EDITOR’S NOTE TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
I love talking about nothing, because this is the only thing i know anything about. Oscar Wilde
The year 2011 just passed with the blink of an eye and 2012, with all its speculations, has begun. Let us welcome it with new hope and especially with the standpoint of economic growth and prosperity. Not only has this year brought a sense of excitement but it has also opened doors for new possibilities. And the best way to plan for new year is to evaluate and research what worked and what didn’t work last year. The resolutions should be integrated with intention. The craft is to shelter new ideas without alienating yourself from them. But as the economic and political crisis of our country goes the best resolution could be the establishment of the ideas that would help us burgeon as one. The 17th edition of Manager Today includes the interviews of Mr. Asad Umar, President Engro Corporation Ltd., he has played a vital role in the expansion and magnificent growth of business and revenues of his company. Mr. Muhammed Ali, Chairman, SECP, he has an extensive experience of financial and corporate markets, spread over 20 years in Asia, Europe and North America., Dr. Nadeem Ul Haque, who is the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission of Pakistan, Isphanyar M. Bhandara, CEO, Muree Brewery and last but not the least Major Ijaz, Chairman, Ali Akbar Group. Then we have our informative articles. We can’t say that the amazing tasks achieved by our forefathers would be lost in oblivion, rather posterity would still be able to retain them in their memory because of their high-impact legacy. Kamaran Rizvi sheds some light on ‘Everlasting Leadership’. Whether it was our fault or the unexpected turn of events that Pakistan floundered, Ahmed Kapadia has an excellent piece of writing in store for you that would definitely shake the patriotic spirit of all Pakistanis. Shivakumar explains how winning in emerging markets is essential to grow. Hussam K. Qasmi puts forward that attention to grow and develop people is as important as growing processes. Naseem Zafar Iqbal scrutinizes essentials of leadership and the traits of a leader. Want to prepare beforehand for your first job after graduation, the article by Nahil Mahmood is extremely useful in this context. Tazeen Nauman underscores the power and benefits that working women in Pakistan can bring to their homes as well as their nation. And lastly, in this edition, we have roped in the section of poetry for the very first time. Apart from the moral and political questions raised about our nation, we can only thrive by taking into account the bright side. Amna Ali gives us a reason to take pride in what we have. Our nation should resonate our ideology, it is only because of the love and devotion to our country that we can make it through.
IJAZ NISAR
Founder & President Manager Today ijaz.nisar@managertoday.pk
Mail Box have been to U.S.A for many years. When I first saw Manager Today, I couldn’t stop comparing it with American magazines, devoted for professional development. I am glad that Manager Today, being a Pakistani magazine, has attained a high standard of content, layout and printing quality. Our country is full of extremely talented people and I’m proud of them for being able to produce quality work in tough social and economic conditions. Keep it up.
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DR. ANEEQ AHMED Associate Professor Department of Psychology Henderson State University USA. hat an inspirational concept your magazine has brought to the world of corporate journalism. And what a superb first choice it has become for the entrepreneurs, I look forward to every issue earnestly. Every article reflects the true essence of ‘Manager Today’.
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M.SHAHID SIDDIQUE CST ZTE Chinese Telecom would like to thank you for publishing the articles on the subject of leadership. We live in a society where this issue is still not being addressed properly. The youth is not cared for on this front, but hats off to you for putting forward some really great tips. We truly need more leaders to make this world a better place to live in. Without such endeavors, it would be really easy for us to slip into anonymity. TAIMOOR KHAN Lahore
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’m very much into reading the interviews of great personalities. And every time I read one in your magazine, I cannot help but jump in delight. The last issue had the interviews of Sidra Iqbal and Javed Leghari, both are prominent and influential personalities. I enjoyed reading their views and these interviews always leave an indelible impression on my mind. I hope to find such inspiration all through your coming issues. AHMED BILAL Lahore
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have always been reluctant to go by a good reading material without adding it to my personal library. It has been a long time since I have subscribed to Manager Today magazine, and I must say that I have saved every issue, even the very first one. The magazine is so remarkable that it has made me more of a hoarder than a collector.
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BEENISH RAHMAN Islamabad s much as I like Sidra, I was also quite impressed by her views on entrepreneurship and success. How she has managed to excel in her field and despite all odds, succeeded in her endeavors. Brimming with confidence, stories of these women who start a business of their own and juggle many responsibilities would serve as a lesson for the women to overcome challenges and turn their dreams into reality.
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ALIYA AHMED Karachi
INSPIRED? MOTIVATED? DID YOU LIKE WHAT YOU READ? If you find ManagerToday inspirational for the personal and professional development, do inform us. You can also contribute your articles, suggestions and recommendations at: Email: managertoday@hotmail.com, info@managertoday.pk, Website: www.managertoday.pk Ph: 042 35792066, 0300 883 8428, 0300 4521298, 0300 8167229 Don’t forget to mention your full name, postal address and phone number on your letters. Find us on:
PCPB # 303-M OCT-NOV,2011
MANAGER TODAY Editor-in-Chief IJAZ NISAR Associate Editor Wali Zahid Assistant Editor RABAIL ABBAS Designer SHAH JAHAN (SHANI)
14 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Transformational Leader ASAD UMAR President, Engro Corporation Ltd.
20 LEADERSHIP Everlasting leadership
Marketing & Sales Manager HASEEB NISAR 0300 816 7229 Marketing Manager FAHAD IQBAL 0346 468 8536 Business Development Manager M. SAQIB SHEHZAD 0300 883 8428 0300 844 5208 LEARNING & OD MANAGER SOMIA ISHAQ ASST. LEARNING MANAGER KANWAL EJAZ Photographer KAMRAN Contributors PHILIP S. LALL ATIF TUFAIL BAKHTIAR KHAWAJHA SALIM GHAURI KAMRAN RIZVI ANDLEEB ABBAS MASOOD ALI KHAN Legal Advisor MUHAMMAD ZULFIQAR ALI BUTAR Publisher MANAGER TODAY Printer QASIM NAEEM ART PRESS HEAD OFFICE MANAGER TODAY PL-11 SIDDIQUE TRADE CENTRE MAIN BOULEVARD, GULBERG III LAHORE Tel: 0423-579 2066 Cell: 0300 452 1298 0300 816 7229 0300 844 5208 email: info@managertoday.pk managertoday@hotmail.com website:www.managertoday.pk www.leadingedge.com.pk
Apathy can kill our ability to lead and make a lasting positive difference. Pretense is our worst enemy. Not to see the leadership capability within you as an enduring phenomenon is to miss the point.
22 REFLECTIONS Belief & Betrayal: Where do we stand today?
24 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Professionalism Personified MUHAMMAD ALI Chairman, SECP
28 LEADERSHIP Leadership Are you & your team on the same page Undoubtedly the effective onboarding of new employees takes time and effort, but it will pay big-time for both the employer and the new hires in the long run.
32 ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Organizational Development: an HRM’s perspective Learning can never be random, there has to be a purpose to it. And the purpose is to modify behavior which, in turn, modifies processes. Organizational development is not about developing people only, its about developing processes.
34 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Pakistan’s Strategic Planner DR. NADEEM UL HAQUE Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission of Pakistan
38 CUSTOMER SERVICE ‘Winning in emerging markets’ The emerging market consumer is young, has an affinity for brands and is technologically savvy.
40 CAREER DEVELOPMENT 8 Eight Steps To Excel In Your First Job After Graduation
42 WOMEN EMPOWERMENT Working women in Pakistan In Pakistani household, work is considered to be a woman’s primary role. Due to the increase of economic pressures on families in the past few decades, the traditional restrictions on women have lessened and large numbers of women have taken on paid employment.
44 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Visionary Entrepreneur MAJ. (R) IJAZ MUHAMMAD KHAN Chairman, Ali Akbar Group
52 ENTREPRENEUR Enterprising Entrepreneur ISPHANYAR M. BHANDARA CEO, Murree Brewery
MANAGER TODAY’S
CONTRIBUTORS
AHMED KAPADIA
comes from a very respectable middle-class family. His grandfather, a homeopathic doctor, migrated with his family from Abrahma, a small village in Indian Gujrat, in 1947 (after partition) to Karachi, Pakistan. The family bought a house and settled near Gurumander in the heart of the city – Karachi. Ahmed grew up in a home where the house would be always full of visiting patients who were there to seek treatment from his grandfather. Sometimes a nominal charge was taken, but most of the time, the patients were given free treatment. The family and their kindness became so well-known that the house they lived in became a landmark and hence a tribute to the family’s contribution towards the betterment of humanity.
NASEEM ZAFAR
is the founder of wilderness based leadership development concept in Pakistan. His research oriented Integrated Leadership Development Initiative involves extensive participant profiling, the wilderness based leadership program, personal development agenda through a statistical analysis based competency assessment program and oneon-one coaching.His work with the organizations as a trainer during the last 15 years for the senior and middle management has had a profound impact in developing leadership pipelines.
KAMRAN RIZVI
pioneered the personal-improve ment and OD movement in Pakistan in 1991, after working for fourteen years in retail and commercial banking in the Middle East and the UK. He is the Founding Director, Trainer, Executive Coach, Keynote speaker and Consultant at Navitus, a leading organizational development (OD) consulting and training firm in the country.He also serves on the board of School of Leadership (SoL) in Pakistan, best known for its flagship program, the Young Leaders’ Conference (YLC). He has specialized in behavioral and organizational change and is a well-known inspirational speaker. Kamran can be reached at kamran.rizvi@navit us.biz.
NAHIL MAHMOOD
is a seasoned IT professional with over 14 years of experience of working in the telecoms and banking sectors in Pakistan. He is a frequent speaker at the leading IT conferences in Pakistan and also writes regularly for leading magazines. His passion is to develop and guide young graduates and professionals to reach their full God-given talents.
HUSSAM K. QASMI
Following his MBA from the University of Wales & undergraduate from Curtin Business School, Australia, Hussam has stepped in hospitality industry with Hotel One and is now working as Manager HR there, looking after 9 properties of it.
TAZEEN NAUMAN
is an HR Expert. She holds a Masters Degree in International Relations and is an MBA (HR), a certified HR professional, Trainer, Speaker and HR Practitioner. She has been associated with the field of HR for the last 10 years. By profession, she has worked in multinational organizations as the Senior HR Manager for Pakistan. Presently, she is working in a renowned government organization as Manager Personnel. She is associated with some non-profit organizations and actively participates in enhancement of personal and professional quality of the volunteers and management through designing and imparting trainings, hence playing pivotal role in managing human capital and administrating projects.
D SHIVAKUMAR AMNA ALI
is currently the Managing Director and VP of Nokia, India. From January 1, 2012, Shiv has been handling India, Middle East and Africa for Nokia as the Senior VP, based out of Dubai. Shiv is an Engineer and an MBA. He is essentially a Marketer and a General Manager. He has run more than 34 brands, over two decades, in his career . Having grown every brand and business he has been associated with, Shiv is a ‘growth’ manager. He has a track record of building brands, developing people and bringing creative and innovative business model solutions in the categories and industries that he has worked in.
is a versatile writer, inclined to social issues currently & seeking to engrave poetry on business aspects inspired by market needs. For her, craze of writing could be interpreted as a born instinct. Writing is her strength, weakness, thirst, hunger & everything. In other words perceiving an astonishing idea, playing with words and carving it on a sheet enlivens and grows her soul. She believes writing can mark immense difference in masses by changing their cognitive framework. She has won numerous poetry competitions held by different universities like British News Letter and CFE. She is an honorary graduate in English Language & Literature. Amna Says, “Dear comrade! Let’s bid farewell to anthropocentric land. We are betteroff with ideology grand”.
14 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Transformational
ASAD UMAR President, Engro Corporation Ltd. Starting off as a simple fertilizers company, Engro Corp has firmly established itself as a leading business entity in a number of other areas such as energy and FMCG, and is now aspiring to be a truly global company in the times to come. This phenomenal success in a wide variety of fields, in a short span of time, can rightly be attributed to its brilliant innovative techniques, futuristic vision, excellent managerial expertise and highly competitive spirit. With more than quarter of a century of practical professional experience, its current President & CEO, Mr. Asad Umar has played a pivotal role in its triumphant expansion, leading to its magnificent growth in terms of business ventures and revenue generation. In the following interview with the “Manager Today� he has explained some of the factors, which have contributed to the resounding success of his company, hence making it a role model for others.
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IJAZ NISAR WALI ZAHID
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Would you like to throw light on the process of Engro’s amazing transformation from a mere chemicals company to its present massive setup, dealing with FMCG and other fields? Engro Corp was initially associated with chemicals and fertilizers, in which it excelled and made rapid progress. Encouraged by our early successes, we decided to embark upon other business ventures, most importantly, the FMCG business, of which we had absolutely no previous experience. As a matter of fact, we were ridiculed and considered to be fanatical when we unveiled our new projects to the general public. However, with consistent team efforts and determination, we took up the challenge and have made significant headway in the FMCG business. We are now making concerted efforts to become a global company, with our brands selling
across the country and in north America . This elaborate/ comprehensive agenda of ours may take some time for its full implementation, but keeping in view our current rate of growth and expansion, we are very much hopeful to achieve our set targets. You have just hinted at your goals for the distant future, what are your plans for the next few years? During the next few years, we hope to complete two major energy projects. One of them is related to power generation from Thar coal deposits, which are the largest coal deposits in our country. Environmental, social and other forms of assessment have been completed and now, we are only waiting for the government to complete its work on infrastructure. The second project is the import of LNG as a short-term solution for overcoming the extreme shortage of gas in our coun-
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try. We are one of those very few companies which are in the advanced stage of this process. Moreover, in the next few years, we intend to accelerate the pace of our expansion of the food portfolios, including ice cream, milk and rice. In this connection, the model farm built by us a few years ago has been of considerable help. In what ways has your model farm been helpful to you? By bringing to this farm high quality imported animals with high yield, we wished to demonstrate their potential benefits for our country. Immediately after our successful experience, many people following our footsteps imported high quality animals for their farms. Secondly, this farm has proved to be of immense value from the point of view of research. We have applied several new techniques and methodologies for improving the yield of milk. We believe that by applying the learnings that we have obtained from our work on the farm, we will be able to produce high quality milk at a competitive price and it will help us in the long run. You have just pointed out that your company had no previous experience of FMCG business. In spite of that, how were you able to achieve such high levels of success?
