"WHERE KNOWLEDGE IS WEALTH"

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

“Internal Brand Connect” - Professor M.S.Rao


When you look at company like Infosys it has built strong internal brand internally based on values. As its tagline says, ‘powered by intellect and driven by values’ Infosys worked hard to create such prestigious brand for many years and it has lived to it so far. Similarly when you look at companies such as Southwest Airlines and FedEx they have successfully built their brands internally that helped them brand themselves externally well and reap returns accordingly. In this context, we will discuss about Internal Brand Connect.


What is Internal Brand Connect?

Employees represent the image of the organization. If employees are well groomed through right organizational culture and climate, they will reflect the same outside the organization thus enhancing the image of the organization. Rajan Dutta, President, HR, Lupin, says, "Internal branding is about developing an image so compelling that people want to work for you and those who do, carry themselves with pride and honour. Due to increase in competition for talent and demand-supply challenge, all employers are forced to look internally and help employees relate to the organization and its brand. Internal branding refers to institutionalizing the company's brand among its employees."


Importance

Internal Brand Connect helps the employees connect with other employees effectively. It paves the way for quick passing of information and enabling quick decision making. We often talk of branding the organization externally. However, internal brand connect helps in branding internally. As external branding helps connect with outside people internal brand connect helps connect people within the organization thus they can feel proud of their organization. It ultimately results into organizational effectiveness and excellence. It helps employees understand the organizational vision and mission. It enhances employee engagement and productivity thus enhancing the bottom lines.

Companies cannot build external brand by ingnoring internal culture. If you want to grow outside you must grow inside first. If you want to grow global you must grow local first. Similarly when you want to build your brand externally you need to build your brand internally first.


Tips for Internal Brand Connect

Organizational culture depends on the organizational climate and the employees’ connectivity with others. Efforts must be made to make sure that all employees consistently speak with one voice with clients and customers as it sends strong message. Here are the tips to connect employees internally.

• Build healthy organizational climate
• Provide efficient internal communication.
• Conduct meetings, functions and parties regularly to connect all employees
• Make the expectations of customers and clients to employees clear periodically as it helps them project and present right culture to outside people.
• Align employees’ attitudes and behavior as per the vision and mission of the organization from time to time so that they stay glued to the track.
• Above all, harness their energies constantly as per the organizational vision and mission.

Companies must first build their brand image internally so that they can build their brands outside successfully. When employees take pride in their company that is automatically reflected outside thus elevating the image of the organization outside successfully. It is also rightly said that if you want to win outside you must first learn to win at your home. Similarly, internal brand connect helps in a big way for organizational productivity and performance.



Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com



Dear readers,

I would appreciate your comments about this article.



© 2011 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved.
This is an educational blog for free sharing of knowledge, not for commercial use. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://profmsr.blogspot.com This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.


Friday, August 26, 2011

"Is It End of The Road for Apple Without Steve Jobs?" - Professor M.S.Rao

“Steve Jobs is the most successful CEO in the US of the last 25 years.” – Eric Schmidt, Google Chairman


Steve Jobs resignation from Apple as CEO has been expected by many due to health reasons. In fact, 56 years is too young for a person to resign as CEO of any company. His successor, Timothy Cook will have tough to fill the leadership vacuum created by his predecessor. In fact, Steve Jobs is synonymous with Apple and that is the image he has built for himself through his innovative strategies. Nobody expected that a college drop out would create a history in the business world through his unconventional strategies and unflagging determination and perseverance. Nobody expected that the man who was fired would be in command for 14 years at a stretch and exit with great acclaim. It is often said that the people who are fired from jobs will lose their morale, energy and enthusiasm. In contrast, Steve Jobs persisted, returned and turned around the company which was at the brink of disaster and excelled as an innovation legend globally.

Share prices tumbled hearing the news of his exit and subsequently stabilized. He is a college drop out like other corporate leaders such as Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Mark Zuckerberg. He rose from humble origins who is a symbol of hard work and hope for millions of people across the world. Before his venture into Apple he survived by selling coke bottles and having free meals at Hare Krishna temple in Oregon. His corporate success calls for developing a case study to inspire budding leaders and entrepreneurs. He worked on what he had rather than blaming his circumstances thus proving to the world that everything is possible in this world.

If you ask an Indian child what does alphabet ‘A’ stand for? The child would immediately say “A for Apple”. If you ask the same question to an American child the response would be “A for Apple and innovation”. That is the impression the Apple Computer has created in America and across the world under the leadership of Steve Jobs. Innovation is almost synonymous with Apple Computers. It has created new products and services by following the road less traveled. It took many years for Apple to build brand for innovation under the innovative leadership of Steve Jobs.

