies. Imagine their career progression. For example what would all these people do if they reach an age of 45 + ? Technologies will change, age will hamper learning, and with experience salaries will also be high. They would be highly unviable in any IT services organization. The future is happening in US now where aged employees are asked to leave from major IT companies even like of IBM and work is outsourced to India and other similar countries. Tomorrow's IT industry will make many of our current IT professionals highly unemployable. High salaries and lack of unique skills will be most difficult proposition ! The challenge that it will pose on our economy and social system will be very high.
Lets wait and watch.

How to resign without grudge !

2010-03-09T11:51:00.003+05:30

As an HR professional and as friend to a lot of colleagues, I have always heard people saying things like this when they resign.
1. This is the only way I can teach them a lesson
2. These people think they are something great - I will show them.
3. They never cared for me - let me get it back on them.
4. I am going to give to the manager
5. How will I say that I want to put in my papers.

I mean you are yet to grow up if these are your reactions to leaving a company. First of all lets have some of the reasons of putting in papers.

a) you do not have a future in the company
b) you got a better deal outside
c) you want to try and negotiate in a situation for a better position or salary
d) all other personal issues

Whatever it is, there is no room for emotions here. Just dont even bother. It does not work out with your " i dont want to leave but you see ". Just leave properly if you are convinced or talk out what you want. If it does not work out - dont take things personally !

Employer Branding

2010-03-09T11:17:00.002+05:30

I was fortunate to work with RPG Group when they were doing Employer Branding exercise for the whole group. It was great experience working with Richard Mosley who is the Managing Director of People in Business. http://www.slideshare.net/brandbliss/richard-mosley-employer-branding-masterclass-keynotes (Checkout his presentation above).

The key I understood is advertising or media or even any agenda of popularity comes only if you have key ideas to propogate. These are your employer brand identities. For example in RPG they came up with four major thoughts based on a series of research activities. They were Diverse Strenghts - Diverse Opportunities, Empowering performance, Youthful outlook, and Respect for people. The key is to put together what we really have and link it up to what we can tell to existing and prospective employees. Interestingly the research also focussed on media, people who left organizations, head hunters etc for a reality check. It is quite nice to get a feel of what really an organization is.

Also lets understand that rest all are means of how you position your brand. Newsletters, events, advertisements, and HR practices all speak what you are. For example if we are speaking of youthful outlook, we should incorporate something that appeals to youth. The whole look and feel should be new and it should breathe in the organization.

Let us not look at employer branding as a recruitment devise. The key is to have an outlook that is promising for people to believe in what you say.

The business sense of employer brand is huge : it reduces your cost of people and also increases the pride of working with you.

Teaching at IMT Nagpur

2010-01-19T11:18:00.005+05:30

Teaching has always come as abrupt request to me. Sometimes friends, and sometimes contacts request me to teach. The best thing is teaching is something I love doing for the fun of it : atleast it is not a job that I do for the moolah. When Ranjeet asked me whether I can teach a leadership course at IMT Nagpur, it took me two minutes to say yes. Mostly I do that. Do not ask too many questions if primafacie it looks good. He said it would be flexible in time and effort. Then I said yes completely. My father was sitting next to me in that Meru cab when Ranjeet called me ! I asked him whether he would also like to take some sessions : he said yes ! Superb some effort I can share and students would enjoy. Third I asked my ex-boss whether she would enjoy taking some sessions. Since I know she loves to take session, the answer was also as expected.
Nagpur campus is superb. One of the best I have seen. Though summers can be really taxing with the heat. The timing of the course was also excellent. November, December, and January. Superb. Only thing was I was getting married in November and classes are supposed to start the week after marriage. No probs let the first trip (cannot call it honeymoon be at Nagpur).
At the campus : Reached late evening for the first set of sessions. My wife who was expecting atleast a town was little bit worried when we travelled through pitch dark to the 35th milestone ! Poor thing had to spend and our first trip was spend mostly in the guest house of Nagpur.
Class was good. As expected I could see some fun loving students there. Some philosophically oriented, some academic, some rebels, some I do not care, Some to prove I am the best and all sorts. Being at IIM A for more than 4 years, I knew what people will think when they are taking a elective in second year ! It should be fun, learning, and something new. I am not a great entertainer. I speak only 75 % of what is really required. However, I know or atleast I think I know how not to make the class unhappy ! Reading stuff in HR and doing it for more than 5 years at strategic level atleast I know what is reality in this field as well. I have also improved as a teacher over a period of time. I taught at nirma, IIMM pune, IIM K, and IIM A and atleast know how not to make the class unhappy and give some bit of useful information.
It was fun to see students. A rebellious Saurabh Prakash, Intellectually oriented Seethanshu, Deep and mysterious Ritu, Academic and serious Shreyanshi, Naughty Saumitra, Philosopher Akshat and many ! It was fun to be with them than anything else. Everybody in this world is unique with their own worries, ambitions, and energy. That is what makes a class room wonderful and beautiful. As an individual I have tried to see the fun and beauty in things. Love to challenge and passion. More than the content, it is always that connect that matters in a classroom. After all I do not want to waste the week ends that I would have spend with my family and wife relaxing in Bangalore fighting with students. I want to understand their passion and see if they learn something. IMT was a nice place to be.
My father, professor kunhikrishnan also enjoyed it. He could teach hours without looking a paper. That is what comes with learning, understanding and experience. I am sure it would be a good experience for him as well. For chitra andrade, audience is always a challenge ahead. For her to be best and best in her delivery is what matters. I think the students also quickly got into the mode of proving that they are good enough for her. However, as I see from her evaluation, the scores she has given are good..really good ! Azfar has been a friend philosopher and guide for past 5-6 years. Knowing what he is, I am sure he would not let down students. He delivered value by his teaching and interaction. I hope students realise that they might with a really nice professional in the industry !
For me teaching is an experimentation - especially when I am doing it for the sheer passion of it. Multi faculty was one experiment here. Second was a telephonic conference with leaders. This had entreprenuers, public servants, leadership experts. All came to help and I really respect that help.
It is fun to be in a campus because that is where the energy is. New thoughts, new energy, new philosophies and even new ways to live. Life also becomes easy if you have nice people to help you in administration. Snehal and vinod just fits in the bill !
If you ask me what is the worst part of teaching, I would say : Evaluation ! So my sincere advise : Limit the response and do not give unnecessary evaluation components. Teaching is a self learning experience that exposes oneself to new arenas. Meeting new people and new places is just the best part of it.
Adios and thank you !

