Article on Power at Work Place Organiza ons are fundamentally poli cal en es, and power and influence are keys to ge ng things done. For aspiring leaders, it is important to be able to diagnose organiza onal poli cs in order to form and implement new strategies. The ar cle dwells on the best ways to acquire power is to construct a posi ve image and reputa on, in part by co-op ng others to present you as successful and effec ve. Pay par cular a en on to the people holding posi ons you aspire to. If someone is seen to prosper, there is a social psychological tendency for observers to decide that the lucky person must have done something to deserve his good fortune. He or she becomes a be er person simply by virtue of the observed rewards. Success, however achieved, will promote efforts to find the many posi ve virtues in those who are successful – thereby jus fying their success. People want the world to be controllable and predictable, thus they want to believe the world is just, and thus if you behave by the rules you will be all right, or if you fail to follow the rules bad things will happen. Hand-me-down management formulas reinforce this false belief. People are afraid of setbacks and implica ons for their self-image; so they o en don't do all they can to increase their power. Get over yourself and beyond your concerns with self-image, or, for that ma er, the percep on others have of you. Others aren't worrying or thinking about you that much anyway! They are mostly concerned with themselves. Poli cs vs. Performance. People who had more poli cal skill received higher performance evalua ons and were rated as more effec ve leaders. As long as you keep your boss of bosses happy, performance really does not ma er that much and, by contrast, if you upset them, performance won't save you. One of the biggest mistakes people make is thinking that good performance – job accomplishments – is sufficient to acquire power and avoid organiza onal difficul es. Consequently, people leave too much to chance and fail to effec vely manage their careers. Quali es That Build Power the two fundamental dimensions that dis nguish people who rise to great heights and accomplish great things are will, the drive to take on big challenges, and skill, the capabili es required to turn ambi on into accomplishment. The three personal quali es embodied in will are ambi on, energy and focus. People o en promote those with energy because of the importance of being able to work hard and also because expending great energy signals a high degree of organiza onal commitment, and, presumably, loyalty. With Focus, make sure you concentrate on those ac vi es within your par cular job or posi on that are the most cri cal – that have the most impact on ge ng work done and on others' percep ons of you and your effec veness. Par cularly talented people o en have many interests and many opportuni es and can't choose among them. You are more likely to acquire power by narrowing your focus and applying your energies, like the sun's rays, to a limited range of ac vi es in a small number of domains. The four skills useful in acquiring power are self-knowledge and a reflec ve mindset, confidence and the ability to project selfassurance, the ability to read others and empathize with their point of view, and a capacity to tolerate conflict. Conflict is extremely effec ve for the perpetrator. Because most people are conflict-averse, they avoid difficult situa ons and difficult people, frequently acceding to requests or changing their posi ons rather than paying the emo onal price of standing up for themselves and their views. In other words, you need to build your personal brand and promote yourself, and not be too shy in the process. People's support for you will depend as much on whether or not you appear to be “winning” as on charm or ability. Research shows that a tudes follow behavior – if we act in a certain way, over me our a tudes follow. If we act friendly toward and adversary whose help we need, we will come to feel friendlier as well. Having resources is an important source of power only if you use those resources strategically to help others whose support you need, in the process gaining their favor. Networking skills are important and the networks you create are an important resource for crea ng influence. Power and influence comes not just from the extensiveness of your network and the status of its members, but also from your structural posi on within that network. People a ribute power to individuals who are central. People actually conferred more status on people who expressed anger rather than sadness. If you express anger, not only do you receive more status and power and appear more competent, but also others are reluctant to cross you. A bad temper is a powerful tool because most people don't like confronta on. The fundamental principles for building the sort of reputa on that will get you a high-power posi on are straigh orward: make a good impression early, carefully delineate the elements of the image you want to create, use the media to help build your visibility and burnish your image, have others sing your praises so you can surmount the self-promo on dilemma, and strategically put out enough nega ve but not fatally damaging informa on about yourself that the people who hire and support you fully understand any weaknesses and make the choice anyway. First, people start forming impressions of you in the first few seconds or even milliseconds of contact. To survive in the new world, managers need to be visible, marketable, and above all, mobile. Reference: “Power” by Jeffrey Pfeffer By Ms. Sonia Paul & Ms. Anindita Cha erjee
Campus news This month saw exam fervour among all students – PG and UG, working hard to complete and clear their end semester and end term exams respec vely. Simultaneously students were also involved in prepara ons for the various events coming up in February 2017 – the Interna onal PRME conference; I-fest – the intercollege cultural fes val, and the Intercollege Vivekanand Memorial debate.
Interna onal Faculty on Campus This month IILM has two foreign faculty visi ng their Lodhi Road campus to address students on relevant topics. Prof Margaret Osborne from Seneca College, Canada, has over 30 years if rich and varied experience. At present she is the Ac ng Chair, School of Marke ng, Seneca College. In India at IILM, she will be addressing our students on the topic Marke ng of Services. Prof Dorthe Bolhbro from Aarhus Academy, Denmark, describes herself as a highly engaged lecturer in the areas of supply chain management, organiza onal behaviour and leadership, project management and change management with a background in business consultancy and ERP. She has several years of experience as a business consultant in logis cs and SCM, has also worked as a project manager in IT implementa on projects. She has spent the last 4 years as a people manager at the Business Academy Aarhus. In India, at IILM, she is taking Supply Chain Management classes for our PGDM students. Both interna onal faculty conducted FDPs at the Lodhi Road campus. Both sessions were well received by the faculty.