He was ousted from Apple in 1985 and was brought back subsequently. Steve said on his ouster from Apple, “It was awful-tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life’s gonna hit you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.” And he was more successful in his second innings as he successfully introduced iPod, iPhone and iPad at the cost of Apple’s competitors Sony Corp, Nokia Oyj and Hewlett-Packard. With his departure from Apple his competitors will heave sign of relief.


Steve – A True Leader

He is a leader, not a boss. He is a leader, not a manager. He is an entrepreneur, not an intrapreneur. He knows the picking up the right people, putting them in the right place, building effective teams and inspiring them to dream big and achieving the objectives. This is his leadership style. He is a visionary leader, inspirational leader and above all, a charismatic leader. As an apple a day keeps the doctor away Steve has kept Apple healthy from competitors through his innovative and inspiring leadership. He is not only a great American leader but also an international leader who inspires all of us. He is not only the embodiment of American dream but global dream. It is tough to match with his personality in the current corporate world.

Speaking about innovation, Steve said, “Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It’s not about money. It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it.” He has created a cult such as, “The Steve Jobs Way” during his tenure. He has a special place in the hearts of both friends and foes for his innovative leadership. His contribution for the computer industry, especially consumer electronics, is unparalleled. And his toughest critics will have a hard time arguing against his contributions to the industry. His successor has a tough task ahead to meet the expectations of others and Professor David B Yoffie, Harvard Business School expressed the same concern, “The real challenge for Apple will be what happens beyond that road map. Apple is going to need a new leader with a new way of recreating and managing the business in the future.”

“Case Study on Anna Hazare” - Professor M.S.Rao

“The dream of India as a strong nation will not be realised without self-reliant, self-sufficient villages, this can be achieved only through social commitment & involvement of the common man." - Anna Hazare


With the continuous fast of social activist, Anna Hazare the crusade against corruption is reaching to peak position where the health of Anna Hazare has become more concern for the people than the crusade against corruption. The Anna frenzy has caught the nation like wildfire never before in the history of free India connecting all Indians and bringing them into one platform. Anna’s rising popularity reminds people of referent power where people wield this power not by position but by stature. Although he doesn’t hold any public office he still wields more power than the people in public life. Here is the brief biography of Anna.


Anna’s Profile

Anna Hazare was born on 15 June 1937 in Bhingar of erstwhile Bombay Province. His original name was Kisan Baburao Hazare and later he was affectionately called as Anna Hazare. He joined in Indian Army as a driver in 1963. He took voluntary retirement from Indian army in 1978 after serving for 12 years. He was awarded Padma Shri in 1990 and Padma Bhushan in 1992. His crusade against corruption has made him household name in India.


Anna’s Referent Power

Leadership and power are closely connected as we see in the case of Anna Hazare who wields referent power to make a difference to Indian society by crusading against corruption. According to social psychologists, John French and Bertam Raven power is divided into five forms - legitimate, coercive, reward, expert and referent power. One who holds his power just because of his legal standing vested in him by organization is known as legitimate power. Such people hold power as long as they hold their legitimate positions. Coercive power is a negative power such as threats or punishments that usually prevail in autocratic societies and such people are hardly respected. Reward power is the ability to reward others and people enjoy their positions as long as they reward others. Expert power is about the position where people have expertise in some areas. Precisely, they are domain experts. Finally, referent power is the power where people enjoy status not bestowed by law or position but just because people admire such leaders. Leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa enjoyed referent power as people revered and supported them. Similarly, Anna Hazare began earning acceptance all over India and the world through his simplicity and humility. People across the country cutting across religions, regions, languages and cultures began batting for him. Hence, Anna Hazare enjoys referent power currently. Only the time will tell how long he will continue his crusade against corruption. Government of India must immediately come out with viable and feasible solutions to declare war against corruption by losing its personal battle against Anna Hazare. Here are the lessons that you can learn from Anna Hazare’s magical leadership:

• Lead from front. As any leader leads from front braving all challenges Anna leads from front braving all challenges from political parties, bureaucrats and critics.
• Find out the common cause and work on it. He found out the common cause of corruption and gained the momentum to cleanse the current corrupt political system.
• Spot the leadership vacuum and fill it. He realized that no leader is taking the issue of corruption seriously. He plunged and filled the vacuum thus excelling as messiah.
• Be a risk taker. By starting the fast he risked his life. Few critics felt that this fast will fall flat like Ramdev’s fast. To the surprise of many, he got overwhelming support from all quarters.
• Talk less and do more. His actions prove that he is a practical man who speaks less but delivers more goods.
• Above all, walk your talk. He is not a typical politician to go on fast for political reasons such as hankering after power. There is no gap between his words and deeds.