creating an employee newsletter

2010-01-01T10:37:00.002+05:30

It was a very interesting experience when we started the efforts for having a newsletter for Acropetal. Based on my experience it involves the following steps.

1. Who is the audience and predominantely what should be the content.
2. Corporate buy-in in terms of what should be there what should not be there
3. Have the skelton on general contents ready
4. Get all the contents in place. Review. Sign off
Acropetal Newsletter

IBM stops free coffee and tea at workplace

2009-10-25T19:32:00.003+05:30

Interesting news I heard from my ex colleagues that IT Giant IBM has stopped giving free coffee and tea at workplace. All the coffee vending machines are now equipped with a token based delivery ! Way to save by IBM ! Anyways these days I do see a lot more IBM employees have coffee and tea at the local tea shops !

How to goof up in an interview !

2009-10-12T08:20:00.002+05:30

I have interviewed almost 500 individuals through campus recruitments and corporate placements. Have seen the entire spectrum from junior level to senior placements. It is very interesting how people bury their own chances of getting into a job ! To be precise here are a few.
a) Arguing on things you do not know
b) Not knowing about the company/profile
c) Overselling oneself
d) Thinking that one is too good for any job
e) Being shabby for the interview
f) Overtly making unethical commitments
g) Being rude
h) Using informal words like "hey" "you guys" "dude"
i) Being overtly critical of certain things showing your sure prejudice
and
j) Complaining of the interviewers, interview, and offering advise not asked for !

I have seen all these happening and sometimes wonder where the basic stuff called "COMMON SENSE" is lost !

Employee Privacy at workplace - Some pertinent issues

2009-09-10T07:26:00.002+05:30

I had written this article some years back with Prof Biju Varkkey of IIM Ahmedabad and Anush Raghavan of Hay Group. The article got a lot of attention and even some media coverage. http://www.zeenews.com/news308905.html (Report published in Economic Times). However, the "pertinent" issue is that we behave in office as if we are at home. People are worried and speak about things that does not matter at office during office hours and even cause trouble to others on same. The whole point is that Employee Privacy related dimensions also have a time wastage factor associated with it along with the emotional issues.

Download the article here : http://ideas.repec.org/e/pkr55.html

InStep with Infosys

2009-08-11T09:45:00.001+05:30

Today's TOI speaks about the grand plans that Infosys has for its global internship programme (InStep). Couple of years back me and Prof Manjari Singh wrote about the same as a case study. This was published with Business Strategy Review of London Business School. Below is the article.
Instep

Diversity in India : What are the real issues ?

2009-07-13T19:30:00.002+05:30

I am sometimes intrigued by the fact that a lot of work has been done in terms of affirmative action, special support groups, and organization wide initiatives to support diversity. Diversity however in most cases - especially with MNCs in India is Women representation, Gay, Lesbian,Transgender, and Physically challenged. Though these are important and needs considerable attention in various degrees, we forget the critical aspects completely. I feel and with considerable facts to support as well, the real diversity issues are in Language, State, and even religion or caste in our country.

It is the responsibility of organization to make sure we have adequate support mechanisms to support people from different language as their origin , different state and hence trying to cope with a new place, or even from a religious background that might be different from the majority in the group. We as a society is growing more and more racists. Kannadigas hating Tamils, North cannot stand South, Western vs Traditional outlook, orientation towards specific cuisines - all makes this diversity a critical aspect in our day today life.

It is sometimes a challenge to understand that there is no real hate or need for the same if we interact and proper orientation is given. We are silent on these. How can we tolerate if a Maharashtrian is favored in a MNC in Mumbai / A kannadiga in Bangalore ? The narrow view is it is my state - however we forget the simple fact that its this diversity that makes these organizations and ultimately it is the state's (India's) resources that we share. We have no right to point at Australia or a Racist comment in US if we cannot share our resources and work together with a professional from a nearby state !

Work Life Balance

2009-07-07T16:27:00.002+05:30

It is an interesting concept and a lot have been talked about the same. I had written an article a few years back and totally forgotten about the same. Suddenly there was a request to write something on the same from NHRD for their NHRD journal and I thought I will pull up a bit from this. The same article that I wrote in 2005 looks very relevant and interesting for me !
Document link
Have a look here
work life balance

How to change your job during tough times !

2009-06-26T10:59:00.002+05:30

The most interesting aspect of job market during tough times is "job change". It speaks of two different aspects
- Organizations having difficulty in hiring because of tough times
- People not willing to move out because of doubts of what lies ahead - known evil is better than unknown heaven.

However, let us look at reality. Organizations say they are having a hiring freeze. In reality it is freeze on hiring freshers or bulk hiring/ and creating new positions. Market facing functions still hire and also replacement hiring is still going on !

