Indian Social Values – Root of Corruption

Page three newspapers are full of celebrities’ rave parties, fist fights, sex scandals, botox treatments, etceteras. The not so rich idealize these celebrities and mimic all, to be the in-crowd. With these social values, can Indian’s consider it cool to be good?

The west puts India on the pulpit for its values. From Beatles to Julia Roberts, western celebrities talk about Indian culture of prayers, the land of discovering one’s spirit and sense of being. When majority of the middle class Indians themselves are lost, the crown of leader of spiritual world appears  somewhat misplaced. Indians in the present world, from birth, get to understand that all human emotions come at a price. This may sound as a harsh statement, but is reality. Let us walk through the different phases of life of a middle class Indian to discover the spiritual compromises they make.

1. Indian Childhood

India post-independence from a land of leaders propagating good values  has turned into a land people indulging in  unscrupulous behavior in the name of social values. It starts with birth. From the 1960′s the desire to have a son grew among parents. Educated parents get female fetus aborted  since the son has more value in the marriage market. The sex ratio is 109.4 males to 100 females in 2011. According to reports nearly 50,000 female fetus are aborted every month.

The reason for abortions is financial. According to the Indian system, a girl’s father in arranged marriages pays dowry for getting a husband for his daughter. Secondly, in the conservative families daughters aren’t allowed to work. Hence, the cost of raising a daughter, educating her, is lost while a son earns back the money for parents from working and getting a dowry. Therefore, sons get a better treatment from parents from birth. From food, clothes, education and hobbies the girl is forced to sacrifice for the brother. Basically, from the day a child is conceived, Indian parents put a value on the child. There is a profit and loss motive in child upbringing.

With these values apparent in the household from childhood, is it surprising that Indians ethical values are confused? Can a child raised on the basis of returns s/he will bring to the parents on becoming an adult, consider emotions and principles above money? Are parents raising kids or cattle for sale?

2. Indian Youth

Indian parents tom-tom about their love for their children and their dedication to keep the children with them. They look down on their western counterparts, who let the kids leave home between the age of 16-20 years to live on their own. In India, 30 year old unmarried sons and daughters can also be found living with their parents. It arises from an attempt to control who the youngster marries, specially for sons, so that a big fat dowry can be earned.

In respect to daughters, it is a need to keep their image unsullied. A daughter having an affair is a no-no among conservative families. Good girls don’t have relationship with boys. While the boys can have relationships with girls, and any girl who has a sexual relationship with a boy is of loose moral character. It it surprising that with this culture, Indian youth does not have normal relationships with the opposite gender.

India is the 4th most unsafe place in the world. Eve teasing or sexual harassment is rampant and young Indian women endure comments from men even when walking to office at 9 a.m. According to a survey of developing nations, Indian men are the most sexually violent, with 24% having committed a sexual crime. Another survey states 65% men believe sometimes a women deserves to be beaten. With these results and mindset, can one ensure gender equality at work?

An Indian’s professional mentor/buddy in the first job is the person who teaches them to fudge the reimbursement bills of their salary. For instance, employees are entitled to medical reimbursements. The friendly mentor will share information of a medical store from where fraudulent medical bills can be obtained by giving a cut.

After being raised in this culture, can Indian youth have independent thinking, proper adult relationships and professional values? Most lip sync their parents’ desires for them, rather than discovering and understanding their own being. Abnormal behavior – living with one’s parents in adulthood, harassing opposite gender – is socially considered normal. Normal behavior of having adult relationships, independent living and maintaining professional ethics, may make the youth a social outcast. After being raised in this social climate, can Indian youth make India the next superpower?

3. Indian Marriage

The biggest trade in India, is of arranged marriages. Marriages aren’t made in heaven, they are negotiated for the best deal. The sons are put up for sale and the daughters’ fathers attempts to purchase the best available husband for her, according to their financial position.

If one sees it from an economic angle, the husband to provide for the wife lifelong, takes upfront payment from his wife’s father. Looking from another angle, the woman gets a man to have sex with her for life after being paid by her father. Prostitution is illegal in India, and prostitutes are looked down upon. But sale and purchase of husband and wife is a socially accepted norm.

In rural areas, the situation is worse. If a couple belonging to different castes falls in love, the male members of the girl’s family do honor killing, they kill the couple. It is a crime to fall in love, and humiliating for the parents. From all this one can conclude that Indian rational of honor, esteem and self-respect is quite contrary to human race.

Even divorce involves social stigma. In reality, 90% of urban husbands have had extra marital affairs. Most of the urban wives are educated but don’t leave their marriages even after being aware of the affair, as their standard of living will become lower. India has one of the lowest divorce rates with just one in a hundred marriages collapsing. There are just around 10,000 or so divorce cases filed each year. Despite the fact that there were 8391 dowry deaths in 2010 and 90,000 cases of torture and cruelty towards women by their husbands. This is when most women don’t report to police due to sense of social shame. Aren’t the numbers ironical. Abusing women is considered a social privilege of the Indian male. Moreover, educated women prefer to take abuse rather than stand on their own two feet and earn their living.

Closing Thoughts

Can Indian marriages teach valuing human emotions when they are nothing more than a financial transaction? After parent-child relationship, the second most precious relationship is of husband-wife. In India, both have monetary values attached to it. When critical relationships are not based on ethics, what is the probability of the society respecting professional ethics?

Indian ideas of honor, respect, ethics and principles are bunkum. A thief steals a women’s purse, he is a criminal. A  husband steals his wife’s dignity and her father’s retirement saving, he is respectable. It is a case of sacrificing rational thinking to camouflage social ills.

Last week, the government issued a “White paper on black money”. The paper describes ways and methods to curb corruption and reduce black money. However, with this social environment, the best efforts are likely to fail. Can an average Indian be considered as having a fully developed “Conscience”? Anywhere close to spiritual awakening? What do you think?

References:

1. Disappearing Daughters: Women pregnant with Girls pressured into abortion
2. Divorce Rate High Among Indian Techies
3. Dowry murders in India result in few convictions
4. Indian men most sexually violent, says survey of six developing nations
5. International Center for Research on Women

Risks of Restrictive Mindsets of Indian Gen X Leaders

The baton of leadership is passing to Gen X leaders from baby boomers. In the flat world leadership challenges have multiplied. In the Indian context, Gen X leaders have seen India as a poor country in their childhood, a closed economy in their youth and a global powerhouse from late 30′s. Now in their 40′s they have to take over the leadership in organizations or as entrepreneurs. Will they be able to effectively transition into leadership roles or will they be inhibited by their thinking? Gen X leadership is one critical factor that can make or break India’s progress into joining the big league countries. Let us contemplate the leadership skills and attributes that Indian Gen X leaders need to address to succeed.