Anna is a bachelor and was a solider who decided to dedicate his life for fighting against corruption. He has become the leadership icon. Since no movement can survive without strong ideology Anna must expand the present movement against corruption broadly thus cleaning the entire democratic system. So far no leader has earned the credibility among the masses the way Anna earned. He must live up to his ideals and values to make India stronger and vibrant. Presently people are scared to take bribes as there are apprehensions among the people. It is a positive sign in the larger interests of our nation.

Anna Hazare derives his power from people. He does not have any legitimate power except people and you cannot ignore people in democracy as politicians have to approach people for votes during elections. Anna’s movement is a great bloodless revolution that is expected to bring drastic changes within the society. It not only brings change in the mindset of the politicians but also people as a whole who are vexed with rampant corruption while hosting Commonwealth Games and in 2G spectrum. Drastic changes in reforms are needed to cleanse the present system. People often talk birth of another Mahatma Gandhi. We can say that Anna is another Gandhi who wants to make a significant difference in the lives of Indians by crusading against corruption.

Although democratically elected government is superior to civil movement, it cannot ignore the voice of the people who are advocating Anna Hazare. It is time the government view the situation carefully and take necessary steps before people lose their confidence on it. The movement should not be viewed against Congress government and it has to be viewed against corruption that is prevailing across the country plaguing all political parties in India. Politicians should learn lessons from such movements before it is too late. Instead of looking at Anna’s personal weaknesses and loopholes government of India must focus on the bill with flexibility to bring the change before they are asked to change their government by the people. Margaret Mead rightly noted, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”



Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com



Dear readers,

I would appreciate your comments about this article.



© 2011 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved.
This is an educational blog for free sharing of knowledge, not for commercial use. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://profmsr.blogspot.com This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

“Leadership Lessons from Anna Hazare” - Professor M.S.Rao

With the continuous fast of Anna Hazare the crusade against corruption is reaching to peak position where the health of Anna Hazare is of more concern than the crusade against corruption. Anna’s rise reminds people of referent power where people wield this power not by position but by stature. Although he doesn’t hold any public office he still wields more power than the people in public life. In this context, let us briefly know various types of powers.


Types of Powers

There are five types of powers - legitimate, coercive, reward, expert and referent power. One who holds his power just because of his legal standing vested in him by organization is known as legitimate power. Such people hold power as long as they hold their legitimate positions. Coercive power is a negative power such as threats or punishments that usually prevail in autocratic societies and such people are hated. Reward power is the ability to reward people and people enjoy their positions as long as they reward others. Expert power is about the position where people have expertise in some areas. Precisely, they are domain experts. Finally, referent power is the power where people enjoy status not bestowed by law or position but just because people admire such leaders. When you look at leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa they enjoyed referent power as people revered and supported them. Similarly, Anna Hazare began earning acceptance all over India and the world through his simplicity and humility. People across the country cutting across religions, regions, languages and cultures began batting for him. Hence, Anna Hazare enjoys referent power currently. Only the time will tell how long he will continue his crusade against corruption. Government of India must immediately come out with viable and feasible solutions to declare war against corruption by losing its personal battle against Anna Hazare. Here are the lessons that you can learn from Anna Hazare’s leadership:

• Lead from front
• Find out the common cause and work on it.
• Spot the leadership vacuum and fill it.
• Be a risk taker. Risk for your life and move forward come what may.
• Talk less and do more.
• Above all, walk your talk as people are watching you closely and keenly.



Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com



Dear readers,

I would appreciate your comments about this article.



© 2011 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved.
This is an educational blog for free sharing of knowledge, not for commercial use. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://profmsr.blogspot.com This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.

Friday, August 19, 2011

“Anna Hazare’s Crusade Again Corruption” - Professor M.S.Rao

“There is more Indian money in Swiss banks than any other nationality.” – Julian Assange, WikiLeaks Founder


Anna Hazare’s crusade against corruption is catching up. It is unfortunate that Indian government is trying to douse the movement rather than addressing the issue. In any democracy it is always the people who are supreme as they make the governments. In the case of Anna Hazare people are behind his movement. His movement is not personal and is beneficial in the larger interest of country. Government must take a note of his demands and address immediately. Anna Hazare is not fighting his personal battle. He is fighting against corruption in India. Government must make sure that it loses the battle with Anna Hazare without any false prestige to win the war against corruption in the long run.

