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4 MANAGER TODAY | April - May 2009

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

EDITOR’SNOTE

YYouhave the first issue of Manager Today. It is Pakistan'sfirst-ever magazine devoted to the personal and profes-sional developments of current and future managers. It ishere to make a difference. The philosophy of this magazineis: Don't curse the darkness—light a candle.This can be explained with the help of a parable. Once a

man was walking along a beach; the sun was shining and itwas a beautiful day. Off in the distance, he could see a per-son going back and forth between the surf’s edge and thebeach. Back and forth this person went. As the man ap-proached he could see that there were hundreds of starfishstranded on the sand as the result of the natural action ofthe tide.The man was stuck by the apparent futility of the task.

There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sureto perish. As he approached the person continued the tas kof picking up starfish; one by one and throwing them intothe surf.As he came up to the person he said, ‘you must be crazy’.

There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish.You can’t possibly make a difference. The person looked atthe man. He then stooped down and picked up one morestarfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back tothe man and said, ‘It sure made a difference to that one!’Key areas of this magazine are current issues and strate-

gies regarding Human Resource, Training and Develop-ment, Organisation Development, Leadership, CustomerService, Sales and Marketing, Banking and Finance, IT andGlobal Economy.Now it is right time to make a strong pledge to come out

from the state of mind of hopelessness and helplessness,stress and depression, contradictions and controversies,paradoxes and dichotomies and never say ‘Why even try’rather say ‘I can and I will’ make a difference in the life ofone person. We need to focus today on changing the heartsand mindsets of ourselves first then others. As AllahAlmighty says in Holy Book:"Allah does not change the destiny of people until and un-

less they change themselves and Allah knows all"(8:54).

Ijaz NisarEditor-in-Chief

& CEO Leading Edge

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April - May 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 5

WISDOM CORNER

The key to being a good manager is keeping thepeople who hate me away from those who arestill undecided. - Casey StengelManagement is nothing more than motivatingother people. - Lee Iacocca

Plans are only good intentions unless they im-mediately degenerate into hard work.- Peter DruckerBite off more than you can chew, then chew it.Plan more than you can do, then do it.- Anonymous

Always bear in mind that your own resolutionto succeed is more important than any onething. -Abraham LincolnIf A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plusz. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping yourmouth shut. -Albert Einstein

Advice is like snow. The softer it falls, thelonger it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinksinto the mind. – ColeridgeListen and you will teach yourself; remain silent,and you risk nothing. – Hazrat Ali A.S

There is no future in any job, future lies in theman who holds the job. – G.W. CranThere may be luck in getting a good job, butthere’s no luck in keeping it.– Jonathan Ogdan Armour

There is no personal charm so great as thecharm of a cheerful temperament.– Henry Van DykeOne who has no control over his tongue willoften have to face embarrassment and discom-fort. – Hazrat Ali A.S

MANAGEMENT

quotablequotes

SUCCESS

ADVISING

CAREER

ATTITUDE & PERSONALITY

PLANNING

CONTENTS


ManagerToday

08101216202223

HRM professional’slife-cycle stage

COVER STORY

Evolution of HRDin Pakistan

Bakhtiar KhawajaINTERVIEW

21st centurymanager’s DNA

MANAGEMENT

7 keys to asuccessful change

CHANGE MANAGEMENT

8 best downsizingpractices

Anatomyof a sale

ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

SALES & MARKETING

25 Renewe yourcustomers

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Transformation of HRprofession in Pakistan

26

ContentsEditor-in-ChiefIjaz NisarManaging EditorShakil A. ChaudharyEditorial AdvisorShakeel AhmedEditorNabeela MalikSub EditorMariam LodhiAssociate EditorSaba KianiArt DirectorHeesan BilalMarketing ManagerMunir HussainSales ManagerHaseeb NisarPhotographerMansoor AhmedContributorsDr. SM NaqiMaqbool Ahmed Babri (Max)Masood Ali KhanDanish ShehryarBakhtiar KhawajaIdrees QamarIrfan Ahmed MirSonia UroojWali MuhammadGhazanfar AzzamShahid NafeesMuhammad ZaheerBilal IlahiLegal AdvisorMuhammad Zulfiqar Ali ButtarPublisherLeading EdgePrinterJaved PrintersHead Office ManagerTodayPL-20 Siddique Trade CentreMain Boulevard, Gulberg IIILahoreTel: 042-5792066, 5817048email: info@themanagertoday.comwww.themanagertoday.comwww.leadingedge.com.pk

