Management blues!

Management is meant to manage, but what if it mismanages or fails to manage, will it still then qualify to be called as such?  

This thought echoed through my mind as I sat through the function at the headquarters of the All India Railwaymens Federation today in New Delhi. Yes it is true that the primary function of any management is to manage, but have we been able to live up to it in railways is something that bothered me throughout the event. Having failed in the primary role of providing materials, infrastructure and manpower and also in the process succeeding in bringing the organization to the verge of bankruptcy can by no stretch of imagination be regarded as the true role of the management.

It is indeed true that the integrity and commitment of the top union guys is far superior to what the top guys in railway (mis)management have. It is also true that rank incompetence of almost the entire officer cadre of the railways in making things happen is a time proven phenomenon. What is also time proven is the inherent ability of the entire fleet of babudom in stopping things from happening. Yet I refuse to accept that management can be a body that has only a negative role, and that leads me to another string of thought, that if we are not the management, then what is the difference between us and the workers, only in salaries and perks.

During my entire tenure at the division, what we got at the PNM meetings was flak for incompetence and maybe perhaps at times appreciation for our sincerity, not delivery. Appreciation only because we tried in an environment where almost everyone has given up in sheer despair. Deeply tied in knots so complex that perhaps only a superman or the lord almighty himself can unwind. Why then should officers be accountable for results and also to be answerable to the unions and the staff when the power they wield is miniscule and often not more than what a lowly employee in the railways has?

Scrap the PNM’s and be an indistinguishable part of the whole, the whole that is constituted by the over fourteen lakh employees that the organization wields its stick over is perhaps the only wise solution for a bureaucracy that is credited with repeated suicidal attempts.

Of Turnarounds

Air India badly needs a turnaround, but it cannot get one unless it decides to turnaround. Yet the signals that regularly emanate from this "deep in the shit" organization tell a different story. A solid internal reluctance to turnaround despite regular proclamations of the intent by all those successive gentlemen who aspired for and sat on the hot yet cushy seat.

Cushy it is, for it provides an ample opportunity for wining dining and loot by all those who manage this and other "deep in the shit" organizations. The cushy lifestyle that they offer to the top guys ensures that the concern for the organization, especially the welfare of its men takes a back seat. What Air-India needs right now is a "people's guy" as its CEO, not someone from the services who generally has only his own comfort and status in focus, almost always. Yes, it is true that the various services of the nation, including the elite ones produce officers who live for self and die for self with no concern whatsoever for the welfare of the organization, nation or the people despite falling in the category of "public servants", not rulers of the nation that they start imagining they are, sadly from the day one.

My stint as the main honcho of the Delhi division, the largest division of the mighty railway system of the country has reinforced my belief in the goodness and the immense utility of men at large. It has also reinforced my belief that the primary problem of the nation is neither the politicos, nor the unions; it is the bureaucracy that with passage of time has emerged as a self sustaining machinery. The "Officer" class has to take the main blame for the pitiable condition the nation and organizations like the railways and Air India find themselves in.

What was earlier thought of as an impossibility in the division is now regarded as child's play by many. The staff is solidly behind all our initiatives and the unions with their positive support ensure a smooth run for all the developmental measures that have changed the face of the division in a period of just two years. And contrary to popular belief, the politicos never intervened. Yet, the staff continues to be the favorite whipping boy for many belonging to the officer clan, who in my opinion would fail to make it to the cut-off list in any developed nation.

Unless we appreciate and then take steps to realize the tremendous latent potential that men have within them, organizations like the railways and Air India shall continue biting the dust and the unions and the politicos shall continue taking the flak.

Amen!

We the bureaucrats!

We are the largest employer in the world, yet have minimal concern for HR!

We talk about doing big things, yet end up not doing even small things!

We talk about clean stations and clean trains, yet maintain dirty offices!

We want the field staff not to drink on duty, yet fail to ensure it in our offices, right under our noses!

We criticize the police for rape in the cities, yet do nothing about sexual harassment in our offices!

We talk about staff shortages at work, yet unfailingly misutilize official staff at residences!

We talk about shabby treatment by seniors, yet unfailingly misbehave with our subordinates almost always!

We talk about loading, revenue, world class stations, mega projects, postings and transfers, yet have no time to discuss the welfare of our men or value systems that need to be a part of the organization's culture!

We want everyone else to be honest, hard working and committed, yet do not apply the same principles on ourselves!

We talk about the rampant corruption in the nation, yet do nothing about corruption right under our noses, in our own domain!

We blame the politicos for the mess, yet leave no stone unturned in complicating matters ad-infinitum!

We blame the unions for the mess, yet have no concern for staff welfare ourselves!

We want the organization and the nation to improve and have plenty of ideas for others, yet do nothing about it ourselves!

No wonder, our downhill speed is growing faster by the day!

Amen!