MANAGEMENT
Workplace bullying MOTIVATION
Boosting self-esteem INTERVIEW
Woman of substance Roshaneh Zafar COVER STORY www.themanagertoday.com
BRIDGING THE
LEADERSHIP GAP
WISDOM CORNER
quotable quotes FAITH
CHALLENGE
No religious faith is loftier than feeling ashamed of doing wrong and bearing calamities patiently. n Hazrat Ali (A.S) It's faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth living. Oliver n Oliver Wendell Holmes
When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. n Harriet Beecher Stowe
ATTITUDE
COMMITMENT
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. n Helen Keller The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. n William Arthur Ward
Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere. n Barack Obama
BELIEF There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking. n Alfred Korzybski To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. n Anatole France
COURAGE Courage is the ladder on which all the other virtues mount. Clare Booth Luce Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. n Winston Churchill
EXCELLENCE FORGIVENESS Punish your servant, if he disobeys Allah, but forgive his disobedience to yourself. n Hazrat Ali (A.S)
The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it. n Pearl S. Buck
EDITOR’S NOTE
MAKING THE DIFFERENCE
W Ijaz Nisar Editor-in-Chief & CEO Leading Edge
With the blessings of Almighty Allah, the second issue of Manager Today is in your hands right now. June has just begun; a month when mostly a large part of corporate sector reviews its year-long policies, strategies, financial statements and thus an annual report is made and presented to the entrepreneurs and top managers. Indeed, it’s a hectic time of the year as for the people who lead companies, organizations and various business concerns; it appears as a showcasing time of their employees’ year-long productive performance under their leadership, expertise and hard work. No doubt, everyone loves to be appreciated for one’s productive contribution. But in the wake of current global financial crunch, managers are seen trying to sustain their products and services. But the dilemma with Pakistan is much severe as the country since its inception, has been facing leadership crisis in every sphere of life. Unfortunately, our nation has not been able to produce real leaders so far and due to the decades-long political instability, our economy is still lagging behind despite being blessed with plenty of natural resources and human resource. Keeping the crisis in mind, this issue’s cover story comprises the characteristics of a true, sincere and competent leadership that our country requires in this hour of need. Be it a top manager or leader in a business hierarchy, the sooner these contemporary leaders adopt these traits the better it will be for the future of their businesses and consequently for our country. Our second article on the cover story represents Allama Iqbal’s philosophy on leadership. His philosophy can be applied universally which addresses the leadership problems of modern age. We are sure that this article will be inspirational to many of our readers. We also have included three wonderful business leaders’ interviews in this issue. Get to know our woman of substance Ms Roshaneh Zafar, Founder and President of Kashf Foundation this month. Another interview of a dynamic personality, Mr Ghazanfar Azzam, COO, Kashf Microfinance Bank appears on our Manager’s interview pages while the unique perspective of Entrepreneur ,Mr Farrukh Salim, CEO, Hush Puppies makes his interview a memorable one for you all. The rest of Manager Today’s content has been selected to address the actual issues faced by most of the managers these days. Workplace bullying, anger management, ideas for recession proof businesses, a reflection on succession planning, sales success, customer care, career counseling and several other interesting and useful articles have been included. For your delight, we have not missed to include a movie review besides a comment on an interesting book in this issue. We hope you will appreciate our effort. Please keep us updated with your feedback and don’t miss the next issue’s must-read cover story, ‘Emotional Intelligence Skills for Managers’. Wish you a happy reading till next issue.
Mail Box et me avail the opportunity to pay special thanks for publishing Manager Today, a great supplement for the students of business studies. It’s a considerable addition in library collection of the Punjab University. Ch. Muhammad Hanif Chief Librarian, Punjab University. ---------------------------------------------he headquarters of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority is thankful for the complementary copy of Manager Today. It’s truly Pakistan’s first magazine for the personal and professional development of our people. We appreciate your contribution and services to HR field. Masood-ur-Rehman G.M HR Headquarters Civil Aviation Authority, Karachi. ---------------------------------------------felt great happiness to see the first issue of Manager Today. At last, the need for establishing HR departments in organizations is being recognized in Pakistan. This realization will reshape the organizational performance altogether. I congratulate the whole team of the magazine and wish them great success in the venture. S. Tanveer H. Kazmi, Manager (HR) Murree Brewery Company Limited, Rawalpindi. ---------------------------------------------anager Today comprises very interesting and useful content, covering all the issues and challenges of management practices. Many congratulations on reaching this milestone. Dr Mirza Dilshad Baig Head Organizational Development Management, HR Group Allied Bank, Karachi. ---------------------------------------------must appreciate the bold and timely endeavor you have undertaken. May Almighty Allah helps and blesses you and your team with the best of health, prosperity, peace and courage. Dr Shahid Mahmood Director Ph.D. Program University of Central Punjab, Lahore. ----------------------------------------------
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anager Today is a new idea to impart training and improve professional skills out of classroom. It is a sincere effort on your part to cover all areas from leadership development to marketing and sales development. It feels great to see that the area of human resource management and development has been given prominence. It will surely help enhance the personnel as well as professional life of the readers. I would love to be a regular reader of this magazine. Tariq Naseem SVP/Head Establishment The Bank of Khyber, Peshawar. ---------------------------------------------lease accept my heartiest congratulations on this great achievement of publishing such an enlightening educational and supportive magazine. All the topics I went through inspired me a lot making me read the magazine thoroughly. No doubt this magazine will enhance the professional skills. By introducing such an essential magazine you’ve fulfilled one of the social responsibilities. I must thank you for your great efforts to bringing up the middle managers helping them meet the upcoming challenges in their companies. Wish you all the best. Aneela Sameer,Manager Publicity, Diamond Jumbolon, Johar Town, Lahore. ---------------------------------------------lease accept my heartiest congratulations and best wishes on launching Manager Today. I feel honored to receive the first issue of such an outstanding magazine. Amir Faisal Hashmi Country Human Resource Manager The Coca-Cola Export Corporation Pakistan Branch. ---------------------------------------------he magazine is fabulous and contains tips to enhance personal and professional development. I wish you best of luck. May it becomes a success story very soon. Syed Zakir Hussain Incharge Corporate HR Dept. Descon Engineering Ltd., Lahore. ----------------------------------------------
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eing a student of HR, Manager Today is of great importance to me. The way you are instilling a new soul in HR people for the accomplishment of their personal & professional goals through your rich knowledge and experience in this particular field is highly commendable. I hope Manager Today will keep us engaged and up to date with the core issues and latest developments in our field. Keep it up. Anjum Emergency Program Manager Earthquake Response Program Abbottabad.
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orn and bought up in London, I have completed 18 years working in corporate world around three continents, presently serving at the helm of Serena Hotels countrywide sales and marketing efforts. As I walked into my office yesterday I was greeted by a decent envelope. Upon opening the package, I caught the first glimpse of ‘Manager Today’. I must admit that my schedule did not allow me to read the entire contents, but I found it very hard to put the magazine down. What a breath of fresh air! I felt obligated to ink my feelings. I congratulate you in pioneering something that was really required in our country. Please do convey my profound regards to every member of your team, along with heartiest congratulations on producing such a wonderful product. Raja Nayer Zaman Director of Sales Serena Hotels, Faisalabad. ----------------------------------------------
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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 with your articles, suggestions and recommendations at: ijaznisar@gmail.com editor@themanagertoday.com www.themanagertoday.com Ph: 042 5792066 Don’t forget to mention your full name, postal address and phone number.
A PROJECT OF LEADING EDGE TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT PCPB # 303-M
ManagerToday
CONTENTS
08 12 14 16 20
Bridging the leadership gap
Compare the productivity and morale of a workforce that is encouraged and supported in finding the rare worklife balance with those of a dispirited workforce where work-life balance is not a consideration. You’ll see the difference. The approach ‘take no prisoners’ is a valued management style which every great leader implements in his/her organization
Iqbal on leadership Qaht-ur-Rijal is an Urdu word that describes the absence or rarity of men of caliber in a society. This ‘Qaht-ur-Rijal’ is one of the basic causes of leadership crisis and decline of Muslim Ummah
Workplace bullying Job responsibilities are structured sets of problems required to be solved persistently
Interview
In an economic downturn, scope for microfinance institutions increases more: Ghazanfaar Azzam
Are you shy? Confident? Impatient? The first man had nothing but his instincts and his body to communicate with. Perhaps those were the first signs of body language
Editor-in-Chief Ijaz Nisar Managing Editor Shakil A. Chaudhary Editorial Advisor Shakeel Ahmed Senior Editor Kahkashan Farooq Baig Editor Nabeela Malik Associate Editor Saba Kiani Art Director Faiz-ur-Rehman Marketing Manager Munir Hussain Marketing Executive Sajjad Latif, Hassan Yaseen Operations Manager Muhammad Yasir Sales Manager Haseeb Nisar Photographer Kamran Legal Advisor Muhammad Zulfiqar Ali Buttar
24
Reflections on succession planning Succession is more important than ever; it’s also the most neglected responsibility of the corporate boards
Boosting self-esteem
30 38 48
Positive self-esteem in the workplace nurtures creativity and healthy work practices
New rules for finding your path Are you looking for the six rules that govern career paths, wage levels and the nature of managerial work in today’s post-corporate world? Here we go
An exemplary educationist
The key to success and excellent performance is that one should always be producing results
Healthy food practices Although this term has not been commonly used to describe health in years past, sustainable health is a growing movement
26 34 44 54
Woman of substance
Trust your own self and also trust the people around. There is no reason to doubt every phenomenon
Interview
I would request our government to pay attention to shoemaking industry because of great employment opportunites it offer: Farrukh Salim
One-minute customer
In a matter of 45 to 60 seconds, he managed to bring forth small details of good customer service
Publisher Leading Edge Printer Naeem Qasim Printers Head Office PL-20 Siddiq Trade Centre, Main Boulevard, Gulberg II, Lahore Tel: 042-5792066, 5817048 Email: info@themanagertoday.com Website: www.themanagertoday.com, www.leadingedge.com.pk Contributors Dr. SM Naqi, Maqbool Ahmed Babri (Max), Masood Ali Khan, Bakhtiar Khawaja, Saghir Ahmad, Sonia Urooj, Wali Muhammad, Ghazanfar Azzam, Shahid Nafees, Muhammad Zaheer, Bilal Ilahi, Philip Lal
COVER STORY
IJAZ NISAR
Compare the productivity and morale of a workforce that is encouraged and supported in finding the rare work-life balance with those of a dispirited workforce where work-life balance is not a consideration. You’ll see the difference. The approach ‘take no prisoners’ is a valued management style which every great leader implements in his/her organization
leadership Bridging the
gap in pakistan
8 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009
akistan is a country of dichotomies and contradictions, an enigma in South Asia. At first glance, Pakistan should be at the forefront, a leader amongst its fellow countries. According to the World Bank report, “Pakistan today is South Asia’s most open economy.” However, despite her apparent strong economic and social indicators, things are not as positive as they appear. We have sufficient natural resources and more than sufficient human capital. So what do we need actually? We need good leaders at all levels, especially at the organizational and national levels as it’s the leaders’ vision that matters the most for a country or an organization. All of us face the challenge of leading in an era of discontinuity and ambiguity far greater than it was 10 or 20 years ago. All of us should try to be prescient in a rapidly changing world as we try to peer into the future for better planning and maximum benefits. By now we should be wise enough to idealize the qualities of the people who can lead us against the backdrop of the current situations of our times and the challenges ahead. As we come closer to the fiscal year of 2009-2010, which qualities do we need in our leaders now more than ever? Whatever the organization or the sector is, I propose that this is the high time when our masses need real leaders who nurture and live according to the high values of life, capable enough to unify people and heal the hurts of those who have been oppressed since inception of this country. Bringing hope and unity within the organizations, enterprises and different sectors will create an overall positive impact. Leaders possessing such a dynamic personality traits are necessary to solve the problems and meet the challenges of our time. We do have leaders but these necessary traits are lacking in them. Furthermore, we need such strong leaders who can become role models for the people playing the second lead at every level of an enterprise. Only then
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we can see a trickle down effect of their traits and good policies in effect in an organization. We must keep in mind that our employees are not only workers like machines but they are humans as well. We need leaders who believe and embody the true concept of leadership. They must reflect from the language they use and their actions must show that leadership is a matter of how things should be done. It’s not about tackling things only after the situation becomes worse. It’s the stature and
Bringing hope and unity within the organizations, enterprises and different sectors will create an overall positive impact. Leaders possessing such a dynamic personality traits are necessary to solve the problems and meet the challenges of our time. We do have leaders but these necessary traits are lacking in them. character of the leader that determines the performance and results. We need leaders who firmly believe in the idea of considering employees as the greatest asset of an organization, and they must demonstrate this belief by their policies thus making it a reality, not a slogan. These leaders build a richly diverse organization through powerful representation of their beliefs at every level. They have a realization of the enormous opportunities that rapidly changing demographics present in a society. We need leaders who help clarify the concept and language of the ultimate mission of an organization: whatever it
does what is the motive of the organization’s existence, its purpose, its reason for being there, etc. These leaders invest in building a focused and valuebased demographic-driven organization from top to bottom. We need leaders who communicate proficiently with the people of their organization the clientele and the masses keeping in mind the frame of reference of their target audience. Such leaders when they communicate are heard by their audience. Each and every word of their communication is valued and appreciated. No doubt, the effective use of language is one of the most important skills a leader of future outlook should be perfect in. His one word, one sentence or one paragraph all must be connecting, helping, inspiring, and being heard by the people on large scale. We need leaders who are masters in the art of listening, who practice the rule of thinking first and speaking in the last. Leaders who are healers and unifiers listen to employees complaints peacefully, build consensus, appreciate differences, find common concepts, common language, and common ground to create harmony among employees of his/her organization. We need leaders who in their own lives try to keep a good work-life balance and make this balance a reality in the lives of their people as well. It may appear as an unrealistic ideal in today’s tough work environment but it’s quite workable. Compare the productivity and morale of a workforce that is encouraged and supported in finding this rare work-life balance with those of a dispirited workforce where work-life balance is not a consideration. You’ll see the difference. The approach ‘take no prisoners’ is a valued management style which every great leader implements in his/her organization. Most importantly, we need leaders who share success widely while accepting responsibility of shortfalls and failures. Such leaders have made strict standards of evaluating their own performance, fully knowing that their June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 9
COVER STORY
language, behavior and actions are evaluated against their self-proclaimed values and principles. What is the secret to building a great organization? How do you sustain consistent growth, profits, loyal clientele, willing employees, unique contribution and service in an uncertain economy that can literally change overnight? And how do you build a culture of commitment and performance when the notion of loyalty on the part of customers, employees, and employers seems like a quaint anachronism? The answer lies only within these two words: be yourself. That is both a simple yet extremely difficult goal. It means spending lesser time by benchmarking a best practice and spending of extra time for building an or-
novations even if it is not out of thin air. However, leading creative people in this age of diverse work arrangements and electronic relationships require from leaders themselves to be significantly innovative. The secret, I believe, lies in how individual leaders in variety of settings make room for people with unusual and creative abilities and temporarily become followers themselves. Creative persons stand out from the rest of us. Somehow, their contributions affect large groups and move organizations towards improvement. I call them: ‘explorationists’ (the most creative people in an organization). Yet they function for the most part, being outside or away from their organizations. They work in all kinds of places: in cafes, airports, at home and they benefit from their unusual
The things that will destroy us are knowledge without character, worship without sacrifice, politics without principles and leadership without integrity Quaid-i-Azam
ganization where personality counts as much as quality and reliability. It also means cultivating an ability to embrace paradox. Shakespeare in King Lear tells us that nothing comes from nothing. So do scientists, for that matter. Everything in this world exists already; whatever seems new is only something old re-arranged. So how do we explain innovation? Innovation is a form of change. Though, our culture welcomes change to some extent, but people proposing it, as you might expect, often run into barriers. As our society has become more complex we find important segments of it becoming larger, more structured, more bureaucratic, less nimble and less hospitable to non-conformists and people of unusual ideas. Leaders can help these unusual people bring forth their in10 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009
relationships with the organizations they join. They often have odd reporting relationships but somehow they instinctively insert themselves into organizations wherever they are needed. The changes and innovations they bring about are often more like giant leaps than the small steps most of us experience frequently. They think of the world in larger terms. They work for institutions or societies or culture or greater ideas for mass effect, not for individuals. Their creativity comes from the novel connections they establish between their work and personal and professional experiences and observations. They are usually curious and look for a field where they can satiate that curiosity. Leaders can work to bring these special and creative people forth to have an impact upon the efforts of a group.