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Being fully aware of the fact that we were unaware of the technicalities and complexities involved in this business, we hired the services of those who had extensive experience and expertise of the FMCG sector. Our CEO for this particular venture had been the country head of Pepsi in Pakistan. Similarly, marketing and sales directors had previously been with renowned FMCGs. After putting together this team of highly talented people, who knew the pros and cons of this business, we empowered them so that they could take decisions independently for the promotion of the business. Afterwards, we deliberately pursued a highly aggressive business model, which resulted in heavy losses in the beginning, but gradually, we turned those losses into profits and generated about thirty billion rupees of revenue in the first six years of operation. The third and perhaps the most striking ingredient of our successful strategy was our emphasis on innovative techniques in a competitive spirit with world class companies. We attempted to do something different, new and innovative and the best example in this connection has been our tea brand, known as Tarang, which has been a huge success, be16 | MANAGER TODAY | www.managertoday.pk
cause it was innovative in its formulation, marketing and every other aspect. In these tough economic times, what recipe of success do you propose for FMCG companies? In this highly competitive world and atmosphere of global economic recession and downturn, only those companies can hope to be crowned with success which are closer to the consumers and aware of their needs and come up with some practicable strategies for meeting their needs better than others. If some company is competent and capable enough to do that, it would be a win-win situation for it. This is exactly what we are trying to do. In this age of soaring inflation, skyrocketing prices, massive job cuts and rising unemployment, the main pre-occupation for most the consumers is spending less money and getting better things. Realizing this all-important
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need of our people, we endeavour to introduce such products which are not only relatively cheaper in price, but are still good in quality, health, nutrition and taste. The glorious success of this well-thought-out strategy manifested itself in the form of our tea brand, Tarang. As soon as it was introduced in the market, it began to attract more and more people because it afforded them a wonderful opportunity to buy a good quality tea at a reasonable price. What type of culture have you promoted in Engro as an institution? Self-centered and egotistical people have done much harm to the institutions of our country because they want their institutions to revolve around them. But this is not the case with Engro, whose strength mainly lies in its ability to flourish as an institution, in
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PROFILE: Asad Umar is the President of Engro Corporation Limited since January 2004, the Chairman of all Engro subsidiaries and joint ventures and CEO of Engro Fertilizers Limited. He was also the first President of Engro Polymer & Chemicals Ltd. He started his career with HSBC Pakistan and joined Exxon Chemical Pakistan Limited, later Engro Chemical Pakistan Limited in 1985. Umar is the Chairman of Pakistan Chemical & Energy Sector Skill Development Company and a member on the Boards of Pakistan Business Council, Karachi Education Initiative, Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance, State Bank of Pakistan and Trustee of LUMS. He has previously served as the Director of Oil & Gas Development Company Ltd., Karachi Stock Exchange, Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy, Pakistan State Oil and Port Qasim Authority. touch with various forms of business activities and encourage them to make presentation at the highest level. But above all, we spend huge amounts of money on the quality training of our supervisors, because without a properly trained, motivated and groomed supervisor, even the best appraisal system is bound to fail. Being the CEO of a large business organization, where men and women work together, what mechanism have you evolved to control sexual harassment?
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which everyone has a clearly defined role, accompanied by responsibility, authority and accountability. People don’t need to come to me for each and every decision and in fact, I have nothing to do with some of the most important decisions because people in every section have been authorized to take their own decisions in accordance with their responsibilities and roles. In this way, Engro continues to march forward as an institution, even if someone stays in it or leaves it. There are different dimension of business activity, such as finance, sales, marketing, manufacturing and HR, etc. Which of these do you like the most? With my MBA degree, I started my professional career from finance. Later on, I had a wonderful time dealing with sales and marketing. Then, I got in touch with manufacturing, which is the most organized and most
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structured component of business that offers maximum scope for practical learning and training. I have never worked in the HR department, but part of my job is identifying talent, nurturing and developing it and holding it accountable. Thus, directly or indirectly, I have been associated with almost all sectors of business, gaining valuable experience from each and every one of them. What strategies do you adopt for the proper training of your staff? We have an elaborate programme for the continuous training of our employees, from the lowest to the highest level. First of all, there is the functional training of employees, which is related to the nature of their jobs. Then, there is the leadership training, in which people are taught leadership skills, team skills and communication skills in the best possible manner. Managerial training, from the junior to the higher level, is also an integral feature of our training module. For the polishing of all the hidden talents of our employees and for their maximum exposure, we bring them in
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We have a highly developed mechanism for this purpose. It is a formal complaint system, which allows the people to register complaints even on anonymous bases. It is called ‘Speak Out’ programme. If someone feels that he or she has been sexually harassed, there is a due process to look at the complaint, investigate and take necessary actions. Such acts are taken very seriously in the organization to ensure that it is a fair and a safe place to work in. In addition to this, we encourage a very open and communicative culture in our organization, so that all the employees, male as well as female, may display their talents without any fear or harassment. Who in your opinion is a good manager and what are the hallmarks of your management style? Instead of depending upon textbook definitions, I believe that a good manager likes to do effectively and efficiently those things which need to be done. A good leader, on the other hand, does those things which should be done and which are not being done. Thus, a good leader always strives for change. At times, a great leader may not be a good manager and in the same way, a good manager may not always be a great leader. But the ideal situation is when a leader posseses managerial qualities and a manager pos-
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their own businesses and try to become entrepreneurs. The business of their choice must also be their passion. Otherwise, if they initiate a profession which does not delight them and is contrary to their tastes and interests, chances are that in the long run, they will suffer. Furthermore, for the success of their business, they must understand the needs of the consumers and come up with innovative techniques for meeting those needs. Are you satisfied with the quality of education being imparted to the students of our business schools? Top business schools like LUMS and IBA are surely producing excellent people capable of occupying top positions in the leading companies of the country. But the problem is that our business schools are mainly producing managers and executive officers, they are not producing entrepreneurs and genuinely creative leaders, capable of innovation and free thinking. Another major dilemma is that no emphasis is laid on promoting desirable ethical, moral and social values, which are so vital for the long-term success of any business. A general sense of despair and pessimism prevails in our country and we are made to believe that only those can succeed in our society, who are corrupt and who have shunned all moral values. But this is not the whole story. I can still quote examples of those who have strictly adhered to the canons of morality and despite that, have been extremely successful in business as well as politics. We need to promote such people (though they may be few in number) as role models among our youngsters, to remove their sense of despair and to create in them a sense of firm belief and conviction. To what extent are you fulfilling your corporate social responsibility? Our CSR Program targets communities around our areas of operation which are predominantly rural Sindh and now includes Central Punjab. As an organization, we are committed to spend 1% profit before tax on social projects. Key thematic areas are education, livelihoods, health and infrastructure improvements. Our social expenditure has been complemented through funding from USAID and PPAF for special projects. Implementation is done through Engro Foundation, where the Board of Trustees are Engro Companies’ CEOs. One of our key projects has been the construction of a Model Village to rehabilitate flood affected in Southern Punjab
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If some company is competent and capable enough to do that, it would be a win-win situation for it. This is exactly what we are trying to do. sesses leadership skills. My management style is informal, based on high emotional engagement, which urges me to confront the situation and to push for better results. During your interaction with the students at business institutions, what advice do you give them for their bright and prosperous career? I frankly tell them that only the people with limited potential like me should look for jobs, while the more talented ones must launch
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which has facilities like, solar powered electricity, dairy farming, livelihood programs, vegetable gardens, education, health programs, sanitation and grey water harvesting. But I am not so much satisfied with our overall CSR performance because we try to measure the level of our success by what we do, instead of analyzing the final outcome of our investment. In simpler terms, we can tell the number of students financed by us, but we don’t bother to assess the impact of our effort on their personalities, characters and their professional career in the long run. Who in your view is a happy man? I believe that a really happy man is the one who has learnt the art of deriving pleasure from small things in life. In other words, he knows how to enjoy every bit of the journey while never losing sight of the final destination. Perhaps, the best recipe for happiness and success in life is that we should always keep our feet on the ground and our eyes on the stars. In simple terms, while cherishing high ambitions, we should never forget to celebrate small successes. What are the main sources of inspiration for you in your life? My inspiration has always come from the poetry of Iqbal and from my reading of books dealing with literature, history, sports and wars etc. My father, who was a student assistant of Quaid-e-Azam, has also been a great source of inspiration. Would you like to recommend a book which our people must read for success in life? The book that I wish to recommend for this purpose is rather an unusual one. I strongly recommend that every citizen of Pakistan must read the country’s constitution in order to learn about the importance of rule of law and his own rights and duties as a citizen. You have just talked about rule of law. Are all jobs in Engro provided on merit? All job applications, whether from a federal minister or a security guard, are treated in exactly the same manner. All applicants are told to appear in the test and interview for selection and all appointments are made on merit. My elder brother’s eldest son, who had got 78 per cent marks from UET, applied for a job in Engro, but could not get it, as he didnot come up to our required standards. n
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20 LEADERSHIP KAMRAN RIZVI
O
Apathy can kill our ability to lead and make a lasting positive difference. Pretense is our worst enemy. Not to see the leadership capability within you as an enduring phenomenon is to miss the point
ur vision needs to encompass not only the moment which is about to come in the next few seconds and minutes, but it also needs to extend much beyond our lifetime. All great things were achieved with attention to detail to things in the immediate horizon as well as farsightedness. David McCullough in his HBR article1 shares his hopeful thought that, “I sense a great desire among people everywhere I go to get the country back on track, to improve education, improve performance in all fields and recover the old commitment to the common good. The world has a vested interest in
leadership Everlasting
how well we succeed in that; and make no mistake: It will take a lot of strong, enlightened leadership”. Such aspirations hold true when we embrace the goals that exceed our limited span of life on this planet. On one level (earthly), we are mortal beings, yet at another, we are eternal beings i.e. we return to where we came from. It is in the latter dimension that we need to excel in, to inspire and to achieve enduring and admirable outcomes. Everlasting leadership merits further reflection. We are pre-occupied with our mortality. Yet as human beings we are blessed with the capacity to become immortal through our deeds by continuing to live in the memo20 | MANAGER TODAY | www.managertoday.pk
ries of coming generations, long after we are gone. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and other legendary figures who we admire from our recent past and ancient history go on having a pervasive impact on us to this day. The thought behind Everlasting Leadership was inspired by a well known saying of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) who says that when we plan, we should plan as though we will never die but when it comes to action, we need to act, as though we may not get a second chance. Life is not only the time we have from birth to death. Life is more about how long our legacy reverberates through time, once we are dead and buried. Back in 1987, in the City of London, I met a colleague and friend of mine, Shahid Doha. He had recently returned from his honeymoon in Italy. Not having visited the country till then, I asked him to share some of the highlights from his experience with me. He took his time describing the beauty of the different cities that he visited. But, when he said, “We spent half a day marveling at the grandeur of St Mark’s Cathedral in Venice”, I was shocked. “Half a day??!! Staring at bricks and mortar?! You could just as easily have bought a few picture postcards of the cathedral and drawn delight from them!” He replied, “If only you knew the history of this cathedral, you would not have said this”. “What can be so unusual about its past?”, I remarked. As the story goes, there was a man called Mark, who, in around 1100 AD, when he was 50 years old, dreamt of a magnificent cathedral that glorified God. When he woke from his dream, he felt compelled to share with his brethren the majesty of what he saw. He became obsessed and commenced meticulously working on drawings and plans for constructing this beautiful structure, which he had seen in his mind’s eye. This process took him five years. By now he was 55. He shared his vision and plans with his family and friends and tried to recruit as many hands as he could muster. According to Mark’s esti-
mate, it would take around 350 to 400 years to build the cathedral! He knew at the outset, that the task that lay before him would go way beyond his expected lifespan. Yet, despite the odds, he managed to inspire his newly assembled team to get the project started. He passed away a few years later, as the foundations were being laid. Despite this, through several generations, his team of dedicated and committed men continued working relentlessly, enrolling the next generations to share and actively participate in converting his vision into reality. The job was finally accomplished, and today, St Mark’s Cathedral stands tall in testimony of a man who dreamt big. Imagine the faith he had in the people to see this mega project through. Feel the quality of the commitment and belief that each one of the thousands in this story must have displayed through successive generations. Try and visualize the succession process in which incumbents passed on what they knew to those who followed, and that too, without any dilution! No wonder Mark was labeled a saint. He thought of the possibility that existed way beyond his lifespan, in the faith that a process once commenced, will endure through people touched with the same everlasting spirit. Pakistan is just over sixty years old. Where are the leaders who have a grand and everlasting vision for our nation and for the humanity at large? You don’t have to look far for an answer. You are the one! Be the change you want to see in this world. This saying from Gandhi has almost become a cliché. What stops you from living this creed?
Our souls are eternal. What Dr. Wayne Dyre says is paradigm shifting: "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience History illustrates enduring leadership principles handed down through centuries by individuals from a variety of cultures and traditions. Courage, honesty, flexibility, vision, commitment and persistence are timeless nuggets, worth keeping in mind, in your repertoire of leadership. Michael Anthony Jackson 2 brings to the surface 21st century lessons that we can learn from the prominent personalities of the past. His book contains revealing short biographies of five well-known individuals, namely, Alexander the Great; Changez Khan; Hannibal, Elizabeth I and William the Conqueror. These personalities died centuries ago, but are they really dead? Lives of those considered dead long ago continue to guide us to this day. Their endurance comes from their high-impact legacy. Not entertaining eternity in your mind is to steal the 'soul' from the vital act of leadership that we can and must demonstrate in all walks life. Our souls are eternal. What Dr. Wayne Dyre says is paradigm shifting: "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”
Think about it. You admire people who faced great odds and challenged status quo wisely. They shared a daring and a beautiful dream, demonstrated courage and compassion and made inspiring contributions to society. In an HBR interview 3, David McCullough pointing to the need for leaders suggests: "We need leaders in every field, in every institution, in all kinds of situations. We need to be educating our young people to be leaders. And unfortunately, that's fallen out of fashion." He refers to leadership not being in fashion these days, particularly in the American context. I fear this trend is more widespread than we would like to believe. Apathy can kill our ability to lead and make a lasting positive difference. Pretense is our worst enemy. Not to see leadership capability within you as an enduring phenomenon is to miss the point. n
KAMRAN RIZVI is the Founding Director of Navitus.He can be reached at kamran.rizvi@navitus.biz.