So demand essentially remains 70-80% there. Just that it is not there in open. And supply would have definitely come down by the same percentage or more. Essentially this means that jobs are all around and there is a huge information asymmetry.

What can you do ?
- Kick up your network with internal people
- Keep yourself in touch with consultants - they still might not have visibility
- General keep people informed that you are looking for a change.
- Generally update your CV on the job sites
- Keep in touch with the alumni friends

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Is MBA a FARCE !

2009-06-11T10:11:00.002+05:30

I was reading today's article by TT Ram Mohan, Professor at IIM Ahmedabad that kind of fringed on the idea that an MBA is a futile exercise. Quite certainly is pushed institutes to think on what they are teaching. The ideas that kind of worth looking at here are
a) Growing amount of theoretical concepts thoughts rather than giving practical sense.
b) Growing amount of lack of "perceived" contribution of MBAs in creating economic value

- First part is kind of important. However, the questions is if MBA schools do not teach theory to students, where will they learn that? A strength of any education is to put a scientific sense to things happening. To analytically assess the situation. However, in the article he qoes to quoting that why an MBA is necessary while a lot of entreprenuers do not have one ! We all shout loud of politicians not having qualifications to do their job ! IS it necessary then ? Many of the great politicians were neither post graduates nor doctorates !

It is important to have some sense of formal learning for somebody to perform effectively. The biggest curse that even HR is facing in this country is that it is a field open to all !

Also it important that we do not forget that a lot of MBAs have contributed very effectively in managing large and small businesses !

Link to article :http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/ETNEW/navigator.asp?Daily=ETM&showST=true&login=default

Health at Work Place

2009-06-09T15:02:00.002+05:30

A recent article puts huge value of cost due to employee health in terms of business. Sure organizations get hurt due to employee health issues. However, the important part is that there is a huge cost and issues to employees because of ill health. I am not speaking about diseases perse but the chronic health problems like obesity, cholestrol, diabetes, hormonal issues etc. Constant travelling, desk jobs, eating unhealthy, no time for exercising are all creating havoc in our body !

Many do not take specific actions to have a preventive outlook to this !

A few suggestions based on readings I have done

- Take a BP test if you are above 20 years and a bit fat
- Take a Lipid profile
- Spend 45 - 60 minutes for Aerobic Exercises ( health tips suggest it is not the intensity but the amount of time you spend that helps)
- Limit sweets, and non vegetarian food (especially red meet)

www.webmd.com is a good site to visit and have view of good health.
Anyways ..just do not be lazy. It kills in long run.

My favorite theory related to HR

2009-05-28T21:44:00.002+05:30

Pygmalion Effect

I think it is absolutely necessary for a manager to understand the large scale implications that Pygmalion effect can have in their own performance and motivation, and of their team.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmalion_effect
In my life people who thought I can be successful and effective created the belief in myself and my growth. May be it upbringing your children, or team..this is an absolute must !

Looks, brains, and smartness gives more money

2009-05-25T10:30:00.002+05:30

http://business.rediff.com/report/2009/may/22/bcrisis-higher-salary-for-good-looking-brainy-people.htm

This article is quite an interesting one ! One is speaks of some real research in a journal like Journal of Applied Psychology. This is one of the most respected of journals in the field. I have a copy of the article with me. Cannot put it here as it will be kind of copyright violation. However, the article is summarized very well in the rediff article.

JRD and leadership

2009-05-25T09:32:00.001+05:30

"If my ex-boss JRD (Tata) had been around, he would have punched me in the gut because I have a paunch," says T R Doongaji, Managing Director of Tata Services Ltd, patting his tummy as he walks me around the Tata's Century of Trust exhibition at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, on Saturday. I look at his almost flat waistline and smiled.

"Did you know JRD was a weightlifter?" he asks, as we walked along side by side. "His ideal male figure was one who looked like the Roman statues in museums. He was a great fitness buff. At age 60, he could do 50 push-ups! I dare you to do even 20 at your age, now." I walk on quickly before I am forced to admit my own inadequacy.

Read the full article from Rediff !

http://www.rediff.com/money/2004/jul/27spec.htm

My Tryst with Civil Services Preliminary 2009

2009-05-18T21:10:00.002+05:30

It might sound funny and to a great extend an indulgence of a 29 year old to write Civil Services this year. First and last chance for me. However, this is one of the best things I did this year apart from my engagement. Civil services was always in the back of my mind but never gave a serious approach to it nor applied for the same. The major reason is half of the subjects I never had any idea. Thanks to Renthish, a friend, Prakash my cousin, and Prakhar Sharma a friend of mine whom Renthish introduced in Delhi. It was in my trip to Mussoorie last November, I met with Prakhar who had appeared for Civil Services and reached till the interviews. It was quite interesting what we discussed on Civil Services and the dream of becoming an Indian officer.

I have done well or really well till now for a 29 year old. A very impressive resume with a good engineering degree, and a doctoral degree from IIM Ahmedabad. Publications that even faculty will dream about, job with IBM, stints in companies like Ernst and Young and RPG. People would have thought I am mad now to even think of Civil Services now. Before I left Delhi, I was convinced. This is my last chance I need to attempt this. I do not want to leave this as a dream that I never attempted. I applied 5 days before the last date.

I opted for Public Administration. Prakhar told me its fun and has some management stuff in it. Well good for me ! I also brought a big book called "Unique Quintessence" for General Studies. Quite interesting to go back to books now. It was tough :with hundreds of new things and responsibilities in the job, it was not easy even to read the books regularly. But every bit I read I enjoyed. More than the exam, it was the fun of reading these new things and forgotten things that excited me. I would have put in 50 hours in total ! That is it.