1. Entrepreneurship

In pre-independence  India, Tatas and Birlas made their mark. Then Dhirubhai Amabani changed Indian mindsets about business. Narayana Murti and Sunil Bharti Mittal from 1990′s showed the way to Indians to lead in new technology areas. However, post it, their have no big movers and shakers who have held the flag of Indian entrepreneurship high. Unlike the west, there are no Mark Zuckerberg’s in India.

Recently, Ashok Soota, Phaneesh Murthy and T.V.Mohandas Pai, all from information technology industry were in the news for their entrepreneurial spirit. Phaneesh Murthy, CEO if iGate, went through a career disaster a few years back due to a sexual harassment case at Infosys. He came back stronger, formed his own company and acquired Patni last year. Patni was where Narayana Murthi’s story started. Ashok Soota started Mindtree, sold it to make a huge profit, and has started Happiest Minds. Latest entrant, Mohandas Pai  has become the chief architect of a multi-discipline university cluster being planned by Dr Ranjan Pai of Manipal Education & Medical Group (MEMG) and opened an investment fund for entrepreneurs.

However, none of these path breakers are from Gen X, they are all older generations. Big family business names are searching for CEOs to run separate businesses for them, however, there is limited entrepreneurial talent in India. Does Gen X lack entrepreneurial spirit?

2. Strategic Thinking

While the west celebrates the success of college dropouts- Gates, Jobs, Zuckerberg, Indians remain obsessed with qualifications. From school to college, education is all about how well a student can memorize and reproduce a teacher’s lectures. Critical and independent thinking isn’t encouraged in Indian education systems or social structures. A youngster is considered well-behaved when s/he accepts elders and seniors instructions unquestionably. Gen X from childhood haven’t learnt to disagree without being disagreeable. Hence, as leaders they lack strategic and innovative thinking skills.

This is apparent that Indian banking system is suffering due to requests of corporate debt restructuring (CDR). In this year, the CDR amount is nearly Rs 2 lakh crore (USD 36,722 million) . Key reasons being management incompetence and diversion of funds. This situation is when Indian economy is having a robust growth and was not significantly impacted by financial crises. The Indian CXOs are inexperienced in strategically managing diverse variables in a dynamic global environment. Hence, Indian Gen X leaders are losing out. Indian business houses are looking at expats and NRIs for future business expansions. Specially, since some are venturing into global markets and setting operations in other countries.

3. Social Conditioning

Gen X was raised by parents who were born in pre-independence era. Most urban middle class families were so conservative, that Gen X wasn’t even allowed to date or chose marriage partners themselves. Most lived with their parents, got married and continued to live in joint families. Women didn’t work and were the perfect house wives. Interactions from people across the globe were limited. There were a number of restrictions on socializing with people of different religions, castes and races. Now times have drastically changed.

Gen Y is raised on a staple diet of MTV, club hopping and speed dating. There is hardly any difference between youth of west and India. In most organizations, nearly 60% of the workforce consists of Gen Y. Around 20-30% employees are women. Significant amount of revenue comes from exports, hence dealing with international customers and cultures is a mandatory skill.

In such a scenario, Gen X leaders face challenges in people management.  The war for talent is huge. Managing diversity is critical for success. From an autocratic work culture, organizations are shifting to consultative cultures. Indian managers have recently started focusing on building organization cultures. Most have limited experience in managing people across different cultures.

Multinationals setting operations in India have found this social behavior of Indian managers counter productive. It hinders global cultural integration, team building and smooth communication. Sometimes the personal bias can create huge problems. Hence, most of the multinationals look for Indians with international work experience for critical CXO positions.  Here, the liberal thinkers in Indian Gen X group have made great strides.

4. Value System

Indian society holds family dearest. The family comes first even at the expense of society, and most Indians do not feel a responsibility for betterment of society. For instance, in US family and society hold equal importance, and most Americans voluntarily contribute towards social projects. Activism is high,and they hold government accountable and themselves responsible for improving society. Indian citizens on the other hand can be found lamenting about high corruption, poverty, lack of education, high crime rates, poor infrastructure etc. However, the apathy level is so high that they never try to find solutions, be responsible and take charge.

Some business houses have got inspired by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet’s pledge to donate their wealth. A few have started non-profit organizations, such as Premji, to contribute to the society. The business groups of CII, Chamber of Commerce, AIMA etc. have started lobbying with government to focus on growth. Nandan Nilekani joined government to run the UIDAI project. A few ex-CXOs have started consulting organizations to deal with social causes, lobby with government and bring change.

Gen X leaders have to carry this torch further. Singing unending woes and blaming the government isn’t a solution. They have to focus on corporate social responsibility and practice compassionate capitalism.

5. Running Large Operations

Indian managers are renowned for managing in chaos. Their jugado (Mr. Fix-it) skills are tremendous. However, that itself has restricted them from learning the advantages of well-defined processes, systems and procedures.

Gen X started working in organizations where the offices had 100-200 staff. Nearly everyone was a big fish in a small pond. An organization with 10,000 employees or Rs 500 crore (USD 91 million) turnover was considered big in India. Very few Gen X managers have worked in global organizations with billion dollar profit margins or over 100 thousand employees. Hence, most don’t understand the complexity of working in or running large scale operations in a cross cultural environment.

There are hardly any truly Indian multinational organizations, that have operations in more than 10 countries. Hence, the Gen X leaders fail to comprehend strategic and operational opportunities and risks that western multinational organizations are used to. The difference is so significant that Reliance Industries, a company of Ambani, has enjoyed high market capitalization for over a decade. But it is only half of Facebook 100 billion dollar value. Reliance Infocom and Reliance Retail both suffered hiccups in running operations for the first few years and customer service was pathetic. It took both companies nearly five years to straighten out operations despite there being no dearth of funds.

For Indian organization to grow to the next level, it needs leaders who can manage large-scale operations. Are Gen X leaders up to the task?