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22 REFLECTIONS
Belief &
Betrayal: Where do we stand today?
AHMED KAPADIA
22 | MANAGER TODAY | www.managertoday.pk
oday, there are a number of negative and violent associations that can be made with Pakistan. It is not just the world which sees Pakistan through a tainted lens, we Pakistanis also do the same. What is the image that Pakistan now portrays? A terrorist harboring state, a country being slowly destroyed by corrupt rulers, a country where daily life is marred by power cuts and price hikes… All these images are a far cry from what Pakistan was meant to stand for - the Land of the Pure. A separate identity in which we kept on believing until someone stepped forward and made that dream a reality. A Superman - a Superman we called Quaid-e-Azam. With his team of superheroes, he made the dream of a separate identity a reality. And today, we honor their efforts with be-
trayal. A group of people became a team of superheroes for our sake and today we answer their achievements by the carelessness of our actions or rather non-actions. The separate identity for which Pakistan was created does not exist anymore. Because we didn’t create it, we feel no need to take responsibility for it. Since we didn’t bother to brand ourselves, everybody else did! While Newsweek recently headlined us as the “Most Dangerous Nation in the World”, other newspapers were printing headlines about the latest political crisis and economic problems. News channels, on the other hand, conveyed breaking news about another bomb blast. At the time when the whole world watched the devastation wreaked by the floods, our mass communication was saying entirely something else. They were describing a carefree Utopia of songs and dance and discussing political non-issues with no solution on the horizon. None of our advertisements, dramas or movies reflect the reality of our country. Instead, our media messages have been shallow-promoting a ‘live-by-themoment’ philosophy. It is high time that we stop being indifferent to our situation and break out of this vicious cycle. In all the messages we have been putting out there for the world, not once have we tried to understand how those messages are being interpreted and misused against us.
While the world has been watching the crisis and turmoil in Pakistan, we have stayed quiet and let them develop their own conclusions. Is it any wonder then that the conclusions they have drawn are so unfavorable? I don’t think the world has made a mistake when it has tried and judged us as shallow people given to the ignorance of our own best interests. We ourselves have promoted this view. Not only to the world but we have also somehow managed to convince ourselves that this is what Pakistan really is. We have led ourselves into oblivion to such an extent that we have stopped caring for what becomes of us as a nation. Now, when we hear of a bomb blast we are thankful to Allah because it could have been worse. The death toll could have been higher. We live for ourselves now! In the worst possible way, we have betrayed our own belief and, in the process, our own existence. We have no separate identity now but anonymity. We have nothing but conflicting messages to show for ourselves. We’re back to square one. Once again, we need a superman to save us. Once again we need a superman to bring to us our ‘separate identity’. Two choices lie in front of us today - either we could wait for a messiah or we can take our destiny into our own hands, like we once did before 1947. It would have to be one of us. It would have to be me or you. I believed in Pakistan. I betrayed Pakistan with my silence. And now I will be superman for Pakistan. I will stop
complaining and start doing because after all, heroism begins with one person. Great brands have great stories to tell and Pakistan is a great country. We need to start believing in our country and ourselves and narrate our story instead of giving others the right to do that for us. Other countries have been proactive in branding themselves. Through tourism campaigns and rehabilitation efforts, they have a voice that we associate with positivity. We didn’t know this voice, but they told us about it. Now, we need to find our voice. We may not be able to speak against the negative voices, but we can be louder with the positive ones. There is much goodness in Pakistan to be shared with the rest of the world. We are a nation of amazing people who have turned their personal stories into brands that have been acclaimed by the world. The names like Abdul Sattar Edhi, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Imran Khan are synonymous to success and achievement. We can’t change the way our cinema works but we can surely create better cinema like Khuda Kay Liye, a cinema that is talked about because it has a message to give and is something different and heart touching that has truth in it. Brands, leaders, intelligentsia, marketers, thinkers, journalists and all those who have the power to make a positive difference need to come together and think of a common message that needs to be sent out
of Pakistan. The kind of message our advertisements, our dramas and our cinemas need to carry about the good side of us and our country. I cannot control the content of our marketing but I can create more relevant content. Content that has something to tell the world about everything wonderful that Pakistan is, content that needs to be marketed like it is and tells the brand story of Pakistan in a compelling way. We need to know what we stand for and what our country stands for and we need to commit ourselves to promote it. What mustn’t be forgotten is the reason one needs to be a Superman. Pakistan needs me, but I need Pakistan more. I am an individual but my identity comes from Pakistan. That’s why it is my responsibility as well as the responsibility of 187 million Pakistanis to envision a bright future for our country and take ownership of it. We all need to ensure today that our every action will take us closer to the vision of a better tomorrow. It is time for us all to become Supermen for Pakistan, for ourselves as well as for our next generation. n
AHMED KAPADIA is a well known personality & media icon. He is also CEO Synergy.
www.managertoday.pk | MANAGER TODAY | 23
24 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW The Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) is presently being led by Mr. Muhammad Ali, its youngest Chairman, a man who has risen to this level of success by virtue of his exceptional talent, brilliant vision and diversified experience. Under his supervision, the SECP, as the statutory financial regulator for all sectors other than banks and DFIs, is striving to create the ideal circumstances for a strong, solid and vibrant corporate sector in Pakistan. The SECP aspires to ensure that through proper regulation and the provision of the requisite legal framework, the challenges and requirements of the highly competitive and commercialized world can be met by the capital markets, investment companies, insurance companies and corporations generally, in line with international benchmarks and standards. In an exclusive interview with Manager Today, Mr. Ali highlighted the key areas of focus by the SECP. Brimming with confidence and vibrant with dynamic energy and vigor, Mr. Ali has a revolutionary agenda for putting the business affairs of the country on the right track & to cope with the contemporary demands of the corporate world.
PROFESSIONALISM
PERSONIFIED MUHAMMAD ALI Chairman, SECP
Q:Would you like to share with our readers some of the details of your exceptionally brilliant professional career that led up to your present position as the youngest chairman of the SECP? After completing my MBA from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Karachi, I started my career with Citibank and moved on to Smith New Court Securities in London. In 1994, I finalized a joint venture with Indosuez W.I. Carr Securities, which is the Asian brokerage arm of Credit Agricole Indosuez and also led Indosuez W. I. Carr Securities, Pakistan for seven years. I also led the expansion of W.I. Carr’s business activities to Bangladesh and finalized the group’s strategy for Middle East and North African markets. At that time I changed my focus to private equity investments and setting up new businesses. My prime focus was on financial, real estate development, infor24 | MANAGER TODAY | www.managertoday.pk
mation technology and digital content management sectors,not only in Pakistan but also inthe Middle East and North America. Q: Being the SECP Chairman, tell us something about the major areas of its activity, the challenges and its vision to enhance and regulate the business affairs of the country. The role of SECP as a regulator is critical because a fine balance needs to be struck between its vigilance and supervisory function and its role as a facilitator to develop its administered areas of the market, i.e. the corporate sector, capital markets, non-banking financial sector and insurance sector. This is especially important since in Pakistan the banking and non-banking financial sectors have failed to provide the much needed range of saving and investment products that would meet the risk appetite of investors and the funding needs of borrowers across all segments of society. There is limited ac-
cess to finance in the private sector which has resulted in a large number of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) being starved of funding. Our capital market is presently going through one of its toughest periods ever, as market capitalization has come down to $31.9 billion, which is less than half of what it was three years ago. Turnover, in the back drop of market closure in 2008 and imposition of capital gain tax, is less than 10% of what it was six years ago and new listings from good quality corporate houses remain undersubscribed. There are less than 200,000 registered investors in the capital market, of whom a large number are inactive, and there are less than 150,000 unit holders in the mutual fund industry. Insurance penetration, at 0.7% is one of the lowest in the world. Private pension investors are less than 2,000, while investment banking, housing finance and leasing sectors are struggling for survival. In comparison with regional economies, market capitalization as a percentage of GDP in Pakistan is only 20.34%, where it is 41% in Sri Lanka, 44% in China, 84% in Thailand, 94% in India and 185% in Malaysia. There are 59,417 companies incorporated with SECP, out of which 20% are inactive. Our fiscal structure is not conducive to corporatization since the income tax rates are higher for companies in comparison with other business structures like partnerships or proprietorships. This, coupled with a presumptive tax regime and various tax exemptions, discourages documentation and a general culture of corporatization in the trading, industrial and agriculture sectors. These are the challenges which we are faced with, and it is from this perspective that the SECP has developed its vision to provide the right legal framework for development of
PROFILE: Mr. Muhammad Ali was appointed by the Federal Government as the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on December 24, 2010. He has an extensive and diversified corporate and financial market experience, spread over 20 years in Asia, Europe and North America. An MBA from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Karachi, Mr. Ali is a well-known professional and entrepreneur. He started his career with Citibank and moved on to Smith New Court Securities in London and was responsible for selling Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi equities to UK and Continental European institutional investors. www.managertoday.pk | MANAGER TODAY | 25
the markets, simplification of corporatization and making it an attractive medium of investment, creating investor confidence and awareness and maintaining effective standards of regulatory supervision Q: How do you intend to streamline the capital markets? A strong legal and regulatory framework is critical for the development of financial markets, as it provides the basic structure for product innovation and market integrity. After years of hard work and numerous consultative processes, today we have five draft laws which are at different stages of approval. These are: 1. Stock Exchanges (Corporatization, Demutualization and Integration) Bill 2. SECP (Regulation and Enforcement) Bill 3. Securities Bill 4. Futures Trading Bill 5. Corporate Rehabilitation Bill The first three which are under consideration by the parliament will go a long way in bringing about structural reforms in our capital markets, thereby boosting investor confidence and protection, strengthening the enforcement ability of the SECP in terms of its mandate and improving the quality of intermediaries operating in our financial markets. The latter two draft laws are pending with the government and will be presented to the parliament for approval. The Futures Trading Bill will provide the necessary framework for a vibrant futures market, particularly in respect to commodities, and the importance of this law cannot be overemphasized for an agrarian economy like Pakistan. The Corporate Rehabilitation Bill will provide the necessary framework to revive sick companies thereby releasing capital and creating employment opportunities. In order to bring our capital markets at par with the international standards, the law on demutualization is the most critical. Once the law is promulgated, it will effectively create a distinction between ownership rights and management functions in a stock exchange. In light of international precedents of demutualization over the last 15 years, this process will eventually aim at a more clearly defined regulatory role of frontline and apex regulators, along with segregation of commercial activities and regulatory functions at the exchange level. Q: What is the role of the NBFC sector in our country and how do you propose to strengthen it? 26 | MANAGER TODAY | www.managertoday.pk
Entrepreneurship has played a significant role in the progressive economies as it is a key source of economic growth and dynamism. Pakistan too has a large, inexpensive and talented pool of labor available, which provides a tremendous opportunity to our entrepreneurs to compete in the global markets, especially in today’s age of technological advances. One factor that inhibits entrepreneurial growth is the lack of access to finance, especially at the SME level. The gap between human and financial capital discourages entrepreneurship. Rent seeking is encouraged instead of actual business activity. No nation has achieved economic progress by investing their savings in the fixed income instruments instead of businesses. The non-banking financial sector can play a very important role in bridging this gap, by providing a source of finance for the entrepreneurs and an investment vehicle for the investors. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, this sector presents a bleak picture, not only in terms of financial assets, but also with regard to the participation and outreach to the general public. Mid-size financial institutions are needed, in order to meet the financing needs of the SME sector– be it in the shape of traditional modes of finance, such as working capital and project financing or in the form of modern financing such as private equity and venture capital. Accordingly, the SECP is revisiting the regulatory regime for NBFC and the framework for private equity and venture capital in consultation with the stakeholders. I firmly believe that with the right mix of fiscal incentives, the potential of the SME sector can be unlocked. Q: What development strategies are you following for the promotion of insurance sector in the country? The development of the insurance sector is a high priority area for the SECP, since insurance penetration in Pakistan is one of the lowest in the world. There is untapped potential in our insurance sector and a strong need exists for innovative insurance products which have an impact on the grassroots levels. In this regard, we are working on a number of areas in collaboration with the World Bank. As a starting point, the SECP insurance team is being strengthened and work has been initiated in micro-insurance, crop insurance, establishing a local reinsurance terrorism pool, health insurance, Islamic insurance etc. In the past, only dedicated takaful insurance companies were allowed to operate in
the country but soon, large conventional companies with greater outreach will also be allowed to offer this product. Q: You have just unveiled a very ambitious plan for overhauling all the four sectors under your control. Do you have the capacity to achieve all the targets of your plan? Although granted, that it is an immense challenge, I believe that our targets are achievable. We have an excellent team at the SECP which is comprised of competent, dedicated and skilled workers at all management levels. They are keen on doing their best for the attainment of our targets. We are also in the process of hiring skilled professionals from the market at the senior management levels. We also focus on constant development and improvement of our staff through regular trainings and have taken the initiative to invite foreign trainers to Pakistan for this purpose. Every effective organization needs to have clearly laid down roles and responsibilities of its employees, and this requirement is more pronounced for a regulator since transparency in roles leads to accountability. For this purpose, the SECP conducted a three day off-site in April 2011, in which the senior management devised a strategic vision and direction for the SECP and organization-wide objectives were set for the next three years, with yearly targets. Broadly speaking, these objectives are based on five factors, i.e. developing markets in line with best international practices, ensuring that regulated entities are self-sustaining, refining processes to improve
turnaround time, developing the inherent potential of our people and acting responsibly with regard to finances. The work responsibilities of all the employees of SECP are now clearly defined and we are strengthening a culture of accountability. Human resource policies are also being revisited to further promote and encourage efficiency and performance in the organization. Q: How stringent are you while performing your regulatory duties? Ideally, a regulator should be rigorous in the enforcement of its administered laws, without being bureaucratic. Our primary objective is to protect the interest of the investing public and to restore investor confidence in our capital markets. Accordingly, we at the SECP strive to ensure that strict action is taken for the violations of various laws administered by us. We are also working on improving the requisite legal framework, in consultation with the relevant stakeholders, as their development is also a major factor contributing to the investor’s confidence. Measures are also being taken to revamp the operations of the Institute of Capital Markets, which was set up for the purpose of providing certification requirements for individuals and institutions engaged in providing investment advice and services for financial products, and is also responsible for providing investor education. This will boost investor confidence as a technically trained and well-regulated workforce operating in the financial markets is better able to assess the risk appetite and match it with the appropriate products so that the expected or desired return is achieved at a tolerable risk level.