Exam day was fun. Drove myself to a center some 40 kms away. It was fun again to sit in a bench that I had forgotten since my childhood ! Pub Ad - the questions were directly from Laxmikant. If I had mugged it all, I could have cracked almost all of them. Of the 120 I attempted some 113. Rest I had no clue. Around 20 I guessed. Hope around 80 would be correct in all ! Do not know though. In GS it was much more fun. I attempted around 125 out of 150 ! Some blunders anyways. This should not have happened. Hope some 80 would be correct here also. Should get around 80 * 2.5 - 33 * .6 around 180 here and 80 *1 - 45 * . 33 = 60 . A total of around 240 ~ . God alone knows whether I will clear. Anyways I had my experience. I strongly recommend any serious person to attempt Civil Services atleast once in their life time.

- It gives a different perspective on various general subjects.
- It helps to rewind a bit of your life
- It gives a good perspective on a subject that you want to take as an optional
- The question paper is interesting : refreshes your mind
Overall, takes you out of the monotonous nature of life atleast ! It is not the end that matters but the means. "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Lao Tzu quote. Take the plunge. You will enjoy it. Atleast you will emerge wiser and more learned.

I tried it for enriching my daily life and I will have no regrets.

Fast Track Leadership Development

2009-05-16T18:30:00.002+05:30

Follwing is an abstract to a paper I wrote couple of years back. It had a tremendous amount of download since then - Around 3500. Quite a mass for a paper. You may download this paper if you are interested from the link below.
Abstract

Leadership development is considered critical for the success of organizations in a competitive scenario. Realizing this, organizations have started investing in developing leaders from inside, by identifying people who show the promise and prove their mettle. In the era of constant changes brought by globalization and increased opportunities, it becomes imperative to recognize potential leadership talent within organizations and design HR systems which will provide the identified with required learning and accelerated career growth. Such initiatives serve to motivate the performers as well as create a leadership pipeline. This paper explores various initiatives taken by organizations through Indian and International case examples of fast track leadership programs. Published sources of information and corporate campus presentations are used as data sources. The methods and tools which are adopted by organizations are identified and the paper suggests a framework for fast track leadership development. Research based understanding of the various tools used for leadership development is also discussed. The paper also examines various issues regarding fast track leadership programs.

Link to Paper
Fast Track

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Business & Economics Research biju varkkey examples of leadersh

Top 100 blogs in management and business

2009-05-15T17:18:00.003+05:30

This list provided in the link below gives a really good set of blogs. What CEOs write to what general tips in management area. Worth reading for a HR professional and pass on to their clients in organizations.
href="http://www.hrworld.com/features/top-100-management-blogs-061008/">
http://www.hrworld.com/features/top-100-management-blogs-061008/

Importance of Manager : Evidence from Research

2009-05-10T11:17:00.002+05:30

My research at IIM Ahmedabad as part of the Fellow Programme (that gave me a doctora l degree !) was on intention to quit of IT professionals. The concept is interesting because it does not speak about attrition but thinking of quitting. As it is widely discussed, we say people leave managers not organizations ! One of the variables that I studies that influenced intention to quit is "Supervisory Support". Interestingly results found that three variables that are critical - procedural justice, promotion chances, and pay satisfaction is influenced by supervisory support !

What does this mean. Procedural justice is a perception of the employee that procedures are followed in determining major decisions / organizations have procedures in place. This is a critical variable in organization and is found in research to have wide impact on many other behaviours. Pay satisfaction is not about absolute pay..but the satisfaction vis-a-vis various factors inluding comparisons. Promotion chances looks at the chances of getting a promotion / career advancement.

What does the results imply ? It means how the supervisor interacts and gives suggestions impacts widely whether the employee's perceptions of justice, promotions and even pay satisfaction !

Or simply put the employee views the entire organization through a lens called "MANAGER"

Second Innings

2009-05-08T14:01:00.002+05:30

An article of mine that I wrote with Prof Kunhikrishnan (my father) got published in Human Capital. You may access the article below. It is on an interesting concept of having engaging careers post retirement. Inputs of people like Indira Parikh, Indira Bharadwaj, Arvind Agrawal, Ratish Jha, are put in the article. Do send me your comments !

Sandeep - Article

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Magazines & Newspape indira parikh ratish jha

IIM Ahmedabad working papers

2009-05-07T23:34:00.001+05:30

Working papers are a great way to look at latest research. Let it be of HBS or Wharton. IIM Ahmedabad has a great set of research papers and I am happy to see that my paper on Strategic Human Resource Management is there as the sixth one in the rank. You may see the abstract of it and download in the link below

http://ideas.repec.org/p/iim/iimawp/2004-06-04.html

iim ahmedabad top working paper downloads !

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Business & Economics Research strategic human reso iim ahmedabad

Great blogs to read !

2009-05-07T18:44:00.005+05:30

http://abhijitbhaduri.com/

Abhijit Bhaduri's Blog is quite an interesting one to navigate. Many would have already read this one. However, the effort behind this is worth commending both on content and the look and feel !
Then I thought let me just do a kind of check on the blogs to read on HR and found this interesting site.

"http://www.hrworld.com/features/top-25-blogs-121907/
Worth having a look anyways !

However the best set of blogs list I could find from this blog and this guy is just an awesome blogger (Thy name is Joel Drapper)
http://joeldrapper.com/blogs-i-read/

NHRD Journal April : on Leadership

2009-05-04T23:14:00.002+05:30

Thanks to Dr. PVR Murthy for sharing this. I suggest that if you are serious about HR in India, should become member of NHRD. http://www.nationalhrd.org/ (most of the work can be done online for a membership and its not very expensive. You get free magazines, journals, and host of other privileges. Another magazine in India that you may take membership is of Human Capital (www.humancapitalonline.com). This can be done completely online.