Leaders in companies, corporations, banks, industries, academic institutions and the government have already chosen to follow the unusual people who can revive and restore vitality and opportunity in their relative fields. Once a leader commits to a new way of dealing with creative people, the process can be defined quickly. It can be called a search for beneficial surprise. Traditional education does not prepare us for this. Though familiarity with technology helps us deal with such a search, all the technology in the world will not help us discovering the knowledge of ideas, experiments, failures, and successes that we will be requiring on advent of a venture. If we want to find new sources and perspectives, there come two questions which, if thoughtfully considered, are likely to yield good results. The first looks at innovation from a leader’s point of view while the second arises from the view of creative persons. A leader will be careful about measuring the contributions of creative persons. Return on assets has become a Baal in too many organizations. All things cannot and must not be quantified. Financial and legal matters are truly important but they do not lie at the heart of our future. Resist the urge to structure all things alike. We also need to keep in mind that moving up in the hierarchy does not confer competence or wisdom. The discernment and judgment necessary to evaluate true innovation, to doom or give life to good design or breakthroughs in technology lie with people trained in those fields. Creative persons come in all shapes, sizes, and fields: from graphic design and architecture to software design and human resource. The best are volunteers. They can find work almost everywhere and they gauge the quality of their leaders as a way of deciding where they will contribute. Leaders make it possible for creative persons to make something out of nothing---nothing, that is, but expressions of themselves. n www.themanagertoday.com
PASSION No trait is more noticeable in the top business leaders than the passion they share for their policies and their companies. Quite simply, they love what they do. INTELLIGENCE AND CLARITY OF MIND Most successful business leaders are highly intelligent. Some of their intelligence is clearly the kind of raw intellectual horsepower that is innate. However, equally as important as their native smarts is their ability to make the complex seem simple. GREAT COMMUNICATION SKILLS One of the common traits among the 50 business leaders identified by this study is ability to communicate well. best business leaders effectively explain business fundamentals, strategy, alternatives and a course of action in ways that tap the employees’ sense of understanding. HIGH ENERGY LEVEL On an average, the worldclass business leaders work more than 65 hours a week. The line between their work and private life is more blurry. The physical strain of developing strategy, forging consensus, making decisions, building a management team, dealing with regulators, communicating with institutional investors, lobbying the government, traveling – all that require an enormous amount of stamina that seem to be not so enormous to these leaders as they enjoy high energy level sprouting out of their innate ceaseless enthusiasm. EGOS IN CHECK When you are the ultimate boss, it is tempting to take credit for the success of your organization. In contrast, the best of business leaders are humans of small egos. Being quite humble about what they have accomplished, they give credit of hard work, good timing, a healthy dose of luck to the efforts of all staff members and colleagues for the success.
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t is an interesting question for many academicians, consultants and practitioners of management that whether the successful business leaders possess distinct personality traits or simply they are like other managers, maybe with more drive for achievement and luckier than others. If they possess distinct traits, how distinct are they and whether is there any commonality in the personality traits of business leaders across the world? Based on the study of 50 top world-class business leaders, Thomas Neft and James Citrin clarified many of these issues. They found the best of world business leaders possess some distinct traits and there is commonality in these traits across the business leaders. They also identified ten traits these leaders seemed to hold in common and presented them in their book titled Lessons from the Top, published in 2001. These ten traits are:
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INNER PEACE The most successful leaders appear to be least stressed. They are composed, self-assured, and more in harmony than most of the managers. CAPITALIZING ON FORMATIVE EARLY LIFE EXPERIENCES The study found that these leaders believe in the idea of capitalizing on their formative, early life experiences. They believe as people cannot decide who their parents are, what order they are born in, or what economic stratum they grow up in but they indeed can control what they make out of their early life experience. STRONG FAMILY LIFE Comparatively, the divorce rate among managers is higher. However, it is almost zero in case of top class business leaders. Many of these leaders cite their intelligent efforts to balance a strong family life with their work and most importantly the quality of objective advice they get from an intelligent spouse as key ingredients in their success. POSITIVE ATTITUDE As a general rule, these people tend to look at challenges as opportunities and seek to make the best out of difficult situations. Their outlook and commitment to capitalizing rather than punishing mistakes help give employees a sense of responsibility. FOCUS ON DOING THE RIGHT THINGS The great business leaders achieve their results by focusing on the right things throughout the day that include: • living with integrity and leading by example. • developing a winning strategy or a big idea. • building a great management team. • inspiring employees to achieve greatness. • creating a flexible but responsible organization. n
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COVER STORY
ON LEADERSHIP SHAHID NAFEES The writer is a senior training manager in Bank Alfalah
Qaht-ur-Rijal
is an Urdu word that describes the absence or rarity of men of caliber in a society. This ‘Qaht-ur-Rijal’ is one of the basic causes of leadership crisis and decline of Muslim Ummah. Leadership crisis is also responsible for institutional or national decline. Leadership aims at harnessing the potential of people, creating synergy and building effective teams. It is the driving force that synergizes the masses and determines their place in contemporary history of nations or institutions. For leaders, it is their steadfastness and ability to actualize and use the hidden talent of people that determines their own stature. A society is never devoid of people of wisdom and leadership qualities but they fail to break the mold or to bring about any material change because either they are few in numbers or they themselves lack something somewhere. All eminent authors who have written books on Leadership and similar topics provide good amount of insight into such shortcomings. Here, I would
12 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009 www.themanagertoday.com
like to dwell on the subject from purely oriental & poetic perspective. Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali in his Musaddas and Allama Sir Muhammad Iqbal in his Shikwa and Jawab-e-Shikwa have beautifully highlighted the reasons of such paucity of leadership that has ultimately resulted into decline of Muslim Ummah. Indepth study of these two poems gives us a comprehensive reformatory plan in situations of distress like that of ours. I recommend to the readers to study these poems and find out for themselves the plan that is thought-provoking as well as interesting. There are two famous verses of Allama Iqbal in which he describes the essential elements of leadership. Missing out these elements will bring us nothing but ‘leadership crisis. In one of his verses he says, “Nigah Buland, Sukhan Dilnawaz, Jaan Pur Soz, Yehi hai Rakht-e-Safar Mir-e-Karwan ke liey” At another place he says, “Yaqeen Mohkam, Amal Paiham, Mohabbat Fateh-e-Alam, Jehad-e-Zindagani mein hain yeh Mardon ki Shamsheeren” Taking cue from these two verses we find six elements that help us in meeting the challenge of leadership crisis. It suggests developing the right traits in ourselves as well as in those whom we can influence. Stephen Covey has given the world an excellent book on 7 Habits of the most influential people. I wonder if following this set of six elements of leadership highlighted in these two verses carries any less weight. 1. Yaqeen Mohkam means an unflinching belief. This includes: a. Having ‘Self-belief’ b. Developing ‘Trust’ c. Believing in Values and inculcating a Value-based Culture d. Having ‘Faith’ in Allah and things ordained by Him. Impossible things become possible when ‘Yaqeen’ comes into action. To me, the two main problems in our personality are that we do not believe: neither in ourselves nor in others. We can call it a state of ‘Trust Deficit’. Yaqeen Mohkam can certainly and most effectively counter this ‘trust deficit’.
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Creating that type of ‘Yaqeen’ may not be easy but with commitment and right approach, this is something achievable as well as inevitable. 2. Amal Paiham mean ‘perpetual struggle’. It suggests that: e. We should never be complacent. Not even when we have achieved our goals. f. We should always stay proactive and shun passivity. g. We should not remain inactive, naïve or dull. No doubt that thinking, especially this right thinking is very important in determining the direction and goals but nothing can be achieved merely by thinking. It is always action that transforms the societies and brings about change. 3. Muhabbat Fatah-e-Alam: Fatah-e-Alam is described as an adjective of Muhabbat- ‘the love’. It means that love and affection, and similar good feelings are such a strong quality that they can win over the whole world. It is love and care shown for others that wins their hearts. So the third element of this recipe is love, care and compassion for others. This is how we can win over other people and create win-win situations. We know that humility breeds love and arrogance breeds hate. That is why arrogant people always infuse hate amongst others and humility results into feeling of love and attachment. 4 Nigah Buland: This is a very comprehensive phrase that encompasses: A) Element of being a visionary: i. That a person has a vision of the ultimate of his endeavors. ii. That he sees himself and his organization at an appropriate level in a short-term and at a relatively farther future. iii. That he enjoys clarity of thought about all his ideas, efforts, mission and strategy. iv. That he is focused and this focus does not dilute at any stage of his endeavors. The concept of being visionary also means that he has the ability to foresee the opportunities and threats that lie at his
work environment. B) Element of excellence: i. That his objectives in life are not mean or ordinary. ii. He is high-looking and is focused on something big and worthwhile. iii. He does not involve himself in small talk, small thinking and trivialities. C) Element of virtue: i. He is a man of virtue. ii. He himself enjoys self-esteem and cares about the esteem and respect of others. iii. Obstacles in his way cannot diffuse his passion. 5. Sukhan Dilnawaz: In literal sense ‘sukhan’ means conversation or talk but we know now that the ways to talk are diverse and multiple. This phrase therefore includes all types of communication. Dilnawaz means beautiful, attractive or appealing. Iqbal most probably has picked up this phrase from Quranic words of ‘Qooloo Linnase-Husna’. It means when you communicate with people, do it beautifully (and artfully). This attribute of Mir-eKarwan or leader makes it imperative on leaders to learn the art of communication. He should communicate with others in a way that is appealing, beautiful and interesting. 6. Jaan Pur Soz: In Iqbal’s poetry ‘Soz’ means ‘Ishq’ that includes passion and compassion. He strongly believes that it is the dearth of passion, compassion and dearth of Ishq that has done a horrendous damage to Muslim Ummah. Ishq and Janoon for Iqbal, mean doing something with highest degree of zeal and enthusiasm; to put heart and soul in something. He believes that unless we put our hearts and souls, unless we work with Ishq and Janoon we cannot achieve our goals of personal and institutional excellence. It is time for us to find out where we are losing ground with respect to these attributes essential for our personalities and that of our leaders. Excellence, whether it is personal or institutional or national, will be a far cry if we fail to acquire these leadership characteristics defined by Iqbal. n June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 13
MANAGEMENT
WALI MUHAMMAD The writer is an Islamabad-based corporate trainer
Job responsibilities are structured sets of problems required to be solved persistently
Workplace
imilar problems clustered under a variety of designations constitute the functional hierarchy of an organization. The meekest of employees to the CEO, all human resources strive to deal with their given share of problems. Their individual success rates determine the extent of entire organizational output. Facing the ad infinitum performance challenge of modern day competitive environment “workplace bullying� appears as a black hole in an organization and gulps its human resources' ability to perform effectively. Many dysfunctional companies can be traced back to chronic bullies who, under the guise of tough management,
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have victimized a succession of employees. Their vainglorious self-perpetuating manners cause devastating blows to the organizations' talent pool and gnaw at its very ability to achieve its cherished goals. Bullying is a repeated pattern of provoked, unwelcoming, hostile behavior that intentionally inflicts or attempts to inflict injury, insult, hurt, humiliation or discomfort. Targeted, persistent bullying, most often progresses to the ultimate painful consequence of perpetual state of depression, serious social, family and health hazards for the victim. From the physical hounding in the school yards, workplace bullying goes psychologi-
Bullying 14 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009 www.themanagertoday.com
cal, occurring in situations of real or perceived imbalance of power. It can be a difference in personality – one person more dominant than the other, command of language – one person with a sharper tongue and quicker wit than the other. Psychological bullies deploy tactics of malicious teasing, name-calling, hurtful personal remarks, and cunning deflation of competence by strategies such as isolation, humiliation, excessive supervision and denial of employee rights. The situation is insidiously convoluted on the domestic organizational scene, blemished by little awareness and practice of employee rights, scanty legislation and diminutive law enforcement. Victims keep suffering in silence for the fear of losing their jobs. Bullies thrive on the victims' extended insecurities. Bullying usually starts slowly and then escalates rapidly. Hallmark of a bully is double bind communication - where the verbal content of the message does not coincide with the body language or two conflicting ideas about the same subject are packaged in an apparently coherent verbal message - all to confuse the victim. Additional signs are extensive use of negative body language such as eye rolling, eyebrow lifting, heavy sighs, finger gestures, shoulder shrugging and arm movements. Bullies get away with their conduct by making victims feel, it's their fault. Nitpicking - finding out constant small faults in victim's work with a flagrant disregard of any achievements is one of the favorite strategies of bullies. Their constant unjustified criticism eventually convinces victims that they are no good. Belittling tactics are also some sure ways to devastate victims. Isolation is being ignored, ostracized and given the silent treatment during the team meetings while offering less lee way or flexibility to the victim. Systematic incapacitation is extreme level of manipulation where the victim is intentionally excluded from essential information, or misinformed of the workplace developments, called upon in meetings at odd times, issued written complaints, and communicated through sticky notes, instead of personal meetings.
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Classical tactics for a victim's undermining include not providing a clear job description (a deliberate strategy to make the role unclear), devaluation of role by taking away important and interesting tasks replaced with menial tasks. Threats of dismissal are typical at Asian organizational scene, where the organization itself bullies its employees. Behavioral repertoire of bullies cuts across a variety of patterns. They may be differentiated accordingly. Some mastering the blame game, are experts at conjuring thoughtful and caring public appearances. They are calculating, scheming and deceitful deep down. Suffering from narcissistic self-love and convinced of their exalted abilities, they blame everyone but themselves for their mistakes. Even their victims are charmed by their nice manners. ‘I was thinking about you’ is their favorite sentence before delivering devastating criticism to their victims.
