This
is the third and final part of the case study. Part
I was carried in the issue dated 21 July.
Sheela Pai pulled up by the side of the road
to take a call on her mobile. She had only 20 minutes
to get to Eleck India, but her nephew, Vinod, was
sounding annoyed and she had to hear him out. "I
have tried all I could, but not anymore," he
said referring to his employers. Sheela heard him
out patiently, but strangely Eleck India CEO Pranoy
Guha's words rang in her mind. The previous evening,
he had called her for an urgent meeting. Four of
the seven MBAs she had placed at Eleck as management
trainees (MTs) wanted to leave. "I am sure
you took care while hiring them, but what has gone
wrong? Not us at least!" Guha had said.
Take Vinod for instance. He had turned 25 only last
week and he was already close to being confirmed
as an assistant manager at Greywell India. Come
November, his probationary period would be complete,
but today's call made it clear that was not to be.
For Vinod had just had a serious exchange with his
boss over the period of his training and the outcome
was that he was told that he should either toe the
line or find another job. "Maami, I know you
will say: 'First get your confirmation and then
say your piece.' But that won't change things; this
situation will recur. They will meaninglessly put
me through long periods of training and I don't
want to wait any more. I think I will go back to
theatre where I was happy being myself," he
said.
To this Sheela patiently said: "Even theatre
is a place where you have to manage your environs.
Managing is also about your environment, Vinod,
and also about taking correction when it is offered.
You have had the wisdom to know you spoke harshly
- that's a good starting point, isn't it? Your bosses
hold their designations and place after years of
experience and, more importantly, after having gone
through confusion in their early careers."
But Vinod was bristling. "Look Maami, I cannot
wait till the whole world grows up; maybe I am not
designed for this bullock cart. I will shoot for
myself, live for passion." Sheela ended the
call with: "That is not bad either, but I suggest
you resolve the situation first before choosing
another option. One thing at a time, what?"
she had said trying to sound cheery. Before she
could start her car, her brother called to appraise
her of what had happened. "Put some sense into
his head, Sheela," he whispered. "At this
rate, he will not be able to build a career for
himself."
"Bhaiyya, don't worry," said Sheela. "Mistakes
have to be managed gently and I am sure even his
bosses realise this. Besides, Vinod is also sensible.
But he must know that he has to negotiate his temper
and his knowledge on his own. His problem is not
that he has no sense, but that he is in a big hurry.
And he'll even learn to manage that speed if we
don't come down on him heavily."
Driving to Eleck, Sheela thought about Vinod's 'live
for passion'. "What should Vinod's call be?"
she asked herself. "Do I tell him: 'Passion,
too, will fade out, become so mundane that a few
years down the line, you will doubt whether you
shoot for yourself or you don't', or do I allow
him the luxury of this decision whose outcome is
difficult to gauge?'"
Eerily enough, the problem was awaiting her at Eleck.
Again, four young trainees were opting to leave.
"What ails them," wondered Sheela. "Or
is something wrong with the way our companies are
growing?"
Then she thought about her own youth 18 years ago.
Admittedly, today's generation is made of a different
fabric, but do we recognise that? What are we doing
to look after and tend to our youth? When I was
24 years old and angry, I was willing to wait because
I saw hope and there was hope because I think my
boss' generation and my generation were both hoping
to 'meet'. Somewhere our horizons met. Or rather
we believed they met. But today's youth have drawn/painted
their own horizons. They see things that we just
don't see. Or, our limited horizons appeared on
their radar much before, even while they were at
college and they have already overcome that. It's
possible many are fumbling and angry and impatient.
The fact also was that today's generation did not
face much social suffering like in the 1980s, she
thought. So they could devote all their energy to
a career or passion. Vinod was one such example.
With both parents working, he did not have to think
about a career for their comfort. Her brother and
his wife would superannuate respectably and that
allowed Vinod the luxury of chasing 'passion'.