Furthermore, proper documentation is a priority for us and we try to ensure maximum transparency in auditing and accounting standards. SECP also maintains a close liaison with the international standard setting bodies like International Organization of Securities Commissions, International Organization of Pension Supervisors, International Association of Insurance Supervisors and International Association of Insolvency Regulators to keep abreast with international developments. Q: For what reasons have we lagged behind India in terms of economic growth? Are our regulatory policies to blame for our poor economy? In terms of regulatory policy, we do not lag behind India. Economically, India is ahead of us, but that is on account of other factors, such as political stability, greater outreach, encouragement of private sector etc. In contrast, because of the law and order situation and the political instability our markets are more volatile, therefore resulting in low investor confidence. Also, the outreach of our stock exchanges is limited to a few major cities and the capital market products are accessible to a limited number of investors. Moreover, in Pakistan, banks control more than 90% of the total financial assets, unlike India where banks are focusing on purely banking activities. In India, merchant banks have been created, which are actively involved in corporate financing and lending money to the SMEs and capital markets. Therefore, a healthy competition exists between the banking sector and the non-banking financial companies, which provides ample scope for rapid and sustainable economic growth. On the contrary, in Pakistan, most people like to invest their money in banks and saving centers, as that fetches them a risk-free and fixed monthly profit at reasonably good interest rates. However, instead of promoting business activities and creating more job opportunities, these investments only encourage the concentration of wealth in a few hands. Interest rates are not very high in India, which is why their investors are willing to face higher risk and invest in the stock markets in the hope of higher profits. Q: Are you satisfied with the quality of education being provided to the students in our educational institutions? Unfortunately, the required quality of education is being provided only by a handful of institutions, which the common man in Pakistan
does not have access to. Despite the excellent educational standards that these institutes have maintained as a benchmark, efforts need to be made to develop curricula, train teachers and create institutions that provide affordable and market oriented education to Pakistani students. Q: Can you suggest some practical ways and means to overcome the widespread unemployment in our country? Unemployment is a major problem in Pakistan and quality education is a must for its effective eradication. There is no guidance or employment advice regarding the current employment needs and trends of the country, especially with regard to the significance of technology in the modern world. Moreover, awareness needs to be created about employment through provision of online services. We should take China and India as examples where their people take full advantage of the rapid growth of I.T. and mobile industries. I believe that with the proper utilization of the available I.T. facilities, we can achieve in just 10 years, what it took for the West to achieve in the last 30 years. Q: There are four important management styles, namely democratic, participative, autocratic and bureaucratic. What is yours? My management style is participative and consultative. But I also believe in firmness in order to maintain discipline. However, it does not mean that I am autocratic. Q: Are you in favour of gender equality? What is the ratio of female workers in your organization? I am a strong proponent of gender equality and i believe that, especially in this age of competition, gender discrimination will only serve to hamper the development and growth because a large portion of our population would remain unutilized then. Therefore, there should be no gender discrimination especially with reference to the job opportunities. At the SECP, the overall ratio of employees is tilted towards men, but compare to the percentage of women in the organization, their percentage is higher in the senior management as compared to lower and mid level management staff. Q: How do you define success? In my opinion, success is measured by contentment and satisfaction. If success is not accompanied by these two things, then no matter how great it is, in reality it will constitute a failure. n www.managertoday.pk | MANAGER TODAY | 27
28 LEADERSHIP
LEADERSHIP NASEEM ZAFAR IQBAL
Are you & your team on the same page
eadership is an inside-out process. In our study of various leadership dimensions and how to transform ones weaker dimensions into strengths, personal leadership has a key importance. This research seeks to establish a relationship between a leaders’ own assessment of his/her personal leadership and how their teams assess them. Do those who have rated themselves higher in personal leadership have a higher rating from their teams as well, or is it the other way around. That is the question! At the same time we have also tried to ascertain a possible relationship between assessment of personal leadership and other dimensions of leadership. This article suggests the ways to improve self-awareness and its impact on leadership effectiveness. Hypotheses – What We Wanted to Find Out About Individuals’ Leadership 1. There is a correlation between how individual team leaders assess themselves on various leadership dimensions and how their team members assess them. 2. Personal Leadership is about a sense of responsibility and ownership both in leaders’ actions and their personal development. A leader’s self assessment of this dimension is higher than that of other dimensions, and the self assessment of other dimensions also correlated with their teams’ assessment of these other dimensions. 3. There are possibly some leadership dimensions with regard to which there is a higher correlation between leaders’ self assessment and their team’s assessment. 4. Different management profiles may cor28 | MANAGER TODAY | www.managertoday.pk
relate with different team leaders’ self assessments. The Research The research is based on a total of 3 measurements for 2 groups. During my wilderness based leadership development program, Group 1 from one company was measured twice, one by way of self assessment and second by Leadership Expedition team. Group 2, which was from another company and a different industry, was measured once, in terms of self assessment alone. The number of total participants studied in this research was 41, of which Group 1 and Group 2 had 17 and 24 participants respectively. The similarities and differences of these groups are summarized below: 1. Both groups were similar in their diversity of education and technical areas of expertise. 2. Both the companies were from the industries where technical knowledge was more specialized and individuals in non-technical jobs also required good technical knowhow for effective performance of their jobs. 3. The age groups were fairly different. Group 1 had an average age of 42 years. Group 2 was much younger, with an average age of 34 years. 4. Group 1 members were at the senior management level but Group 2 comprised of middle managers. DATA ANALYSIS Group 1: Senior Managers Is there a gap on how team leaders assess themselves and how their teams perceive
them? This study involving both self and team assessment was conducted with Group 1 only, which was at the senior management level. In personal leadership ‘high’ self assessments are contradicted by ‘much lower’ team assessments. This contradiction is to such an extent that for 13 leaders, who had rated themselves ‘higher’, 2 were rated ‘low’ by their teams and 5 and 6 were rated ‘much lower’ and ‘very much lower’ respectively.. However, 'Moderate' self assessments tend to be supported by 'same’, or ‘lower' team assessments. In the ability to think through future, 'Moderate' self assessments of 12 leaders tend to be supported by a mix of 'higher, same or lower' team assessments. However, few 'Very High' and high self assessments are contradicted by 'very much lower' team assessments. When it comes to judging people around them, 'Very High' and ‘high’ self-assessments of 14 out of 15 leaders are contradicted by 'lower, much lower, and very much lower' team assessments. In the area of fostering relationships, 9 leaders with ‘high’ self assessments were contradicted by 'lower, much lower and 'very
A leader’s self assessment of this dimension is higher than that of other dimensions, and the self assessment of other dimensions also correlated with their teams’ assessment of these other dimensions much lower' team assessments. 7 'Moderate' self assessments tend to be supported by a mix of 'higher, same or lower' Team assessments. In bringing people together and managing conflicts, ‘high’ self assessments of 13 leaders are contradicted by 'lower, much lower and very much lower' team assessments. In the willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve objectives, 12 leaders’ ‘high’ self-assessment are contradicted by 'lower, much lower and very much lower' team assessments. 'Moderate' self assessments tend to be supported by mix of 'higher, same, or lower' Team assessments. Again 13 leaders ‘high’ self-assessments are contradicted by 'lower, much lower & very much lower' team assessments in their comfort to manage complex situation in business. Similarly, 'moderate' self-assessment in this
area is supported by 'higher' team assessments. Is self assessment of leaders, in Personal Leadership dimension, higher than other dimensions? If so, is leaders’ self assessment in other dimensions also correlated with their teams’ assessment on these other dimensions? This analysis was run for Group 1: Senior Managers only. As mentioned earlier, Personal Leadership is about taking ownership of personal development and therefore taking stock of own strengths and weaknesses. For business leaders it is important to know, for their own development and effectiveness as leaders, how their teams assess them in various dimensions. This also helps leaders understand how their self assessment is different from their team’s perception. This part of the study is an effort to establish relationship, if any, between the Personal
Leadership dimensions of the leaders and the difference between their own perception and that of their team’s perception about the leaders in other dimensions. Red line on the following chart 1 marks the self assessment of leaders on Personal Leadership and the blue line marks correlation between how leaders and their teams have assessed them on other dimensions. A spike on the blue line e.g. for participant number 5 shows that there is a very strong correlation between the self and team assessment of participant number 5 on all dimensions. This, when compared with depression of red line for the same participant, shows the low self assessment of the participant on Personal Leadership dimension. Chart - 1 A relatively similar trend is visible for participant numbering 2, 4 and 9. Similarly, a reverse trend is seen in case of participant number 1, 3, 6, 14 and 16, where a sharp dip in blue line (correlation between perception of team and self) is matched by a relatively sharp rise in red line (self assessment of Personal Leadership Dimension). This data reveals that those business leaders who are conservative in their self assessments are supported by their team’s www.managertoday.pk | MANAGER TODAY | 29
assessments. Data Analysis of Group 2: Middle Managers Is self assessment of leaders in Personal Leadership dimension higher than other dimensions? This study, involving only self assessment, was conducted with Group 2 which was at the middle management level to compare Personal Leadership dimension with other dimensions. 52% of the self assessments, on an average, were rated moderate by the participants. Only 5% rated themselves very high and 43% rated themselves high. These participants rated the Personal Leadership as one of the lower dimensions as compared to the other dimensions. Out of a total of 24, 14 rated themselves moderate and 10 rated themselves high. In their ability to think through future 19 rated themselves moderate and only 5 rated them high with none at very high. This ability came out as one of the lowest in self perception of the participants of this study. When it comes to judging people, 8 rated themselves moderate whereas 13 and 3 rated themselves high and very high respectively. This came out as the 2nd strongest dimension of all. In area of fostering relationships, 16 rated themselves as moderate and 8 rated themselves as high. This came out as the 2nd lowest dimension. In bringing people together and managing conflicts, only 7 rated themselves as moderate, compared to 14 and 3 rating themselves high and very high respectively. This came out as the strongest dimension in this group. In their ability to do whatever it takes to achieve objectives, 14 rated them as moderate as compared to 13 and 1 rating themselves as high and very high respectively. 30 | MANAGER TODAY | www.managertoday.pk
Finally in the ability to manage complex business situations 10 rated themselves as moderate and 13 and 1 rated themselves as high and very high respectively. Comparison Between The Two Groups I also compared profile and self assessments of Group 1 and 2 and identified similarities as well as the differences. 1. Group 1 had a higher mean rank score as compared to Group 2 in Personal Leadership. This means that those at higher level of management have better scores on Personal Leadership. They are more aware of their strengths and weaknesses and take a greater responsibility and ownership for continuous self development and growth. This was also visible during my one-on-one interaction with the members of both groups in another assignment. 2. Group 1 also rated itself significantly higher as compared to Group 2 in terms of demonstrating ability to develop vision and set clear plan for their teams. They also believe that they can handle complexity of situation with ease. Therefore, they are better equipped to handle senior management level challenges as compared to Group 2. 3. At senior manager level individuals also perceive to have demonstrated a higher degree of adaptability to change as compared to the other group. They are flexible, innovative and demonstrate better problem solving skills, using more creativity. 4. As far as working with teams is concerned, groups at both levels of management demonstrate similar leadership behaviors. 5. Group 1 assessment also establishes that determination to do what needs to be done for the organization also takes you up the ladder. Conclusions - What Should Team Leaders Do To Improve Self Awareness
Firstly, team leaders must endeavor to find out from their team members, peers and direct manager, “How am I doing as a team leader?� This will give insight into self as well as perception of those we work with. Secondly, people at senior management level have a better awareness of their own leadership limitations than those in the middle management. Thirdly, humility and assessing yourself moderately tends to correlate with team members’ perception. Team members seem to sense your maturity. Having been rated higher by others than self helps in better management of expectations when it comes to delivering results. Fourthly, Personal Leadership has come out as a single most significant dimension which drives behaviors towards positive direction in other dimensions as well. Therefore, if leaders have a greater sense of ownership, they will demonstrate determination and resilience to achieve results regardless of circumstances. Towards this end, leaders will also assess themselves and continue to improve their skills and work behaviors. Finally, leaders, who keep track of their own performance and effectiveness on those that they lead, are conscious of themselves in terms of continuous improvement, learning and growth. They listen to others and endeavor to take feedbacks seriously. Bottomline; they take full control of their lives. As a result they reduce perception and expectation gaps of what they think of themselves, what others perceive about them and what they actually achieve for all. Acknowledgement 1. To my mentor, Mr. Philip S. Lall for continuously challenging me with the right questions and conducting major and more complex part of statistical analysis. 2. All those business leaders who participated in this research over a period of last two years My endeavor to learn more about leadership continues. You may also participate in this research as an organization. Please send email at nzi@trainingimpact.org.n
NASEEM ZAFAR IQBAL is the founder of wilderness based leadership development concept in Pakistan. He is also CEO of Training Impact
32 ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Organizational Development: anHRM’s perspective
HUSSAM K. QASMI
Learning can never be random, there has to be a purpose to it. And the purpose is to modify behavior which, in turn, modifies processes. Organizational development is not about developing people only, its about developing processes.