Happy reading. If somebody objects to the Journal being online, I will take it off !

NHRD Apr 2009

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Magazines & Newspape ernst and young pvr murthy

Case of Texas Instruments

2009-05-02T12:47:00.005+05:30

This case on strategic human resource management was written by me and Prof Manjari Singh of IIM Ahmedabad when TI India was the best place to work.

You may download this for free below.

Case of Texas Instruments

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Business & Economics Research v kartikeyan strategic human reso

best links to get an overview of HR and Management

2009-05-02T01:27:00.005+05:30

Overview of major functions in HR From wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Organizational_studies_and_human_resource_management

http://www.12manage.com

http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net'

Above are excellent sites to refer most talked about management concepts

CIPD - best way to learn cutting edge HR

2009-04-30T22:32:00.002+05:30

http://www.cipd.co.uk/podcasts

Are you one of those HR guys who do not have time / business guys who do not want to read HR ! Anyways I find these podcasts to be excellent way of leisure time read ! Have a look ..there are great free downloads on talent management, organization development, rewards, and many more ! CIPD is definitely cutting edge in the practitioner world.

Factors of choosing a great career !

2009-04-23T10:12:00.002+05:30

I think this image best explains how you as a talent will feel at job ! For the most it is not talent or the business need that is the problem ..but the Passion at Work !

MIT Video : John Chambers on Building Talent

2009-04-23T08:57:00.000+05:30

Job - Precious - Job !

2009-04-22T17:25:00.003+05:30

Today I got a hilarious message from a HR Head who happens to be a friend. He said today he got a message from an employee saying..its time you guys are having fun on us..productivity..salary cuts...no bonuses...threat of loosing jobs. Well time will just turnaround and it will be our turn again...salary hikes..resignations...out of turn promotions.. it will be with a a vengeance. However, things are always sad when it happens to individuals. Another friend had commented 100000 people loosing jobs is a news however one individual loosing is a personal tragedy ! How true !
I felt bad reading the stories in the link below. Sometimes I also feel, we are too proud of ourselves that we take our jobs..precious jobs as granted !

http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2008/12/05/2182777-workers-recall-the-moment-they-became-jobless

A scientific mind

2009-04-21T20:05:00.002+05:30

The least a researcher should have is a scientific mind. What does that mean ? I am not too much complex to go into realm of thoughts on seeing is believing but just applying basic principles of science with a blend of common sense.

I have seen researchers doing esoteric stuff. Delving in their world of assumptions that barely hold in real world and proving stuff ! That is pure research. Research for research sake. However, a researcher or a practitioner should have scientific mind to understand the limitations of his / her statements and understand an event from a perspective of the general theories and logical understanding. Else in this world we will only have fire fighters.

I will write about this more...may be indepth in the next few blogs.

How to select your doctoral thesis guide !

2009-04-20T23:09:00.002+05:30

The way out of a doctoral programme is 90% in your advisors hands and 10% in your hands. So more or less it is like candidate proposes advisor disposes ! So he/she is the god !
Based on my experience some of the factors that can help you choose your guide are broadly covered in two sections. How he/she helps you pass the programme and how he /she will influence your rest of the life.

Part 1 : Completing the course

- Choose a guide who is interested in you !
- Choose a guide who is interested in your subject !
- Choose a guide who is politically correct to save you through the programme !
- Choose a guide who is practical
- Choose a guide who is humane
- Choose a guide who can mentor you
- Choose a guide who is not a perfectionist
- Choose a guide who believes in "finishing" a PhD programme quickly
- Choose a guide who can spend time with you
- Choose a guide who has network and friends in the institute

Part 2 : After finishing

- The guide should be well known
- The guide should give you options in career
- Should spread good word about you
- Can help in fetching a job for you
- Will support you wherever possible , even in tough situations
- Has enough clout to get you in the big league
- Is a respectable individual who can influence others for your case
- Is mature enough not to see you as a professional threat but a collaborator and colleague

After all these , it is critical that the person is "FUN" to work with !

How to keep your job during tough times !

2009-04-16T11:02:00.003+05:30

It is interesting that when you google for "How to keep your job during tought times " close to 5 crore results pop up. Many speaking of the ways to save your job ! As an HR professional I would suggest the following things and is atleast the best way to make yourself a bit indispensable although not completely.

1. Make yourself internal market competitive : Ensure that there is communication that your skills are critical and not easy to find. This involves having high competence in organization specific skills : understanding the customers of the organization, certain technical skills, relationships, and more power of network centrality.
2. Explore internal options: Make sure that you have options ready internally and externally. This is tough but if you are good quite easily possible.
3. Deliver results : Ensure that you have short term and long term plans of results in place. This involves creating your work plan such that short terms results show that you are delivering and the long term projects show that you are needed for those to happen
4. Ensure that you have projects running beyond normal work routine. This helps you to be "wanted" in the organization.

5. Create support mechanisms : Ensure you have a well connected mentor / coach. Ask for advise from powerful people related to career.

Power of Internet

2009-04-14T18:57:00.002+05:30

http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6141.html

This article from HBS was a starting point for this log. It speaks about adolosence that creeps into businesses through mediums like internet. However, I want to speak about the great advantages that it carry to businesses and also to human resources.
Check out on linkedin, any individual. A lot of your reference check and sourcing can be done there ! Check out a potential young recruit on orkut ! You will be able to visualize all that kid is there !
I have heard from girls who rejected potential grooms with the kind of their profiles on orkut ! I mean who wants to marry a guy who openly puts up that he drinks, smokes, and womanizes ! and his testimonials proves so !
Well it is just a matter of time before we are set to make recruitment decisions based on the virtual profiles !