PCPB # 303-M


A true story of vision,passion & discipline

ENTREPRENEURE

5 tips for betterwork life balance

TIME MANAGEMENT

The secret ofstrong families

RELATIONSHIP

Woman ofSubstance

INTERVIEW

Core compentencies forHRM professionals

HUMAN RESOURCE

Stress free livingSTRESS MANAGEMENT

30

3034

40

16

3233343638

Turnaround in theglobal economy

ECONOMY

40Manager’s Health &fitness

HEALTH & WELLNESS

45How to findthe work you love

CAREER MANAGEMENT

46First Break All the RulesThe pursuit of happyness

BOOK/MOVIE REVIEW

46

COVER STORY


oday when industry goes outlooking for human resource(HR) talent, it gets struck bythe fact that apparently all ofthe HR talent has alreadybeen mopped up by the com-

petitors. If they want to headhunt, it costs a lotand further enhances the price tag of seekingHR talent.How did this happen? Not many years ago,

a retired government officer or someonefrom our defence services was consideredas a great HR manager. The demands of theposition certainly required a professionalwho understands procedures, implements

the HR processes, is not biased, can pushthe policies of the employers and perhapseven arm twist the employees to remain sub-servient to the whims of the employers/owners. Additionally, this position was alsoresponsible for maintaining the attendancesand leaves records, deductions fromsalaries, advances, gate and entrance man-agement, dealing with the government’slabour department, tax department andmanaging the legal issues. A retired civil ordefence officer was perfectly suited for thisrole of ‘the ultimate administrator’.Today, the role of HR has completely been

transformed from being an employee watch-

dog to employee developer. Industries andbusinesses in Pakistan now understand thatthe competitive edge that will make or breakthe business will come from the quality andcommitment of their talent. The HR depart-ment of a modern organisation is like a verysophisticated marketing department thatvisits the talent pool of the country at jobfairs, universities while propagating their em-ployee enabling environment and growth po-tentials in the media. Many companies arenow offering stock options, housing loans,study loans and comprehensive medicalcover for employees and their dependents.The key performance indicators (KPIs) for

t

HumanResourceprofession inPakistan

Transformation of

Today, the role of HR has completely been transformed from being an employeewatchdog to employee developer. The HR department of a modern organisation islike a very sophisticated marketing department that visits the talent pool of thecountry at job fairs & universities. While propagating their employee enablingenvironment and growth potentials in the media

MAX BABRI


an HR department now include measurableactivities undertaken in the realm of humanresource needs forecasts that includes areaof expertise, skills, education and experienceof the employees.Employee retention is another indicator for

the success of an HR department. It involvescreating migration paths to successivelymore responsible assignments and positionsand preparing its people through hard andsoft skills enhancement and adding value tothe even-handedness of the talent pool. To ad-dress the issue of retention, the HR depart-ment also creates clear succession planningwhere each employee is aware how he/shecan impact his/her own growth within thecompany.Compensation and benefits is an area that

requires special expertise of balancing salaryand other benefits so that the employeescan focus on doing their job rather than writ-ing creative CVs.Successful businesses evolve a culture

that is respect driven where open conversa-tion and candid feedback is in vogue. Peopleexpress their talent and demand answersbecause it has a direct impact on their vari-able pays. Meeting objectives, savings interms of reduced wastage, fuel costs, effi-cient utilisation of human resources, mini-mized sick leave, reduced absenteeism,reduced travel and medical costs, less re-work, enhanced quality and hence almost nowarranty costs are all savings that supple-ments performance based salaries of em-ployees.No wonder it is becoming more and more

difficult to find appropriately qualified and ex-perienced HR professionals who are willingto become custodians of human resource ofa business rather than the conniving agentof the management. The modern HR pro-fessional is open, non-judgmental and sup-

portive. He is a mentor, a team player, a fa-cilitator, a generous guide, has integrity; dis-plays and demands it, expressive, visionary,go getter, available, polite and humble. Theabove mentioned qualities are not only thedomain of high street MBAs but can befound and developed in everyone. This is thelandscape of today’s emerging business en-vironment. Any one of us considering HR asa profession will need to be aware of theneeds of this environment as well as will haveto prepare himself to meet the challenges ofthis job in terms of education, experienceand most importantly the attitudes. I urgeyou to find avenues in order to furtherstrengthen and equip yourself so that youare able to facilitate human resources to un-leash their talents; harnessing their energy

and deploying it for excellence rather thanjust pushing policies and procedures. Mostof all inculcating a spirit of ownership of tasksand activities brings out the true passion ofan employee. This passion is the emotionalenergy that successful businesses are ableto inculcate and harness to derive excep-tional results. For business leaders, I urgeyou to find HR talent that can disagree withyou, can have a dialogue with you to arrive ata consensus and does not only push agen-das that are prescribed to them. They musthave the capacity to side with the employeeand urge you to look at them as resourcesrather than costs.

The writer is a transformation consultantand life skills coach

Successful businesses evolve a culture that is respect driven where openconversation and candid feedback is in vogue. People express their talent anddemand answers because it has a direct impact on their variable pays.