32 | MANAGER TODAY | www.managertoday.pk
he thought that has always come to my mind is that we all did learning at school, but why is it so important for work? What difference does it make to be a learning organization and what difference does it make for us as HR managers to lead the learning? I still haven’t got the answers but there are a few reasons that have actually convinced me that it is significant. Then my team and I worked our way out on how the organizational development would be the right management for change. The hospitality industry is growing complex day by day. With a growing international trend in becoming a hotelier, the concept of soft skills are sometimes put behind. They would be great at accounting, human resource and sales & marketing. But would they be good at the most common job description of having a broad range of management skills and have the personality to lead, inspire and develop their team. Where most of the universities focus on developing soft skills now, the trend in Pakistan is still yet to be seen. We are trying to remember the formula for calculating average daily room rate or to calculate the weekly salesroom forecast. We still lack in giving our individuals, at grassroot level, the education to manage conflicts and customer relationship skills, develop team management skills and organizational strategies, change the team’s perception and the list
goes on. The only way to get ahead of today’s business complexities is just to learn. Learning from business cases of other companies or even in the course of day to day events. Let’s say, if one department has done something really well, they should be passing it on to other departments. You do it so that other departments don’t have to learn the hard way and that’s learning. The scenario is opposite in our culture. Our departments blame the HRDs, that they don’t teach us to innovate, and HRDs blame that other departments don’t innovate processes. Finally, it comes around that we don’t have the right resources to innovate. And the question arises as to what the responsibility of the Departmental Head, who is leading the department of 70 individuals, is? There are three ways to learn: Leadership: All of us who has to lead the change Process: As to do we have the right processes Culture: Thirdly and the most importantly do we have the right culture. I was reading somewhere and I got to know that learning has two parts. Part 1: Knowing what to do Part 2: Doing what we know There is a saying about the corporate environment that I had heard from my General Manager and it goes like this; “If you don’t do anything about it, the urgent drives out the important.”
The key point is that past is relevant to what we do today and tomorrow. Most organizations do the opposite and sweep it under the rug. Victories are made public, whereas failures are concealed.
Urgent is what is at the top of the list. It’s the number one to-do item. But the problem is that this is not the most important thing to do. Learning is to perform the most important things. For learning, one has to plan ahead. Learning is not just about making people sit in the classroom, you have to build it in processes, so that it happens by design. Moreover, you have to convince people that this will work. Most of the companies now distribute development results throughout the company, daily. It’s about the lessons learned, for those are the ones to which people say wow… it works. I remember I was working for a telecom company back in 2006. I was working as a Customer Relationship Officer there and the Customer Relationship Department was going through a change. The first agenda on the change management was discussing results with every employee of the department. I remember having a session every week in local 4-star hotel, where the director CRD used to discuss the results with the employees. This also helped in promoting the culture of change. Everyone was looking forward to it. We all carried a mental model. At the beginning we were all convinced that the things we do in a specific way will always be done in that
certain way. And it has been proved that mostly, mental model changes because of the changes in technology, public exposure or political pressure. We need to change the mental model, and that’s what the Director CRD did. He tried to promote different point of views and made people come together on conflicting of point of views. Learning can never be random, there has to be a purpose to it. And the purpose is to modify behavior which, in turn, modifies processes. Organizational development is not about developing people only, its about developing processes. The previous FMCG I used to work for had a whole period, where they used to review their processes. All the processes were first put into black and white and then discussed with the departmental heads.
Processes were sought out afterwards to see where the weakness lied so as to0 make the necessary corrections. As a leader, you should be willing to change as well as willing to facilitate. There is no point in sending individuals to classes just because it’s fun. The key point is that past is relevant to what we do today and tomorrow. Most organizations do the opposite and sweep it under the rug. Victories are made public, whereas failures are concealed. But both of these are opportunities to learn. Leaders should facilitate the system of criticism. There should be willingness to criticize in the culture, nobody gets it right the first time or may be even the second time. So at the end, its not just about the people, it’s about every muscle that is making this organization move forwards. If you only let the people grow and don’t develop or improve your processes, it will never work. However, if you improve the processes and not your people, that won’t work too. Attention should be paid to both sides. n
HUSSAM K. QASMI is working as Manager HR, looking after 9 properties of Hotel One.
www.managertoday.pk | MANAGER TODAY | 33
EXCLUSIVE 34 INTERVIEW IJAZ NISAR
PAKISTAN’S
STRATEGIC PLANNER In terms of human and material resources, Pakistan may rightly be counted among the richest countries of the world and yet, it is included in the list of the poorest and most backward countries, heavily dependent on foreign aid and loans and confronted by all sorts of economic problems, such as soaring inflation and crippling energy crisis. This dismal state of affairs is the inevitable outcome of mismanagement, poor planning and an irrational vision. By means of better planning, in line with current trends and requirements, the Planning Commission of Pakistan is making untiring efforts to improve the situation, under the chairmanship of Dr. Nadimul-Haq, who is a highly qualified, experienced and talented man, with vast international exposure. In an exclusive interview with the “Manager Today”, he has highlighted some of the root causes of our problems and suggested their practical remedies. If properly implemented, his vision can bring about dramatic changes in our old, outdated and stagnant system and our country can make progress by leaps and bounds.
34 | MANAGER TODAY | www.managertoday.pk
Dr. Nadeem Ul Haque Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission of Pakistan
Could you please tell us something about your academic background and professional career as a leading economic planner of our country? In grew up in Lahore at a time when education was regarded as a valuable asset. After studying at Government College, I went to the London School of Economics for further studies. When I returned home with a degree, I looked for a teaching job, which I failed to find, as Punjab University was not willing to accommodate me. I then joined Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) and worked there for three years, from 1976 to 1979. Later, I went to Chicago University and, under the supervision of a number of Nobel Laureates, got my Ph.D. degree. Upon the completion of my studies, I got a reasonable job in the International Monetary Fund. My friends back home
often urged me to return to Pakistan, but I am glad I didn’t. However, I kept on coming to Pakistan from time to time, hoping to be of some use to my country. Since April, 2010, I have been holding my present post of Chairman Planning Commission. In what perspective do you analyze our current problems and what is your vision for the improvement of the whole situation? I have a simple vision, based on facts, learning, research, experience and observation. History bears ample testimony to the fact that countries always make progress by virtue of their intelligent and enlightened brains, whereas we are only interested in financial capital. We are quite unheedful of some other types of capitals, which are far more important and our country direly lacks them. First of all, there is the
PROFILE Dr. Nadem ul Haq has a wide-ranging operational experience of over 24 years at the IMF, where he led technical assistance missions and policy and research teams and was also a resident representative in two developing countries. He has a strong background in economic analysis and policy development, which is reflected in his numerous publications in academic and policy journals and conference participation. Dr. Nadeem has an extensive central banking and monetary policy experience. As the IMF Rep, he has worked in 2 central banks, organizing a modernization effort which included improvements in the monetary framework and the policy formulation process. He initiated and successfully led a Central Bank modernization project in Sri Lanka. intellectual capital, which produces creativity, broadens the minds of the people, widens their vision and makes them research oriented. Then there is the organizational capital which enables the people to organize, manage and plan things in a better way to tackle the problems. Like the intellectual capital, it is also a rare commodity in our country. As a result of it, in order to control the traffic problems, we go on widening our roads instead of properly organizing our traffic. Thirdly, there is the social capital which assists the people to interact and cooperate with each other and listen to each other with patience and tolerance. In the absence of these three types of capital, we can’t hope to solve our problems, while other countries, with far fewer resources than ours, have progressed by focusing on these capitals. Does our educational system contribute to the development of intellectual capital in our students? The Higher Education Commission has spent millions of rupees over the past few years for the promotion of education, but education alone can’t produce intellectual capital. We have several universities with huge buildings and large campuses, but neither the professors nor the students have got the required intellectual capital, because they don’t have the creative ability and research-oriented minds. On the other hand,
Chicago University which is much smaller in size than the Punjab University has produced many Nobel Laureates and leading scholars of the world, because they emphasised on the growth of minds, not on grand buildings and other showy things. What are the key elements of your reform and restructuring plan? First of all, we need to restructure our civil services and especially the way in which our civil servants are paid. A large portion of their salaries is paid in a non-transparent manner, in the form of houses, plots, cars and subsidized or free electricity, gas and telephone facilities. Such special privileges create the desire to acquire the same luxuries by hook or by crook in other people. Therefore, it leads to the break down of moral standards, hence making the way for corruption to prevail. When I was in the IMF, I only got the salary and nothing else and I was supposed to arrange my house, conveyance and other things within that salary. We need to reconsider our approach of paying higher salaries to the officials of some departments and lower salaries to those of some other departments. If secretaries can get huge salaries, why can’t the professors get the same? Moreover, departments should be headed by highly professional and skilled people, who may even be hired from outside. Besides, teleconferencing, e-mail and computers are still not being widely
used in our offices, instead handwritten notes are still very common. Of course, we are in an urgent need of intellectual and organizational capital to bring about radical changes in our old outdated and colonial type of civil service structure. What strategy do you propose for the promotion of business activities in our commercial markets and for the creation of new jobs for reducing the high rate of unemployment in our country? Business activities flourish only in an atmosphere of healthy competition. But in our country, the government sector is still very strong, with the government buying and importing wheat, sugar and other such commodities. Stock exchanges are also dominated by government sponsored companies or multi-national companies. Entrepreneurship does not exist in its true spirit in our country, whereas entrepreneurs are giving a big boost to the economy all over the world. Government control and interference in the business sector has to be reduced and privatization should be done under the supervision of strict regulatory bodies. But our regulatory bodies are not functioning properly because the regulators are mostly non-professional people, quite unaware of the modern researches and contemporary trends. The concept of shopping malls, so common in the developed www.managertoday.pk | MANAGER TODAY | 35
world, is still unknown here. The opening of more shopping malls, departmental stores and chain stores will surely create more job opportunities. There is a vast scope for the growth of entertainment and hospitality industries in our country. If proper attention is paid towards them, massive job opportunities can be created for our unemployed youth. For our rapid economic growth, should we focus on rural development or urbanization? For thousands of years, people had been living in villages without any tangible progress. Real and rapid progress began in the late eighteenth century with the growth of modern industrial cities. Large, mechanized and industrialized cities have become the hub of economic and commercial activities. Forty top cities of the world produce seventy percent of the global output. The per capita income in the urbanized countries of the world is thirty percent higher than the non-urbanized countries. We should, therefore, give up the myth that Pakistan is an agricultural country and should concentrate on urbanization, but with proper planning, effective management and new approach. Would you like to explain that new approach? 36 | MANAGER TODAY | www.managertoday.pk
All the leading cities of the world are full of tall multi-storey buildings equipped with elevators, capable of accommodating a large number of people. Thus, in Dubai, London and New York, people are interested in buying flats and living in them. But in our country, we are always running after plots and are keen to live in large spacious houses. Such houses are quite incapable of coping with the rapidly increasing urban population. Traffic congestion, which is one of the most serious challenges confronted by our cities, is the direct outcome of the fact that we are deliberately encouraging the people to use more and more cars, which consume more energy and create more pollution. In contrast, cars have been thrown out of the big cities in the developed countries, where more and more people like to travel on their bicycles or use public transport. Our rich people on the other hand, consider riding a bicycle as something shameful and below their dignity. With this huge influx of cars, there is hardly any walking space left for the people in our big cities. Widening of highways and construction of fly overs in a thoughtless manner is only adding to our problems, because they are dividing the cities, instead of uniting them, excluding the poor and the underprivileged people from the mainstream of life. In order to fully benefit from urbanization, we need to change our life style and mind set and adopt a completely new set of habits. Another dilemma in our cities is that they are becoming less hospitable for our youngsters. According to a recent demographic survey, almost half of our population is below the age of twenty. They are the real asset for our future, but these millions of youngsters have no hope for jobs and no hope for a better future. In the stinking and suffocating atmosphere of our cities, there is hardly any breathing space for them. There are no community centres or public places for them where they may get together and engage in positive, constructive and productive activities. The education being provided to them, fails to produce any creativity or depth of vision in them. Their energies are being wasted and consumed in negative activities. To what extent can our government be blamed for the problems you are hinting at? Another wrong approach of ours is that instead of fulfilling our own responsibilities
and duties, we are always blaming the government for all our miseries and misfortunes. We regard the government as something supernatural, having magical powers to solve all our problems. Government is not something remote from us or outside our domain. Government is you and me. It is made up of people from within us and its resources consist of the taxes paid by us. While we are not ready to change our attitudes and habits, we expect the government to take care of us as a mother takes care of her baby. While we are constantly blaming the government for the current load shedding of electricity and gas, we are not ready to abandon the extravagant use of both these things. We are still buying more and more cars, without realizing that more cars need more energy. However, it does not mean that the entire responsibility lies on the people. The government is also devoid of intellectual and organizational capitals. Its decisions and policies are only aimed at addressing the problems temporarily. Our top policy makers formulate their policies tentatively without research and study. There is no concept of zerobased budgeting nor do we have performance based management. There is no encouragement, respect, recognition and appreciation for those who are really doing excellent work, while those who are corrupt and good-for-nothing, are being promoted to the highest ranks. For decades, we have been receiving foreign aid and loans worth billions of dollars and yet, we are impoverished and backward, only due to the lack of intellectual and organizational capitals. Everyone has his own concept or definition of success. How do you define success? I believe that real success is linked to a sense of satisfaction and achievement, on making a positive contribution to the world, so that others may feel the difference. This contribution may not necessarily be material. It may also be creative or intellectual, which is of greater value in the present circumstances. But unfortunately, this concept of success is non-existent in our society, where cars of new model and huge houses, even if gained by illegal means, are regarded as the symbols of success. Our over all failure as a nation and as a state is the natural consequence of this wrong concept of success. n
38 MARKETING
emerging ‘WINNINGIN
The emerging market consumer is young, has an affinity for brands and is technologically savvy.