Juniors for them are only to be seen not heard. Workplace bullying is definitely a no-win situation. It is not only damaging for the employees being bullied and their families but the business bears its cost through increased leave and tardiness, reduced efficiency and productivity, low morale and high turnover. Good intentions are obviously not enough to escape this quagmire. Successful man is one who finds out what is the matter with the business before his competitors do. Prevention is any organization's best strategy against bullying. This can be achieved through a three prong strategy. FIRST STEP is drafting an anti bullying policy that clearly spells out bullying behaviors. Every member of staff must be provided with a copy and the policy should be updated regularly. SECOND STEP adequate mechanisms
As I entered boss's office, he sat there with manager of administration department. I thought maybe it was not the right time to be around, so I said, "I may come later". But he insisted, I should tell him about my progress. As I began, he quickly picked up small gaps and started spitting fire right away. I felt I was made to go naked in public. Next day he told me that such lessons will help me progress in (A victim) my career.
Opportunistic bullies are extremely career-oriented and if anything comes in their way they use every ploy to eliminate it. They are highly competitive and manipulate circumstances to achieve their ends. Self-preserving bullies are insecure, loyal only to the agenda of personal survival. Utmost authority orientation is their cornerstone. They go any length to appease their superiors though absolutely flip side of coin to subordinates. In the name of system they bash their juniors with no holds barred and hate to see any initiative coming from them. This simply provokes their internalized insecurity that they relieve by searching and advertising their constituents' weaknesses and finding creative ways of demeaning them.
must be drawn to report the bullying behavior. This may include nominating a contact person for reporting, a system of mediation, investigation and sanctions because policy does no good unless enforced properly. THIRD STEP is compulsory training for managers, human resource staff dealing with bullying complaints, the contact people and all the general staff. Training must adequately address the intricacies of assertive communication skills required to become an effective team player rather than a starving slave runner. Even the bullies just like their victims may become valuable human resources; they must be identified and helped before they bring the organization to a grinding halt. n June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 15
INTERVIEW
NABEELA MALIK
In an economic downturn, scope for microfinance institutions increases more: –GHAZANFAR AZZAM
Those persons in the government who do have an understanding of capital generation and realise that microfinance plays a pivotal role in economic and social development of any country, they encourage it
Q
Please give an introduction of your academic profile and the beginning of your professional career. I did graduation in Commerce from Premiere College, Karachi and joined Habib Bank Limited (HBL) as a probationer officer. Banking appealed to me much but a feeling of incomplete education remained with me even being on the job. So I appeared in professional exams and completed DIBP. Seeing my interest in teaching and training, I was invited to the HR training institute of HBL in Peshawar which I joined immediately. There I along with others started contacting private corporate sector. It was the time when private banks were again being nationalised and training was absolutely a new institution. At start, we could find only ten to fifteen nominations from our own bank. Getting a good number of trainees proved really difficult. Thus, we started inviting other banks and multinational compa-
nies in our trainings. It proved very successful as this exercise gave our employees a fair chance of sharing their knowledge and experience with trainees coming from other institutions. With passage of time, our trainings became very popular among different companies. Many banks became our regular clients including Bank of America, City Bank, Faysal Bank and Indo-Swiss Bank.
Q
Please share with us the factors you focused on to excel in your profession? Although I was working successfully, I started feeling lack of experience of international level because the people I was interacting with had vast exposure of international companies and banking. Thus, I applied for Chevening Scholarship and also the American Fulbright Program; luckily, I was shortlisted for both scholarships. On my own discretion, I went for the
16 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009 www.themanagertoday.com
Mr. GHAZANFAR AZZAM Chief Operating Officer at Kashf Microfinance Bank, sports a dynamic personality. In a career spread over 22 years, this Fulbright-Hubert Humphrey fellow has worked for four leading Pakistani banks including Habib Bank Limited, Union Bank (now Standard Chartered Bank, Pakistan), Bank Alfalah and Prime Bank (now part of Royal Bank of Scotland, Pakistan). He has held senior positions in many international institutions; served as “Financial Sector Specialist� for a Chicago-based institution, Shore Bank International in Pakistan on a USAID funded WHAM project aimed at building and strengthening Small Business lending capacity in Pakistani financial institutions. He is an experienced banker in retail and consumer banking, small business lending, sales force management, training and development. His key skills are strategic planning, leading teams, setting up new lines of business, establishing & managing projects and mentoring & development of staff. Mr. Azzam keeps an inspiring work and personal life balance. His approach towards life and its challenges is quite down to earth. www.themanagertoday.com
INTERVIEW
American scholarship as it was better being the unique opportunity offering new developments. So I went to Pennsylvania State University and completed two semesters and some courses on HR, Leadership and Management. That scholarship program gave me a great exposure. They arranged a World Bank seminar on global finance in Washington DC and we were given access to the capital market of New York. Last in the program was the option of working with an American bank for four months. They asked me if I was interested in any bank, I gave them three names including Citi Bank and ABN Amro. The response of ABN Amro was the best, it offered me to work at it’s headquarter in Chicago. Thus, I ended up my scholarship with ABN Amro in Chicago for four months. After completing my scholarship, I had to decide whether to return to my own country or to build my career in America. Meanwhile, a very nice and senior colleague of mine, Mr. Bakhtiar Khawaja, now Head of the Learning and Development department of Bank Alfalah contacted me and insisted me to join Bank Alfalah (then an emerging bank in Karachi) if I wanted to come back to Pakistan.. I came back to Pakistan and joined Bank Alfalah as the training manager. In 2002, I rejoined Prime Bank’s business side. By that time, the State Bank of Pakistan had started recognizing Small and Medium Enterprises, we also set up SME as a special line of business as it was a very important area of finance. I served as the country head of consumer banking and as the regional head of Prime Bank as well. In 2005, acquisitions and mergers of banks got started. At that time I came to know about a Chicago-based institution, Shore Bank International. They were assigned a three-year SME and Microfinance Sector Development project in Pakistan. They declared a position of a financial sector specialist, requiring a Pakistani having a good knowledge of the industry and the ability to communicate with the Pakistani industry. They selected me and I worked with them for around two-and-a-half year. 18 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009
We have 18 branches in operation at present and by the end of 2009, this count will raise up to 32 branches while within five years Kashf Bank will become a hundred branches network InshAllah. We also hope to fetch one million savers to our bank within five years. We are also planning to reach up to 500 thousand microfinance borrowers in the same time period
Q
When and how did you shift to microfinance banking? Being with the Shore Bank, I actually came to know about microfinance banking while being in the commercial banking, I could never understand microfinance as most of the bankers from commercial banking do not understand it because of its totally different methodology, mindset and market. It relates to the smallest consumers at the grass root level while commercial banking deals with large groups. I came to know about microfinance through discussions of the international consultants who used to talk about the activities of microfinance institutions all over the world like the performance of Grameen Foundation Bangladesh, Grameen Foundation USA, activities of microfinance in Latin America and the performance of microfinance banks in Indonesia etc. All their stories taught me a lot about microfinance banking in real terms.
Q
During that time, I got many chances to work with Standard Chartered Bank, National Bank of Pakistan and Union Bank’s Kisan Card product. We also conducted many trainings and community awareness programs.
So did this knowledge of microfinance banking pave your way to the Kashf Microfinance Bank? Yes, indeed it was the time when I came across Kashf Foundation and its services in the field of microfinance. I met Roshaneh Zafar, President of Kashf Foundation in forums on microfinance. Roshaneh was of www.themanagertoday.com
Most of the bankers from commercial banking do not understand microfinance banking because of its totally different methodology, mindset and market
We have 18 branches in operation at present and by the end of 2009, this count will raise up to 32 branches while within five years Kashf Bank will become a hundred branches network InshaAllah. We also hope to fetch one million savers to our bank within five years. We are also planning to reach up to 500 thousand microfinance borrowers in the same time period.
Q the opinion that Kashf Foundation had acquired the potential of establishing a microfinance bank. Being well-experienced in this field, I was offered to join the venture. I agreed and in 2007, we started formal steps of establishing the bank. Kashf Foundation had nearly 0.3 million borrowers at that time. We thought of converting them into savers because the foundation could not make savings which could only be done through a bank. In the total investment for the establishment of the bank, Kashf contributed 51% while the remaining 49% was contributed by participants including IFC, the World Bank group, Shore Bank, Women’s World Banking, (a New-York based institution) and also a Dutch group of social investors. We applied for a licence from the SBP. It went through our business plan, evaluated our team and issued the licence to us within a record time of seven to eight weeks. Thus, on October 27, 2008 Kashf Microfinance Bank became operational with 18 lending branches.
Q
Please tell us about the strategic plan of expansion for Kashf Microfinance Bank?
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What are the challenges faced by the bank right now? I think the greatest challenge is the lack of understanding of microfinance among our people. Our commercial banks and bankers do not understand it in real terms. Another point is that as microfinance consists of very small loans and borrowings, it deals with meagre amounts thus its operating cost is very high. For instance, if in commercial banking one person makes a portfolio of 500 million, the same will be done by a hundred customers in the microfinance banking so its operating cost ratio becomes high.
Q
Is the Government of Pakistan helping and promoting microfinance banking? Yes, the Government of Pakistan understands its value and usefulness. The government made a policy for the microfinance institutions, formed a law, enforced Microfinance Act 2001, created Khushali Bank and offered five-year debt holidays to the microfinance banks to help and encourage people to get benefits from its services. Thus, those persons in the government who do have an understanding of capital generation and realise that microfinance plays a pivotal role in economic and social development of
any country, they encourage it. But on the other hand, some negative elements are trying to distort the image and performance of microfinance as they encourage the culture of non-refunding loans to the banks but anyhow, we are trying to cope with these challenges and creating maximum awareness among our people and customers.
Q
In the wake of current economic crunch, do you think that your bank will be able to establish more branches and grow at a high pace? Economic downturn definitely affects all institutions in a country, it affects us as well but if we assess the microfinance institution, we find it in a direct relationship with the low income community as microfinance banks always deal with the low income groups. So, in an economic downturn, scope for microfinance institutions increases more, its unfortunate but a fact that the market of microfinance expands further as poverty increases. However, if the law and order situation worsens in a country then it creates problems and affects the performance of microfinance banking. Incidents like riots and strikes affect our institution also.
Q
Would you like to tell our readers the secret of your success? Practically speaking, there is no shortcut to success, but the factors leading to it include commitment to your goals, dedication and hard work to achieve excellence. The golden principles read in theory must be trusted upon and practiced sincerely, only this belief and sincere hard work will lead to success. n June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 19
COMMUNICATION
Are you shy? CONFIDENT? IMPATIENT? The first man had nothing but his instincts and his body to communicate with. Perhaps those were the first signs of body language. Communication has come a long way now. So, does the body still communicate? 20 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009
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SONIA UROOJ
The writer is a communication trainer and consultant
he world would be in utter chaos without effective communication. History talks about sign languages. Drawings and inscriptions that were used as the means of communication. The most commonly used and understood language is body language which transcend all boundaries and region and cultural aspects. However, unlike other languages, body language can sometimes communicate unknowingly. The trick lies in reading the signs right and understanding them. According to psychologists, there are many other genetic, learned and cultural signals through which we communicate. Some of the most basic and common communication gestures include the smile, when we are happy; the frown, when we are angry and tears, when we are sad. The palms of a person talk much based on their positioning during a conversation. The open palm gesture has often been associated with truth, honesty, allegiance and submission. During normal conversation, open palms (open upwards) indicate how the speaker is trying to impose his honesty with another person. In a conversation where the speaker is slowly opening up and revealing facts, his palms come out open upwards slowly throughout the conversation. This is a completely unconscious gesture implying that the person is telling the truth. On the other hand, an unaware liar will have his palms concealed, hidden in a pocket or folded behind him in an effort to hold back the truth. Palms can also reveal nervousness when they are sweaty or shaky. Other signs of nervousness include knuckle cracking and clenching of fists. Again, clenched fists come as a result of anger and vengeance. Generally, clenched hands are a sign of confidence. Clenched www.themanagertoday.com
hands in front of the face is a hostile gesture while clenched hands held down on the table is an authoritative gesture. Well, if at all there is another part of the body that displays a range of emotions, it is the human eye. Generally, excitement and happiness tend to dilate the pupils four times their original size and anger contracts them. These sharply contracted pupils have given rise to terms like ‘snake eyes’, ‘evil eyes’ or beady little eyes’. It may be easy to hide your inner thoughts by hiding your hands but the same cannot be said about the eyes. There are two ways in which you can gaze at a person, namely ‘the business gaze’ and ‘the intimate gaze’. For that assume the formation of an imaginary triangle on everyone’s head. The triangle has its vertices at the two eyes and a point on the person’s forehead. When conversing with a person, if the gaze is focused on this triangle it is called ‘business gaze’. This is a formal style of using the eyes and talking to the person looking him straight in the eye. If this gaze shifts below the triangle at the nose, mouth and the neck, then it seems ‘the intimate gaze’, meant for casual or informal conversations. All these concepts of body language teach us one thing—every gesture represents a positive or a negative trait. One of the most common gestures is the crossed arms before the chest. This is generally viewed as a defensive gesture and represent a barrier to block unwanted elements from invading your personal space. Another negative gesture is the hand to face gesture. When somebody is lying, he is bound to cover his mouth or start rubbing the area below his nose. Small children often tend to clap their hands over their mouth when they see or do something that they should not
A thumbs-up sign in many parts of the world means ‘it is good’.
Shaking the fist means ‘I am angry’. Its a threat of aggression.
Unlike other languages, body language can sometimes communicate unknowingly. The trick lies in reading the signs right and understanding them. According to psychologists, there are many other genetic, learned and cultural signals through which we communicate
June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 21
COMMUNICATION NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . INTERPERSONAL Brisk, erect walk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Confidence Standing with hands on hips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Readiness, aggression Sitting with legs crossed, foot kicking slightly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boredom Arms crossed on chest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Defensiveness Walking with hands in pockets, shoulders hunched. . . . . . . . . . . Dejection Hand to cheek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evaluation, Thinking Touching, slightly rubbing nose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rejection, doubt, lying Rubbing the eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Doubt, Disbelief Locked ankles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apprehension Head resting in hand, eyes downcast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boredom Rubbing hands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anticipation Sitting with hands clasped behind head, legs crossed. . . . . . . . . Confidence, superiority Open palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sincerity, openness, innocence Pinching bridge of nose, eyes closed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Negative evaluation Tapping or drumming fingers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Impatience Patting/fondling hair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lack of self-confidence; insecurity Tilted head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Interest Stroking chin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Trying to make a decision Looking down, face turned away . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Disbelief Biting nails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Insecurity, nervousness Pulling or tugging at ear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indecision
have. This gesture gets refined with age into the nose touching gesture. It is not always easy to observe and interpret body language. The few perceptive and intuitive people capable of doing this dedicates hours of observation and study. Women are generally more perceptive than men owing to their maternal instincts of communicating with their child. REFINING THE LANGUAGE
Improving body language can make a big difference in people’s skills, attractiveness and general mood. To change your body language you must be aware of it. Notice how you sit, how you stand, how you use your hands and legs, what you do while talking to someone. You might also want to observe friends, role models, movie stars or other people you think has good body language. Observe what they do and you don’t. Here are some tips on what you need to do and what to avoid to sharpen your body language. AVOID DEFENSIVE GESTURES
(Do not cross your arms or legs) keeping your arms open is a welcome gesture as long as they don’t invade your personal space. 22 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009
HAVE EYE CONTACT, BUT DON’T STARE
If there are several people you are talking to, give them all some eye contact to create a better connection and see if they are listening, keeping too much eyecontact might freak people out. Giving no eye-contact might make you seem insecure and unwanted.