COVER STORY


n enthusiastic HR profes-sional at an HR forum oncetold me that she felt encour-aged by the ‘maturing up’ of

HRM profession in Pakistan. She pointed toUnilever, Pakistan Tobacco and Engro Foodsas examples. When I asked: Do these threeorganisations represent Pakistan’s 50,000private and public limited companies, she re-mained upbeat. She said: “All Pakistan’s com-panies are opportunity for HRM. Weshouldn’t see opportunities as problems.”As an appreciative observer of how HRM

practices developed in the past 20 years, I’veoften thought about what the young ladysaid. Is the HRM profession ‘maturing’ inPakistan? You can argue the HR professionleft its “administration” eggshell behind 15years ago.You might say almost all business schools

in Pakistan teach fairly standardized formalHRM. Professional HR forums and societieshave formed to diligently discuss HRM. Com-

panies take in 150-200 fresh HRM peopleevery year. Companies want to retain high-performance employees. Surely all this tellsus HRM in Pakistan is now a ‘mature pro-fession’.The Question is: If it has become a ‘ma-

ture profession in Pakistan, then whatmakes CEOs of Pakistani companies inter-pret HRM so differently? Quick answer: Pak-istani CEOs simply do not know what HRM is.I find it difficult to buy that. I have had the dis-cussion one-on-one with many ‘seth’ and‘modern’ CEOs during the past 10 years.Their understanding of HRM has usuallybeen quite remarkable. Their fellow CEOs dis-cuss it; they have read about it; they have at-tended courses abroad; they listen to HRMspeakers; their employees tell them aboutHRM.There is so much out there about HRM, I

think it’s grossly misleading to assume thatPakistani CEOs interpret HRM differently be-cause they don’t know what it is.

How come CEOs don’t have widely differingconcepts of industrial relations, personneland labour administration? Because well-de-fined labour laws and years of solid experi-ence tell them what it is.Over the last 45 years the practices of in-

dustrial relations and personnel administra-tion have matured, and CEOs don’t see anyreason to interpret these professions in dif-ferent ways. Perhaps one of the ‘real’ rea-sons Pakistani CEOs interpret HRM’s roledifferently is they are dealing with a profes-sion now going through its ‘Early Growth’stage.Like products and industries, business re-

lated professions also develop along a life-cycle curve. It took from the late 1940s tothe early 80s for the Finance profession to

PHILIP LAL

life-cyclestage

aAn informal survey I conducted suggested that HRMhad penetrated about 0.5 per cent of 30,000 Pakistaniowned private/public limited companies in some form

HRM professional’s


penetrate 50-60 per cent of Pakistaniowned companies and mature from book-keeping to financial controllership, treasuryand managerial finance. The marketing pro-fession took about 50 years to develop fromwholesale selling to regional management,product management and brand marketingstrategy.Consider this idea: Pakistan’s HRM pro-

fession is also developing along a life-cyclecurve that can be defined on two dimen-sions.One is penetration of potential users. Way

back in 1988, there were 21,000 Pakistaniowned private/public limited companies inPakistan. Although talk about HRM hadbegun, it had not penetrated any potentialusers among these.

HRM’s Introduction stage began roughly in1992-93. An informal survey I conductedsuggested HRM had penetrated about 0.5per cent of 30,000 Pakistani owned pri-vate/public limited companies in some form.The Introduction stage continued roughly upto 2000. Today, eight years later, the HRMprofession is probably in its ‘Early Growth’stage. I estimate that perhaps three and ahalf per cent of Pakistani ownedprivate/public limited companies – some2,000 firms – use HRM functions in oneform or another ranging from standard re-cruitment procedures to managing training,to setting up HRM systems to truly strate-gic HR value-addition.How long might the profession take to ap-

proach life-cycle ‘Maturity’? Given the nature

and structure of Pakistani-owned compa-nies, HRM’s penetration at ‘Maturity’ will bewhen it reaches at least 33 per cent of po-tential users. Since it took about 15 years todevelop from ‘Introduction’ to ‘Early Growth’,my guess is the approach to ‘Maturity’ willalso take another 15 years. By 2020, theHRM profession may penetrate about20,000 organisations.But penetrating potential HRM users is

only the half story. The other life-cycle di-mension for the profession is width of HRMintegration. Any good marketing personwould tell you: Penetrating a potential usermarket is one thing; achieving intensity ofuse is quite another. So, though HRM is cur-rently present in about 2,000 Pakistani-owned companies, the width of HRMintegration in these companies is vastly dif-ferent.The majority of these users – perhaps 85

per cent – have integrated HRM narrowly topersonnel administration, recruitment, andoff-the-shelf training. Some – perhaps 13 percent – have widened HRM to selection, com-pensation policies, performance manage-ment and basic career planning. It is 40 oddPakistani owned companies, the top 2 percent that have relatively the widest HRM in-tegration.If this analysis resembles on-ground real-

ity, can one still say the HRM profession is inthe ‘Early Growth’ stage? Yes, indeedbecause of a basic life-cycle principle; inten-sity of use follows user penetration. You firstpenetrate a potential target user marketand then you encourage intensity of use. Itseems to me, therefore, that width of HRMintegration will follow penetration of poten-tial HRM users. As the number of HRM usercompanies increases, more of them willlearn how to integrate HRM’s operationaland strategic roles; provided HR managersprove their operational effectiveness anddemonstrate a strong awareness of theirstrategic mandate. n