As a senior consultant with placement firm Rexxon
Consultants, Sheela had been to numerous campuses
and met the new youth as they readied themselves
to burst into the world outside the safe confines
of their protected environments. They all spoke
alike, 'it's a dynamic world', but what was their
definition of dynamic?
Numerous campus interviews ran through her mind.
She could almost hear in one chorus their words
during the interviews - their expectations from
industry, their vision of a career, their goals
and the direction they took, and how they saw companies
fitting into their vision as against their fitting
into a company's vision! Did organisations prepare
themselves for this new mindset?
Have they discovered what new horsepower drives
the new young? Why are companies looking at younger
workforce and how, if at all, are they managing
those aspirations? Have they consciously thought
it through? For 30 years, there was a certain
profile they had stayed with. Post-liberalisation,
the effort was mostly spent on shaping compensation
practices, some also examined cultural matching
and fitment.
Then there was some look at management development
- upgrading knowledge because of technological
movements, and succession planning even among
companies that did not use superior HR techniques.
But now we are looking at a new generation of
candidates! What are we doing, she asked herself
again.
Sheela knew one thing for certain - today's management
schools, big or small, were led by teachers who
had a clearer view of the world outside. Uncluttered
by the pull and tug of workplace politics, these
men and women were able to see the dynamics more
clearly. But who said workplaces came without
interpersonal conflicts and wars? In any case,
as teachers they had played their role exceedingly
well. Able to view the imminent changes, these
teachers had bravely upgraded the syllabus, introduced
the most difficult tools and taught their wards
faster and more than they had done even four years
ago.
So enthused were they to send their students into
the brave new world that they drew a halo around
the students and made corporates look like simple
folk awaiting the coming of the Messiah. But leave
all that aside, she thought, even if they did
not do that, could growth have been kept away
from this generation? With the Internet just a
click away, the world of information was at their
feet; actually closer to their fingertips, she
grinned.
Yet it was only two years ago that so many corporates
had cribbed that graduate school curriculum had
to be upgraded. And management schools simply
went and upgraded not just the curriculum, they
went and put in a whole array of computers and
high-powered Internet connections so that access
to information was simplified leaving more time
to evaluate and analyse.
Thereafter, the students learnt on their own.
The wonderful outcome was that from a position
where companies usually chose students from the
IIMs, the quality from the second-line colleges
also improved dramatically, bringing in a wider
choice of students. So growth was happening as
much in Ambala as it was in Ahmedabad, she mused.
But it was also happening among a number of multinational
companies that claimed they had upgraded their
environment in line with their group companies
worldwide. Was that true, or was it just a hollow
claim? Sheela had placed MBAs in a number of companies
and, over the last one year, she had come to sense
a strong undercurrent of emotions. She knew exactly
what Guha would say. Others had said it too. "They
are young, enthusiastic and they go overboard,...
too much, cross all limits." What exactly
had happened with Vinod? It would be necessary
to know.
Guha met her with characteristic warmth. "It's
good you are only 40 years old and not 54 like
me!" said Guha mirthfully. "You are
closer in age to these youngsters and may be able
to tell me if it's all this Coke-and-burger diet
that is making them so hyper!" Sheela laughed
too and listened to him patiently as Guha explained.
"Look we really do think they are exceptionally
bright, but they are unable to listen to reason.
It was my idea that we enlist the trainees and
not our usual middle-level managers for the new
project evaluation. But these boys have already
concluded the evaluation, they have almost decided
for me!
"Now my middle-level boys will never do that.
They will prepare detailed notes, discuss with
their seniors and only after they have agreed
will they present any data to me. But here these
boys do not even consider my CFO's verdict! They
have already told him his decision is wrong, can
you believe that? My CFO is a very learned man,
a chartered accountant and a cost accountant with
27 years behind him. Every capital decision I
have made since I took over 14 years ago has been
with his guidance. And it's not as if he is outdated
or something. Last year, I sent him to one of
the refresher courses that the management schools
have for senior managers. I do take care to upgrade
my home skills."
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