Closing Thoughts

Indian Gen X grew up in a social environment where failure was ridiculed, dissenting views were laughed at and independent thinkers stigmatized. Not surprisingly, majority of the Gen X is scared of trying new things and failing. Though failure is the best teacher, and it is not easy to learn when one is successful. The paradox is that all the requirements of a successful Gen X leader are completely opposite to the values they were raised with. The fastest learners and adapters will succeed in this battle and they will lead India to the next level of growth. The point to ponder on is, whether India is in short supply of Gen X leaders with these attributes? If yes, will India be able to be among the top 3 countries in the next decade?

References:

1. Ashok Soota – PromoterHappiest Minds
2. Mohandas Pai’s Business Plans

Diversity Management Risks in Global Organizations

Barack Obama in his autobiography “Dreams of My Father” reflects  “where do I belong?”. Being a child of parents of different races and religions, he spent a childhood searching his identity. Bill Clinton in his autobiography “My Life” discusses a white child’s perspective on segregation of schools in America in 1950s. Both men grew up without their real fathers presence; Obama’s lived in Kenya and Clinton’s lost his real father before birth in a car accident. Their step-fathers didn’t play an important role in building their characters, both attribute their mothers for raising and guiding them.  The personalities reflected in the books are different. Obama comes across as an intellectual and philosophical man, Clinton appears to be a people person and detail oriented. However, Americans and worldwide public had remarkably different viewpoints just because of the color of the skin.

Moreover, their religious faith did swing some votes in their favor. Barack Obama’s credibility is still questioned by opponents by stating that his grandfather was a Muslim, hence Obama cannot be following Christianity. Even in the world super power politics, race and religion play an important role. The more recent case is of Nicky Haley stating she has converted from Sikhism to Christianity. She is an Indian born in US, with the name Nimrata Rhandawa married to Michael Haley. That she felt the need to convert, and was questioned by a Time magazine reporter as to whether she will give a bigger tip to Sikh cab drivers, depicts the hypocrisy of choosing candidates based on performance, ideologies and meritocracy.

Closer home in India, religion still plays a major role in politics. Dynastic politics prevails and even the first family of Indian politics projects belief in Hinduism. It is ironical that the family is secular in religious belief, however, has to present themselves as Hindus for public consumption. As per historical records Indira Gandhi a Kashmiri Brahmin (Hindu) married Feroze Ghandi, a Zoroastrian. To prevail politically, the surname spelling was changed to Gandhi, making it sound similar to Mahatma Gandhi, though there was no family connection. Rumors prevail that Feroze Ghandi by birth was a Muslim. Their first son Rajiv Gandhi, married Antonia Edvige Albina Maino (Sonia Gandhi), an Italian Christian and the second son Sanjay Gandhi married Maneka Anand,a Sikh.  However, the next generation of Gandhi’s – Rahul, Priyanka and Varun - publicly follow Hinduism.

Can’t blame them, because in India religion and region bias are huge. South Indians will view North Indians suspiciously and vis-a-versa. Among South Indians, the Telugu and Tamils will fight, whereas in North India the Punjabis and Jats will battle for superiority. Worse, grouping also  occurs on bases of caste and sub-castes. In such a scenario, with globalization, can organizations really ensure unbiased behavior and decisions on race and religion? Is it possible to wade out prejudices, suspicions and intolerance for a few hours at work, and come home to indulge in the same?

The challenges for organizations are mind-boggling due to technological advancement. As in this wordpress blog where readers from 50 countries visit daily to read posts, in global organizations faith, philosophies, ideologies, race and religion of employees are quite different. Homogeneous behavior cannot be brought about by a code of conduct or compliance team. Meritocracy can win only when it is built into the culture of the organization, else the spirit of the organization will be in tatters due to the dichotomies in employees faiths and beliefs. Hence, let us take a look at diversity management risks in multinational organizations.

1. Regulations of various countries.

Labor laws relating to age, race, religion and gender differ among countries depending on the legal, political and cultural environments. Additionally, in large countries, for instance US or India, they differ state wise and some vary according to industry. Therefore, multinational organizations have to devise policies and procedures on diversity management according to the laws of the country in which head quarters is located, and international operations.  Compliance to various laws and regulations can be a challenging task and head office may not have the full picture.

2. Variance in local cultures

Local cultures impact diversity management initiatives of multinationals. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, women sit separately in a room and do not mix with the men in office. In India, the number of local languages tend to group people of a state together. Hence, the status of embedding diversity management initiatives in head office and regional offices may differ significantly. Cultural integration may become difficult due to behavioral attitudes. For instance, Americans are more outspoken and aggressive in nature, whereas Indians are diffident and respectful. Due to these aspects, global communication and integration plans have to be adopted to local environment.

3. Anti-discrimination protection

The effectiveness of anti-discrimination protection is dependent on enforcing laws and the judicial environment in the country. For example, in US a number of discrimination cases are filed by employees and huge penalties are levied on the organizations. However, in India, though similar laws exist, there is hardly an instance where a case is filed by an employee on the basis of discrimination, as there is minimal possibility of employee winning the case against a large organization. To ensure same level of adherence is maintained at head office and regional offices, diversity management officers need to play a critical role.

 4. Increase in workplace violence

Globally and in India, workplace violence is increasing. Employees report increasing number of cases of bullying, harassment, sexual harassment and physical threats in various surveys. Here again, a group or individual  belonging to a specific race or religion may get mobbed by the majority, depending on the political climate in the country. Hence, the challenge for multinationals again is that similar laws may not exist in other countries. For example, India still doesn’t have an act passed on sexual harassment in workplace, though the bill has been pending in the parliament for sometime. Therefore, awareness levels of these issues differs in various countries. Multinationals, to bring uniformity need to have extensive training in regional offices and subsidiaries.

5. Mergers and Acquisitions

With the ongoing trend of multinationals acquiring companies in different countries, addressing diversity issues becomes critical. Mergers fail, due to failure in culture alignment and not because of failure in merging financial numbers. Post merger, for cultural integration one of the first things to do is devise a strategy for diversity management and implement the same.

Closing Thoughts

An extremely complex subject that impacts organizations especially those with international operations, at three levels – customers, productivity and staffing. However, it is often ignored by the management and definitely by risk managers and auditors. Very few risk managers do a human resource risk assessment, hence these problems continue to brew within the organization, till the culture becomes toxic or legal cases are filed. Hence, it is a good move to develop global and local diversity management strategies and implement the same. Indian organizations can take a leaf out of US organizations, and start appointing diversity management officers.