Courtesy – The Nation

akistan is undergoing enor-mous human resource transi-tion and this epoch isconsidered the age of humanresources. The current era isof constant change and up-

grading of human resource management(HRM) is becoming indispensable. The globali-sation is generating significant challenges inthe business environment of the world and thenotion of HRM is to create a considerate par-ticipation of the masses. New markets, newproducts and changing processes are at alltimes in demand for the efficient utilisation ofphysical and financial resources. HR has be-come the leading element in the dynamics ofeconomic activity along with land capital re-sources. The increasing globalisation is posingserious challenges to organisations through-out the world, particularly to the South Asianregion.Pakistan is one of the most populous coun-

tries of the world and stands at one of the low-est places in the literacy rate. GDP/per capita

income have also been alarming as comparedto many countries of the world. The conse-quence of rapid population growth and eco-nomic volatility in Pakistan is leading to animmense and dynamic transition in HumanResource Development (HRD). The drasticgrowth in population has produced excessivehuman resource and has cultivated a need forimmediate steps to be taken in this arena.Various steps are being taken in Pakistan fordevelopment of HR as it is the need of time.Dynamic changes have been witnessed in

HRD and currently the consistent involvementof HRM has become mandatory in organisa-tions. This labour force involvement, highskilled growth, and globalisation have broughtrevolution in the intellect of workers. Today’sHRmanagers in Pakistan work on operationallevels, managerial levels and strategic levels.

HRM professionals are becoming more up todate regarding the knowledge of activitiessuch as HR planning, equal employment op-portunity, recruitment and training.The 21st century phobia is everywhere in

the world. Every aspect of life needs to be up-dated time to time to meet the ever changingdemands of national and international busi-ness. Private as well as public organisations inPakistan have developed a special internalcontrol structure to take care of their pre-cious possessions such as financial andhuman resources. Employees’ training is be-coming a major area. The only way to get thebest out of human resources is to value themas assets in the real sense. These vital factorsare now being categorically recognized in thedevelopment indicators of organisations inPakistan.The employees are more encour-

COVER STORY


P

EvolutionofHRD in Pakistan

DANISH SHEHRYAR

HR is playing an imperative rolein the transformation ofPakistan from anunderdeveloped country to aprosperous one.

aged to display creativity, responsibility andact as agents as well as subjects of changemanagement. Higher-level executives aremaking organisations a better place to workin. Today, the pace of human progress is evenfaster and organisations in Pakistan are at-taining more opportunities to seize competi-tive advantage through human resourcestrategies and practice initiatives. In Pakistan,the work ethics and the environment of hon-est work is in the spotlight of HR.The HR development in Pakistan is creating

conditions and environment necessary forcreativity and innovation essential for movinginto and being competitive in the knowledge-based industries that will provide the highestvalue added economies. Hence job opportu-nities vary with the size of the organisation,private/public sector, andmultinational/localsetup. The dynamic changes necessitate aneed of labour force assortment, industrialgrowth and globalisation has brought a revo-lution in the approach of workers. HRM isdoing very momentous work to choose, re-cruit and train the right people at the right

time at the right place for right type of work.The changing paradigms of international

economics, globalisation, investment andtrade have created a situation where the roleof HRD has becomemore dynamic than ever.The changing patterns of world commercehave created an atmosphere where HRMshould not only be helpful to facilitate the busi-ness but also gain a competitive advantage toget lead over its rivals. The idea of HRM is tobuild up the productive contribution of peoplein business.Pakistan today is trying to catchup quickly with the high standards of living ofthe developed economies through industrialand technological revolution. In doing so, wefind ourselves face to face with a situationwhere trained and talented manpower is inshort supply as the present era is an epoch ofglobalisation.HRD in Pakistan has become the route to

boost acquaintance and handiness in a soci-ety. Pakistan is blessed with huge natural and

human resources but most of these are in araw form. The rising figure and sophisticationof paradigms require superior intellectual de-mands. Pakistan is a labour surplus economyand has been going through difficult time oftowering populace rate, short literacy rankand deprived proficiency in expertise, whichhas resulted in decisive unevenness and in-volvement of HR is becoming compulsory.The HR is playing an imperative role in the

transformation of Pakistan from an underde-veloped country to a prosperous one. Onlyproper guidance and necessary assistance isrequired to increase capabilities in order toenhance the output.Pakistan is a nation chock-full of possessions

and has enormous potential for growth alongwith progress. Pakistan’s socio-cultural com-pactness is nomore a gloomy barrier. Pakistanstill faces many challenges in fully realizing itspotential for sustained economic growth, bet-ter living standards, and greater resilience toshocks. The role of HR in both public and pri-vate companies is becoming essential.The world economy is undergoing drastic

changes. For this, priority is given to organi-sational or industrial human resource devel-opment and training. There is a triumphant ofguided training and in past few years it is no-ticed that we are learning from experiencesof rich economies and industrialised countriesthat sustained investment in human capitalor competitiveness and growth. It is also em-inent that this is the era of information andthe worth of cerebral resources should bemore significant.We are now imaginary to bein the age of HR as a change agent.Successful organisations in Pakistan are be-

coming bonus adaptable, flexible and swift inchanging directions. The executives areagreed on the proposal of carrying strategicshift to promote internal dedication to thechange. HR area is hastily changing pasture.Pakistan’s development of HR and environ-

ment fortification has now started to main-tain large-scale cost-effective firmness andself-reliance.