SMILE AND LAUGH
Lighten up, don’t take yourself too seriously. Relax a bit, smile and laugh when someone says something funny. People will be a lot more inclined to listen to you if you seem to be a positive person. But don’t be the first to laugh at your own jokes. DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE
It shows that you are nervous and can be distracting for the listeners or the people in the conversation. KEEP YOUR HEAD UP
Don’t keep your eyes on the ground, it might make you seem insecure and a bit lost. Keep your head up straight and your eyes towards the horizon. SLOW DOWN A BIT
Walking slowly not only makes you seem more calm and confident, but will also make you feel less stressed. If someone addresses you, don’t snap your neck in their direction, turn it a bit more slowly instead. DON’T FIDGET
Avoid fidgety movements and nervous ticks such as shaking your leg or tapping your fingers against the table rapidly. USE YOUR HANDS MORE CONFIDENTLY
Use your hands to describe something or to add weight to a point you are trying to make.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO TAKE UP SOME SPACE
BARE YOUR HEART
Taking up space by, for example, sitting or standing with your legs slightly apart signals self-confidence. (Do not overdo it)
Don’t hold anything in front of your heart as it will make you seem guarded and distant.
KEEP YOUR SHOULDERS RELAXED
MIRROR
When you feel tense, it easily winds up as tension in your shoulders. Try to relax.
Often, when you get along with a person, when the two of you get a good connection, you will start to mirror each other unconsciously. That means you mirror the other person’s body language a bit. To make the connection better, you can try a bit of proactive mirroring. If he leans forward, you might lean forward. But don’t react instantly and don’t mirror every change in body language.
ACKNOWLEDGE A CONVERSATION WITH PERIODICAL NODS
Nod once in a while to signal that you are listening. DON’T SLOUCH, SIT UP STRAIGHT
Lean, but not too much. If you want to show that you are interested in what someone is saying. Lean towards the person. If you want to show that you’re confident in yourself and relaxed, lean back a bit, but don’t lean in too much or you might seem needy and desperate for approval.
KEEP A GOOD ATTITUDE
Last but not the least; keep a positive, open and relaxed attitude. How you feel will come through in your body language and can make a major difference. n www.themanagertoday.com
HUMAN RESOURCE
Reflections onsuccession planning Succession is more important than ever; it’s also the most neglected responsibility of the corporate boards
SYED ALI RAZA The writer is head of HR in a multinational company uccession planning plays a key role in an organization’s pursuit of long-term strategies and lasting results. Good management does not happen by itself and succession planning is critical to its continuation. Succession planning is one of the top three responsibilities of corporate boards, along with strategy review/ratification and the evaluation of management performance and compensation. Yet, today’s business headlines are all too full of corporate embarrassments. CEOs stay on too long and stifle potential successors or rivals. Divided—and
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sometimes packed – boards are often out of touch with shareholders’ interests. Internal power struggles lead to excessive exits of talent when a new CEO is finally selected. Shareholder value is damaged as an all-too-public search impedes business operations and erodes employee and public confidence. For good reason or bad, some great companies have drawn adverse publicity in their handling of executive succession. The fault need not lie with the CEO. It may rest with the board, individual directors, active shareholders, core self-styled heirs apparently – to mention just a few
sources. Whatever the cause, the publicity and damage are a matter of public record. Just ask the likes of American Express, Eastman Kodak, IBM, or Sears. How can succession planning be addressed so as to preempt problems and ensure a continuation of good management? First, recognize the importance of the task. Second, it is necessary to overcome today’s tendency to look for a onesize-fits-all solution born of conventional wisdom. Helping to choose the rich successor must be regarded as the ultimate obligation of a CEO. While this is done in covert www.themanagertoday.com
Among many responsibilities of the corporate boards, assurance of a sound succession process is second to none. Yet among the key tasks addressed by the boards, succession, by the nature of its relative infrequency is the most neglected one.
with the board of directors, the responsibility for the quality of candidates and the attractiveness of the job rest with current management. Among many responsibilities of the corporate boards, assurance of a sound succession process is second to none. Yet among the key tasks addressed by the boards, succession, by the nature of its relative infrequency is the most neglected one. The secret is to make succession planning through people’s development as the core value in your corporate culture. In so doing, you not only establish a process for succession planning for all levels, including that of CEO, but you also ensure a continuous supply of qualified candidates. Thus, succession strategy in most organizations must make six transitions: l From an annual event to a continuous process Organizations need to create an environment of continuous succession ‘thinkwww.themanagertoday.com
ing’ instead of annual succession planning. This can be done through more frequent senior management meetings, instead of annual or semi-annual reviews. Greater time can be devoted to followup at regular staff meetings. People and succession issues in business planning can be emphasized. Finally, succession objectives into performance evaluation and management can be better incorporated (For example, one successor as their potential replacement.) l From a short term replacement strategy to a long term development and retention strategy Balance the need for a steady supply of ready talent. The clear benefit is reflected in employees’ appreciation of their development and continuous improvement. l From an emphasis on ‘whom we have’ to an emphasis on ‘what we need’ Companies must create an atmosphere in which external talent can be hired to fill critical skill gaps, independent of job openings. l From position blockage to appropriate turnover in key position Promote and reward capable managers, emphasizing managerial over technical skills. Good managers can routinely assess the potential of incumbents in key positions, develop appropriate action plans, avoid position blockage and stimulate appropriate turnover. l From insufficient bench strength to a pool of ready talent Two factors are vital to bench strength: the involvement of line management in creating individual-specific development plans, and its accountability for followthrough. For example, awards might be
created to recognize and give insight to people’s development. l From subjective evaluation to an emphasis on results and tangible metrics Specific measurements must be established to evaluate succession results. Some measures that have proven useful are: the percentages of key positions that have at least two ready successors; the percentage of key positions filled externally; the percentage of developmental action plans implemented; and the extent to which the process contributes positively to business results. Managing change is the first responsibility of any management. Since change is ever more dynamic, good management – and the process ensuring its continuation – must be constant. To make it happen, analyze your organization’s management needs and communicate them to those instrumental in selection decisions. Implement a continuous program to ensure that those needs will be met. There’s another reason to make sure that the very best people are at the top of the world’s corporations. Today too many people, including members of many governments have the perception that ‘business is bad and the bigger the badder.’ Business bashing has reached record levels. And business is seen more and more as part of today’s problems, not at the basis for solutions through a strong economy. Today’s business leadership is facing a host of new challenges. As we move into an increasing global economy, we must ensure a solid succession of outstanding executives and managers. They will not only serve the interests of their enterprises and their stakeholders, but also address key issues vital to the creation of a strong climate for business, individual nations and the world.n June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 25
MOTIVATION
DR JAVED SAIM The writer is practicing psychotherapist
BoostinG
self-esteem at work
Positive self-esteem in the workplace nurtures creativity and healthy work practices eople like working for companies that support them in feeling good about themselves. They don’t like working for those in which they feel unvalued and manipulated by a ‘we versus them’ management style. When the year 2010 arrives to put the big squeeze on competition for competent employees, then perhaps we will remember the prophetic words of Rosabeth Moss Kanter, former editor of the Harvard Business Review: “The companies that are the best at creating a good quality of work life will be able to attract and retain the most skilled workers.” For those companies that are listening, the message is clear. It’s time to weed out working conditions that contribute to alienation, frustration and discontent. It’s time to implement training programs that teach managers and employees alike how to create work environment that enhance self-esteem. Self-esteem is the attitude that one has towards oneself based on the sum of self-respect, self-confidence and self-responsibility. Although people can’t raise anyone’s self-esteem but their own, they can take action at workplace that nurtures the growing of other’s self-esteem. A person with high self-esteem is better equipped to deal with life’s problems. He or she is resilient, more likely to be creative and ambitious, more likely to form supportive relationships, more inclined to be respectful of others and experiences more joy in life. But how is self-esteem made, and how is it developed in others? Eight behavioral keys are useful in enhancing self-esteem. Each key represents a set of specific behaviors that must be learned and practiced conscientiously for the best results.
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26 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009
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Without training, people can’t achieve. Without responsibility, people tend to become doers instead of thinkers. Enabled people feel good about themselves because they have the opportunity to excel. Empowered people feel good about themselves because they accept responsibility for their lives
RESPECT OTHERS
Managers can demonstrate respect by being courteous, listening attentively and empathically, and maintaining eye contact. They can avoid lecturing and using a condescending or sarcastic tone. In far too many cases, people haven’t received their fair share of respect in life and thus aren’t overly skilled at giving it to others. Worse yet, those with low self-esteem tend to become controlling, impatient, and downright verbally offensive in stressful situations, destroying whatever communication skills they have cultivated. Regardless of the circumstances, no manager will elicit exceptional performance from employees by treating them with hostility, contempt, or lack of respect. ENABLE AND EMPOWER
To enable is to give people the knowledge and skills they need to be successful on the job. To empower is to support people in taking self-responsibility. Without training, people can’t achieve. Without responsibility, people tend to become doers instead of thinkers. Enabled people feel good about themselves because they have the opportunity to excel. Empowered people feel good about themselves because they accept responsibility for their lives, accept sources—and demonstrate that they can affect their lives in important ways. ACT CONGRUENTLY & CONSISTENTLY
Behavior is congruent when what people are feeling on the inside matches but what they are doing and saying on the outside. Behavior is consistent when it is in character and in alignment with personal and organizational values. Employees are at best confused and at worst distrusting of incongruent and inconsistent management behavior. Managers can create trust in employees by being real and telling the truth. How can manager expect employees www.themanagertoday.com
to be open with them when they never directly communicate to them what they’re really feeling and thinking? CREATE SAFETY
A ‘safe’ environment is one in which people feel they can give input openly without fear of ridicule or reprimand. They feel safe to say, ‘I made a mistake.’ In this book, Talking Straight, Lee Lacocca advises, ‘only the boss can set a tone that lets people feel comfortable enough to say those magic words. ‘I don’t know’ followed by, ‘but I’ll find out.’ When people feel safe, they are naturally inquisitive. When people don’t feel safe, they may become defensive, over controlling, fearful, timid, or resentful—none of which produces peak performance. Many managers can learn to create safer work environments that promote initiative, creative problem solving, open communication, and greater teamwork. TEACH PERSONAL LIMITS
Most people were never taught how to set their personal limits with others – they were never taught how to tell someone respectfully, therefore unacceptable to them. Abuse of any form is unacceptable. Everyone has the right to set personal limits. Managers have the opportunity to teach by example. Sometimes, it is necessary for them to say to a verbally disrespectful employee, ‘Your behavior is completely unacceptable to me, and continuing it will demonstrate your choice to accept the consequences.’ The challenge is to set personal limits using a neutral tone, without resorting to character assassinations or dictatorial commands. INVESTIGATE PERFORMANCE DISCREPANCIES
All actions, inappropriate or not, are always related to a person’s attempt to satisfy needs, efforts at survival,
self-protection, maintenance of equilibrium and avoidance of fear and pain. When an employee is behaving unacceptably, first make an effort to understand what is causing the performance discrepancy—the difference between actual and expected performance. Help yourself and your employee to discover how he or she views the situation before determining what actions can be taken to correct the problem. OBSERVE BEHAVIOR AND THEN PROVIDE CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK
One of the best training methods is immediate, constructive feedback about performance. However, giving constructive feedback is a learned skill. Whenever possible, managers should be specific about an employee’s performance strengths and then provide specific performance improvement feedback. They should avoid labeling employees. People feel resentful when judged and feel less worthy when they know the praise is unrealistic. NURTURE POTENTIAL AND RECOGNIZE DESIRED PERFORMANCE
People with low self-esteem are often as frightened of their virtues as they are of their shortcomings. Shortcomings can create feelings of inadequacy, whereas virtues can create fears of social alienation or taking self-responsibility. The more people resist their own potential, the more a manager’s patience is tested. As Dr. Robert Ball, former executive director of the California Task Force on Self-esteem and author of Walking on Water, implores, ‘Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.’ The notion of enhancing self-esteem in the workplace is not an impossible dream, but to make it a reality, everyone must commit to learning new skills and creating workplaces that breed positive self-esteem. n June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 27
EVENTS
INAUGURATION CEREMONY OF MANAGER TODAY
Mr Bakhtiar Khawaja
Mr Max Babri
The team of Manager Today
Saba Kiani hosting the ceremony 28 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009
Mr Shahid Nafees
Mr Danish Shahriyar
Venerated guests listening to the speakers
Ms Medeeha J. Khan www.themanagertoday.com
Mr Masood Ali Khan
The audience listening to the guest speakers Manager Today Pakistan’s first magazine for personal and professional development was inaugurated in a graceful ceremony held at the Royal Palm Golf & Country Club on April 11, 2009. The ceremonious etiquette of the event was great. Starting from the recitation of Quranic verses it headed toward the speeches of the honourable guests including Ijaz Nisar, Editor-in-Chief Manager Today & CEO Leading Edge Max Babri (Transformation life coach) Bakhtiar Khawaja (Head Learning & Development Bank Alfalah) Masood Ali Khan (CEO
Takhleeq) Danish Shehryar (Former Head of Training Allied Bank) Shahid Nafees (Senior Training Manager Bank Alfalah) All the learned guests appreciated the philosophy behind publishing such a unique magazine related to the Management and HR issues in Pakistani corporate sector. In their addresses, speakers expressed their hopes for great success of the magazine. They also shared their experiences, giving a number of great advices to young professionals from different multinational companies, banks and govt employees present at the occasion.