Beauty of Office

2009-03-25T20:45:00.002+05:30

http://www.thehindu.com/2009/03/25/stories/2009032556101300.htm

When my friend Anush forwarded this link to me, I could not help putting it here. It is just a wonderful picturization of goodness of office life. I can vouch for this...when I was in the period between jobs. Essentially the last day at one job and the first day at other. You see that you have missed on the beauty of an office coffee with a colleague, occasional cribs, egos, establishing relationships, fun and hate, irritations, learning, parties, and all other things !

Cos snap up non IIM B - School Grads !

2009-03-21T09:04:00.003+05:30

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Companies-snap-up-non-IIM-B-school-grads/rssarticleshow/4295245.cms

Today's headlines was the most amusing of all stories. I want to use it as an interesting way of how a researcher looks at an issue compared to a journalist (or a journalist who is not a professional) ! :)

- Are we comparing apples and oranges : What is the relevance of comparing iipm with iim.

- No comparison points were given. Average salaries of iim vs iipm, number of offers per person in iim vs iipm, jobs (content of jobs) given to a iim grad vs iipm.

- There is mention of placements being GRIM at iims - what makes the reporter says so ? Has he got statistics

- the worst is the headline itself. Companies snap up non iim b school grads ! what is the intention ? is it to say companies want people and they go to non iim schools, companies prefer non iim b school grads, or is it that non iim bschools have done something extraordinary to make this happen ! I do not see any of these coming up in the article.

- IIPM has traditionally positioned itself ..vs iims ! Easy way to get publicity. Arindam Chaudhury is a pro in this ! ofcourse TOI gets pages of ads as well ! No wonder this article also got its way into the front pages of TIMES of India !!

TOI is always fun to read :) after all !

Myths of MBA Campus Placements !

2009-02-25T22:59:00.002+05:30

In the Indian context campus placements have become a do or die situation at the entry level for students. However, it is important to understand that the very basic nature of how campus recruitments are done creates infromation asymmetry.Let me try to bust some of the myths from my understanding of being in HR, Recruitment from premier schools, and ofcourse studying at IIM Ahmedabad.

Busting Recruiter myths

- All premier school grads get more than 20 l as starting salaries !

- The guys who accept you offers may not join in the end

- Days of recruitment is schools are not really days. There is day 0 - day 1, 2. Day 1 - day 1, 2 and probably 3, and Day 3 - day 1, 2 etc. So ..you can imagine coming on a day 2 to a premier school.

- The guys and girls who speak to you will all speak as if this is the only company they are interested in.

- Your perception of your company has nothing to do with the campus perception. For example if its a retail craze in the campus, a future group might get a better slot in the campus than probably an IBM or Microsoft or Google etc.

- They do not know the nitty gritties of compensation. Only thing they care of is Cash in Hand !

Busting Candidate Myths

- Your perception has little to do with the perception of the company in the industry circles. Make sure you have the right brand and profile to work with

- Choosing a wrong profile for right "cash in hand" can make you a slave of the company

- Your growth in career is directly related to your competencies and hence develop them early in your career

- Never go by the perceptions of the career in campus. Consult people , read, and understand

- Campus offers the best job market. Get the maximum out there! Do not feel ashamed of taking multiple offers. Never get emotional

- Changing a job will always cost you on your emotional labor, freeing up experience, and social capital. So make sure that your choose the right path early.

Magazines in HR in India

2009-02-14T17:26:00.002+05:30

There seems to be a dreath of magazines to read in India on HR and more than that the quality of what is written is mostly pathetic. However, there are some decent ones you can definitely read. You may subscribe to National HRD network and get the NHRD Journal and NHRD newsletters. Also Human Capital is a decent read (www.humancapitalonline.com)

A Sample of NHRD Journal. An article of mine is there as well.

http://www.scribd.com/share/upload/9210515/25zkzhfxaja0gedxdfqc

You cannot avoid reading good stuff on HR in India. If you are looking at core journals, Indian Journal of Industrial Relations , and Management and Labour Studies of XLRI can be good reads.

Vikalpa of IIM Ahmedabad and IIMB Management review also publishes HR articles.

what part of HR is taught in a B School and what is not !

2009-02-11T23:08:00.002+05:30

A few instances makes it all clear !

a) You are taught that first step in recruitment is requirement assessment from business and business planning. You are not taught that businesses want people but they never give the requirements and you will be blamed when they do not get the people.

b) You know that performance management systems may follow a normal curve to create a performance driven culture. You find it difficult to understand that system will not run unless you keep the left extreme also happy ! There are emotions in every inch of a performance appraisal.

c) You know that organizations have planned for three years or more ! Fail to understand that a word recession quickly pulls up pink slips and all talent management, succession plans, 10 years plans are gone for a toss !

d) You hire, you fire, and again hire (somethings are done just to keep some jobs )

e) You fail to understand that competency is just a word used to keep your entitlements delayed ! (not always though)

f) You find that doing your work makes you the enemy of all ! (some envy you, some hate you, some advise you)

g) Compensation is a game, total compensation is a bigger game :) (do not worry how best you negotiate, you will always find that you lost out on something) You will soon know how to craft the best for you and others.

h) Hierarchy only means that the person up there has more experience (does not exactly mean more competent). It is important that you respect the experience. Unless you do that you will never be happy.