Organisations are trying to find out theways to polish effectiveness and efficiency oftheir employees. The term HRM has comeinto popular usage in recent years. Hencepeople are important whether they are full,part time employees, permanent, temporaryor contract workers. To satisfy employees,many laws have been formulated in our coun-try to maintain equal employment opportuni-ties. Health benefit, occupational safety andunion management relation laws are nowdealing with the help of HRM.Capital can be generated, technology can

be developed, but the appropriate, encour-aged and motivated HR is required in the or-ganisation throughout the country to facefuture challenges.The government has put special efforts in

developing and utilizing HR. In the present dayof tight labour market, the emphasis is on up-grading the skills of workforce, increasing em-ployee productivity, encouraging wageflexibility and attracting talent from overseas.In order to address inequalities and poverty,the government is providing support for dif-

ferent programmes and the aim of these pro-grammes is to support differentorganisations to eradicate poverty and pro-mote equitable human development by fur-thering the economic, social and politicalempowerment of women. It is the quality ofeducation and training that facilitate thehuman beings to play their constructive roleto increase national productivity.Pakistan is emphasising more and more

on HR planning to make the organisationssystem more effective. HR planning hasstarted to properly utilize human resourceand is striving to make working atmospherebetter and harmonious. Proper implemen-tation of policies and appropriate deploy-ment of HRD will not only enhance the HReminence of HR related institutions, but willalso pave the way to the evolution of socio-economic revolution. nThe writer is former country head oftraining at the Allied Bank.


Capital can be generated, technology can be developed, but the appropriate,encouraged and motivated HR is required in the organisation throughout thecountry to face future challenges.

INTERVIEW

16 MANAGER TODAY | April-May 2009

INTERVIEWED BYIJAZ NISAR

ell us about HRM practices inPakistan.Human resource management(HRM) in our part of the world isrelatively a new field. In my opinion,it is one of the oldest fields. It datesback to the establishment of or-

ganizations, which were supervised by somepeople senior to others. So HRM has beenthere there for a long time. In the Pakistanicontext, HRM was introduced during the lastdecade. I came back in the early 1990s. Atthat time, HRM was a difficult profession. Myentry into the field was through training anddevelopment. And training courses fell in thedomain of HRM. But training was better

T–BAKHTIAR KHAWAJA


known than HRM in those days. Gradually aswe enter the 21st century, HRM now, we arein seemsmore andmore in vogue. Good com-panies are looking for experienced people inHR field and they do not get them. It is adilemma as well as an opportunity. Businessschools are offering specialization in HR,which is a good sign. Young HR professionalsare coming in the field and they will take upsenior positions in organisations in comingyears.How do you see the future of fresh HRgraduates in Pakistan?Certainly, I think, fresh graduates who arecoming out of universities have future aheadof them. But as in all professions even whenthey get flooded there is a room at the top.Good professionals will always remain in de-mand. However, there will fresh entrants intothe field who may not have potential or apti-tude. If they do not do well, of course, it will bepartly their own responsibility. But those freshgraduates who want to make their career intheir field. They have to do a lot.Do you think organisational culture affectHR Practices?Obviously, the organisational culture is all

pervasive reality in the organisation. If you havea poor culture, obviously, the HR practices willnot be up to the mark. The organisational cul-ture starts from the history of the organisa-tion.When an organisation is established, thepersonality of the original owner dictates whatthe culture would be. The selection process ofthe original entrepreneur strengthens the cul-ture and then there is socialisation and thetraining process. So it creates an environmentand in that environment policies and proce-dures are made. Obviously the policies will fol-low the culture of the organisation.What is the role of top management andconsultants in reshaping organisationalculture?Generally, it is called the culture flows from

top to bottom. But I believe the culture flowsboth sides – from top to bottom and frombottom to top. HR department, I think, canplay a crucial role and that role is of a cata-lyst. To shape a culture or change a culture,

the entire organisation has to be involvedeven when HR formulates policies, which areconducive toward development of a culture.If, due to other factors, these policies are notimplemented there will not be a change in theculture. It has to be an effort, which perme-ates in the entire organisation before theprocess of cultural change starts and it is notan easy process. You cannot change the cul-ture by hiring consultants and making themissue policies and letters. It does not happen.Could you tell us best HRPractics at BankAlfalah?Bank Alfalah is a new bank. It started its op-