The electronic media gave an exclusive coverage to the event. The venerated guests had a very congenial and friendly time at the Hi-tea followed by a wonderful musical program exclusively arranged by the musical band of Bank Alfalah headed by Mr. Bakhtiar Khawaja. Such a wonderful gathering of more than two hundred guests proved a big success and a great source of encouragement as well as appreciation for the whole team of Manager Today. n
Mr Shakil A Chaudry
The musical band of Bank Alfalah, Lahore Tunes www.themanagertoday.com
Editor-in-Chief Mr Ijaz Nisar talking to the media June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 29
INTERVIEW PROFILE: IJAZ NISAR oshaneh Zafar, the Founder and President of Kashf Foundation is a learned economist. She represents true face of the ideal women of 21st century who nurture a vision and are capable of transforming their dreams into reality. Kashf Foundation is one of the leading microfinance institutions of Pakistan representing her commitment to elevate the poor of Pakistan which is highly commendable. Despite being daughter of renowned former Senator SM Zafar, she has earned a name for herself through her genius, hard work, conviction and professional expertise. Well-known economist Dr. Muhammad Yunas has been an inspiration in all her endeavors.
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Would you please like to give an introduction of microfinance and its importance? First of all, I would like to talk about the myth of loans for the poor in Pakistan. There is a misconception that poor people are not credible to be given loans. They lack abilities to utilise the amount and consequently they turn out as defaulters unable to pay off the loans. Financial institutions do not consider them credible. Same misconception is prevalent about women. We also believe that poor people do not save and they are so busy to get both ends meet that they never think of savings. We also believe that poor people lack access to the market, lack awareness of documentation of any financial agreement due to being illiterate thus they will not be able to fulfil the requirements of a lending, saving program or an insurance plan. All these misconcep-
tions lead financial institutions never to believe in lending to poor people by calling them illiterate, lazy, untrustworthy, irrational to build career or to run a business etc. On the contrary, Micro financing is all about dealing with poor people. I learnt Microfinance from the worldrenowned Dr Muhammad Yunas. I would like to quote one of his sayings here: "why leave business for the rich and charity for the poor?" Why do we think that poor people can only get charity? Why can’t we assist them to earn their livelihood by running their own businesses? And to provide them with that opportunity we need to establish financial institutions which are called microfinance institutions. Please tell us how and when did you establish Kashf Foundation?
Kashf was started in 1996 with an 'Action Research Program' to replicate Grameen Bank in Pakistan. I am an economist by training; I used to work with the World Bank. Before I started Kashf, I met Dr. Yunas at a conference. His ideas and thoughts were very enlightening to me. He made me realize that we can work for eliminating poverty, for women empowerment and for the economic development if we work on microfinance. I went to Bangladesh in 1994, where I observed the working of Grameen. Thousands of women got loans and repaid them very successfully despite all the calamities Bangladesh face like droughts, floods, cyclones, typhoons etc, the borrowers always return the loans in time. Then, I came back and spent a whole year in traveling all across the South Asia and observing micro financing in the South Asia. Finally in 1996, with an ideal in my mind, I along with a team of highly skilled profes-
sionals started Kashf with only 15 clients in the beginning. Could you please articulate Kashf Foundation’s mission and vision? Our mission is to provide cost-effective and sustainable microfinance services to women in order to help them start business and alleviate poverty. We mainly focus on economic empowerment of women. Kindly share with us the basic principles, you indebted in Kashf Foundation? Microfinance is absolutely opposite to the commercial banking. There are four basic principles of microfinance which we have indebted in Kashf: 1. A microfinance institution says: ‘no collateral’. Your life is your collateral because you have to feed your children; it’s the matter of your survival. If you are willing to
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INTERVIEW
the year 2000, we had 30 branches in our network. Our next challenge was to keep these 30 branches sustainable.
take money for your betterment and for your survival, you can lend. 2. Our second principle is: ‘you are poor, however, you have the skills, ability and the conviction to take money for earning money, so we will lend you’. 3. Our third principle is ‘to make groups of single people devoid of external help and support’. We make them partners. For instance, we collect five like-minded women belonging to a same community, make them a group and responsible for one another's loan repayments according to the insurance rules and conditions. Emphasizing upon the money taken must be invested in a business. 4. Our fourth principle is: ‘small loans and small repayments.’ Our first loan is of Rs. 10,000. A household pays that back in very small monthly instalments. Then we give a second loan of Rs.15, 000 and it gets increased according to the requirements of the borrower and his credibility. What do you think are the biggest challenges faced by Kashf Foundation right now? Our first challenge is of building trust. 32 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009
According to Dr Yunas microfinance is about changing mindsets. If you can change people's mindsets from being dependent on charity to be dependent on business, you can transform a society. That challenge of trust building and changing the mentality of people took us two years. I worked as a loan officer for two years. I wanted to understand what the business of microfinance truly was. I served 115 clients in two years; performing all duties of a loan officer’s job from loan provision to its recovery thus I managed the entire portfolio of 115 clients. Two years later, we faced our next biggest challenge of standardization and systemization. We had to cut across a sustainable business model. Our first branch was established in 1999 and by
ACTIVE BORROWERS BY SECTOR
Please tell us about the biggest achievements of Kashf Foundation? We have dispersed about Rs. 16 billion in the market, catering to 850,000 poor families. Right now, we have 300,000 active clients and 300 million rupees circulating in the market while successfully keeping up 99 per cent recovery rate. Such a high recovery rate determines that the poor are credible provided there is an environment that supports them. Recently, we had problems due to the mindset of our politicians who believe that microfinance is charity and there is no need to get that money back. We are working on creating awareness for removal of this misconception. Recently, we conducted seminars with a good number of MNAs and MPAs and also met the Prime Minister to convince the authorities that microfinance is an essential sector that can help alleviate poverty on a large scale. How does the State Bank of Pakistan support and contribute towards the cause of Kashf? The SBP has been very much supportive to Kashf. In 2002, we initiated the Kashf Microfinance Bank. The SBP immediately issued the license. In fact, to let poor people sustain their growth, a costeffective saving mechanism is essential. The SBP has given a lot of priority to the microfinance sector. They have established funds, credit guarantees and also a positive reduction strategy for the promotion of microfinance banking. The Government of Pakistan has also recognized the role of microfinance for the uplift of common masses as it has included the microfinance in its poverty reduction strategy. The Government of the Punjab is also very proactive. So, awareness and realization about the importance of our sector is improving and we hope for further improvement. Do you see a tough competition for www.themanagertoday.com
SUMMARY OF MICORCREDIT PROVISION
The last quarter of 2008 portrayed a dramatic downturn as microcredit growth entered into negative figures for the first time in more than two years. Active borrowers decreased by 7%, while the gross loan portfolio (GLP) of the sector fared even worse, falling by 12%. Given the overall economic condition in the country, and the consequent credit crunch being faced by a majority of the microfinance providers (MFPs), this decline is perhaps not surprising.
Kashf in market? In Lahore, Bahawalpur and Karachi we are facing a tough competition. Our penetration rate in the market is 12 per cent. Kashf Foundation has 150 branches right now and around 2000 employees across the country. The SBP grants us special facilities to open mobile branches for our microfinance bank where the vendors can collect money from the savers thus facilitating them the most on the spot. We are allowed to get mobile vans going home to home for collecting deposits; we can also hire agents to work for us. So it is not a compulsion for us to establish a full service, full-fledged bank and its branches regulated by the SBP. We can set up sub-offices and the advantage we have under the law is that we can focus on what we call 'Alternative Delivery Channels' which can be of various kinds to actually bring down the cost of depositing. How do you find the response of civil society towards Kashf Foundation? We have a network called 'Microfinance Network' where all the big players of microfinance MFIs are the members www.themanagertoday.com
and we practise certain things for the improvement of our sector. We come with a sectorial code of consumer protection consisting of three characteristics/principles. First, Transparency & Truth in lending, second, 'Non Abusive Recovery Process' and on third, we have a 'Customer Care System,' where clients can call in to complain and put their queries forward as well. On average, we receive four to five queries a day that means an active interest and participation of the clients and common people too. Is there any expansion plan underway for Kashf? Where do you see Kashf next year? We are planning to outreach up to 850,000 more clients, which would enable us to outreach one million active clients but given the security concerns and political situation in Pakistan, the global economic crunch and resultantly our inability to raise funds, this year we will not be expanding Kashf. Most probably, we would shrink by doing rightsizing. Because our clients are facing tough time so we are also facing it. As we cannot
raise more funds, we have problems in certain communities due to the political interference making people feel that such microfinance loans are not essential to be returned. With a stamp on a letter from a MPA or MNA which people show us, they try to prove that they deserve loans so do not ask for the recovery. Thus, we are facing difficulty due to this mindset. That’s why in the wake of these discouraging factors and an overall bad situation of the country, we have postponed the expansion plan this year and we are only focusing on consolidation strategy this year. What is the ratio of male/female employees in your organization? There are nearly 40 per cent female employees in our organization. But this is lessening on the management level. At higher level, the ratio of women is decreasing. I have 22 area managers: 50 per cent of them are women while the remaining 50 per cent is comprised of men. As you see women are often forced to leave their jobs temporarily for one or the other reason, meanwhile their male colleagues get promoted thus increasing the ratio of men at higher level. Otherwise, we do prefer women workers in our set up but it’s basically dependent upon their own capacity and availability. Would you like to give any special message t o the women managers of today? Yeah, I would like to give a few guidelines to women managers which in my opinion will prove helpful to them in their careers: • Be very prudent in your business planning. • Spend a healthy time in pondering over the terms and contingency of a new venture and never give up easily. • Do not expect miracles to happen overnight. • Focus on the product and the system in operation; identify the market needs and trends. • Trust your own self and also trust the people around. There is no reason to doubt every phenomenon. n
June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 33
CAREER
BASHARATULLAH MALIK The writer is a professor of Marketing studies
fyournding path New rules for
Are you looking for the six rules that govern career paths, wage levels and the nature of managerial work in today’s post-corporate world? Here we go
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S
industries, the biggest concentration of which is finance. Others are in consulting, real estate, and distribution.
DO NOT RELY ON CONVENTION Career paths that were winners for most of this century are no longer providing much success. Most business schools have consistently taught with a big business focus. But although students from previous generations appear to have gone mainly to big businesses, more recent MBAs have increasingly turned to small business. Additionally, fewer graduates have begun their jobs in manufacturing than in the conventional past. Those in non-manufacturing are employed in different
KEEP YOUR EYES ON GLOBALIZATION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES Every thing is changing, offering both gigantic new opportunities and equally large hazards. As a consequence of globalization and other forces, new competitors have entered many industries. Markets have grown in size, and all kinds of rules limiting competition have been dissolved. Some of these rules were formal: the government’s regulations, labour agreements, and corporate bureaucratic policies. But many were informal, the ‘let’s set all our prices at this level’ pattern that evolves in classic oligopolies. Both the strategies and career paths needed to win have also changed. What worked well for much of this century especially large-scale bureaucracy and professional management— is less often leading to success. In the post-corporate economic environment, what looks unconventional to a mid-20th century eye—the smaller businessman and many other people like him—are often winning.
uccess at work for most people means a job that is economically and psychologically fulfilling, contributing towards society and supporting a healthy personal and family life. Paths to success at work have been changing over the past two decades, and for several reasons. The shift in the world’s economy is altering the nature of managerial work, career paths, and the structure and functioning of organizations. Here are the six new rules to govern who succeeds and who doesn’t in today’s postcorporate world.
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MOVE TOWARDS THE SMALL AND ENTREPRENEURIAL AND AWAY FROM THE BIG AND BUREAUCRATIC Speed and flexibility are winning in an increasingly competitive world. Some argue that talented people leave big firms mostly to make more money. This drain on talent hurts big firms and all the constituencies that depend on them, especially lower-level worker who lose their jobs. The whole situation is unfair. How much truth is in this argument? A closer examination suggests that money maybe less of a factor drawing some people to small business than is real responsibility and authority. Second, managers in big firms do not create more new jobs today than do small business people. On the contrary, most managers in large while small business people account for all new jobs growth. And these jobs are not just poorly paid service positions. Finally, although many are following the trend away from big firms, they are nevertheless involved with efforts to help large business become more competitive. They do so as consultants, suppliers’ distributions, and financers. Indeed, despite surface appearances, these people have not abandoned big business—only tall command-and-control hierarchies, which are being replaced by much more flexible forms of network organization.
ganization partly outside the firm’s official boundaries. Those involved with such changes have left behind the usual emphasis on conformity. They deal less with vertical relationships with a homogeneous group and more in horizontal relations to a more diverse crowd. In this sense, they offer a preview of the future: a future with less hierarchy and management, but more market-like relations, diversity of players, negotiation among individuals and a greater need for leadership.
to spend much more time providing leadership. In this new environment, executives who cannot lead are increasingly having problems. If they are surrounded by non-leaders, their firms usually perform poorly unless protected in some way. If they are surrounded by leaders, they are passed over for promotion. Individuals who manage but do not lead are in lower-level positions, making less money and growing slower businesses than their peers.
DO NOT JUST MANAGE Now you must also lead to help make organizations winners. Although management was the central task necessary to make tall hierarchies function, that process is less important in flexible networks, especially relative to leadership and negotiation. In the relative stability of the past era, many
WHEEL AND DEAL IF YOU CAN Huge opportunities exist in financial and other deal making careers. Globalization has increased the sheer number of firms that might want to have relationships of some sort with other companies, especially those in other countries. Dealers often structure these relationships. Often today, the financial dealers working
HELP BIG BUSINESS FROM THE OUTSIDE AS WELL AS ON THE INSIDE Huge opportunities exist for consultants and other service providers. Everywhere today, big firms are being restructured. So they can compete better. This change involves the replacement of tall bureaucratic hierarchies with smaller chains of command that are more loosely connected inside a firm and more tightly linked to suppliers or distributors outside the firm. Often called a network organizational structure, this new form can be much more flexible, dynamic, innovative and thus competitive. Sometimes this restructuring occurs entirely inside a large firm. A huge hierarchy is broken up into smaller business units. A limited group at headquarters oversees the new company. This happens more often with outside help and with the newly restructured or-
firms performed well with managers and executives who spent more time managing than leading. With demand equal to or greater than supply in many industries, the key to success was simply getting the product out of the door on time and on budget. In today’s more competitive and changing environment, this is no longer true. In some industries, supply exceeds demand. In others, what is being bought is constantly changing. To succeed, organizations now need to reduce costs, improve quality, develop new products, and move much faster. The capacity to produce useful change is becoming more and more the key to success. And change requires leadership. As part of the move away from tall hierarchies to flexible networks, organizations have delegated management functions to lower levels and asked middle to upper executives
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In today’s increasingly fast-moving world, business concepts, product designs, competitor intelligence, capital equipment, and all kinds of knowledge have shorter credible life spans. Firms and individuals rarely succeed when they are static and try to live in the past for major investment banking houses act like any banker, helping to supply a firm with money. But they also act like consultants, assisting the movement away from tall hierarchies towards flexible networks by helping sell off parts of companies. Sometimes they work very closely with firms in a flexible network style, acting much like internal corporate finance or strategic planning staffs. In today’s increasingly fast-moving world, business concepts, product designs, competitor intelligence, capital equipment, and all kinds of knowledge have shorter credible life spans. Firms and individuals rarely succeed when they are static and try to live in the past. These conclusions have significant implications for how people should manage their careers today, for how both big and small corporations should be run. n June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 35
SALES & MARKETING
SAGHIR AHMED
Commitment road to sales success Have you ever wondered… • Why some salespersons are more successful than others? • Why good fortune follows them wherever they visit a prospective buyer? • Why they always seem to come out winners in any and every selling effort? Based on my years-long sales training experience in Pakistan and abroad, I infer that there are 3 types of salespersons: 1. Order-Takers ( commonly known as Professional Beggars ) 2. Order-Makers ( who make things happen however tough competition may be ) 3. Order-Creators ( the ones who really make a difference in the organization ) Over 95% of so-called salespersons in Pakistan are just talkers, devoid of professionalism. The difference in their attitude towards profession is primarily due to absence of proper training and self-development – and it all starts with a Commitment to Excellence! Winning salespersons are committed, totally committed to their profession and their career. Their commitment is their Winning Power – a power so strong that it can overcome any obstacle, achieve any goal and put them exactly where they want to be in their career and life.