References:

Workforce diversity initiatives by US Multinationals in Europe - Mary Lou Egan.. Marc Bendick, Jr.

A Philosophical Discussion on Murder of Whistle Blowers

This Sunday, Anna Hazare is fasting in Delhi in support of Whistle Blower Protection Act. Indian laws don’t provide for whistle-blower protection and the damage is evident. Over the years, numerous whistle-blowers have lost their life. A few cases are covered up as personal dispute due to the high level corruption in the system.

Corruption benefits the majority, so does it make it acceptable? Legally, public will say – of course not. But even Hazare’s big protests in 2011 have lost public support. The government used delay tactics and maligned the name of key leaders of his team. Most state leaders didn’t want a Lokayukta in their states. There is no political will among the politicians, bureaucrats and business to pass a strong bill against corruption.

Then it isn’t surprising, that even on  witnessing the death of whistle blowers, public doesn’t protest about it. On the other hand, most keep quiet, lest they become the target. In such circumstances, majority of the people have given implicit consent to murder for their own self-interest. Of course readers would be outraged by this suggestion and claim they were no way involved in the murder. They didn’t give implicit consent!

Let us discuss this from a philosophical lens. Micheal Sandel, the Havard professor discusses this point in his video lectures : Justice – The Moral Side of Murder and The Case of Cannibalism. In the episode “Moral Side of Murder” he discusses a hypothetical case:

“Suppose you were driving a trolley on a rail track and its breaks failed. Five workers are ahead on the track, if you continue to drive straight, all five will die. On the other hand, in a diverging track, there is just one worker.  If you change track, that one worker will die but the other five will live. What is the right thing to do?”

Most students responded that they will swerve to the diverging track and chose to kill one to save five. At a psychological level, they have given moral justification of murder. Then Mr. Sandel gives another example :

“Suppose you are standing on a bridge with the track below, and you see this trolley hurtling without breaks. There are five workers on the track. There is a fat man standing next to you. If you push the fat man over the bridge, on the track, the lives of five workers would be saved. Would you do it?”

Majority of the students said – “No, they wouldn’t do it”. The reason is that it would involve explicitly murdering a person. Can we conclude from these examples, that human race is fine with implicit consent to murder however have qualms on explicitly murdering?

Some whistle blowers due to the psychological torture have committed suicide. That is an indirect attempt to murder. The rich and middle class gain from corruption, hence they give an implicit consent to murder of whistle-blowers. Does this statement hold true, or would you debate it?

Mr. Sandel discusses this in the next part of the lecture on cannibalism. He discusses The Queen v. Dudley and Stephens case, and the facts are as follows:

“At the trial of an indictment for murder it appeared, upon a special verdict, that the prisoners D. and S., seamen, and the deceased, a boy between seventeen and eighteen, were cast away in a storm on the high seas, and compelled to put into an open boat; that the boat was drifting on the ocean, and was probably more than 1000 miles from land; that on the eighteenth day, when they had been seven days without food and five without water, D. proposed to S. that lots should be cast who should be put to death to save the rest, and that they afterwards thought it would be better to kill the boy that their lives should be saved; that on the twentieth day D., with the assent of S., killed the boy, and both D. and S. fed on his flesh for four days; that at the time of the act there was no sail in sight nor any reasonable prospect of relief; that under these circumstances there appeared to the prisoners every probability that unless they then or very soon fed upon the boy, or one of themselves, they would die of starvation.”

To protect oneself or the majority, is murdering someone else justified? The students raised interesting aspects :

1) Some said if selection was done by lottery, then maybe it is illegal but more acceptable. Reason given was they would consider it that all participants on the boat knew the risks of losing.

2) A few students stated that if the boy would have volunteered to die for the benefit of others, it would be acceptable. The boy was an orphan and all others had family responsibilities.

In case of whistle-blower murders, the person dies without have consented to die or being made aware of the decision of the most. The majority votes behind his/her back for murder to safeguard themselves. Does that make majority behavior acceptable?

Watch the hour-long video, and share your thoughts.

In whistle blowing, most feel threatened about the repercussions from people in power and say that they have family responsibilities and cannot expose themselves to the risk. Hence, it is better to go against the whistle-blower attempting to do the right thing, than the person who is doing the wrong thing. Do the same psychological reasons as given in the above mentioned case apply when society goes against whistle blowers?

References:

Harvard University – Justice with Michael Sandel

A Women’s Day Special – Play with Colors of Life

“How wrong is it for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself?”   ― Anaïs Nin

Women are smart. They demand equality and have a special day for women. Men claim superiority and have no men’s day. One can say the rest of the days are of them, but are they? The male gender suffers; poor chaps can’t even protest as it isn’t a masculine trait to show weakness. Women can complain, shed tears, howl their heart out and it reflects feminine traits. Mothers teach sons – boys don’t cry. Wives complain – Husbands are unemotional. Haven’t women successfully shackled men in a stereotypical image from birth?

Shouldn’t women be fighting for the male cause to bring in some emotional gender equality? Shall we start by being a bit more honest ? Lets discuss some of the things that women should do for themselves and the male gender on this women’s day.

1. Miss Goody Two Shoes

Men are convinced women are more principled, honest and virtuous than them. Women have done a wonderful job of personal brand building. Most haven’t got their hands dirty publicly. However, surveys say women participate equally in sexual harassment in offices and are showing increasing propensity to commit white collar crime as their ratios improve in the workforce. Moreover, they backbite, rumor monger, tattletale and indirectly bully more than men in offices. Women are more likely to use sex to get a promotion. Yes, some strategically decide to sleep with the boss to boost their careers.

Women play an equal role in making destructive management practices flourish in an organization and do not hesitate to use them for personal gain. Let us stop playing the blame game and take ownership to improve the work climate within our organizations.

2. Women’s Worst Enemies

Women undercut women. They make loud claims that male gender does not support them. However, women make bad bosses to junior women. Women ruin careers of aspiring young women to remove competition. They feel insecure if men give attention to a younger woman, hence damage the youngsters chances of succeeding. If a senior male wishes to harass a young female, he uses her female colleagues to do so to avoid sexual harassment charges.