D SHIVAKUMAR
38 | MANAGER TODAY | www.managertoday.pk
MARKETS’
merging market economies are to become a dominant presence in the world economy. Presently, the world’s output comprises of a considerable share of such economies. The rapid growth rate of these economies is the main reason that has driven the global growth during the past decade. The process of global integration has sped up after the stronger trade and financial linkages between advanced economies and EMEs. However, in course of this discussion, I will cover what an emerging market is, why the world is focused on it and how does one win in emerging markets via the key pillars of consumer understanding, people and organizational philosophy. The expression ‘emerging markets’ was started in 1970s by economists and academics. They needed a classification for resources and investments and they spilt developed countries
E
and less developed countries, which was fair. Later, in 1980s, Antoine Agtamel coined the expression ‘emerging markets’ at the World Bank. In 2001, Jim O ‘Neill of Goldman Sachs coined the expression BRIC and in 2003, Roopa Purushotaman published an important paper forecasting the rapid growth of the BRIC countries. There isn’t one definition of emerging markets. Each source is different. There are eight different clusters of emerging markets, with a commonality that groups them together. One group argues that the classification should be growth markets that account for more than 1 % of global GDP. If we go with that, we will have a list of countries above 600 billion as the cut-off. This list will be BRIC plus Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Mexico. Pakistan is in four lists as an emerging market, namely Next 11, Dow Jones list, FTSE and EAGLEs. What is the focus on emerging markets and what can the developed world learn from them? The growth in most categories is coming from emerging markets. Emerging markets start off poorer than the developed ones. Poor countries do not grow faster than rich countries on their own, they grow faster if rule of law prevails, terms of trade are favorable and inflation is under control, government largesse is curtailed and there are small, healthy and educated families. Emerging markets will account for the big chunk of growth in the next decade. So, if the growth is in emerging markets, how does someone win in emerging markets? The emerging market consumer is young, has an affinity for brands and is technologically savvy. The average age in India is 25, in China 34 and in Africa less than 23. In 2020, the average age in India will be 29, in China, in
USA 37, in Europe 45 and in Japan 48. Technology is a great boon for emerging markets. It ensures that emerging markets leapfrog one or two product cycles. Technology also brings the convergence of productivity and prosperity in emerging markets. While the consumer is young, he/she doesn’t have too much money to play with. 80 % of India, 60 pc of Pakistan and 40 pc of Africa live under 2 $ a day. In many cases, these consumers have a cash flow problem and not a cash problem. When consumers have as little as 2 $, then affordability and tailoring products and the value chain to that affordable price becomes the growth model. This has created a new segment of sachets, a new segment of pre-paid consumers in telecom. It has created a snacking model in other categories.
In emerging markets, I see three types of consumers, pay more, get more, that’s the emotional surplus part, worth the price and a pay less, get less. The drivers are three, namely, aspiration, quality and price. The same three drivers change order in the rural markets. Rural consumers buy brands for security and we should never forget that. History is full of half products that have failed. The next big question is about people. One should always hire for values and not for growth. Quite often candidates look great on the paper with growth but cannot get their people motivated to deliver more. In terms of the organization, keep costs low and variable. Thanks to emerging markets, we have negative working capital biz models and a new measure which is return on capital
employed and not return on assets, since in emerging markets one must be asset-light. An area for tremendous innovation is business models. Given the infrastructure and digital consumer, one can rethink the biz model. A good example is airlines, the time sensitive and price sensitive consumer. This combination is a unique emerging market model. Emerging markets need a strong sponsor at the right level. Without this senior level support, emerging markets will not be a growth driver. Emerging markets’ growth provides vitality. However, one must be clear that there is a lot of volatility, taxes, regulation, infrastructure, policies, protests etc. managing the regulator and the government is an important aspect of winning in emerging markets. In summary: 1. There is no one definition of emerging markets. 2. Emerging markets, whichever way defined, will contribute 80 pc of the future growth. 3. Winning in emerging markets is essential to grow. 4. Winning in emerging markets requires superior understanding of a different types of consumers. 5. Winning in emerging markets also needs a different type of manager and leader. 6. Winning in emerging markets requires a mandate supported at a board level. n
D SHIVAKUMAR is currently the Managing Director and VP of Nokia, India.
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40 CAREER MANAGEMENT
8 Eight Steps To Excel In Your First Job After Graduation NAHIL MAHMOOD ou have just completed your degree and after a series of interviews, you have also landed your first job. This is an exciting time as your educational pursuits have culminated in a promising job with a reputable firm. But the question arises here on how well prepared you really are for your first job. The university degree programs comprehensively cover the knowledge related to your field of study, but it is rare to find programs that prepare students on how to survive and excel in a challenging and competitive real-world work environment. Since the educational environment and the workplace are two different worlds, success in completing an educational degree does not necessarily equate to success at the workplace. The very first job is considered by many experienced professionals as being instrumental in setting the pace and quality of success you will achieve in the next few important years of your career, and this article will supply recent graduates with a knowledge of the challenges that await them at the workplace, what to expect, and how to survive and excel in your first job after graduation. 40 | MANAGER TODAY | www.managertoday.pk
1
Relationship With Your Boss
The single most important personality who will influence your career success is your immediate supervisor or boss. The majority of students are well acquainted with authority and its dimensions while at University. The Vice Chancellor or Department Head is an administrative figure who holds authority. However, in their first job, students enter for the first time a relationship with their boss and witness authority in a much more powerful and influential form. This is the authority and ability the boss holds to transform the young graduate into either a success or a failure. It is important for the fresh graduate to understand and reflect on this critical relationship with the boss. A boss is very much like a parent. Parents want to see their children develop good social skills and excel. Similarly, your boss wants you to perform well, so you can reach up to your potential thus, contributing to the success of the company. A parent encourages and boosts the confidence of his/her children so that they excel, whereas a boss grooms and guides the young professionals, ensuring them success and recognition. He will also want you to work well with others in the team so a congenial work environment can be maintained. A boss will demand respect much like parents do. Finally, a boss does not want you to challenge his/her authority, much like a parent. On the contrary, a parent who suffers from personality or habitual shortcomings can be a strong destructive force in the life of a child. Similarly, a boss who has been intimidated by a display of lack of respect by the young graduate can play havoc with the subordinate to the extent of firing the individual from the company. Realizing that your boss has tremendous authority to either lift your career or ruin it, you need to incorporate such habits in your routine that will bring out the best in your relationship. First of all, your demeanor should be one of respect and submission to authority. You should realize that the company invested in your boss the authority to hire you and it also invests in your boss the authority to fire you or the next worst action – to sideline you. It is your responsibility to make the relationship work and to maintain your allegiance and complete respect with your boss. Remember – your boss is tremendously powerful to transfer his knowledge and skills to you and to showcase you as a young, professional and dynamic success. However, this will only happen if you build a relationship with him based on trust and respect. However, if you feel your boss is unduly influencing you to act in a manner which conflicts with your values and principles, this is a valid concern, and in that case you should either consider changing your team or your company. NAHIL MAHMOOD is a seasoned IT professional with over 14 years of experience of working in the telecoms and banking sectors in Pakistan.
2
Relationship with Your Peers
The next important step is the relationship with your peers or co-workers. In University, we are predominantly expected to prove our worth and knowledge at an individual level. On the contrary, at the workplace, your assignments will predominantly be team assignments, or the results of individual assignments will hinge heavily on your ability to work well with others. Different organizations have different cultures and values. In any case the culture of a company, team or office floor is developed by the people who are a part of that entity. Even if your organization lacks universal values of showing respect or being polite, you will be expected to show these traits in your daily conduct and interaction with other team members. Be assured that, resulting from your interaction with your teammates in the first few weeks of your first job, a perception will be developed by them on what sort of person you are. Make sure your conduct is immaculate. In a fair environment, this will lead to a positive feedback and a positive perception about you, which will be to your credit. What you absolutely don’t need is to help others build a perception (resulting from your own actions) that you cannot work well with the team (this personality type is often described as ‘solo flight’). Again, there are some exceptions. If you have landed a job where there is vicious and unfair politics, read on … there is still hope.
7
Honesty Is the Best Policy
Always remember the golden rule: Honesty is the best policy. We are all humans and no one is perfect. Your boss understands this very well, as he or she has also made their share of mistakes when they were new. When things don’t seem to be going your way, just speak the truth, apologize for any shortcomings and move on. Remember that an important characteristic of successful professionals is the ability to recover from setbacks. Take these as good improvement opportunities and you will be always be advancing to become a highly successful professional.
3
Build Credibility
4
Understand Your Role and Your Assignment
Credibility refers to a trait demonstrating your trustworthiness. When your boss gives you a deadline to complete a report, are you able to meet the deadline? If you promise a coworker you will send across the draft meeting minutes by lunch time, are you able to deliver on the promise? When other professionals working with us rate us, an important factor they take into consideration is how trustworthy or credible we are. Only the credible are given more responsibility and the most challenging assignments. Building credibility with your boss and co-workers will be instrumental in ensuring you are going upwards on the corporate ladder rather than in the opposite direction.
Once you have settled in your first job, you must make efforts to understand your role, the role of your boss and your team. You must also understand your job description and “what constitutes success?” You must understand the KPIs for your assignment. Are there any time constraints? What resources will be available at your disposal to help you complete the assignment? Does your boss expect you to take guidelines only from him or her and to develop the knowledge through independent study and research? Or will your manager send you to an internal training course to help you acquire the needed skills for the assignment? To summarize, it is crucial to understand “what constitutes success in your assignment”. If you don’t know where the goal posts are, it is highly unlikely for you to win.
6
Work With Diligence
8
Be Religiously Committed To Building Your Competence
5
Avoid Office Politics
Owing to the competitive nature of the workplace, you will find different groups or polarizations of people in your office who hold similar objectives and are often daggers drawn at each other. The degree of office politics can vary from a healthy competitive environment to a downright mess. The golden rule is to remain loyal to your assignment and not to any particular group. Be fair to all people in the organization. This is how you can stay out of unwanted trouble. But if you face a challenge, consult with sensible and wise individuals whom you trust. If you feel that your organization is infested with office politics, consider changing your job.
Having overcome all the obstacles to this point, you will still need to demonstrate that you can take on a challenging assignment and are willing to put in sheer hard work to earn success. There is no substitute for sheer hard work, and predominantly, fresh graduates have to work even harder as they have to prove their worth. So be prepared to put in some extra time. If you need help or clarity, be sure to ask for it. Most seniors will appreciate that you have sought help prior to the due date of your assignment.
This brings me to the last and perhaps the most crucial point. In your first few years (first three years) you should be religiously committed to building your knowledge, skill set and sound experience. Many graduates start worrying about what they are being paid, a few months after they are hired. This starts affecting their performance as they start assuming they are entitled to or deserve more. Such negative thoughts, unfortunately, move the fresh graduate away from the real objective which is to build up strong knowledge and skills by working hard. Remember, in the first three years of your career, focus not on what you are earning, but what you are learning. www.managertoday.pk | MANAGER TODAY | 41
42 WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
TAZEEN NAUMAN
he ratio of women labor force participation is very low in Pakistan. According to the Labor Force Survey 1999-2000, female participation rate was merely 14% of the total labor force. (World Bank, 2002) In Pakistan, it has been observed that when the family size increases by one, women are 0.5% more likely to participate in the economic activities and an increase of monthly expenditure by one rupee increases the possibility of involvement of women in economic activities by 0.01%. In household residing in rural areas of Pakistan, women are 9.6% more likely to participate in economic activities. A few large cities of Pakistan are a varied mix of social classes and walks of life, and women can be found working in a broad assortment of professions. We can classify them into three predominant socio-economic categories i.e. a) lower economy class b) middle economy class and c) high economy class. Marital status, education level, family size, household’s financial status and area of residence are also main casual factors behind women making their own decisions about paid employment. In Pakistani household, work is considered to be a woman’s primary role. Due to the increase of economic pressures on families in the past few decades, the traditional restrictions on women have lessened and large numbers of women have taken on paid employment. For better understanding, a sample of Pakistani women was interviewed. These collected narratives create a picture of the current status of working women of Pakistan and the turmoil they go through. Samples were divided into aforementioned three major categories by their occupations because of the extreme variations in socio-economic sta42 | MANAGER TODAY | www.managertoday.pk
WORKING WOMEN IN PAKISTAN tus among them. Naseem (23 years), who works in different houses as a maid, says: “I work in different houses and by the end of the day I get very tired, because at home I also have to take care of the kids and house work. My husband is suffering with a chronic disease and is unable to do a job. We hardly make both ends meet.” Women in Pakistan, whether from moderately educated or religious backgrounds, are often found working in traditional jobs like teaching or offices/factories. Teaching gives them an edge, where most of their contact is with children and a gender-segregated environment is easily maintained. Women who are less educated leave school early and enter the job market due to financial pressures. Even so, they are usually not career oriented. Most of these middle-class women become teachers/receptionist or occupy similar positions. Annum, a 32-year-old receptionist in a private office, says: “By the virtue of my post, I have to spend long hours in the office sometimes. I do job because my husband’s salary is not sufficient for us. After marriage, my inlaws gave me the permission to enter the
In Pakistani household, work is considered to be a woman’s primary role. Due to the increase of economic pressures on families in the past few decades, the traditional restrictions on women have lessened and large numbers of women have taken on paid employment.
work market. As I have no specialized skill, I got a job of receptionist only. I have to carry this job for the sake of my kids, so that I can give them a better standard of living.” In Pakistan, women from well-educated and socially advanced families have fewer traditional restrictions and like to compete with men. They have the opportunity to pursue non-traditional jobs and careers. They are working in white-collar management, administrative, creative and academic positions. 25 year old Komal works as a Human Resources Consultant in Pakistan and is MBA (HR) from a private college. “I am utilizing my education to reach the peak of self-actualization. I do not work to augment the family income, rather I work on my own conditions. Soon, I will start my own consultancy firm. I am learning so fast. I am satisfied with what I am.” The major problem that Pakistani working women face is the society where the contact with males is supposed to be minimal. Many of them are subjugated and are compelled to concentrate on low paid jobs, which are comparatively less attractive to men, poor conditioned and monotonous occupations across Pakistan. A very strong factor negatively influencing the participation of women in the workforce is the practice of seclusion. Sexual harassment is the curbing factor, where it is employer’s responsibility to provide assurance in this regard.