i) In HR never ever tell a lie about an employee, never tell a lie about the data you have to your boss, and never ever tell any data unless you have instructions to anybody else.

j) Always give your HR solutions that "best" help the business. Only that helps the business "best" helps the employees. Best - depends on your intelligence.

k) Happiness is in your mind. If you speak unhappiness to an employee he reflects the same. True with happiness also. So in HR never get driven by emotions !

personal brand and obama

2009-02-11T22:59:00.002+05:30

In my earlier post, I wrote a bit about personal brand. There are a lot written about great individual brands like clinton family, obama, bill gates, and many others. I found literature on obama very neat and want to put a few collated here.

http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13093828&Fsrc=mgttkgnwl (on marketing of brand, brand promises, and key characteristics)

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ (manifestation of a personal brand and the change agent agenda)

http://blogs.america.gov/campaign/?gclid=CNy-mej_1JgCFcstpAodCVrTrA (change at work)

http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html (general writings about obama) !

I hope that Rahul Gandhi takes a few of these and comes across as the next global political leader from Indian soil ( no political inclinations but he seems to be the most promising as a personal brand) - my next favorite was Rajiv Gandhi ( I too have a dream quote says it all - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajiv_Gandhi)

What is an HR Job !

2009-02-11T12:56:00.002+05:30

It is important to understand what an HR job entails to really get into that. Many people say "I like people so this is a people job" . I would say you are grossly misunderstood. Let me tell you what entails a HR job.
Basic Functions
Recruitment
Training and Dev
Employee relations
Industrial Relations
Performance Management
Compensation
and
Evolved functions like
Talent Management
Organizational Development

The problem is many people feel HR is like giving a helping hand to a sobbing employee ! I would say HR is a balance management between the technical aspects of above mentioned functions and how they relate to employees. Mainly in the area of employee relations. I will write about each of the above mentioned functions soon.

The other big mistake is to equate HR with Administration. Like transport, space management, or managing the canteen ! It is a purely different but equally difficult role mostly reporting to the HR head through admin head in organizations. Where the HR provides an overall outlook on how administration should be providing facilities.

Personal Brand !

2009-02-10T09:02:00.002+05:30

A key to your success in the broad domain of talent management is creating a personal brand. I think it is extremely critical but yet sometimes might not help you to sail through the organizational bureaucracy. Let me explain.

a) You create a brand of yourself : like risk taker, hard working, go getter, making things happen, sauve, sophisticated. This brand attracts new jobs, new responsibilities, new people to you. Essentially it should help you grow.

b) The caveat is that. The decisions to grow is not taken then and there. It goes back to the table of performance management and yearly reviews. Here nobody has time. Your personal brand might just fall in the cracks. Yet there is a chance that you will be highly rated and even recommended for a promotion if time is due for it.

Personal brand always helps you to set yourselves apart and get better work in the organization if its branded properly. So do not loose your chance to brand yourself properly.

Use linkedin !

2009-02-09T22:37:00.002+05:30

I get many rejections from people who are invited to use linkedin. I am surprised only to know that people think it is just another networking place. Like orkut or facebook ! I am surprised because people get to think of everything as "old wine in new bottle" ! Linkedin scores over all others on atleast 2 counts

a) You see pretty serious lot out there ! CEOs, CFOs, and specialists who can help you.

b) Linkedin answers sections is fabulous way to get your inputs right !

Start using linkedin ! Have a great profile and start using it effectively !

Summer projects in HR !

2009-02-09T22:30:00.002+05:30

Many people will get into summer projects in HR ! Many have no clue what they are getting and still more organizations have no clue. Let me give you my bit of advise.

a) Ensure your project is important but not urgent in nature.

b) Make sure you will have outcomes with the project

c) Check whether you are doing some interesting work and not just some transactional work that existing employees do not want to do.

d) Look out for projects that are contemporary

- Talent management

- Employer branding

- Employee engagement

- Employee assessment

- Balanced scorecard

- Training evaluation

- Organizational structuring

- HR policies

etc makes sense to get involved

e) My advise is get yourself stretched : Talk and get to know about the whole organization. It is a window to learn and exploit the intranet resources effectively !

All the best.

How does scholar.google.com help ?

2009-02-09T22:26:00.002+05:30

Why did google start with a google scholar. It should be clear from one of me earlier blog. Unless you are in an elite institution on in a company of researchers, you do not get to read quality research. Scholar.google.com helps a bit. It cleverly searches the bit that is available for free (the working papers, books etc) and gives you links to the paid articles (which is already with the databases like emerald, proquest, ebscohost etc or with individual publishers like sage). It certainly helps in some free reading but more importantly it helps you understand that there is something beyond the normal reading and wikipedia on the net !

Life beyond work !

2009-02-09T21:06:00.002+05:30

http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2006/09/education-beyond-classroom.html

The above blog by greg mankiw was a great read. As an individual I always enjoyed those side line things that I did. I personally feel that as Indians we are too focussed on one element of life and that is job. We do and talk about it as if everything depends on it. I am not saying it is not. The importance is in understanding some things that you do beyond your normal work life.

A few I can suggest based on my experience/observation are

- Do a bit of voluntary work

- Do sports

- Do travel

- Do write / read

- Do engage with professional associations

- Do give free advice to firms

- Help others in many spheres

- Learn a language

I found many things like this quite engaging. In the recent years I have been volunteering for AFS and AIESEC. I wrote articles and started blogging. I travel whenever I can. Still there are loads of frustrations that pull me as an individual. However, these things atleast keep me busy and is an important part of keeping oneself engaged !