While women target the men’s club for all the negative events happening to them, they fail to collaborate to form a women’s club. With 20-50% female workforce in offices, female leaders need to push for reforms in their offices that benefit the gender. Laying the blame on male CXOs door doesn’t absolve women leaders of their responsibilities.

3. The Sacrificing Souls

Women undersell themselves by portraying the picture of sacrificing souls. At every opportunity they lament about the difficulties of being a mother and a career women. Yes, they have to make sacrifices but so do men, specially single dads. It is difficult but stop crying about it all the time. As Gloria Steimen said- “I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career.” 

Being successful is about managing different priorities effectively. Have you seen successful men or women incessantly talking about the same universal issue? Husband, kids and career are a woman’s personal choice, hence its an individual decision. No man or woman is going to get all three handed on a silver platter for all times. There is no point in attempting to win the corporate battle using these tactics.

Closing Thoughts

Fight the battle of equality on ethical and principled grounds, without playing the victim. Successful women don’t enact the damsel in distress routines while pointing fingers at others. Quit complaining and enjoy the colors of life. Be fair, be just and give both genders an equal chance of succeeding on merit and talent.

I know, women will be mad at me for writing this post.  But what to do, 90% of my readers are men .

Wishing all my readers a special women’s day and a happy Holi.

Does Age Impact Ethics?

Michael Douglas’s movie “The Solitary Man” depicts a story of a high-profile businessman becoming a criminal. It is riches to rags story, where Ben, the character played by Douglas is reduced to asking his daughter home rent. The movie makes one contemplate – does age impact ethics? Watch these last scenes of the movie first.

The crucial point in the conversation is when Michael Douglas says – “No one noticed”. He changed from being a faithful husband to sleeping around with young women, because his wife didn’t notice. He shifted from being an honest businessman to a fraudster because no one noticed. The crux of crime – opportunity, reward and rationalization. When no one notices or stops you, it became easy to rationalize criminal behavior.

In another scene of the movie, he says to his friend Jimmy – “In the highest moments and lowest moments of life, you are all alone. On the cover of Forbes magazine, I am by myself. In business magazine cover with handcuffs, I am by myself.” As is the cliché it is lonely at the top. Does the isolation at senior level positions impact psychology and behavior?

Since very few juniors will confront a senior or CEO on unethical behavior, it becomes easier to rationalize. As seniors do not receive negative feedback they remain unaware of the impact of their behavior on juniors and the organization. Social intelligence antenna works on receiving direct and honest information. With diplomatic responses, some miss the signals.

One more critical comment that describes his psychology on ageing was - “I was becoming invisible. Thirty years ago the room changed when I entered. I was a lion.” With age no one noticed him and his ego couldn’t take it. He compensated it by chasing young women.

Douglas couldn’t transition from the sense of invincibility that comes with success and youth, to being just another mortal, whose significance diminished with age. Hence, he broke all social and ethical norms to delude himself into feeling powerful.

In all careers the change is significant. Before retirement, one is generally at the highest level of their career, and suddenly on retirement, the people whom one was working with don’t have time for the person. A person deals with loss of self-esteem, insecurities and feelings of vulnerability. Each retiring person treads this uncertain path; however huge the savings and retirement plans he/she has kept.

Moreover, statistical data shows that old people are subjected to extensive verbal and emotional abuse at home. A survey by Helpage India indicates Bangalore as the number one city in India for mistreating elders. Previously Bangalore was known as pensioners paradise, and now 44% elders say they face abuse at home. In upper strata of society sons mistreat, and in the lower-income group, daughter-in-laws abuse. India, a country where youngsters respected elders by touching their feet, is fast becoming a nation that abuses elders. Further, as India does not have a social security system, if elders do not have sufficient savings, they are financially dependent on the younger generation, mostly sons. As India has a huge young population, a second job after retirement is difficult. Hence, living separately is not an alternative available to many retired people.

The sense of financial insecurity increases propensity of fraud of  employees near retirement age.  Various surveys state that the frauds conducted by older and senior employees are much larger in value than junior employees. The focus on training senior employees on business ethics is low, as organizations assume that old hands are aware of the norms and culture. However, since outward behavior is normal, colleagues don’t realize when the person has snapped inside. Therefore, this group requires more focus than normally given.

Ideas for Action

1.  Organizations can handhold older employees prepare transition plans for retirement. Coaching employees on developing second source of income through developing different talents and hobbies will benefit. An active alumni group for retired employees helps in keeping their social circle intact. If organization provides pension benefits, including medical insurance generates confidence.

2. Employees themselves may develop supplementary business ventures near retirement. For instance, civil engineers in India generally buy residential properties and farmlands. After retirement they venture into real estate and farming.

3. Relationships with family and friends matter. Irrespective of the amount of money available after retirement, without family support one leads an unhappy life. Hence, employees must keep up work-life balance and focus on relationships outside office.

4. Organizations need to train employees that frauds do not contribute positively to retirement funds. The probability of legal penalties and miserable old age are high. With rising inflation and government targeting black money, illicit money put away in lockers is not a viable option. To mitigate this risk give refresher business ethics courses to older employees annually.

5.  Companies to detect fraud propensities must periodically conduct a background verification and credit check of old employees to confirm their financial position. For instance, in a few cases employees develop gambling, drugs or alcohol addictions. They conduct frauds to fund these addictions. A background verification discloses these deviations.

6. India socially has two challenges – lack of old age homes and a social stigma if any person seeks psychological help. Psychological abuse remains an unmentionable issue.Hence, abused elders don’t have any alternatives. They cannot seek outside medical or other help as they attempt to protect family reputation. Organizations in their corporate social responsibility programs can  build awareness about these two aspects.

Closing Thoughts

India’s transition from a developing country to global powerhouse has eroded Indian culture and social values. Adoption of western culture has benefited is some aspects. However, western societies challenges of lack of family support system are ignored. This has resulted in creating a number of social problems in Indian society. Balancing the advantages of western and Indian culture and addressing the negatives will benefit the society. Achieving economic growth at the expense of certain sections of society will harm the social fabric and destroy moral values. This old story says it all :

Devil appeared before a middle-aged man. The man was worried that his career wasn’t doing well and he  won’t have any retirement funds. The devil said – “I will ensure that you and your future generations will never have any financial problems, if you give me your soul.” The man agreed. Devil continued – “And the souls of your children, their children and all future generations.” The man again agreed and asked – “What’s the catch?”

