Browsing: By Invitation

The recent sensational corporate controversy at Tata Group raises a question on employee loyalty and its types. 

The popular television series ‘Game of Thrones’ has vast universe of characters. What happens when we put these characters in an IR landscape. A narrative drawing parallels between the two.

A third-party analysis of what may have led to the ouster of Cyrus Mistry from Tata.

While speculations are rife regarding the numerous triggers that led to this change of guard at the Tata Group, the cadre of leaders under Mistry is definitely being scanned.

Any right can only be demanded in return for duty, and that has to be understood by the employees as well as the management.

Open-plan offices complement infrastructure in creating a truly empowering work environment for employees.

Employee advocacy entails a voluntary involvement of the employees in the communication efforts of the organisation with the outside world.

Due to this lack of awareness and thoughtfulness, trade unions waste their energy in fighting a wrong battle against the well aware battery of staff, consultants and lawyers of employers.

Abhijit Bhaduri, chief learning officer, Wipro, in a conversation with George Anders, popular American business journalist and author of four books, on why a qualification in liberal arts is gaining importance in the corporate world, especially in IT companies.

Large-scale white-collar displacement at middle and senior levels is a relatively new phenomenon and that too without the safety net of trade unions. Here is what one should do to safeguard oneself.

Just play along with cause & effect, gravity, flow thermodynamics, electromagnetism and time. You will not only feel motivated, but appear motivated. 

Much before ‘happy exits’ had become fashionable in the corporate world, HUL had learnt the trick to keep its ex’s happy and involved.

Erikson’s theory of child development can be applied to Industrial Relations.

IR is simply the science and art of togetherness. Learn about the appropriate length, width, depth and time for industrial relations.

Despite the challenges they pose, it is not too difficult to deal with venomous superiors.

It is important to build a charming professional culture in an organisation. Professionalism is nothing but swimming in tandem with the natural rhythm of ‘cause and effect’.

Many IR managers feel that these manipulations are necessary to manage people in varied situations, with varying needs, egos and greed. But it is absurd to believe that such manipulations and negativity can yield positive results.

The prime vested interest of company executives is to rule at will – egocentrism. However, the vested interest of the union leaders is to satisfy their social and self-esteem needs. These are the raw motives, to overcome which and to develop behavioural compatibility between both the agencies, two measures need to be established—a defined transactional system, and constant interpersonal communication. 

Hypocrisy is what is observed these days, in the name of decency and tolerance, and the key source of most IR trouble.

As the new year starts knocking on the door, there will be predictions galore. So, here is what Abhijit Bhaduri thinks could be the future of learning for each sun sign. Pun Intended, just read and enjoy!

Intolerance grows to the level of incapacity in dealing with the four dimensions of universal phenomenon—need, greed, support and ignorance.

Each individual works to satisfy his own need, greed and ego. Each person plays a role in the company’s fitness and has to be paid for his contribution to the same, proportionately. 

When Darwin explored ‘survival of fittest’, the ‘emotional intelligence’ was not a developed subject in the new-world. Now, we are very successfully dodging the growth fitness with our hypocrisy.

IR managers need to align workers and their leaders to productive co-existence at all the levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Do you really need to go to a fancy B-School and spend big bucks to get an MBA? What if you reframed the problem and decided to get the education needed (without the degree and the fat fee paid to a B-school)? Here’s a person who has done just that.

Laurie Pickard, of NoPayMBA fame, completed her MBA-level education using only MOOCs —Massive Open Online Courses. She is the facilitator of the No-Pay MBA Network, a learning community dedicated to help its members get the benefits of business school, at a fraction of the cost —less than $ 1,000! She now lives in Kigali, Rwanda and has documented her studies to serve as a resource to other learners.

Abhijit Bhaduri, chief learning officer, Wipro, chats with Pickard to know more about the NoPayMBA and MOOCs. Excerpts!

The Second Machine Age says that the future belongs to those who can keep learning and reinventing themselves. But learning what? To find the answer to this question, you need to read Humans are Underrated.