eration in 1997. In a short span of 11 years, ithas progressed very fast. There were only500 people working in the organisation and ithad only three branches. From threebranches, it has now 336 branches. From500 staff members, it has now 7,000 staffmembers. This change actually was initiatedwith the turn of the century. I myself joinedBank Alfalah in 2000. The HR managementpractices were primitive at that time. I had ex-posure to visit four continents and work there.I had a lot of ideas. By the grace of God, wemanaged to put into practice a large numberof those ideas. We started the recruitmentprocess, written tests and multi-layer inter-views. We brought in fresh blood from uni-versities and gave them 3-4 months training.The management trainee scheme was cru-cial in the change of the culture of an organi-sation. Then the bank hired internationalconsultants to introduce centralisation andstructural changes. During that process, HRmanagement was also focussed upon. Thereare a lot of changes going on in HR manage-ment. Now I am looking after training and de-velopment group. We renamed our traininggroup as learning group. It learning group,which is going to play a major role in integrat-ing the staff members of Bank Alfalah and ofcourse sharpening their skills.How do you keep your HR practices in

line with your organisation’s missionstatement.The HR Department does not operate in a

vacuum, but within an organisation. There, I

Good companiesare looking for

experienced people in HRfield and they do not getthem. It is a dilemma aswell as an opportunity.Good business schoolsare offering specializationin HR, which is a goodsign. Young HRprofessionals are comingin the field and they willtake up senior positionsin organisations incoming years.


think, can be a crucial influence, i.e. whetherthe HR head is taken seriously or not.Whether he is given a seat at the top levelor not. In Bank Alfalah, we have a seat at thetop for the HR head. The HR head is a mem-ber of the central management committee,which is the highest committee in the bank.That’s the way the integration processstarts. Because of the HR head’s inclusion inthe committee, he is always aware of poli-cies, influences and directives of the boardof directors. Then of course the HR depart-ment is also integrated with the rest of themarket. There is a lot of information availableon the Internet. So you can take informationfrom those sources and then get them im-plemented by making policies, which will beapproved by the board. Then those policieswhich when implemented will ensure that theorganisation is moving forward in unison.What are your organisation’s communi-cation channels? Or how employees, feed-back is taken by the top managemen?.OK, there are a number of ways. We are

talking about various communication chan-nels where you can find your employees’thinking. I have already mentioned that in thetraining, you can talk about policies in anopen manner. During the training sessions,you establish rapport with the trainees. Theywill talk about it and most of them will giveyou honest feedback. However, there is an-other channel such as newsletters. But myfavourite is bank’s intranet. We have an em-ployee’s portal, which is placed on the bank’sintranet. We have discussion groups on thatportal and there are a number of topics tobe discussed. An employee can start a newtopic and other colleagues can respond tothat topic or start a new one. We limit the

subjects. Under these topics, new subject willbe floated. Since the time I was the HR head,I used to see the intranet sites daily. Someemployees give a very good insight about theorganisation. Electronic media is such aplace where people tend to speak moreopenly as compared to face-to-face commu-nication. So, to me, that has been a very goodsource to get employees’ feedback.Tell us about role of training and devel-opment.Training is is the most crucial area becausethe world is changing fast. The only answerspeed of change is that we must have aspeedy training. The training has become anexpensive business now. So I think the man-agement has to think twice before giving afree hand to the training department. Wehave found some shortcuts, again thinkingcreatively. Recently we have a long meeting

on various aspects of our training. That’s isthe use of online learning or e-learning.When I learnt about Microsoft word, Ibought a CD and learnt from that. The sameis the concept. The only difference is that wewill not distribute CDs. We will distribute ourintranet. We already have a lot of planningand a lot of research. We are on our way tostart preparing in-house contents, which willbe available to our employees according totheir needs. Online courses will be launchedand employees will be sent passwords to getthem. Employees will be required to gothrough that material and they have to passa quiz of that material. They will be given aweek to solve it. If they pass the quiz, they willbe given certificates. If they do not pass, theywill get letters from the HR department.What are the initiatives taken by your or-ganisation regarding training and devel-opment?When we started we had a training centre inKarachi. Now the training centre, I think, is adominant centre because the population ofemployees is very large. We are also think-ing of starting a training centre in Rawalpindifor the employees of Northern Areas. Thenwe will get approve a policy of minimum train-ing for all employees. We started with theone-day training, then two-day and now wehave three-day training. Then we will ask em-ployees to go for four-day training. Of course,this training will be supplemented by onlinetraining. I think the management will eventu-ally feel a little more comfortable becausethe costs of training will go down. We antici-pate that more than half of our training willbe done online within a couple of years. In thisway, we will make a major difference of thecost of training.Why employee leave an organisation?I think an employee does not leave an organ-isation. He leaves a boss or a manager. Howdo you treat employees is a crucial factor. Ob-viously there are external factors as well.

I think an employeedoes not leave an

organisation. He leaves aboss or a manager. Howdo you treat employees isa crucial factor. So makesure that you get theright people, train themwell, care for them andmake sure theirmanagers are treatingthem well.