Changing Social Opportunities not Problems The pressure to conform to traditional female behavior in Pakistan, including submission to household interests as dutiful wives and daughters, has also changed. They have started entering jobs that were considered to be exclusively for males a few years back, particularly in the category of higher managerial level jobs. Nowadays, women have much more opportunities and prospects for assertion of their individuality and talents. With its comfortable environment, the services sector has increased the chances for women, where they can actively participate and excel, even from a distant place. It is prime duty of social sector organizations in Pakistan to create awareness in order to safeguard their rights and privileges and to put a check on practical aspects that women are authorized to crop and cultivate their talent in order to pursue their careers. It is imperative to recognize the role of women in the economic development of Pakistan and Government should acknowledge and encourage them by providing them with quality education opportunities and also fulfill their training needs. Women should be given the fundamental rights of justice. For further improvement in this area and empowerment of working women at work places, Pakistani Government should take notice that there should be opportunities provided in all sectors in terms of legal, social and cultural realms and to assure that they have fair share in all areas of economic development of the country. Equal employment opportunities should not only be offered by employer but should also be followed in its true sense. Hence, if the focus is right, working women problems will definitely find its way towards a positive solution. REMEMBER! Like a marathon runner, you (women) should keep going and believe in what you're doing. You should not give up, as your participation is most needed. n
TAZEEN NAUMAN is Masters in International Relations, MBA and a Certified HR Professional.
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44 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW IJAZ NISAR
VISIONARY ENTREPRENEUR MAJ. (R) IJAZ MUHAMMAD KHAN CHAIRMAN, ALI AKBAR GROUP In this age of rapid industrialization when most of the entrepreneurs are keen to invest their money in various modern industries, there are some prudent businessmen who are fully aware of the immense potential and vast scope of progress in the agricultural sector of our country. With this strong realization, they have focused their business ventures on agriculture and have tremendously progressed. Ali Akbar Group of Industries is one such example which, for the last several years, has been closely
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linked to agro chemicals manufacturing and other agriculture related activities. Its extraordinary growth and achievements are a living proof of its management’s unwavering belief that agro-based industries offer unlimited opportunities for the investors and entrepreneurs. In an exclusive interview with the “Manager Today”, its Chairman, Major Ejaz has discussed in detail the factors responsible for the amazing success of this group of industries. His views regarding management style, human resource development, training, corporate social responsibility, finance and other such key aspects of the contemporary business world, can serve as a beacon of light for all those who wish to make their mark in this field.
Q:
First of all, we would like to know something about your family, professional and academic background. I belong to a middle class family of Narowal and was born in a village, from where I got my early education. Our group of industries has been named after Ali Akbar, who was my grandfather. He was an enlightened man and in 1896, he graduated from Allahabad University and in fact, topped the university. Afterwards, he joined the government service and retired as Deputy Commissioner before the partition of India. Coming back to my early life, as there was no college in that area, I moved to Gujarkhan with my uncle and continued my education there. After graduation, I joined the army in 1970 and fought at the Lahore Front in the 1971 war. After serving in the army for a few years, I got early retire-
ment and in consultation with my family, devoted all my attention to business. Two of my brothers have been in active politics. Ehsan Iqbal, the prominent PMLN leader is one of our cousins. Thus, members of our family have been related to politics, armed forces, business, agriculture and government service.
Q:
Business is a complex phenomenon, involving several sectors such as management, finance, HR and marketing, etc. Which of these are of greater importance in your opinion? Each of them has its own particular importance, but in my opinion, timely availability of sufficient amount of finance is of utmost importance for the smooth running and success of any business. Financial security often results in an above average growth, which is about twenty to twenty-five per cent. HR is also extremely important. If you have the right people for the right job, they can be of immense help to you in the promotion of your business. Devoted, dedicated, committed, honest and skilled workers are the greatest asset for any business enterprise. Without them, no businessman or industrialist can ever succeed in implementing his vision and achieving his targets.
Q:
Which qualities do you wish to see in the top manager or head of a business organization?
During my stay in the army, I came to know of the supreme significance of discipline for success in life. I now believe that the manager and other top officials of a business organization may not possess the highest intellectual level, but they must be disciplined in all their activities. Then comes the need for devotion, dedication, passion and honesty. Moreover, they should exhibit patience, tolerance and far sightedness. Unfortunately, these days, the top officials of many business organizations seem to be in some needless hurry and are found to be taking quick and shortsighted decisions, without contemplating on their long term implications. This type of approach has a negative impact on the youngsters and newcomers. When they observe their seniors taking hasty decisions, they too develop a similar attitude. This rash and intolerant behaviour proves to be a major stumbling block in their individual progress as well as in the growth of the organization for which they work.
Q:
In this age of rapid industrialization, how much scope is there for those entrepreneurs who are willing to invest in the agricultural sector, particularly in the circumstances prevailing in our own country? I have a diverse experience of handling different types of businesses. In the light of my experience, I firmly believe that, in our country, agriculture is the only sector which has the maximum growth potential. We already have an excellent infrastructure in the form of vast land and plenty of manpower. By diverting a little bit of care, attention, planning and resources towards agriculture, we can change the destiny of our nation. Currently, like many other countries of the world, we are also facing food shortages, resulting in ever increasing prices of food items. This problem is likely to become worse in the times to come. With a little bit of effort, not only can we meet our own food shortages, but we can also export huge quantities of food items to the rest of the world and can thus earn a considerable amount of the much needed foreign exchange. We do not require too much investment in this sector, because the basic facilities are already available. There is no shortage of resources in our country. The only thing we need is the proper management and utilization of the available resources. There are vast tracts of land in our country which are still uncultivated. By ensuring an adequate supply of water, we can reclaim these lands and make them arable. If all the available agricultural land in the country becomes productive, it will usher in a new age of progress and prosperity, without shortage of food and jobs. Majority of our people still live in rural areas and every year, there is a mass migration of villagers to the urban areas in the hope of job opportunities. But many of them fail to acquire a job in the cities, whereas unemployment rate is already very high. In such circumstances, many frustrated people become involved in different types of criminal activities, hence deteriorating the law and order situation in the cities. All such problems can be effectively tackled by the enhancement of agricultural output, which will generate immense job opportunities for the villagers, who will no longer be required to shift to the cities for their better future.
Q:
Are you satisfied with our present educational system? What changes do you suggest to make it more effective and useful?
Our educational system is, by and large, functioning along traditional lines, producing clerks and other non-technical persons, for whom job opportunities are extremely limited. I believe that our emphasis should be on producing technically skilled people, who can easily be accommodated in businesses and industries. If they have enough resources, instead of working for others, such skillful people can start their own businesses. More and more students should be encouraged to study agriculture as their profession. The reason is that agriculture is a very vast field, consisting of many sectors, each of which is full of opportunities. Irrigation, animal husbandry, water storage, tunnel formation, food growth, mechanized farming, dairy farming and grain storage, etc. are some of the several agricultural sectors which have a huge scope for the students as well as for those who are ambitious to invest their money in agriculture. Despite this immense growth potential of agriculture, we only have a handful of institutions in our country which provide quality education and training to those who wish to adopt it as a profession.
Q:
Being one of the topmost business personalities of this country, you must be having some extraordinary management style and strategy which has made you successful. Would you like to share it with our readers? In our organization, there is no concept of employers and employees. Instead, we attempt to promote a pleasant and homely atmosphere, where everyone feels himself to be a part of the family and a part of the system. We make people believe that they are working with us and not for us. With such feelings of familiarity and goodwill, people in most cases, work whole heartedly and devotedly, for their own benefit as well as for the benefit of the organization. In addition to this, I assign some particular responsibility to each and every employee and then make him realize that he is fully responsible for his specific job. At the same time, I provide him sufficient time and opportunity to demonstrate his skills and accomplish the given assignment. With this sense of responsibility and relief, everyone works to the best of his potential and shows excellent results.
Q:
What initiatives do you take for the proper training of your management and other employees? www.managertoday.pk | MANAGER TODAY | 45
Business is not something static or theoretical. It is a highly technical and purely practical field, in which there is a constant influx of new tools, ideas, systems, styles, techniques and strategies. Realizing this all-important fact, we have regular training sessions from the highest to the lowest level in our organization. Recently, we had a three-day training session at G.M. level in Murree. Every year, we have training sessions abroad. Frequent training sessions are also arranged for the junior workers. Thus, training is a continuous and integral feature of our organization and it has contributed a lot to the rapid growth and expansion of our business.
Q:
Confronted by many challenges and problems of gigantic magnitude, our country is passing through a critical phase of its history. What remedies would you like to suggest for overcoming these problems and challenges?
Our country has been blessed with enormous bounties and potentialities. We are the basic manufacturers and not the service providers. We have been endowed with all those resources and facilities which are needed for a vibrant and flourishing economy. We only need to be honest, focused, systematic, pragmatic and patriotic. Instead of passing the time and taking short-term decisions, our leadership must take long-term decisions, based on farsighted planning. By acting upon the two golden principles of merit and accountability, we can overcome most of our problems and put our country on the road to progress.
Q:
You are running one of the most successful business organizations of the country. In this capacity, how do you fulfil your corporate social responsibilities? As a family, we have always had a strong passion for education. I have already told you about my grandfather Ali Akbar who graduated from Allahabad University in 1896. Narowal and its adjoining rural areas have lagged far behind in quality education. With this fact in mind, we are providing money as well as land for opening new schools and technical colleges for boys as well as girls in this area. Moreover, in every hour of need, we provide generous assistance to our countrymen. For instance, when there was widespread flooding in Sindh and Punjab in 2010, we spent millions of rupees to provide food, clean drinking water and other essential commodi-
46 MANAGER TODAY | April - May 2010
ties to the flood affected people.
Q:
Everyone has his or her own definition of success. How do you define it? People generally relate success with money. Those who have more money are regarded as successful, while others are considered to be unsuccessful in life. This type of feeling often leads to depression, frustration, tension and stress. Personally, I do not believe in calculations, figures and numbers to measure the level of success and failure of a person. I consider a person to be successful who, by dint of his own good behaviour and noble actions, earns a good reputation and respect among his friends, colleagues and society as a whole.
Q:
Being the head of a rapidly expanding business organization, you must be a very busy man. How do you manage time in the hectic routine of your life? To be very honest, I have a lot of free time at my disposal and I do not have any hectic routine. The reason is that I have a good team for implementing my plans and decisions. I only have to attend some regular meetings and supervise the work. I, therefore, get a lot of spare time which I like to spend with my family and friends.
Q:
Who are your role models in history?
I am greatly inspired by the personalities of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Quaid-e-Azam. Unfortunately, by not acting upon their principles
and policies, we have suffered much and are facing all sorts of problems.
Q:
Are you optimistic about the future of our country?
Undoubtedly, we are gripped by numerous crises and dilemmas currently and a general atmosphere of despair and pessimism prevails in the country. But I am an optimistic man and I firmly believe that a very bright, beautiful and prosperous future lies ahead for our country and its people. As darkness is always followed by light, I am sure that sooner or later, our country will also pass through this turbulent period and enter a new age of peace and progress. I may not be there at that time to see those beautiful days, but my sons or grandsons will surely be there. Things are slowly moving in the right direction. Today, everyone is talking of change. I am also convinced that the long awaited and much anticipated change is, at last, knocking at our doors. This is a beautiful country and certainly it has a beautiful future.
Q:
What message do you have for our youngsters?
I always advise my sons and other youngsters to lead a target oriented life. They should set targets for themselves carefully and wisely. And once the targets have been set, they must pursue them wholeheartedly. Half hearted measures are quite useless. Achievement of targets gives immense satisfaction and joy. Furthermore, people should work with utmost devotion, dedication, passion and honesty. n
48 CORPORATE EVENTS
TRAIN THE TRAINER
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To remain successful in these competitive times, all companies must constantly strive to make the best use of all their resources. This applies particularly to making the best use of the company workforce. The pace of change continually impacts business and requires companies
to ensure that the skills of the workforce are developed to meet those changes. It is therefore important that Human Resource and Training Departments contribute to the organization’s overall strategic goals by training and developing the workforce effectively. This two-day extensive
training organized by Manager Today & Rays Training, with course leader Mr. Ijaz Nisar, Founder & President of Manager Today Magazine. Participants really enjoyed and learned a lot from the training and its modules covered.
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EVENTS 50 CORPORATE
Ibrahim Qureshi, Director, iraffels
Kamran Rizvi, Director, Navitus
A Tribute to
Steve Jobs Breakthrough Creativity & Innovation Naeem Zamindar, CEO, Wateen Manager Today Magazine presented a Tribute to Steve Jobs on 23rd November, 2011 at Royal Palm, Lahore, with almost 150 participants. When it comes to innovation, Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple Inc.) is legendary. The catchphrase of his company, "Think Different�, is not just a marketing tool, it's a way of life --a powerful, positive and game-changing approach to innovation that Participants attending the session anyone can apply to any field. The concept behind this interactive dialogue was to discover exciting new ways to unlock your creative potential and to promote an environment that is not only conducive to innovation but also allows it to flourish. Participants learned the visionary leadership and the ways to thrive in most challenging times.
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Participants attending the session
Nina Maria Fite, U.S Consul General, Lahore
Participants attending the session
Participants attending the session
Ijaz Nisar, Naeem Zaminadr, Nina Maria, Ibrahim & Kamran Rizvi sitting as Key Note Speakers
Dr. Ehsan Malik
Participants attending the session
Participants attending the session
Participants attending the session
Participants attending the session
Participants attending the session
Participants attending the session
Participants attending the session
Participants attending the session www.managertoday.pk | MANAGER TODAY | 51
52 ENTREPRENEUR
IJAZ NISAR
ENTERPRISING
ENTREPRENEUR Isphanyar M.Bhandara CEO, Murree Brewery
In the scorching heat of the long summer days, when temperatures rise sharply and load shedding is at its worst, everyone loves to refresh himself with delicious fresh fruit juices and other soft drinks. There are numerous companies, registered as well as non-registered, which manufacture and supply these much needed refreshing and relishing drinks, in all seasons, especially in summer, to alleviate the horrors of the heat and to provide instant energy and freshness to the people. One of the oldest among all such companies operating in Pakistan is Murree Brewery, whose products are widely known and appreciated for their excellent quality . In an exclusive interview with the “Manager Today”, Mr. Isphanyar M. Bhandara throws light on the factors responsible for the great success of his company and has also hints at the root causes of the economic and political problems our country is faced with. His frank and forthright analysis of the government’s fiscal policies regarding the business sector, deserves to be studied with utmost care and attention by our economic planners and policy makers.