Your first three years after an MBA

2009-02-09T20:42:00.005+05:30

First three years of your job can define your job future to a great extent. It is important that you have your objectives clearly set to make things happen.

a) Do not go by school perceptions

- Understand that school perceptions of an organization is vastly different from what you may get. I would go by the following rules while choosing a job.

a) Which company will I be working for ? The best choice should be a well known brand (nationally and internationally) and with consistency.

- Whom will I report to

b) This helps you to really understand what you job will entail. Understand that your manager delegates his/her work to you. So the level that you will be reporting will entails the kind of work you will be doing.

c) Is it a management trainee program

- In this case, please look at the content and how long this has been going on. Where are the seniors. A management trainee program in a well known company is a great way to learn

d) What is my role ?

- Always choose a more broad role at your work unless you really want to be a specialist. Even then understand what is the growth scope or are you just going to be a glorified repeater or some program. Remember you will remember the results of your work more than anybody else. So it should be self satisfying.

e) Do not work for others

- Understand that others will try to make you unhappy / compare. Always look at the holistic aspect of your job. Match it with really what kicks you. If it is there just do not mind what others say.

f) See the reputation of your manager

- Your manager can help you a lot. Take a call on your managers reputation as well. If he/she is very well known, you do not know where you can reach taking a ride with him/her.

g) Do not be a experimental pig

- It is quite possible that people tag you to a batch/ years of experience. It is important that you create your own space and move ahead with it. Gather your expereince in the first 3 years and pick a good move and prove yourself.

h) Never loose a learning opportunity!

___________________________________________________________________

Free reading in Human Resources !

2009-02-09T17:25:00.002+05:30

The worst thing that happened to research and the best thing to happened to research is its exclusivity ! Let me tell you why.
The best thing first. As not many people did not take up research, it meant that only few dedicated human beings who have interest in knowledge build up is there. This group is also a bit detached form the day to day nuances and could find time in dreaming and developing knowledge.
The worst thing second. Whatever was produced as result of research became available only to the select audience. Be it the best of the projects or research article. How many people have heard of academy of management review or a proquest database or ebsco host !
There is relief too ! Many gets published as free articles / working papers. You may get a few here.

a) http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/
b) http://www.hbs.edu/research/workingpapers.htm
c) http://ideas.repec.org/s/iim/iimawp.html
d) http://ideas.repec.org ( for working papers from many institutions)

There are many like this on the net and you may just be able to find out. Else do search for EBSCO Host or Proquest in your college libraries !

Talent Management

2009-02-06T12:43:00.002+05:30

Much is spoken about talent management in the Indian context and Internationally. Interesting it is an amalgamation of almost all HR processes. So see it as aligned to training, some see it aligned to succession planning, some see it aligned to differentiation of talent, and some see it as part of recruitment of talent. Anyways it is best seen as an amalgamation of all this with a key agenda of differentiation. I would suggest the following steps for any effective talent management process.
a) Hire the best of talent (ongoing)
b) Differentiate existing talent based on performance and potential
c) Give differentiated growth and development opportunities
d) Create continous opportunities to grow (succession planning, internal growth, horizontal and vertical movements)
The key here is not to mistake talent management to just training. It should be mostly non monetary development and process orientation for creating opportunties. An interesting article to read here would be
Talent Management for the Twenty-First Century. By: Cappelli, Peter. Harvard Business Review, Mar2008, Vol. 86 Issue 3, p74

Fundamentals of doing research !

2009-02-06T08:28:00.000+05:30

Many people ask me about doing research. Getting a PhD or writing a paper in HR. Most of the times I had to go back to the fundamentals.

a) Are you sure what you are getting into ?

b) Have you identified an area of research ?

c) Have you read enough in the area ? I am not speaking of books but research papers like academy of management review, journal of applied psychology, or long range planning ?

d) Did you identify a gap in the research ? Some where you can make a contribution?

e) If all these are satisfied, are you sure you can write it up, substantiate your arguments, and put up a proposal for research?

f) Is you data collection proposed viable enough or doable ?

h) For all your plans what is the time frame you are looking at?

________________________________________________________________

My publications

2009-02-05T21:36:00.000+05:30

It always gives an ego boost for one to provide a list of his publications and wish that others also read them ! The real intention is that and also to provide a direction for people to have a look at all the possible "free" reads in HR !
Here are some of my publications :
http://ideas.repec.org/p/iim/iimawp/2004-06-04.html (on strategic human resource management)
http://ideas.repec.org/p/iim/iimawp/2005-12-04.html (on corporate brand image)
http://ideas.repec.org/p/iim/iimawp/2006-02-04.html ( on employee privacy at workplaces)
http://stdwww.iimahd.ernet.in/~sandeepk/Fasttrack.pdf (Developing fast track leaders)
http://ideas.repec.org/p/ess/wpaper/id1018.html ( on HRIS)
http://conspiringwithmysoul.blogspot.com/search/label/employee%20attrition (employee attrition)
http://stdwww.iimahd.ernet.in/~sandeepk/merger.pdf (mergers and acquisition)
http://stdwww.iimahd.ernet.in/~sandeepk/esade.pdf (corporate entreprenuership)

Some I think I do not have soft copy links and some are not worth publishing here ! Anyways will keep on updating the list

Reasons for the blog

2009-02-05T21:33:00.000+05:30

A conversation with a friend and professional colleague initiated this blog for me. Broadly I see three reasons for this blog and its very clear in front of me.
a) To give general advise on research/studies in the field of HR
b) Put up my own publications as a link
c) To provide useful links in the field of HR

I hope to start with the second objective and the first posting would be the same.