It is very sad that one out of three people in India are corrupt. Corruption has become a cancer to Indian society. People pay bribe to get the things done and people accept as they are used to it. In fact, there must be change in mindset among Indians against corruption.

Corruption is more problematic than prostitution as the latter might endanger the morals of an individual, the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire country. According to Transparency International (an anti-graft watchdog) India stood 83rd corrupt nation in the Global Corruption Index, alongside Malawi and Romania .

It is unfortunate that people are judged by materialistic possessions rather than their knowledge, skills, abilities and virtues. Few people in our Indian society often encourage ends, not means and it proves costly at the end. In fact, corruption creeps when people don’t emphasize on fair means, but on unfair ends.

What I strongly feel is that India is rich but Indians are poor. On the one hand we find billionaires in India and on the other hand we find poverty. There is no proper distribution of wealth among the people leading to gap between the rich and the poor.

Government must address the issue of corruption from all perspectives with short term goals and long term goals. Only by blending both short and long term goals and aligning their words with deeds we will be able to root out corruption in India.

Reports reveal that New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland are the five least corrupt nations of the world. We can learn from them the strategies they have devised to curb corruption. “To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven; the same key opens the gates of hell”, goes the proverb. It all depends on us to choose the path we intend to follow. Therefore, choose the right path for longevity and for the overall progress of our society. Say firmly ‘No’ to corruption.



Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com



Dear readers,

I would appreciate your comments about this article.



© 2011 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved.
This is an educational blog for free sharing of knowledge, not for commercial use. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://profmsr.blogspot.com This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

“Communication Challenges for Non-Native Speakers” - Professor M.S.Rao

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit” – Aristotle


Any communication contains 7 percent oral language, 38 percent voice modulation and 55 percent body language. It is clear from this that body language plays a crucial role in effective communication and it is unfortunate that people fail to understand its impact on communication. Besides, body language is culture specific. What is considered as an acceptable body language in one culture may be treated as an unacceptable one in other cultures as interpretation of body movements differs from culture to culture.

When speakers communicate in their non-native languages we find them using excessive body language as they want to emphasize more to get their message across. They are very much careful in articulation of their ideas and thoughts. They will be over conscious while speaking as they don’t want to make any mistakes. They use more of hand gestures and raise their shoulders as per the context and content. For a listener who is a native speaker it appears abnormal. However, this is the reason why they use more of their body language. The non native speakers are more careful in articulating their ideas with others. However, few receivers and the observers who are native speakers find at fault for excessive usage of body language of non-native speakers.

Although non-native speakers have rich knowledge they find it tough to communicate effectively. Hence, non-native speakers can smile to overcome their inability of language barriers to connect with native speakers. And it is well known that smile is a small curve that sets everything alright. It connects with audiences quickly thus building rapport and getting across the content successfully.

It is not proper if native speakers expect non-native speakers to communicate the way they communicate. They have to respect the non-native speakers as the latter put extra efforts to speak.

Hereafter don’t misunderstand when non-native speakers use more of body language to get across their message. Just empathize with them and applaud their extra efforts to speak in a language that is not their mother tongue. And also be liberal and tolerant when they make mistakes. Above all, put more efforts to listen to them as it culminates in effective communication.




Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com



Dear readers,

I would appreciate your comments about this article.



© 2011 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved.
This is an educational blog for free sharing of knowledge, not for commercial use. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://profmsr.blogspot.com This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.

Monday, August 15, 2011

“Curricular vs. Extra Curricular Activities” - Professor M.S.Rao

“We need a sense of the value of time - that is, of the best way to divide one's time into one's various activities.” - Arnold Bennett


Students must emphasize both on curricular and extracurricular activities in order to excel both academically and non-academically. It helps them excel as successful personalities as academic activities emphasize on hard skills and non-academic activities emphasize on soft skills. However, these days students in India don’t find adequate time to focus on extra-curricular activities as they are beset with their academic activities resulting into partial development of their personalities. In this context, let us learn the importance of extra-curricular activities that promote soft skills apart from developing other skills.

Extra-curricular activities save time and help in time management. They remove negative thoughts from mind thus staying highly focused on productive and constructive activities. They help in enhancing mental, physical, spiritual and emotional energies among the individuals thus making them as well-rounded personalities.