INTERVIEW

April-May 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 19

During the last few years, we have seen thatthe banking employees have left for the Gulf.But as things are getting crowded overthere, I think, some of them will start com-ing back. Then largely depends how you treatyour employees. So make sure that you getthe right people, train them well, care forthem and make sure their managers aretreating them well. Of course, you have tomake sure as well that employees are learn-ing and growing all the time. Then, of course,your employees do not leave.In your view what are the core compe-tencies of trainer?That is an interesting question. I think one

can superficially talk about communicationskills and technical knowledge. That is es-sential. You cannot become a good trainerwithout it. But beyond that, you have to havean ability to enter into the mind of the traineeto see what is going in there. If he is not care-ful there, he will leave you. Plus, I think, a wideangle of view of life in general. I always sug-gest to my training team to become versa-tile. I also ask them to engage in sports andother hobbies. I myself have done all that. Iam a sportsman, a musician and I love work-ing with computers. And, I think, they help alot. Communication skills, knowledge and ex-perience are very essential as without themyou cannot become a trainer. You have to beable to have empathy to think how other per-son is thinking.How do you evaluate training?We have usual stuff. By they end of the

course, there is an in-depth feedback formhaving four sections. One section talks aboutthe course and how it has helped the em-ployee in their work. The second is abouthis/her preparation and your questions-an-swers. The third is the environment at thetraining centre. The fourth and equally im-portant is the environment at the hostelwhere trainees reside. If a trainee is not ableto sleep at night, he will not be able to attend

the training in the morning. That is very im-portant. But beyond that we have recentlystarted two initiatives. One is a detailedcourse facilitator’s checklist. There areabout 40 items on that list. It starts about amonth before the course. In new courses, itis two months before the course. It startswith research, development and develop-ment of branches and collecting cases. Thengoes on what actions were done. Two daysafter the course what has to be done andone week after so and so.Then this process includes doing two

things. All trainees are supposed to fill, whatwe called, a ‘commitment with self form’. Asa result of attending this course, I promisemyself that I will do following actions one,two, three, four and five. We ask them forfive specific actions that they will do. So wekeep a copy and give the original to them.After two weeks, we write an email to thatemployee and attach a copy of the ‘commit-ment with self form’, asking whether youhave started doing these things or not. Be-fore that, we have already sent a copy of thatform to their managers Mr so and so came,attended the training course, which con-tained the following subjects. He committedto do these activities. Please have an inter-view with him and see whether he hasstarted with these for the better. So this, webelieve, will enhance the effectiveness oftraining.

Do you think training makes the differ-ence?I think, Bank Alfalah is taking training very

seriously. One example, I think, is that I am atthe highest level of the group. I do not thinka training person will be at such a senior po-sition in other organisation. Bank Alfalah isserious about its training. The central man-agement committee has approved all the ini-tiatives that we hope to launch. We will maketraining an essential part of the employees’life. Generally, training is hand in hand withthe HR management. Training is now alsobeing recognised as a driving force and nodoubt makes the difference for the successof an organisation.What are challenges regarding HR ortraining do you think we are facing rightnow?At the HR level, the tendency of the people

to move out of Pakistan has been challeng-ing for us for the last two years. But i thinkbecause of economic crisis, this tendencywill halt for a while. But that, I think, life hasbecome very busy for all of us whether fromHR, training or field. The field people shouldbe able to focus on the employees’ needs, es-pecially in the area of training that is becom-ing more and more difficult. So we have tobecome a little more pro-active in pursuingthe field management. To make them realisethat the training is going to benefit the fieldofficers. Because after training, the employ-ees’ productivity is going to increase and thefield unit will get benefit. I think, we are at thewinning end.Do you think HR or training profession isin transition in Pakistan?If you pick up a 20-year-old newspaper you

would read headlines like, “Pakistan is pass-ing through a crucial phase.” We are allgoing to be in transition. The HR manage-ment is something like ‘people will keepchanging and the world will keep changing.We will have to be in transition all the time. n

PROFILEMR BAKHTIAR KHAWAJA is a seasoned professional who has over 30 years of experience in HR Manage-ment & Development, in addition to 6 years of active banking experience. Mr. Khawaja got his first degreefrom the London School of Economics and an MBA from a Pakistani institution. He was the founder presi-dent of the LUMS HR Forum at Lahore, and also served the Karachi chapter of the forum as president fortwo years. He has attended a large number of national and international training courses, and has con-ducted over 300 courses of varying duration. His favorite hobbies are sports and reading and he is a prac-ticing musician in his spare time.

MANAGEMENT


The 21st century manager is not only working in a hyper competitive workplace butalso expected to give innovative results by managing creatively available resourcesin the 21st century way and having steel nerves inside his body andmind.