References:

Daughters-in-law emerge as major abuser of elderly: Study

Corporate Social Responsibility The Dalai Lama Way

The new Companies Bill 2011, section 135 on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), has raised a lot of debate about the merits of holding companies responsible for social responsibility. Some have stoically  refuted that companies are any way liable for social responsibility as their objective is to earn profits. According to this view, earning profits and social responsibility are not complimentary goals. Another view presented, to which I subscribe, is that companies owe it to the society and must meet social responsibilities. Profitability and social responsibility are not divergent goals and are mutually beneficial.

Hence, I thought of sharing His Holiness The Dalai Lama’s ideas on social responsibility expressed in his book “My Spiritual Autobiography”. He epitomizes a socially responsible life. While the act is the dry subject, below are some deeper philosophical musings on social responsibility. Read on, and tell me, do you agree with it?

Section 135, Companies Bill 2011

The section stipulates that select Indian companies form a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee with three or more directors of which one must be independent. The Committee will report to the board, formulate a CSR policy and recommend expenditure. The board is expected to approve the policy, make it available on the company website and ensure that at least 2% of average net profits of preceding three years is spent on CSR activities. If the CSR budget is not spent in a particular year, the same shall be disclosed with reasons for not doing so in the annual report. The section is applicable to companies that meet either of the following three criteria. That is, have a:

• net worth of Rs 500 crore or more or
• turnover of Rs 1000 crore or more or
• net profit of Rs 5 crore or more.

The big question is – should companies be asked to spend 2% of average net profits on CSR? Let me share the financial logic and the spiritual reasoning for doing so.

The Spiritual Reason

In the modern world we believe spirituality has no place in business. This is more of a western concept rather than an Indian one. In India, even a small shopkeeper will have a photograph of their god and start work after offering prayers. In my view, spirituality promotes ethical thinking and behavior. Organizations are in dire need of building an ethical culture. In the present world organization behavior and culture impacts society, hence one cannot dissociate the two. I am impressed with Dalai Lama’s story in his book. He said :-

 ”I remember an Indian politician who invited me to discuss this point with him. He said to me, with sincere humility, “Oh, but we’re politicians, not monks!” To which I replied: “Politicians need religion even more than a hermit in retreat. If a hermit acts inspired by bad motivation, he’ll harm only himself. But if a politician, who can directly influence an entire society, acts with bad motivation, a large number of people will experience the negative consequences.”

He has then further described spirituality as :

“Spirituality, in my view, consists of transforming the mind. The best way to transform it is to get used to thinking in a more altruistic way. So ethics is the basis for a secular spirituality for everyone, one that is not limited to a group of believers in one religion or another.“

The same logic applies to business also. A CEO’s decisions impacts thousands of employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders and the public. Can we afford a CEO not to be spiritually aware? Wouldn’t promoting secular ethics help organizations build an ethical culture? Studies indicate that major frauds in organizations – Enron, Satyam, Olympus – occurred when senior management stopped differentiating between right and wrong business practices and was governed by greed.

The Social Reason

Backbiting, backstabbing and bitching are thought of as normal in corporate world. Employees show surprise when a fellow colleague shows compassion, consideration and empathy. Fear, insecurity, ruthlessness and competitiveness have led to deterioration in human values and humanity . The paradox is that with these value systems and emotions prevailing in organizations, we want to create winning teams. A near impossibility, and then we wonder on reasons of failure.

The problem arises because of the thinking that emotions have no place in business. How is it possible to segregate emotions during business hours when we base 70-80% of decisions on emotions? Should one view it that good emotions have no place in business, only negative emotions are allowed? Dalai Lama   hit the nail on the head and identified the core problem in the following words:

“Unfortunately, love and compassion have been excluded from too many areas of social interaction, for too long a time.”

He further identified the impact of positive emotions on a human being. He aptly points out:

“A mind dedicated to compassion is like an overflowing reservoir: it is a constant source of energy, determination, and goodness. You could compare compassion to a seed. If you cultivate it, it makes an abundance of other excellent qualities blossom, such as forgiveness, tolerance, inner strength, and confidence, allowing us to conquer fear and anxiety. The compassionate mind is like an elixir: it has the strength to turn adverse situations into beneficial circumstances.”

Studies show that corporate philanthropy programs not only attract talent but retain employees. Employees at all level appreciate organizations that have a humane culture and are dedicated to the welfare of society. Although managements believe that numbers and targets drive achievement of profits, CSR activities contribute to the bottom line by improving ethics, culture, commitment and engagement levels within the organization.

Secondly, companies are linking CSR activities with their brands. Results show that customers view organizations better and are more loyal to products when they consider the company socially responsible.

Lastly, India really lags behind in charity. As per the Worlds Giving Index 2011, India ranks 91st among 153 countries assessed. India was ranked as the most uncharitable nation in South Asia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka etc. all rank better than India. With India’s poverty levels and discrepancy in incomes, this status is really sad. 

The Financial Reason

Presently in Indian media there is a debate going on The National Food Security Bill ( NFSB). The objective of the bill is to eradicate hunger and malnutrition in the country. For 2011-12 financial year the food subsidy budget is  Rs 60,572 crore. The NFSB plans to provide subsidized food grains to 64% of the population with a budget of approximately Rs 95,000 crore. The debate is that should government be providing such a large subsidy to the poor?

Professor Bardhan rightly pointed out in Economic Times interview saying “About 9 % of GDP is being given to the relatively rich in the form of subsidies, why should the government then mind giving 1-2% of GDP to the poor.” Indian organizations receive benefit in the form of direct tax, excise duty and sales tax subsidies for building the industrial sector and exports. Should these be withdrawn to give the whole amount to the poor? Asking organizations to invest 2% of their average net profits in society seems a small price, when public money is being used to subsidize business. Of course some naysayers are saying that government is being financially irresponsible by giving this huge subsidy. Question remains, do they hold the same view on subsidies given to business sector?

This gets me back to Dalai Lama’s thinking - ”Everyone must assume his own share of universal responsibility.” Unless the corporate sector gets committed to fulfilling social responsibilities, the country will deteriorate. Besides economic power, the society needs a lot more to flourish and be healthy.