Q:
Our readers would surely like to know something about your family, academic and professional background and your current position as the CEO of Murree Brewery.
I was brought up in Pakistan in a very open and liberal atmosphere and had a great desire to spend the maximum time among my friends and family. But my father always insisted that I must go abroad for higher education. Acting in accordance with his desires, I went to the United States and graduated from an American public school in Dallas, Texas. But soon afterwards, I returned home and got Bachelors degree from Sir Syed college. Later, I got my MBA degree from the School of Business and Commerce, Islamabad, where I 52 | MANAGER TODAY | www.managertoday.pk
worked on a number of HR projects during my studies. As far as Murree Brewery is concerned, it is our family business. It was founded by the Britishers in 1860. It came into our family in 1947, where my late grandfather was working as its Director. After his demise in 1961, the business was taken over by my father and when he passed away in 2008, I became the CEO of Murree Brewery, which has a Board of Directors with a separate Chairman. Thus, this business has been in our family for three generations, but unlike other family businesses, in which the members of the same family hold almost all the key posts, I am the only member of my family as a working member of its Governing Board, while my mother is
a non-executive member of the Board.
Q:
What are your major products on sale for the customers?
We have about two dozen alcoholic products and about a similar number of non-alcoholic products. Our products include fresh fruit juices, carbonated soft drinks, liquor, gin and mineral water. We also make glass bottles by the name of MG. Pakistan has about six or seven glass factories and ours is one of them.
Q:
As the CEO of your company, what kind of challenges you have to face while running your juice business?
Our biggest threat or challenge comes from the non-organized sector, in which there are a large number
the next five years?
In this age of soaring inflation, acute food shortages, massive corruption, overpopulation, mass illiteracy, crippling energy crisis and moral bankruptcy, one can hardly be hopeful about the future. As a direct outcome of growing economic pressures, if workers are mentally upset, physically undernourished and constantly worried about the basic needs of their family, their performance is bound to be affected adversely. If such problems are not tackled effectively and timely, the whole business and industrial sector of the country is likely to suffer in the coming years. I feel no hesitation in saying that
of people who are running the juice business in the form of a cottage industry in streets and Muhallas. They neither pay their taxes, nor get themselves registered. In the absence of strict copyright laws in our country, without any hesitation or difficulty, they use the bottles and labels of other companies and promote their own products, which may not be of a good quality, but are much cheaper in price. During the past few years, the purchasing power of the common man has collapsed and price has now become the priority for the people instead of quality. With this realization countless non-registered juice companies are successfully expanding their business, by selling low quality products, at a much cheaper rate. Even in the organized sector, there are some who don’t honestly pay their taxes
PROFILE Isphanyar M. Bhandara, CEO, Muree Brewery, joined the family business, Murree Brewery Co. Ltd., Rawalpindi - one of the oldest public limited companies of the sub-continent - in 1997 (part time). Worked at various departments/positions within the company and later on joined Board of Directors of the company in 1998. Became Executive Director in June 2005 and later on appointed as Chief Executive of the Murree Brewery Group of Companies on the demise of father in June 2008.
and utility bills and nor do they strictly abide by the labour laws formulated by the government. Such shortcuts and wrong doings produce an atmosphere of unhealthy competition, which is damaging and challenging for us who don’t compromise on quality and like to follow the laws in their letter and spirit.
Q:
Apart from the challenges that your industry is facing, how do you see the overall situation of businesses and industries in our country during
Musharraf’s era was the golden period for business community. In fact, all segments of society, including the rich, the poor, middle class, religious minorities, women, media etc. were happy during that period. Only a small number of selfish people were discontented at that time. Unfortunately, our politicians are more loyal to their own vested interests and parties than to their country. As a nation, we have a shallow mentality, with no intelwww.managertoday.pk | MANAGER TODAY | 53
Fake or bogus degrees may help them getting a job, but they can never create that deeper understanding, which must be the outcome of good education. Instead of looking for shortcuts to success in life, they should develop the habit of hardwork, persistence and honesty. lectual maturity. We love to judge a person’s worth by his car, dress and bank balance, etc. instead of his moral strength, technical skills, intellectual maturity or character.
Q:
How do you cope with such huge difficulties and challenges?
I tell my staff that challenges and difficulties are there, but we have to march forward. I will be wrong if I believe that one day all problems and difficulties will disappear, because such a day might never come. In such a dismal situation, the only thing that we can do is to make the best possible utilization of all the available human and material resources and this is exactly what I try to do.
Q:nomic policies of the PPP GovernAre you satisfied with the eco-
ment?
Not at all. I believe that the PPP government is pursuing wrong fiscal policies, which are not expected to yield any positive results. Whenever PPP comes to power, it deliberately attempts to incite the workers against their employers. When the employers and the employees are at loggerheads with each other, no business organization or industry can ever flourish. But this is exactly what the PPP has been doing ever since coming to power. An organization dies instantly when its workforce is politicized. We have seen the devastating results of such policies in the case of PIA, Pakistan Railways and Pakistan Steel Mills. Instead of attempting to balance the credit and debit line, the government urges the companies to employ more workers, give them higher salaries and make them permanent. Political appointments and interference in purely economic activities seriously undermine the process of economic growth. Instead of facilitating and 54 | MANAGER TODAY | www.managertoday.pk
encouraging the owners of businesses and industries, the government is irritating and discouraging them. I always get really upset when politicians approach me and urge me to employ their people. The reason is that in 95 percent of such cases, who are appointed on political grounds, prove to be inefficient and incompetent. Politicians and bureaucrats never miss the opportunity of teasing and squeezing the businessmen. They enjoy creating hurdles and obstacles in their way and believe that every businessman has huge piles of wealth which must be grabbed by hook or by crook.
Q:
How do you fulfil your corporate social responsibilities?
There are a number of ways in which we fulfill our corporate social responsibilities. First of all, we make every endeavour to provide quality products to our customers, so that they can have the worth of their money. Murree Brewery was running an excellent school which was nationalized by Bhutto. But even now, we assist that school in repair and maintenance. Also, Bhandara Foundation which is actively involved in various charitable activities may be described as an arm of Murree Brewery. Many prominent people, like Nasira Iqbal, are associated with Bhandara Foundation which regularly assists Shokat Khanam Hospital and other such humanitarian organizations. Besides, whenever someone comes to me with a request for financial assistance, I never say no to him and make sure that he should not go back empty handed.
Q:
Would you like to tell our readers about your management style?
I like to delegate powers to my staff members, but at the same time, I assign responsibilities to each of them. I make
sure that everyone is fully aware of his responsibilities and makes his maximum, sincere and honest efforts to fulfill them. I tell them that despite their best efforts, they may fail at times, but even if they fail, they should fail with responsibility. This is exactly what my father taught me. I try to make them realize that they are working not for me but for themselves and for their own benefit. A kind of homely and family atmosphere prevails in our organization, where people love to live and work for a long time. The number of workers who leave our factory is one of the lowest in the country. We have such employees whose fathers and grandfathers had also worked with us in the same factory.
Q:
Do you have an elaborate HR policy?
We are a small company, consisting of five groups of companies and the total number of our employees is around 1100. We may not have an elaborate HR policy, but our policies have a preference for the workers, because my late father was always helpful and sympathetic towards the poor and the needy. Whenever any of our workers retires, we like to replace him with his son. However, at the senior management level, whenever there is a vacant post, we give the ad in the newspaper. We provide every possible facility to our workers, but at the same time, we keep on telling them that they must never be un-
mindful of their duties and responsibilities. I regularly send my staff members to training workshops and even to other countries to learn new techniques of brewing. We have employed a colonel doctor for the regular moral training of our illiterate workers in a small classroom inside Murree Brewery. They are taught basic values, to be useful to others and to feel the collective responsibility. Moral degeneration is one of our worst tragedies and people deliberately violate all moral laws for success in life.
Q:
How can we tackle the problem of widespread unemployment in our country?
Unemployment can only be controlled by creating more job opportunities in the private sector. This can only happen if the government stops interfering in the affairs of the business community. If businessmen, entrepreneurs and industrialists are provided a favourable, congenial and peaceful atmosphere that is full of encouragement and incentives, they will surely expand their business ventures. And for each new enterprise, they will have to employ new people. This is how new jobs can be created. But in the present circumstances, far from opening new businesses, even the existing ones are hard to manage. There is discouragement at every step. Suppose someone wishes to start a new business or
expand his existing business. In that case, he will have to pass through a long, tiresome, extremely complicated and complex process, during which he will be required to grease the palm of the people linked to all the concerned departments.
Q:
Who has been the main source of inspiration in your life?
Throughout my life, my late father has been the main source of inspiration, training and education. I was brought up under his strict scrutiny and close observation. He strictly controlled my activities and before doing anything, I had to seek his permission. It was he who taught me the art of business which now I am handling quite successfully, by Allah’s grace.
Q:
What is your definition of success?
I believe that success is linked to hardwork, moral and financial honesty, diligence and responsibility.
Q:
Do you have some message for our youngsters?
The youngsters should concentrate on getting good education and genuine degrees and should not run after fake degrees. Fake or bogus degrees may help them getting a job, but they can never create that deeper understanding, which must be the outcome of good education. Instead of looking for shortcuts to success in life, they should develop the habit of hardwork, persistence and honesty.n
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56 CORPORATE EVENTS TRG LearnFest Islamabad TRG LearnFest, Pakistan's pioneering learning festival, is a conglomeration of training providers and seekers. It hosted 100 diverse 75-minute trainings by 80 prominent trainers for 1000 professionals across Karachi & Islamabad. With the mission to strengthen the learning & development industry, promote training providers & cultivate a culture of learning as investment rather an expense, TRG Learn-
Fest provided a platform to establish and bud trainers (individuals and firms) to connect to trainees from corporate, development and academic sectors. TRG LearnFest is Trainers Resource Group's (TRG) annual event, organized in Serena Hotel in partnership with Employers Federation of Pakistan, Manager Today Magazine, Management Association of Pakistan, Nutshell Forum, Octara and Terrabiz. n
Kamran Rizvi
Shireen Naqvi
Sohail Zindani
Ijaz Nisar
Wali Muhammad
Azhar Iqbal MIR
Umair Jalliawalia
Warda Zaman
Wasif Mazhar
Participants attending the session
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Kamran Rizvi moderating the session
Sohail Zindani moderating the session
Ijaz Nisar moderating the session
Shireen Naqvi moderating the session
Umair Jalliawalia moderating the session
Participants attending the session
Participants attending the session
Guest, Kamran Rizvi, Ijaz Nisar, Tosheeba Sarwar, Sohail Zindani & Haseeb Nisar www.managertoday.pk | MANAGER TODAY | 57
Group photo with Mr. Kamran Rizvi & Mr. Ijaz Nisar
Nadeem Chawhan & Ijaz Nisar
Ahmed Fuad, Kamran Rizvi, Kashif Javed, Umair Jaliawala, Sarmad Tariq, Fahad & Iftikhar
A group photo with Kamran Rizvi
TRG team members
Mr. Wali Muhammad with a participant Participant
TRG team members 58 | MANAGER TODAY | www.managertoday.pk
TRG member
Participants
Ijaz Nisar with a participant
60 CORPORATE EVENTS COMSATS 3rd SAICON 2011 COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, M.A Jinnah (Lahore) Campus organized a mega event, 3rd SAICON, an International Conference on Management, Business Ethics and Economics. This international conference was held on 28th and 29th of Dec, in PC Lahore. Chief Guest of the event was Deputy Director Planning Commission of Pakistan Sir Nadeem ul Haq. Besides Rector, Director, Dean, HOD and senior Faculty Members of COMSATS University, Dr. David Sim (Lancaster University, England), President LCCI, eminent industrialists, academicians, economists and bankers were also present in this International Conference. The main attraction of this conference was the presence of more than 40 international participants along with 120 presenters from all over Pakistan. By arranging this International Conference, CIIT, Lahore Campus was able to gather intellectual minds from USA, UK, Spain, Turkey and rest of the developed countries. This conference provided a forum for local industrialists, bankers, professionals, management students and International researchers to sit together and discuss possible solutions for various issues and problems which Pakistan’s economy is facing now-a-days. For this purpose various training sessions and panel discussions were arranged by the organizers of 3rd SAICON. Therefore, by arranging 3rd SAICON, COMSATS University was able to enhance positive image of Pakistan internationally.
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62 POETRY AMNA ALI
My My land was a land of brave and true people Wearing no mask of dichotomy but were real Lush with exuberant greenery and several mineral Soil was carrying grains that reflects light of Celestial Faith, Discipline and Unity prevailed in every nook and corner These were people garb which they wore with great honor The sun showered the land with its golden jewels The bright moon and stars filled the sky with silver hues The cataract flow with extreme joy of freedom It splashed the water down with power and make noise seldom The river, stream and air sing the songs of eternal peace The nature forgot pathetic fallacy and was at ease The land carries hidden treasure in its heart Someone prophesied so earlier in the past But the land has now become a shelter of coward people Not rebellious, courageous, vital but are feeble Barren land echoes the song of disharmony Soil become infertile due to the acts of Blasphemy People have disguised them in many shapes and forms No one give importance to religion and its laws The sun feels shame rising on the imperfect land Moon bade stars with tearful voice of gland The greenery have perished and made the soil heap of sand Eliot in his book called such place a Waste Land The grim, solitude dark nights have spread their veil All the trials of sun to peep through bleak clouds are vain People no longer understand the language of heart and omens Their hearts have become hard like stone that never softens The bright horizon of people in the limitless blue sky Has turned into the chained bird who forgot how to fly The iron cage have grilled the mind with obtrude sense The obscene things have lowered the ethics that made us fell The streets have mortal beings that are dead The land is no more green but filled with blood red The gigantic buildings are shallow with concrete foundations The system is corrupted and besmirched so is the nation The materialistic pursuits have filed in the desires of heart Made it filthy, obnoxious and nasty mart The lusty feelings lighten up in every mind with no shame It provokes them to do unabashed deeds for the sake of fame The wreath around the corporeal frame of land has become pale It no longer stands strong to bear the furious gale The ray of hope is illuminating from no where The petrifying situation made us dead with fear 62 | MANAGER TODAY | www.managertoday.pk