36 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009
Commitment is your promise, your strong resolution with yourself to go to the top and stay at the top – always! Becoming number one is about remaining number one. Commitment is a passion, a potential universal force, that is as natural as sunshine. It is available to anyone who wants to use it, and using it is as easy as walking in the light. Every successful salesperson follows commitment whether or not they know it. For some, it comes naturally, but for most salespersons, it’s a learned response to living, a right way that precedes and leads to career success. Thousands of salespersons, once just below-average, have turned their careers around by dint of their Total Commitment; many have gone from bottom to the top; many have attained high sales career positions they once thought impossible; many others have replaced pain and struggle with joy and triumph. All have succeeded beyond their dreams, and you can too! Commitment is neither affiliated with any special inborn talent, not it is inherited or borrowed. It is simple for every salesperson who really wants to succeed in
sales profession. It can be defined by a few military expressions… • Don’t give up the field • Do or die; don’t ask why • Never, never, never and never give up These are very valuable principles during the war times where the price of failure is death. But they lose their impact in our daily sales practices; failure is never final because failure in one sale doesn’t mean failure in sales career. However, the above slogans are based on a principle that applies to all aspects pf our daily lives: Commitment! This commitment to your sales career is the single most important ingredient for success. Without it, you fall prey to excuses, procrastination, laziness and a host of other goal-defeating problems. Commitment is strong, much stronger than an ‘agreement’. It is your strong pledge with yourself that, come what may, you will be willing to pay every price to make things happen. Remember, every success has a price tag, and that price is always paid in advance and in full. There is no credit or installment system in the world of sales success.
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Commitment often requires sacrifice in order to achieve a particular sales target. If your goal is to be the ‘ Salesman of the Year ‘, you’ll probably have to sacrifice an active social life or pastimes for a while, and then you never, never quit, however, the road maybe tough or hard to walk. Winners Never Quit: Quitters Never Win My life-long training-related observation has led me to believe that salespersons are like tea bags, and you never know their real strengths until they are put into hot boiling water, and commitment is the only thermometer to gauge their resistance power. When you are committed to your sales career goals, attaining them is much easier than you think. Your choices are clearer; you start moving towards newer, higher and loftier achievements, and you develop a high sense of self-esteem --- the hallmark quality of all top professionals. Being committed to your sales career is not at all easy; it takes considerable time, energy and efforts. That is why, so few salespersons make commitments and often have troubles keeping them. Commitment requires strong self-discipline, and a persistent inner voice to urge you to keep on keeping on. Self-discipline grows out of your commitment to your ca-
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reer objectives. You inner voice may also conflict with your stated goals. This inner voice tries to fight commitment and wants to get out of them. It may say: ‘Take rest; you’ve already done a lot; it’s enough for the day.’ But like a soldier facing the enemy, you face your inner voice, your own enemies (I call them exquisite ailments) and defeat them valiantly. Don’t let this be said about your sales career… And nothing to look backward at with pride And nothing to look forward to with hope So now and never any different! Make a commitment right now; resolve
to be the best in your sales career, and keep on staying against all odds; get up after every fall, review your strategies; renew your commitments; recharge your enthusiasm and remember what Confucius said: our greatest glory is not in neverfalling, but in rising every time we fall. n The writer is a professional sales trainer and has conducted programs for over 28 years in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, USA and Pakistan. He has won Gold Medal in the International Sales Competition in USA, and has translated 2 best-selling books into Urdu on Professional Salesmanship. He can be reached at saghir@icms.pk
June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 37
ENTREPRENEUR
NABEELA MALIK
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Would you please give an introduction of your family business and the beginning of your career? My father started his career at a very young age when my grand father passed away. We originally belong to Faisalabad where my father owned a grocery store named after my grand mother. My father got married in a very rich family from Nishat group. Despite belonging to a humble background, he was actually admired for his religious mind and his humbleness. In early 70s he moved to Karachi and entered in ship making business. At that time companies were being nationalized by the regime of PPP government. My mother's family lost its charm and much of the monetary strength. In 1982, my father went to China to negotiate with the establishment of a textile mill. Although, resources were very scarce at that time but owing to his hard work and dedication he established his first textile factory in Karachi. In late 80s, the social and political situation in Karachi got deteriorated. A series of kidnapping for ransom had been started, fearing that, I was sent to Lahore to complete my studies in a college. Although, my father wanted me to study Commerce subjects, I owed to my mother’s wish and studied subjects of F.Sc. Afterwards, I passed B.Com. I was never a very shining student but an average one. At that time a couple of my cousins were leaving abroad for technical studies in foot wear making. My father also sent me to the UK where I did a twoyear diploma in foot wear studies at the University of Leicester. One week before
the completion of my diploma, my father wrote a letter to me, telling me that he was planning to buy a shoe company. It was so surprising for me because I had no idea of ending up into this business. However, on June 23, 1995, I landed at Karachi airport and the very next day, I was into the shoe company in Lahore to run it. This company was actually being run by a sikh, showing off a heavy loss at the balance sheet. By looking at the actual condition of the liabilities and debts of the company, we decided to pull out of the deal but my father being the man of his words decided to stick to his decision. Thus we had to put all of our energies and resources for the success of the company. Six months later, I also got married but did not compromise on my concentration level for my company. During the course unfortunately, I received very poor response from my seniors, learned and sophisticated people around, but I was supported a great deal by my illiterate and humble employees. Please share with us the challenges that you had to face in the beginning of the company? The immediate challenges were the inconsistency in steady flow of cash and the restoration of the company’s good name. We sorted out the company’s financial matters before actually restarting it. I remember after taking over the company we gave all the employees a bonus on eid, I moved my working table inside the factory area to sit beside the workers, I did not care for a an extensive, lavish office for myself as I wanted to stay available to my workers all the
“I would like to set up a training school for shoemaking and would make arrangements to train people how to excel in this industry. It is a technically sensitive industry. As I myself had studied it thus I knew the technical sides, core knowledge and skills needed for this industry.”
(CEO Hush Puppies) IT’S EASY, I LIKE IT www.themanagertoday.com
June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 39
ENTREPRENEUR
time. At that initial stage, I had not enough time to spend with my family even. But steadily with the grace of Allah, Hush Puppies succeeded and we elevated from the minus status to the zero and eventually to surplus. What do you think are the main features of shoemaking industry? It is a labour extensive industry as well as a very complex and highly engineered one too. It stands as a low energy consuming industry and it can be established with a low liquidity and less capital. A lot of components are required for the foot wear industry including the molds, the knowledge of items ranging from sophisticated material requiring trims and a lot of other small components. Does training and development help your company to grow and excel more? Only two years ago, I attended a training program organized by Mr.Ijaz Nisar of Leading Edge. There I realized the importance of refreshing knowledge and increasing it through trainings. I found it very positive and effective for the businessmen and their professional lives. I also extended my reading habit to get updated with the latest developments around the world and in my own industry. Being the CEO of a successful company do you follow any particular set of principles to address your employees? First of all, I feel that a CEO must have a human heart to feel the pain and troubles of his employees. I am thankful to Almighty Allah for his blessing of giving me a kind heart. I never believe in developing business by following any unethical means. I believe in what goes around, comes around. Money is not everything in life and it must not be taken as the primary goal of life. Practically, I try to get mixed with my workers by wearing simple clothes like that of theirs and I always get closer to them to minimize the distance between me and my employees. How many outlets has Hush Puppies established within the country so far? There are 25 Hush Puppies outlets in 40 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009
“Money is not everything and it must not be taken as the primary goal of life. Practically, I try to get mixed with my workers by wearing simple clothes like that of theirs and I always try to get closer to them to minimize the distance between me and my employees”
Pakistan that we own and operate ourselves. Besides, we have granted some franchises also. We have made a business agreement with Service also. Having a license from the US, we export our
shoes to some countries as well. But due to the recent terrifying incidents of terrorism in our country, our exports and business with clients abroad has been affected a lot as they do not want to business here any further. Personally, I always feel myself an ambassador of my country abroad and I always defend the image of my land through all possible ways. What are the Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) of Hush Puppies? My parents are very much religious by the grace of Almighty Allah and so they are very punctual at paying Zakat. At the time of earthquake 2005, we helped the victims with maximum contribution from our company. Helping and facilitating our employees is our top priority. Secondly, I would also like to set up a training school for shoemaking and would make arrangements to train people how to excel in this industry. It is a technically sensitive industry. As I myself had studied it thus I knew the technical sides, core knowledge and skills needed for this industry. I would also request our government to pay attention towards shoemaking industry because of great employment opportunities it offers. And it requires around one tenth of the investment amount needed for an automated industry like textile industry while it also engages a far big number of employees providing them employment. As a matter of fact, countries with big populations have established footwear industry on an extensive level just like our neighboring India and China. So in our country it should also be established on grand basis. What is your recipe to success? I always encourage and motivate myself for any small or big project by convincing myself that It’s easy, I like it! With this phenomenon in my mind I easily start and accomplish my goals. Thus I think that my belief in ‘nothing is impossible or greater than the human caliber, if accompanied by ethical values,’ is the key to my success. n
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ECONOMY
MARRYAM CHAUDHRY Writer is a Corporate Trainer & Consultant
History has revealed that a a significant number of people who are laid off turn to thinking about doing what they had always wanted to do ecession has its downsides but the worst element of a recession is unemployment. The sluggish economy forces companies to cut back on their biggest costs: PEOPLE a.k.a Human Resource. A steady source of income is vital for the survival of many households. Losing a job can really be devastating and even traumatic. There are very few who will have the help of their previous employers to assist them in finding a new job. Many will be on their own and very depressed. This becomes the high time for employment and recruitment agencies, but even they will have their limitations as jobs become scarce. History has revealed that a significant number of people who are laid off turn to thinking about doing what they had always wanted to do. Now that they have the placement chance and some free time they can try to set up something of their own, which was not possible during a steady job. Another positive factor is that many of them succeed and in future become employers having their own employees. If you are interested, here are such businesses which do not seriously get af-
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fected by recession. These are the businesses that deal with the basic necessities of our daily life. Here are a few examples to get you started:
CHILD CARE Recession or no recession, children will always be there. Since more and more parents are working, they will need a place to leave their children to be looked after while they are out at work. So, why not set up good, clean, child day care centers?
EDUCATION This is another field which can not be marred by recession. How about opening a school, or starting a school van service, or tuition center, uniform and book supply depot, etc. Well, the children have gone to school, come back, and did their homework– now what? Children have so much energy and need a positive outlet. One can start a hobby center to teach children various interesting things while keeping them occupied for the parents as well. They can be taught arts and crafts like on MAD, on the Pogo Channel. Or they can be engaged in science projects,
sports, baking, swimming, karate, hiking, etc. The options are endless. Even a few moms can get together and arrange birthday parties for children like at KFC and McDonald’s or even at some park. It needs not to be on a very big scale, and the extra income will be great!
FOOD You can start a home based food delivery service to offices, or snacks or even a catering service. It all depends on you and your imagination, use it to the maximum and be sure that food needs cannot be trimmed off due to any business recession.
HAIR SALONS Hair salons and beauty parlors will always be “in”. No one cuts back the budget spent on getting a haircut! The options are endless and the ideas innumerable. It all depends on your motivation and devotion. The best way to get started is to think of what you like to do and what you are really good at. Then make a survey of what can be done. There are many organizations that help start-up businesses in terms of skill as well as finances. So make a plan and start today. It will be worth an effort! n June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 41
ANGER MANAGEMENT
TAUQEER SALEEM KHAN The writer is a professor of Psychology
42 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009
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et’s face it—anger is a fact of life. Our world is filled with violence, hatred, war, and aggression. In essence, we grow up with anger right from the beginning of life. Anger is a common human emotion. We all feel it. And we feel it more often than we like to admit. But before going any further, we need to make a clear distinction between anger and feeling hurt or irritated. As anger is linked with a lot of symptoms like aggression, apathy, violence, self sabotage, anger management is a Herculean task. Anger is required for national defence. Anger is responsible for real events like terrorism, violence and suicide. Anger is a message. Anger tells you that you are hurt and you don't want to be hurt. Aggression results as a psychological defence against threats of fragmentation. That is, as infants, we are just a jumble of diverse biological processes over which we have no authority, and our first task in life is to develop a coherent identity which “pulls together” this fragmented confusion. Apathy is really a veiled form of anger because, like all anger — apathy, even though it achieves its goal through passive indifference, ultimately wishes harm on another person. Anger itself acts like a poison in your own heart that ultimately degrades the quality of your own life as much as it hurts the life of another person. FIRST STEP In learning a healthy response to feelings of hurt and insult is simply to acknowledge that you’re hurt. SECOND STEP Follow the hurt back into its roots in the past to all those times and circumstances when you felt the same way. Failure to recognize old insults only makes the current insult seem far larger than it really is. THIRD STEP Avoid the popular response to feelings of hurt and insult. Revenge permeates our culture because it permeates the human unconscious. Revenge, therefore, is what we most commonly experience in our unconscious fantasies when we become frustrated. Often, these urges to avenge break out of the unconscious into the real world and become real events such as terrorism, school violence, or suicide.