Closing Thoughts

I found Dali Lama’s description of his morning rituals enchanting. He narrates – “As a practicing Buddhist monk, as soon as I wake up I pay homage to the Buddha, and I try to prepare my mind to be more altruistic, more compassionate, during the day to come so that I can be of benefit of beings. Then I do physical exercise – I walk on a treadmill.” World’s most influential and renowned monk happily adopts modern day gadgets into his daily life. He talks of ethics of genetic engineering, global warming, environment risks etc. with complete ease and knowledge. However, we the management experts, the technical geniuses, the advocates of change hesitate to incorporate spirituality, compassion and social responsibility in business. Ironical isn’t it. Can we leave our hearts at home when we come to work?

I want to share the prayer Dalai Lama read on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. He wishes that this prayer is on his lips when he dies. Very few people in the world can have this level of generosity of spirit, but maybe in 2012 we can think of new beginnings.

May I Remain In Order to Relieve the Suffering of the World

May I be the protector of the abandoned,
The guide for those who wander the path,
And for those who yearn for the other shore,
May I be the vessel, the ferry, the bridge;
May I be an island for those who need an island,
The lamp for those who need a lamp,
The bed for those who need a bed;
May I be the wish-fulling gem, the vase
With great treasure, a powerful mantra, the healing plant,
The wish granting tree, the cow of abundance.
As long as space remains,
As long as beings remain,
May I too remain
To relieve the sufferings of the world.

Indian saint Shantideva’s prayer read by Dalai Lama on accepting Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

References:

1. My Spiritual Autobiography by His Holiness The Dalai Lama
2. New Companies Bill – Ministry of Corporate Affairs
3. India should cut wasteful expenditure on subsidies: US prof Pranab Bardhan

Risks of Living

When I started specializing in fraud investigations, my fellow chartered accountants gave me sane and sensible advice – You are a chartered accountant, why not follow the regular path of aiming to become a Chief Financial Officer? There are so few women in financial crime, it is dangerous field, why get into it?

Aha, toe the line, join the rat race. Do what everyone else does. In an Indian woman’s case it is – marry early, obey your husband, have kids, raise kids, maybe have a job if husband permits, earn less than your husband, look after in-laws and relatives, gossip about neighbors, run a good house, buy expensive gadgets and household items to show off to neighbors and spend your spare time shopping. Break this norm and the society gathers quickly to pass judgments

Problem was I couldn’t ever see myself doing most of it. Tried some of it, was good at some, failed miserably at others. I decided I have one life; I want to do what I am passionate about. Bill McKenna’s philosophy of life appealed to me completely:

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, shouting GERONIMO!” – Bill McKenna, professional motorcycle racer (as quoted in Cycle magazine, Feb. 1982)

 God bless Steve Jobs, he showed us that one could live with McKenna’s ideas in the corporate world. Steve inspired me, as a person, a creative thinker and a CEO who came back to win. He was fighter at heart, whether life threw him professional or personal challenges. My mom died of cancer when I was seventeen, so I understood the losing battle he fought valiantly with cancer. He inspired many; earned respect of millions and even his competitors said hats off to him. What an incredible legacy to leave behind in such a short life. Maybe, because he understood it early on. He had said -

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed saying we’ve done something wonderful … that matters to me”

In the decades to come, no one will remember his bank balance and assets. World will remember him for changing the technological landscape, for his innovations, for his products and for his ideas.

How many of us really get that? We carry on doing everything for money. My father had given just one advice when I started my career. He had said –

“Never work for money. If you are passionate about your area of expertise, you will excel in it. Money and position will follow. If you do a job for the money, your heart won’t be in it, and it will lead you nowhere. Whenever a decision is made solely for money, it is generally wrong.”

Thankfully, I understood what he meant very early in my career. I focused on learning new skills, trying out different approaches and sticking my head out without doing the corporate CYA. Got burnt, beaten and trashed, but it was all worth it.

My curiosity remains, why are so scared to be a bull in the China shop? Why is it considered breaking social norms and corporate behavior when someone rocks the boat big time? Maybe we need to keep Steve’s message in our hearts that he gave in the advertising campaign in 1997.

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers…because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do”

Shouldn’t we stop being petrified of living our lives, sharing our thoughts and being ourselves? Why do we give up a battle we care about without even trying? Even in boxing, the boxer who topples the world champion isn’t the one who is the strongest, fastest or most technically competent. The boxer is the one who took the biggest beating of his life and remained standing.

Maybe all we need is the capacity to take that beating life gives us. I have sometimes fallen from cloud nine and licked dust. Started with complaining to God for being so unfair and then spent time moaning and groaning. Then stood up on my feet, dusted my knees and giggled. Promised myself it would be the last time, but then something irresistible came along, and ended up doing the same thing again. All my risk management fails when I want to live life.

So, my weekend musings is – why are we so focused on mitigating the risks of life that we stop living? Come to think of it, what are the risks of living?

Business Ethics from Zoroastrianism

“Good thoughts, good words, good deeds” is the mantra of Zoroastrianism. It is one of the ancient religions, as old as Hinduism or maybe older. Before Christ, it was the main religion of Persia, though now the numbers have dwindled. I am reading the English translation of old Zoroastrian prayers and am impressed by the insight given about ethical conduct. According to me, the same principles are still applicable in the business environment.

1.      Bases of Ethics

The very essence of Zoroastrianism is captured in the Vispa Humata prayer mentioned in Khordeh Avesta:

“All good thoughts, good words and good deeds are produced with (good) intelligence. All evil thoughts, evil words and evil deeds are not produced with good intelligence. All good thoughts, good words and good deeds lead the doer to heaven. All evil thoughts, evil words and evil deeds lead him to hell. The result of all good thoughts, good words and good deeds is heaven. Thus it is manifest to the righteous person.”

Doesn’t the above paragraph form the baseline of business ethics? A person with good intellect and integrity is far more valuable to an organization than a genius lacking ethics. Right attitude and behavior are essential traits in the corporate world.

2.      Battle of Ethics

Interestingly enough, the Zoroastrian religion is based on the battle between God and Satan.

“God, the creator of the world, Ahura Mazda, is all good and no evil originates from him. Satan Angra Mainvu is the source of all evil in the world. Ahura Mazda stands for truth and order whereas Angra Mainvu creates falsehood and disorder. The battle between good and evil will continue until the end of the world. At the end, God will be victorious.”