Interna onal Students on Campus 6 Interna onal Students from IILM's partners Ins tu ons in France and Canada, are pursuing an exchange semester at IILM from February 1- April 15, 2017. · Ms. Charlo e Leger - ESC Rennes School of Business, France · Ms. Heloise De Lafforest - ESC Rennes School of Business, France · Mr. Colbert Gendreau- ESG Quebec Montreal, Canada · Ms. Marie Laure Mar n- ESG Quebec Montreal, Canada · Mr. Alexandra De Caffarelli- ESCE Interna onal Business School , France · Ms. Capucine Cedoz-ESCE Interna onal Business School , France
Book Review - India's Long Road: The Search for Prosperity India's long Road – The search for prosperity is a serious book on Indian economy yet quite an accessible book to lay readers. The strength of the book lies in providing a realis c picture of the poten al as well as constraints in the path of India's economic development. In giving a balanced perspec ve, the author of the book, Vijay Joshi, goes into the details of the different aspects of structural constraints affec ng India's economy. The book can serve as a good reference point for managers and policy makers to deepen their understanding of economic forces which shape India. A er 25 years of India's economic reforms, it is high me one should look at the successes and failures in right perspec ve. The comparison with China can also help in understanding in terms of what needs to be done over the next 25 years to realize the economic poten al of India. Vijay Joshi is emeritus fellow of Merton College, University of Oxford. He has previously coauthored two authorita ve books on Indian Economy with Ian Li le of Oxford University. This book, while accessing what has been achieved and not achieved in the past, also looks at the future in addi on to giving some prescrip on. The added advantage is that the author has brought in the elements of poli cal economy. India's economic policy is intermeshed with poli cs and the cacophony of voices of the democra c system. There is an interes ng take given by the author as to what needs to be done to get high quality growth. The book can help the reader understand the framework of public policy in India. He sets the context for the reader in the first chapter. The author writes “Though India's economic advance now a racts hyped up predic ons and exaggerated hopes. I have the sense that the founda ons of its success are fragile. That India will eventually become a prosperous country is all but certain. The ques on is how long this will take”. He wrestles with these issues in each chapter to understand the structural problems affec ng the Indian economy and that makes the book easy to read with deep insights. Even if it is pessimis c in its tone, it borders on being far more realis c.
The book is divided into five parts and in thirteen chapters. Part 1 sets the stage in which he goes into India's economic story from 1947 to 2016. He also looks at the rela onship between the state and the market. The second part of the book is named “The growth challenge” in which the author goes into the details about the issues of capital and produc vity and employment. The issues of demographic dividends as well as the employment problems are discussed. Part 3 of the book is termed Stability and Inclusion which emphasizes the requirements of macroeconomic stability and the overview of the efforts made in the area of educa on, health and social protec on. The fourth part is the most interes ng one in which the author analyzes the poli cal economy and India's connec on with the world. The book also dwells on what is to be done to bring in high quality growth and policy framework of Modi government. The nuanced approach to differen ate high economic growth and high quality economic growth which spurs social development too is the high point of the book. It has taken the posi on beyond the ideological divide in India between progrowth and pro-social development. The author has rightly iden fied the weakness of the Indian state, its delivery mechanism to bring about high quality growth. He has also iden fied the framework in which the Modi government is trying to effect change. The data sets at the end of each chapter help the reader to develop an understanding from the number perspec ve. Without data, the economic story becomes anecdotal and too journalis c. The author is a seasoned economist with deep knowledge about the Indian economy. But with the data, Pessimism also tends to set in. The weakness of the book lies in being too academic for the lay person. Some bit of storytelling and a few photographs would have brightened up the book. If you want to understand a serious and realis c book on Indian economy and state, this is a must read for any intelligent manager, policy maker and academic.
The Curse of Cash Author: Vijay Joshi Publisher: Penguin-Allen Lane Pages: 421 Price: Rs 699
Rahul Mishra
Associate Professor, IILM
Alumni Profile Asheesh Jain IILM PGDM Batch of 1997
Senior Vice President & Head - Branch Distribu on - India Royal Bank of Scotland September 2013 – Present (3 years 4 months) Responsible to deliver the Retail Bank's P&L target across Balance Sheet and Wealth Products, thru the Branch Banking Channel. Redefining the Retail Banking landscape in India, by crea ng a limitless reach for clients through the Enhanced Digital Banking and Alternate Channel Penetra on. Ensure flawless Client Servicing and Immaculate Opera ons at branches, resul ng in Clean Audit Scores.
Asheesh has been associated with the Financial Services industry for over 18 years. Founda on in Corporate Finance, followed by Consumer Loans (secured and unsecured) for over 4 years. Since 2004, reassigned to Branch Banking as a Branch Manager and subsequently managed Large Teams affiliated to the Wealth Management and Liabili es Business with the bank. A Strong marke ng manager with a breadth of P&L experience. In-depth understanding of Banking Products and Processes across Assets and Liabili es businesses and a detailed experience of Rela onship Banking and Wealth Management .