Extracurricular activities such as games and sports are extensions of academic activities that help students unlock their creative talents. They are the extra ammunition to students who have already been equipped with academic competence. They provide recreation to their minds thus providing break from their academic activities. Playing games promote various qualities such as leadership, team spirit, fraternity, camaraderie and physical fitness. It helps in keeping sound health. Presently students are highly influenced by technology resulting into updating their knowledge and upgrading their mental sharpness. At the same time they must also keep themselves physically fit apart from acquiring life skills that are not taught in classroom through extra-curricular activities.

During interviews the selection committee also insists on extra-curricular activities. It provides clear idea to the prospective employer about the interests of the candidates thus enhancing prospects of employment. Hence, educational institutions must emphasize equally on sports and games and other extra-curricular activities apart from curricular activities. Parents must also encourage their children to pursue their passions apart from academics. To sum up, both curricular and extra-curricular activities are two sides of the same coin and one without the other has no meaning.


Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com



Dear readers,

I would appreciate your comments about this article.



© 2011 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved.
This is an educational blog for free sharing of knowledge, not for commercial use. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://profmsr.blogspot.com This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

“What Counts – Size? Or Strength?” - Professor M.S.Rao

“Our aspirations are our possibilities.” - Robert Browning

People often boast of their size rather than their strength. What counts more whether the size or strength is a debatable issue. Let us briefly look at it with illustrations before coming into conclusion.

You must have heard the biblical story of David vs. Goliath where tiny David took on the mighty Goliath. When Goliath was boasting of his size, David came forward with confidence and hit the forehead of the David with a slingshot and beheaded thus surprising everybody and proving beyond doubt that it was not the size but the strength counts.

When we take the example of Yugoslavian leader, Marshal Tito he broke the back of Soviet empire. President Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher came together to bring down the crumbling walls of the Soviet Union, giving hundreds of millions of people the opportunity to enjoy freedom. The transformational leader like Lee Kuan Yew brought Singapore from nowhere to number one prosperous country despite dearth of natural resources and geographical limitations.

Through a right strategy and will power a tiny can easily take on a tycoon. In fact, it is not the size but the strength that counts in any game. When we look at Sri Lanka it is a small country geographically but its cricket team is very powerful. It came up to finals in World Cup 2011 and played against a giant India.

India being the seventh largest country in size is still a developing country. However, geographically smaller countries like Singapore, Israel, and Finland are the developed ones and are world leaders in many spheres.

It is the mental size not the physical size counts in this world. Similarly people must stretch their mental sizes not physical sizes. Lal Bahadur Sastri, the former Prime Minister of India was a leader who was short in size but proved much bigger and better than stalwarts who were bigger in size although his tenure was short. It is the ideas that rule the world, not size. It is the strength that rules the world, not size. It is the will power that rules the world, not money or muscle power. Hence, what counts at the end of the day is your will power and strength, not size.


Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com



Dear readers,

I would appreciate your comments about this article.



© 2011 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved.
This is an educational blog for free sharing of knowledge, not for commercial use. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://profmsr.blogspot.com This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.







Wednesday, August 10, 2011

“Is Doctoral Degree A Decoration Or A Qualification?”- Professor M.S.Rao

“The average Ph.D. thesis is nothing but a transference of bones from one graveyard to another.” - James Frank Dobie


There is a heated debate within the academia about doctoral degree (PhD) whether it is a qualification or a mere decoration. Now-a-days, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in India has made PhD mandatory for acquiring Professorship in educational institutions. In addition, PhD is an imperative for directorial positions and for the posts of principal. It has become a thorny issue for the people who hail from industrial and corporate background as they don’t possess PhD. However, they have rich corporate experience under their belt. As they are beset with their corporate pressures they don’t find academic ambience to pursue doctoral degree. In contrast, academicians who want to grow in academia pursue PhD comfortably as they are already in academic ambience. However, they don’t have corporate experience. Those who have passion to teaching give up their lucrative corporate careers and join academics. Unfortunately they are relegated to background in academia as they don’t have PhD despite having vast industrial experience and practical exposure.

Hence, those who want to progress in academic world are compelled to pursue PhD. And pursuing PhD is not an easy thing. There are so many challenges while pursuing PhD. I have seen few people who are highly capable with industrial experience leaving PhD in the initial stage itself due to non-cooperation from their guides and due to highly egoistic academicians.