Corporate world faces an ongoing battle between constructive people and destructive people within the organization. Management identifies and defeats saboteurs to mitigate various risks. Sometimes the battle is small; sometimes it becomes a full-scale war at global level. The good leaders become knights in corporate war zone.

3.      Medium of Ethics  

Fire and water reflect duality and are considered incompatible, as fire cannot sustain in water. However, in Zoroastrianism both are agents of purification.

“In Zoroastrian cosmogony, water and fire are respectively the second and last primordial elements to have been created, and scripture considers fire to have its origin in the waters. Both water and fire are considered life-sustaining, and both water and fire are represented within the precinct of a fire temple. Zoroastrians usually pray in the presence of some form of fire (which can be considered evident in any source of light), and the culminating rite of the principle act of worship constitutes a “strengthening of the waters”. Fire is considered a medium through which spiritual insight and wisdom is gained, and water is considered the source of that wisdom”

Metaphorically speaking, in corporate world water represents business ethics and fire symbolizes fraud risk. Business ethics provide the guiding principles for building a healthy corporate culture and various frauds give insight on areas of weaknesses. The evidence in the investigation lays the ground for being victorious in an ethics battle. The lessons learnt from each fraud strengthens the organization culture.

Closing Thoughts

Ancient wisdom states fight the good battle to make the world a better place to live. Leave a legacy for which people will remember you forever and God will welcome you warmly. The sacrifices made now will give dividends later. So let us have the wisdom to learn from Zoroastrianism and do the right thing.

Shouldn’t this battle of ethics be fought in Indian corporate offices? What do you say?

References:

1. Zoroastrianism
2. Khordeh Avesta

The Prince’s Dilemma

‘Tis he:–O brave Iago, honest and just,
That hast such noble sense of thy friend’s wrong!
Thou teachest me. Minion, your dear lies dead,
And your unblest fate hies: strumpet, I come.
Forth of my heart those charms, thine eyes, are blotted;
Thy bed, lust-stain’d, shall with lust’s blood be spotted

-      Othello to Iago, his insincere friend on killing his loving wife Desdemona  – In the play Othello, The Moor of Venice  written by Shakespeare

In the game of chess, a king can make only one move at a time. The queen is the most agile, capture the queen and the king becomes defenseless. It is hard to believe, but in an organization a CEO can face the same dilemma and be isolated. S/he may be amongst people but all political rivals can surround him. They can easily dislodge a loyal colleague or junior by spreading misinformation. Machiavellian individuals can cause catastrophes.

So I contemplated whether in the present corporate political environment we can learn some lessons from the book – “The Prince” written by Nicolo Machiavelli. Here are some interesting aspects of risks in internal politics.

1.    The New Prince – The New CEO

Extract from The Prince  - “In this way you have enemies in all those whom you have injured in seizing that principality, and you are not able to keep those friends who put you there because of your not being able to satisfy them in the way they expected, and you cannot take strong measures against them, feeling bound to them. For, although one may be very strong in armed forces, yet in entering a province one has always need of the goodwill of the natives.

 It is very true that, after acquiring rebellious provinces a second time, they are not so lightly lost afterwards, because the prince, with little reluctance, takes the opportunity of the rebellion to punish the delinquents, to clear out the sus­pects, and to strengthen himself in the weakest places.”

These lines are interesting. A new CEO when entering a new company will not have any friends and will have lot of internal rivals whom he has defeated. Hence, the political rivals will set him up for a disaster at the earliest, so that he becomes a puppet in their hands. Surrounded by political rivals he can’t make any moves on his own. Hence, the power remains in the hand of his rivals and the employees obey the rivals than the new CEO.

When he has established himself, the rivals have more to fear as he can fight back stronger. However, for that he must have an assessment of the weakest areas.

2.    The Information on Disasters

Extract from the Prince – “Because, if one is on the spot, disorders are seen as they spring up, and one can quickly remedy them; but if one is not at hand, they are heard of only when they are great, and then one can no longer remedy them. Besides this, the country is not pil­laged by your officials; the subjects are satisfied by prompt recourse to the prince; thus, wishing to be good, they have more cause to love him, and wishing to be otherwise, to fear him.”

It is a clear principle, if a CEO doesn’t have information on wrongdoing, s/he can’t manage it. If problems brew over a long period of time, the CEO is unlikely to find a solution. If the CEO is inaccessible to his employees then employees have no recourse but to fear him. CEO’s generally presume that they are accessible, have an open door policy and employees will find it easy to talk to them. But sometimes circumstances are such that employees can’t have a direct discussion even if they desperately want to. For example, if an employee is under threat by political rivals to speak up, and the CEO is seen as not willing to protect the employee, the employee will not speak up. Another example if an ex-employee wishes to speak the political rivals can issue a legal notice which prohibits the employee from speaking or contacting any senior manager of the company directly. Thus all channels of communication are closed for the juniors. So unless the CEO makes the first move, the juniors can’t help him.

3.  Difference between friends and enemies.

Extract from The Prince – “It never occurred to him that by this action he was weakening himself, depriving himself of friends and of those who had thrown themselves into his lap, whilst he aggrandized the Church by adding much temporal power to the spiritual, thus giving it greater authority.”

If the CEO is unable to differentiate between his friends and enemies, s/he becomes weak. In some cases, the enemies will send anonymous mails making him presume that it is from his/her friend. Why would a friend wish to resort to an anonymous mail?

In the present day context this is a big risk for senior managers and the organization. Any one can create an email id and send information which will damage the relationship. Basic level information can be obtained from hacking the id. Better still, hack the email id and send an email. The recipient will believe in its authenticity.  Hence, an unknown person has the advantage when s/he creates a conflict between two friends. The recipient is angry with the sender, and the sender doesn’t have a clue on what they have done. With distrust, the CEOs political rivals win.

It is a good idea for the CEO to check who will get the most advantage from a disinformation campaign. If s/he suspects the friend, think what is the friend going to gain and what could be his/her self interest? If the friends gain is minuscule in comparison to political rivals, the CEO can make a wise decision.

Closing thoughts

I find it one of the most interesting books to read. It brings a rationality in thinking and stops us from reacting negatively. The moment we stop and think before reacting, the game becomes apparent.

So am going to write some more on it soon. If you haven’t read it before, read it. I shall wait for your comments