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CATHARSIS HYPOTHESIS n the subject of anger, I have a self-serving theory, which is that my quickness to become furious about petty matters—chiefly, the price of train tickets and the strange way that any street I move to instantly becomes the site of major construction works—is actually a good thing. After all, it doesn’t show that I’m fortunate enough not to harbor far deeper, more destructive rages against my parents or bullies from childhood or society in general? I realize there’s an alternative interpretation, which is that I’m just an irritable curmudgeon. But that isn’t half so consoling whenever I find my fists involuntarily clenching as some train company executive explains that it’s easy to travel cheaply as long as I book eight year in advance. What one should do on such occasions? Self-help authors have always claimed it is to find a harmless way to vent. ‘Punch a pillow or a punching-bag,’ writes John Lee in Facing the Fire. ‘Punch with all the frenzy you can. If you are angry at a particular person, imagine his or her face on the pillow or a punching bag… as you will be doing violence to a pillow or punching bag you will stop doing violence to yourself holding in poisonous anger.’ This is the ‘catharsis hypothesis’ – the idea that it’s better out than in – and in the world of pop psychology it has the status of an article of faith. It is applied to worry, too, which explains ‘a problem shared is a problem halved.’ But the real problem turns out to be with the hypothesis itself. (Also who actually owns a punching bag?) We’re so accustomed to thinking of our emotions using the metaphor of a pressure-cooker, or a bottle with a cork in it, that we’re barely aware of what we’re doing it. According to this ‘hydraulic metaphor’ emotion build up inside an individual is similar to hydraulic pressure in a closed environment. A researcher on anger, Brad Bushman says: “If people do not let their anger out, but try to keep it bottled up inside, it will eventually cause them to explode in an aggressive rage.” But Bushman’s experiments, and a string of others since the 1950s, show that venting makes things worse. In one classic study, participants were insulted, and then some were allowed to hammer nails into wood for several minutes. Subsequently, given the chance to criticize the person who insulted them, the nail-pounderers were significantly more hostile. Maybe the hammering provided some physiological relief, but their underlying anger had been stoked. Rather than punch a pillow, Bushman recommends doing something incompatible with anger, such as reading or listening to music. That will not address the cause of the anger, of course, but it will leave you in a better frame of mind to do so. Likewise, a study last year focussing on teenage girls concluded that the obsessive discussion of worries—‘co-rumination’—often exacerbate negative emotions: a problem shared isn’t always a problem halved. This isn’t an argument for bottling things up; talking obviously, is a crucial way of finding solutions to problems. But it maybe an argument for realizing that we’re much more complex than bottles. Courtesy: The Guardian
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FOURTH STEP Forgiveness. It is all too easy to present yourself as a ‘nice’ person when, deep inside, you really remain an angry ‘victim’. Those who value true love act with confidence, straightforwardness and honesty, whereas those who present themselves as nice are often merely hiding the depths of their anger behind a show of smiling appeasement. What about national defence? You might ask. “How can forgiveness and the
need for self-defence be reconciled?” Well, I’m not about to try to tinker with national defence strategy, whether through commentary or through protest. Psychology concerns the individual, and forgiveness is an individual act. And for that matter, peace is also a matter of individual will, not of politics. No government can order you to love, and no government can order you to hate. So ultimately you have to live—and die—with the destiny of your own conscience. n June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 43
Would you please like to throw light on the mushrooming of MBA institutions in our country and the quality of their products? This mushrooming is not producing quality graduates and professionals. To control this trend the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan has decided to establish Business Edu-
How does IBA make a difference imparting business education? Look at the history of this institute. It used to be a small department imparting education of business studies. It grew and was upgraded as IBA in 1989. Its faculty and the quality of education are of high standards. As I believe faculty and quality of education provided with an enabling environment always makes a difference. For this high status, we’ve struggled a lot. And by this time Alhamdolillah IBA, PU has become a great name among other business schools of Pakistan.
Please inform us when was the Institute of Business Administration established and how many graduates it has produced so far? IBA was established in 1972. Since that time around 18 badges have been successfully passed out. It has produced great names like Shaukat Tareen (financial adviser to the Prime Minister) and the world-renowned cricketer Ramiz Raja including many other prominent personalities.
PROFESSOR DR MUHAMMAD EHSAN MALIK a Ph.D. from Leicester University Management Centre, UK, is a vibrant personality. He’s been holding various important, high profile positions throughout his career as an educationist. Currently, he is serving as Director General, Punjab University Gujranwala Campus, Dean, Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, Punjab University and Director, Institute of Business Administration, Punjab University, Lahore. His professional background since 1981 to date is a journey marked with hard work, distinction and excellence. He’s been representing IBA and Pakistan to many national and international workshops, conferences and seminars. Despite being a man of great stature, he’s very down to earth, lively and well-disposed. He participates in different sports and loves listening to music in leisure time.
PROFILE
An exemplary educationist
NABEELA MALIK
INTERVIEW ACADEMIA
45 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009
Sir, how do you define leadership and role of top management in an organizational structure and its performance? The structure in Pakistan is more centralized as most organizations are private limited, family-owned concerns. The baby born yesterday is a director of the company today so in most organizations the owner and his family are in the top management whether they have the ability to manage or not. So the real leaders are the people who are hired as marketing managers and HR manager etc but these people never get the chance to go to the conferences, seminars and trainings so they don’t have the opportunity to develop themselves. Unfortunately this is our culture which we need to change.
How long will it take us to produce business Ph.Ds in Pakistan? In fact the MBA degree was taken as a high profile qualification in terms of money but not in terms of education. That is why we do not find any Ph.Ds in business administration when compared to innumerable PhDs in almost all other fields. Unfortunately IBA has not produced a PH.D. so far. I am the first genuine Ph.D. of business studies present here at the University of Punjab. There are also a few other Ph.D professors in business management studies but they did not stay here. In IBA, I started Ph.D. in 2005 yet due to absence of supervising faculty; the students could not continue their thesis and research journals. Now I have established Institutional Doctoral Program Committee (IDPC), where I am enrolling Ph.D. and M.Phil scholars in business administration. Here five out of ten students have already started their Ph.D research. Well hopefully by the next year we will start regular M. Phil and Ph D programs as well in IBA.
Kindly articulate the measures on which an educational institution should be established? First off, institutions should also be free of all kinds of politics. Secondly, while establishing institutions, the focus should be upon hiring of qualified doctorates of the subject to produce more specialists and doctorates in future. Unfortunately it is not the case with our business institutes. We do not have Ph.D. professors, not even research journals are available here. Ranking of institutions require research which can not be conducted without the presence and supervision of a competent faculty. I must say ensuring a feasible environment; a comfortable infrastructure and winning learned faculty are the main features for any institution.
cation Accreditation Council (BEAC). We are working on it and once it is established, it’ll bring a great improvement in the standard maintenance of business studies in our country. The Association of the Management Developments in South Asia (AMDISA, an organ of SAARC) is also working in this regard. This peer group will help improve the situation eradicating the unnecessary mushrooming of business schools in Pakistan and in our neighbor countries as well.
INTERVIEW ACADEMIA
For last eight years, many bad things have been happening in our country but some good things have also come to the surface as now people are realizing that if they won’t develop themselves they won’t be able to appear on international front so international exposure is very important to be accepted in the international market. They need to develop the leadership skills. Here I want to make it clear that by saying leaders I don’t mean the political leaders. I’m pointing at the business leaders. What are the job opportunities for business graduates in Pakistan? At present, all the nations of the world are facing an economic meltdown. The companies which used to show bullish trends have turned bearish. A huge downsizing policy has been adopted by many of the large companies. So, job opportunities have squeezed all over the world. But the major problem in our part of the world is that of inefficient utilization of resources. We do not lack sources but the allocation and maximized use of sources is not ensured yet. Our nation is simply wasting its time without utilizing its human resource. We are a nation of doers, not of contributors. Only hard work and sincere efforts towards achieving our goals can lead us to success by overcoming our shortcomings. Sir, do you think there’s a need for our youth’s career counseling in the educational institutions? Without proper counseling, our policies will not bear maximum fruit. Career coaching might serve as a milestone to a successful and satisfactory profession in one’s career. I recommend that there should also be a strong linkage between the academia and the corporate sector. That way we can maintain better and productive career counseling.
Please share with us your philosophy about work? I’ve been serving on three important positions in Punjab University simultaneously but the important thing about me is that wherever I work, I fulfill the job’s requirements and I never make excuses. The key to success and excellent performance is that one should always be producing results and if one cannot meet many duties at a time, one must quit soon instead of making mess of the whole setup.
The mushrooming of business schools is not producing quality graduates and professionals. To control this trend the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan has decided to establish Business Education Accreditation Council (BEAC)
Would you like to give us some insight into your early life, education and career establishment? Yes sure. After completion of my matriculation with science subjects I came to Lahore along with a few friends. Here one of our teachers guided us to study the Commerce subjects as we were not comfortable with science subjects provided they were all taught in English language. So we decided to study the Commerce subjects. Also on encouragement from my elder brother, 46 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009
I did I.Com and finally I could complete M.Com being on the same track. During M.Com I worked for some private companies but my father suggested me to select teaching as my profession. My father was of the opinion that as majority of the teachers in country was poor and the profession was never taken as a high profiled one, the students kept suffering. He thought that if I would join this field, I might serve towards its improvement. I acted upon the advice of my father and excelled in my profession. By now I have received many awards from the government as an acknowledgement of my services and achievements.
You are performing on many key responsibilities. We would like to know about your strategy for keeping an excellent work-life balance? I believe in practicing and maintaining the theory of time management in my life. One key to be punctual is to offer Namaz regularly. It influences your time management the best way. Thus it consequently ensures my work-life balance. Actually, there is no activity beyond human capacity. No matter how much workload is upon you, your natural human capacity is flexible enough to perform all of them provided you can manage your time and potential in the accurate manner.
Sir, please share with our readers the components of success in life. Yes there are four main componenets of success in life: ‘confidence’ ‘determination’, ‘commitment’ and ‘honesty’. I want to forward a message to all the readers that honesty is the only policy that ensures success. Remember that one can be confident on wrong mindset, determined for wrong purpose and committed for performing some harmful act, if all these factors are not accompanied by honesty everything would go futile. n www.themanagertoday.com
CUSTOMER CARE
HASEEB NISAR
Oneminute customer In a matter of 45 to 60 seconds, he managed to bring forth small details of good customer service hink of customer care and I go back in time to a service experience I witnessed at a carnival organized by a group of different food companies—an unusual experience I cannot help but share with you. It was the case of satisfying a oneminute customer. I picked up my wife from her office and went to the carnival straight from work. We were thoroughly exhausted going around the place. So we visited a stall where they were serving free tea. I stood aside with the bags while my wife went to get us tea, as there was a separate line for ladies. When anything is free, there is usually a mad rush to get it even if you don’t want it. A similar situation prevailed there. Even the ladies’ area seemed quite crowded. I was watching this young guy who was serving the ladies. What made the situa-
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ATTITUDE
The business environment where profits are determined more by volumes than paper-thin margins, every one-minute customer counts in building your client base and business. Every satisfied oneminute customer can mean a million-dollar business.
tion unusual was his calmness and steadiness as the guy despite the rush, seemed composed and managed from behind the counter to maintain a queue and hence avoid hot tea spilling on others. He asked each one about the amount of sugar they wanted and if they wanted milk too, and often saw customers off with a parting remark depending on the person in front of him. I stood watching him till my wife brought our cups. During the entire time I spent watching him serve the ladies, he had a smile and a manner of conversing that seemed easy. The time he spent with each person must have been around 45 seconds. Since there was constant stream of ladies, he was kept busy preparing tea. It seemed that while he was doing a mechanical job, he was focused on the person in front of him. Even my wife managed to get her cup of tea quite in line with her taste and a parting comment from him on the ration of tea to milk and sugar. ONE MINUTE SERVICE
Being free, the tea need not have been laced with good service. But this was a wonderful sight of excellent customer www.themanagertoday.com
service. I thought to myself about how long he must have been on duty that day and what must be making him smile in a situation where, under normal circumstances, any other person would have been fed up with the melee in front of him. In a matter of 45 to 60 seconds, he managed to bring forth minute details of good customer service such as: • Smiling at the customer • Understanding their needs • Excellence timing • Being friendly • Being focused • A thank you in the end ONE MINUTE BUSINESS Don’t we see similar situations at many fast food outlets that take pride in serving customers within a specified time? It is possible that they serve customers quickly, but the question is how are the customers served? Are they also focused on the customer? Are they friendly and genuine in their greeting? Is the service accompanied by a smile? Do you hear a ‘Thank you, do come again’? Or do you hear a ‘Next’ even before you can turn your back? In short, are customers only served within the prescribed time or does it come with service that he or she would cherish, come back more for or relate to others? Is speed the only criterion or is it speed with customer focus the magic potion? Good customer service is when you manage to combine all this. The proof of good service is when customers depart satisfied with a ‘Thank you’ and a smile write large. Remember this is a reflection of your smile and gratitude to them—the real reward for good service, coming from your one-minute customers. As the age-old saying goes, ‘a million drops make a mighty ocean’. This business environment where profits are determined more by volumes than paper-thin margins. Every one-minute customer counts in building your client base and business. Every satisfied one-minute customer can mean a million-dollar business. n
Have the
right attitude When hiring someone, the interviewer wants to be sure of two things—skill and will. Skill shows whether you can do the job or not and will reveals how you’ll do it—enthusiastically, with a positive attitude or carelessly, with a negative attitude. It is more important to have the will because if you have that, skill can be developed. An interview is normally preceded by a psychological test that assesses your will or attitude. It is basically non-threatening by nature. Be honest while answering. Prepare for the interview. This will make you confident. Start with self-assessment of your skills, knowledge, strengths and weaknesses. Also learn about the employer. While waiting for your turn, try some positive self-suggestion. Tell yourself that you can do it and if you don’t pass the interview, there is something better in store. When you enter the room, greet the interviewer with a firm handshake and an enthusiastic smile that will set the tone to make a lasting impression. Dress in semi-formals. Verbal as well as non-verbal communication skills should be utilised effectively to create a positive impact. Don’t look elsewhere while answering. Have an eye contact with the interviewer. Things like putting your bag on the table or sitting cross-legged make a huge difference to your impression. Ultimately, the interviewers ask two questions—what value can this employee add to the company and why does he want to join the company? There is no definite answer to these and they have to be answered keeping in mind the employer’s needs in light of your own skills and motivation. Throw some light on your achievements. Interesting hobbies will add value, especially if you don’t have work experience. Never bluff. You will be caught immediately. Acknowledge that you don’t know the answer and say you’ll check up. Know your resume well because the interviewer is likely to go over it and ask you questions about it. Listen carefully. It is very offending for the interviewer if you ask him to repeat a question. Ask relevant questions during the interview. This will project that you are hardworking and want to learn. Question the growth opportunities for you. Avoid questions about salary as the interviewer will generally ask you your expectations about remuneration. If you are not selected, don’t feel dejected. An interview is about matching a skill set. Remember, there is always a much better place where you will prove to be the right fit. June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 49
COMMUNICATION
Manager’s Humour Corner FIRST DAY IN A MNC A man joined a big multinational company as a trainee. On his first day, he dialed the kitchen and shouted into the phone: "Get me a cup of coffee, quickly!" The voice from the other side responded: "You fool; you’ve dialed the wrong extension! Do you know who you’re talking to?" "No!" replied the trainee. "It’s the Managing Director of the company, you idiot!" Trainee shouted back: "And do you know who you are talking to, you idiot?" "No!" replied the Managing Director angrily. "Thank God!" replied the trainee and put down the phone. n
NEVER GO TO HR FOR HELP After two years of selfless service, a man realized that he had not been promoted, no transfer, no salary increase no commendation and that the company was not doing anything about it. So he decided to walk up to his HR Manager. After exchanging greetings, he told the HR Manager about his observation.