Few mischievous guides in India exploit research scholars in the name of research. They deliberately delay the research process to draw more attention from their research scholars or seek some favors. Having fed up with mischievous research guides few research scholars have given up pursuing PhD forever. It is also observed that there are PhD holders who don’t have any academic stamina but bag doctoral degrees by manipulations. These days AICTE has made PhD mandatory for becoming professors and directors. Previously people with considerable industry background enjoyed the status of professorship. However, the recent tightening of noose by AICTE to possess PhD for becoming professors forced educators from industry background behind in academia.

Some of the research scholars help pile up their guides’ resumes with their publications. Some of the research scholars shell out their personal money to meet their guides’ miscellaneous expenses. Some guides compel their research scholars to spend money when they go for paper presentations. If research scholars don’t spend money their PhD will be delayed. Few unscrupulous guides in India have vitiated research and academic ambience for their selfish gains.

For few academicians who regularly sharpen their saws doing research for PhD and post doctoral degree, research is a passion. Such passionate academicians feel let down by unscrupulous guides who claim to the super persons with big egos and who have the habit of disagreeing what is produced and created by the research scholars.

I have seen few experts in academics having passion to acquire PhD and ultimately ended up without PhD due to such unscrupulous guides. Few guides think themselves as demigods and treat their research scholars with sadism thus leaving bad impression among the ambitious research scholars who have passion to make a difference in research and acquire PhD.

Unlike other post graduate qualifications that can be acquired through examinations where the evaluators don’t know who the examinees are, PhD is the one that has to be done with the supervision of guides. As a result, completion of PhD is in the sole hands of guide.

I have seen a woman faculty with strong academic credentials who was awarded as the best teacher from prestigious education institution pursuing her PhD in Indian education. The guide deliberately sent the thesis to a foreign country for evaluation and almost after a year the evaluators returned with comments that they are not experts in Indian education and commented that they will not evaluate the PhD thesis. The woman faculty was upset the way the guide deliberately did in this way thus delaying her PhD. She would have acquired PhD within 4 years and now it is almost 7 years and is still struggling with her PhD with her guide who happens to be a woman.

Few guides trouble their research scholars when the latter don’t meet their personal demands and expectations. Sometimes it could be money or writing papers for guides so that guides can publish on their names and take credit for publications.

If you want to grow academically you must possess PhD in most of the countries. Having PhD helps widen your research skills thus becoming a successful academician. However, the road to acquisition of PhD is a tough task with several challenges for research scholars especially in a country like India.

To conclude, acquisition of doctoral degree has become a decoration for industry experts, a qualification for academicians and a paper degree for passionate researchers in India.



Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com



Dear readers,

I would appreciate your comments about this article.



© 2011 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved.
This is an educational blog for free sharing of knowledge, not for commercial use. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://profmsr.blogspot.com This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

“What Got You Here Will Get You There” - Professor M.S.Rao

"Executive coaches are not for the meek. They're for people who value unambiguous feedback. All coaches have one thing in common, it's that they are ruthlessly results-oriented." - FAST COMPANY Magazine


You must be surprised with the title of this post as basically the title would have been What Got You Here Won’t Get You There How Successful People Become Even More Successful authored by Marshall Goldsmith prefixed with Mojo. He rightly said that people often get complacent with their success and positions and take everything for granted resulting into stagnation in their careers. In fact, what worked to reach to the current position might not work to reach further higher positions.

With the rapid growth in technology the expectations and aspirations of the customers are changing rapidly. And most of the times it becomes tough to predict customers’ expectations. Hence, leaders must regularly know the pulse of customers and evolve their business strategies accordingly. At the same time they must also constantly hone their leadership skills and abilities as per the changing needs. It is the coaches who can guide and groom these leaders with their research, consultancy and corporate experience. They have their own strategies and being good at core areas they keep close eye on the latest developments in the domain and enlighten the same to the leaders. Since leaders are so busy with their hectic schedules they may not find time to focus on their career growth. Hence, hiring professional coaches paves the way for their quick corporate succession. These leaders reap rich rewards out of coaching by paying peanuts to coaches. The returns out of coaching are amazing indeed!

Survey by The Hay Group, International shows, "Between 25 percent and 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies use executive coaches." It is obvious from this survey that companies are gradually realizing the importance of hiring coaches for grooming their leaders. There are number of coaches with credentials whom the top CEOs and companies hire and benefit. Then why don’t you hire and scale the corporate ladder quickly by hiring professional coaches?

Remember always: What Got You Here Will Get You There only when you hire great coaches.


Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com



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