Vocabulary Bank Bargain-hunter: someone who looks for things to buy at a cheap price lThis city is full of bargain-hunters. Bastardize: to spoil by changing its good parts lThe plot of the classic novel was bastardized with an obligatory Hollywood happy ending. 50 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009
The manager looked at him, laughed and asked him to sit down saying: “My friend, you have not worked here for even one day.” The man got surprised to hear that, but the manager went on to explain: Manager: How many days are there in a year? Man: 365 days and some times 366. Manager: How many hours make up a day? Man: 24 hours. Manager: How long do you work in a day? Man: 8 AM to 4 PM. i.e. 8 hours a day. Manager: So, what fraction of the day do you work in hours? Man: After doing some arithmetic, said: 8/24 hours i.e. 1/3. Manager: That is nice of you! What is 1/3 of 366 days? Man: 122 (1/3x366 = 122 in days). Manager: Do you come to work on weekends? Man: No sir. Manager: How many days are there in a year that make weekends? Man: 52 Saturdays and 52 Sundays equals to 104 days. Manager: Thanks for that. If you remove 104 days from 122 days, how many days do you now have?
Man: 18 days. Manager: OK! I do give you a two-week annual sick leave. Now minus those 14 days from the 18 days left. How many days do you have remaining? Man: 4 days Manager: Do you work on the New Year day? Man: No sir! Manager: Do you come to work on the Labor Day? Man: No sir! Manager: So how many days are left? Man: 2 days sir! Manager: Do you come to work on the National Day? Man: No sir! Manager: So how many days are left? Man: 1 day sir! Manager: Do you work on the Christmas Day? Man: No sir! Manager: So how many days are left? Man: None sir! Manager: So, what are you claiming for? Man: I have understood, Sir. I did not realize that I was stealing company’s money all these days. Moral: Never Go To HR For Help! n
SHAKIL A. CHAUDHARY Bigmouth: someone who talks too much, especially in an opinionated or gossipy way l He is a bigmouth but I like him. Brown-bagger: someone who takes his/her lunch to work or school Broad church: an organization that contains a wide range
of opinions lThe People’s Party is a broad church. Bully pulpit: a public office of sufficiently high rank that it provides the holder with an opportunity to speak out and be listened to on any matter lThe American presidency is a bully pulpit. Busybody: www.themanagertoday.com
The Power of
one
ON BOSS’ DISCRETION Once Omar, Waqar and Raheel were traveling in an auto-rickshaw. They met with an accident and all three of them died. An angel was waiting for this moment at the doorstep of death. He asks Omar and Waqar to go to HEAVEN. But, for Raheel , Angel had already decided that he should be sent to HELL. Raheel is not at all happy with this decision. He asks angel as to why this discrimination is being made. All the three of them had served the public. Similarly, all took bribes, all misused public positions, etc. Then why the differential treatment? He felt that there should be formal test or an objective evaluation before a decision is made; and should not be just based on opinion or pre-conceived notions. Angel agrees to this and asks all the three of them to appear for an English test. Omar is asked to spell “PAKISTAN” and he does it correctly. Waqar is asked to spell “ENGLAND” and he too passes. It is Raheel’s turn and he is asked to spell “CZECHOSLOVAKIA”. Raheel protests that he doesn’t know English. He says this is not fair and that he was given a tough question and thus forced to fail with false intent. Omar is asked: “when did Pakistan get independence?” he replied “1947” and passed. Waqar is asked “How many People died during the independence struggle?” he gets nervous. Angel asked him to choose from 3 options: 100,000 or 200,000 or 300,000. Waqar catches it and says 200,000 and passes. It’s Raheel’s turn now. Angel asks him to give the name and address of each of the 200,000 who died in the struggle. Raheel accepts defeat and agrees to go to HELL. Moral of the story: IF YOUR BOSS HAD DECIDED TO SCREW YOU, THERE IS NO ESCAPE n
someone who meddles or pries into the affairs of others; nosy-parker lAre there any religious busybodies in your neighbourhood? Catch-22: a situation in which you cannot do one thing until you do another thing, but you cannot do that until you have done the first thing, with the result that you can do neither. The expression comes from the title of the www.themanagertoday.com
Getting the best from yourself and others all starts with one: one thought … one word … one action. “One” is the first note in orchestrating the personal attitude that shapes and directs your life – and impacts the members of your team. Contrary to the lyrics from a classic rock song, one is not the loneliest number. It’s the most important one! Your thoughts, words, and actions are like individual notes that work in concert to create the power of one person – YOU – to make a difference. You can harness your “power of one” if you simply: • Catch one negative thought and turn it into a positive one. • Think of one thing for which you are grateful at the beginning of each day. • Say one “Fantastic!” when a friend or team member asks how you are doing. • Assume the best in one upcoming situation. • Keep on moving one more time when you experience adversity. • Help one friend or colleague in a time of need – and take pride in it. Many people used to feel that one vote in an election couldn’t really make a difference. Well, recent political elections that have been decided by razor thin margins have proven them wrong. A single act can make a difference. It can create a ripple effect felt many miles and people away. So, ask yourself: what’s one thing I can do today that will make a positive difference in my attitude? Then DO IT! Repeat that process every day and your life will improve – and so will the lives of the people you lead. Pass it on (to more than one other person)! n
1961 novel Catch-22 by the US novelist Joseph Heller. l It’s a catch-22 situation—without experience you can’t get a job and without a job you can’t get experience.—Longman Dictionary Carpetbagger: an outsider who seeks power or success presumptuously. l An outsider, especially a politician, who
presumptuously seeks a position or success in a new locality. l After the Civil War the carpetbaggers from the north tried to take over the south. These people carried all their belongings in carpetbags. Cherry-pick: to choose things that support your argument, while ignoring things that contradict it. n June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 51
BOOK REVIEW
MUHAMMAD YASIR
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
n Author: Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter, CPA
What is the difference in the worldview and attitude of people who become rich compared to other people? What things do they do differently to have such different results in their lives? obert T. Kiyosaki had a unique opportunity to find out. Robert's father was an educator and public administrator. When Robert was a young boy, he and his friend, Mike decided they wanted to learn how to become rich. They started by trying to make (counterfeit) money. Robert's father explained to the boys this was illegal. He also admitted he did not know how to become rich, but suggested the boys ask Mike's father how to go about it. So Mike's father, an independent businessperson, became a mentor to Robert, his "Rich Dad." This book is a fascinating story of how the Rich Dad taught Robert the lessons he needed to learn to make himself financially independent. Robert has learned that our educational system is pretty good at producing employees, but not very good at producing people who are good at managing their finances wisely. He now teaches people how to apply the principles
R
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of becoming rich. In addition to publishing the information in this book, he has developed a game, CASHFLOW(tm) 101 to help people develop their financial intelligence. Some of the ideas Robert presents reinforce those in other books we have reviewed. Like in ‘The Millionaire Next Door’, Robert points out the difference between having a big salary and building wealth. In ‘The Richest Man in Babylon’, Robert emphasizes the importance of paying yourself first. In his opinion, it's more important to systematically invest a portion of your income than to pay your bills or to pay your taxes. (A controversial concept) Robert also has a definition of an asset versus a liability that is different from conventional accounting. Investors generally focus on accumulating assets and avoid liabilities. Simply stated, assets generate income or cash. Liabilities consume cash. Rich people accumulate assets. People who aren't rich accumulate liabilities. Some things that look like assets are ac-
tually liabilities - for example: a residence, a car, a boat. When we accumulate these things, we are not really accumulating wealth, we are consuming it. If we haven't accumulated sufficient assets and we acquire these "toy" liabilities, we are putting the cart before the horse. Instead, we should emphasize regularly on acquiring stocks, bonds, tax lien certificates, rental real estate, and other investments. We also need to learn to build value and get some tax shelter by building our own business. We must develop our financial intelligence, make risk our friend, and accelerate our financial growth. Although diversification is appropriate for preserving accumulated wealth, the investor usually must take the additional risk of focused investments in order to initially accumulate wealth. Bigger returns require accepting more risk. Rich Dad, Poor Dad is the kind of book that opens your mind to new possibilities. Whether to contribute to your child's financial education or your own. n www.themanagertoday.com
MOVIE REVIEW
MUNIR HUSSAIN
Coach Carter Directed by: Thomas Carter Produced by: David Gale, Brian Robbins, Michael Tollin Written by: Mark Schwahn, John Gatins Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Ri'chard, Rob Brown, Debbi Morgan, Ashanti, Rick Gonzalez, Antwon Tanner, Nana Gbewonyo, Channing Tatum Running time: 136 min. Rating: 4 out of 5
A movie that inspires kids to go to college, or just as easily gets you to go home, type up that resume, and apply for a better job This movie is based on a true story. Samuel L. Jackson plays the role of a coach, Ken Carter, a man with military background who takes over a high school’s basketball team named, ‘Richmond Oilers’ which is just a bunch of bad boys who neither have respect for the game, nor for each other and obviously no reverence for their coach. Their community is quite disappointed with the team’s misconduct and bad performance record. Their only hope is the new coach, Ken Carter but he has something else on his agenda. He is not there to teach these boys the game; he is there to teach them respect, teamwork as he wants to make them champions not only in the game but in real life as well. He asks his team to sign a contract that obliges them to make a few pledges including maintaining a 2.3 grade point average in studies, attending their lectures and sitting in the front row in every class. As the things start to turn www.themanagertoday.com
around, the team puts together a historical winning streak; Coach Carter is forced to implement his newly-set academic policy by locking the team out of the gymnasium. It appears as Coach Carter has a lot to teach these young men and basketball is pretty far down his hit list. The movie, released in 2005 is one of the best movies ever made on the game of basketball. You don't need to be a fan of the game to appreciate this tale of troubled youth being pushed to learn respect for others and succeed by believing in team spirit and hard work. It gives a universal message that what one has to be in life is to be a human first of all. The role of Coach Carter gave Jackson the real kind of leading-man breakthrough which he's been trying to have for years. When these kids greet their coach with a very bad name and he responds by calling them 'sir' --- the character is in danger of becoming too stiff; when he responds to a dissenting student by pushing his face into the wall, the pendulum swings the other
way towards fears, but Jackson walks the line so well that you can't imagine anyone else in the role. When he reminisces about his old glory days, you believe him; when he shows the importance of principles, you wish you could have his convictions. And when the time comes to convince us that his team wouldn't want to make him angry, well, he is Samuel L. Jackson. Samuel L. Jackson has really put energy and wisdom in his character when he talks to the boys telling them that their future lies in their own hands and that the world wants them to fail; you can feel the inspirational words floating down off the screen and into the audience. This is the type of movie that inspires kids to go to college, or just as easily gets you to go home, type up that resume, and apply for a better job. I feel there are only a few actors who can balance the abundance of strength and wisdom that Samuel L. Jackson brings to the role with his terrific acting making people want to listen to him. n June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 53
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Relax… DR AMIR MEHMOOD
Healthy Food Practices Although this term has not been commonly used to describe health in years past, sustainable health is a growing movement. What is sustainable health you might ask? Well let’s break it down. Health can be defined as a state of “soundness of mind,” or more simply, a state of feeling good. The word sustainability describes the process by which something can be maintained or can keep going. Thus, sustainable health describes being in a state where you feel good not just once but over an extended period of time. Today there are many ways to achieve sustainable health, one of the most popular being through the use and production of organic food products. Globally, organic agriculture has helped improve the biological health of human beings while maintaining the ecological ‘health’ of our environment. Here are 10 tips of eating and maintaining sustainable health in today’s hectic lifestyle.
10 Tips for maintaining sustainable health Add a staple food (i.e. fruit, plantain/banana, maize/corn, rice, bread) to each meal.
1.
Focus on foods that are high-fibre and low in saturated and trans-fats to keep your heart nice and healthy.
2.
Drink plenty of water. Avoid drinking tea and coffee until 1-2 hours after a meal (when food will have left the stomach) to ensure the maximum amount of absorption of iron by the body supplied in our foods.
3.
Avoid sugar-rich, sticky, salty, or processed foods and ingredients that are difficult to digest, inhibit healthy growth, and promote pre-mature aging.
6.
Exercise regularly for at least 15 minutes at a time.
7. 8.
When you are sick, you can decrease the amount of time you remain sick by covering your mouth when you cough and washing your hands regularly.
4.
Get lots of sleep, at least 8 hours of sleep every night, and take naps or siestas throughout the day.
5.
Grow, buy, and eat food locally and organically to help your body and the environment. n
If you are a youth, you should include food options that are high in iron (especially young women) such as liver, dark green leaves, fish, red meat, and sorghum. Aim for 3 meals and 3-6 snacks per day to create a healthy balance of all your dietary needs. 54 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009
9.
10.
Meditation induces mental tranquility and physical relaxation. You just need about 15-20 minute session daily with yourself to unwind Meditation relaxes body and calms mind. It alleviates the harmful effects of tension and stress—factors that aggravate a number of medical conditions. Mediation is a scientifically proven antidote for stress, tension, anxiety and panic. Studies support that its regular practice reduces high blood pressure and relieves chronic pain. Many people find it helpful for headaches and respiratory problems such as emphysema and asthma. Meditation in essence is a thoughtdirecting process. It attempts to free our mind from unhealthy undesirable thoughts that taint our thinking unconsciously. It unifies scattered attention and energy. Since it requires concentration, it clears mind and improves memory. It is preventive in nature, as it protects from disease and improves stress tolerance. Some studies found that long-standing practitioners (those who meditate for several years) tend to make fewer doctor’s visits than non-meditators. n
EVENTS
Participants enjoying the live performance of Lahore Tunes
Mr Bakhtiar Khawaja playing a wonderful tune on mouth organ
Mr Bakhtiar Khawaja and Amna singing the cool 'summer wine'
7th Bankers’ Learning Forum
Music in Management lahore: leading edge conducted the seventh meeting of bankers’ learning forum on march 7, 09 where senior bankers met at bank alfalah training centre, lahore. the session was hosted by mr. bakhtiar khawaja, head of learning & development dept., bank alfalah ltd. the event was one of its kinds as its theme was to relate music with management. on the occasion, mr. bakhtiar khawaja spoke on ‘music in management’ telling the importance of music at the workplace and in reshaping overall human behavior. Later, ‘lahore tunes’ a musical band of bank alfalah employees www.themanagertoday.com
presented a musical program. they performed a number of soothing melodies and songs with musical instruments being played in a harmonious way to relate the music with management practices of planning, organizing, controlling and directing tasks which if carried out in consonance with each other brings up the same outstanding results which various musical instruments create in a great melody. the inspiring phenomenon of the event was that all the band members were associates and employees of bank alfalah. the evening ended on a memorable note and all the
bankers enjoyed this unique concept of learning with fun. By organizing such meetings, leading edge training and development consultancy is providing the banking sector with hr development forum and a unique business networking opportunity, where the representatives of different local and foreign banks can discuss issues regarding their learning and development practices. through this, a meaningful outcome is achieved for the mutual benefit of everyone involved. we hope this little effort by leading edge turns out to be advantageous for everyone in future as well! n June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 55