MUHAMMAD FAHD KHAN


lassically ‘The management isthe process of getting thingsdone through and with the peo-ple effectively and efficiently’.Today a manager is required to

manage both tangible and intangible assetscost-effectively, cost-efficiently and cost-intel-ligently. Today the life of a manager revolvesaround leading, planning, organising and con-trolling tangible and intangible assets.The today’s fast paced world and knowl-

edge based economy are bringing rapidchanges that are not easily controllable,what to think about managing them. Strongorganisations are replacing small organisa-tions rapidly and young workers are replac-ing old workers even more rapidly. Thiscreated an ever increasing demand formulti-skilled workers. Fast paced workprocesses are need of the hour and so asfast paced managers.According to a research produced by Hay

Group on “The War for Leaders” whichstates that “some 75 million workers in theUS will retire in the next 5 to 10 years andwith them 50 per cent of the CEOs of majororganisations. The available talent to replacethem will need to be picked from the nextgeneration of just 45 million.”We can say that 21st century manager is

not only working in a hyper competitive work-place but also expected to give innovative re-sults by managing creatively availableresources in the 21st century way and hav-ing steel nerves inside his body and mind.The various forms of pressure mountingaround today’s managers are shortage ofskilled team players, attracting good talent,retaining good talent, compensating talentin cash tight situation and taking the brandinto next decade successfully. He has to haveexcellent people management skills and hasto play the role of “Line-HR Manager” in thecompany.Now the old and experienced workforce is

changing into new and less experiencedworkforce so as their in-depth knowledge of

company’s business as well. This adds an-other challenge in the life of today’s managerand that is to get young, qualified people on-board and develop, train and equip them withthe competencies and behaviour needed forthe company’s progress, and all this is re-quired on the fast track.In addition to the existing deliverables,

which manager is actually responsible forand he must understand and let other un-derstand too that only people are not themost important assets but the “right people”are the most important assets.Today’s workforce is equipped with knowl-

edge and aware of the market needs andwants very well. Job switching and evenswitching professions are so common phe-nomena that the career progression is nomore considered seriously. On the average,the workers spend more time on unimpor-tant things rather than important things.They are unable to distinguish between ur-

gent but less important, important and lessurgent things and above all the distractingmedia is playing its full part in taking themoff the track. They are living in an environ-ment which is externally connected throughblogs, job sites, cellular technology and cableTV networks but at the same time deterio-rating internally as social conditions, inflationand weak economy is causing frustration.Their families are exerting pressures on

them to move to greener pasture aroundthe globe for better earnings and ROE (re-turns on education) and the flight of intellec-tual capital is started happening across allthe job levels. Retaining and attracting goodtalent is getting difficult with the passage oftime. As the Harvard Business Review says,“Top performers who join new companiesare unusually slow to adopt fresh ap-proaches to work, primarily because of theirpast successes, and they are unwilling to fiteasily into organisations.”We need to develop our people internally,

at mid level and senior level and across allthe departments. Developing our own talent

will be a tedious job but it will pay us in thelong run. It is well said that people do notleave companies, they leave managers. Yes,it is true that one of the main reasons of peo-ple leaving the companies is its managers.This brings us to a point that managers areactually makers and breakers of the com-pany. Today’s knowledge based economy de-mands an effective use of knowledge of itspeople, engaging them to use their knowl-edge, skills in creative and innovative ways tohelp resolve company’s problems, exceedcustomer expectations and take the com-pany to new levels of success and this canonly be done through effective manager. The21st century manager’s DNA comprises Dy-namic change handling ability, Naturally in-novative and All time integrated approach.This DNA has to be transferred to eachteam mate so that they together deliver themaximum output and achieve sustainablesuccess. n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The author is a human resource pro-fessional presently working as Head

of Human Resource in a leading textilecompany in Lahore. He is also thefounder of “The Wise Nutrition.com”, awebsite dedicated to positive, motiva-tional and inspirational attitude in the21st century.

c

Is the change a burden ora challenge?

A change with a clear payoff will feel like achallenge. If it lacks such a payoff will feel like aburden. Does the individual see how a proposalwill help him or her solve a real work problem?Get work done faster and easier?Makemoremoney? Those payoffs will energize the em-ployee.

Is the change clear,worthwhile and real?

When the change promises clear, worth-while and believable benefits, it will look desir-able. How to make the change real? Wordpictures help, as do videos depict the newstate of affairs. If the change involves, say, self-managing teams, then visits to an organisa-tion that has already converted to ateam-based system will promote the changeas no speeches can.

Will the benefits of thechange begin to appearquickly?

The longer it takes for the change to bearfruit, themore difficult it is tomaintain the con-centration and enthusiasm required to bring itabout. This suggests that extensive andlengthy changes are often best introduced byusing pilot project or other limited applicationsso that people can see positive results quickly.

Is the change limited toone function or a fewclosely relatedfunctions?

The more functions that cooperate to pro-duce a change, the greater probability that atleast one function will see itself as a loser inthe change and work to sabotage it. At least inthe initial stages, limit the number of functionsaffected by the change. Doing so will signifi-cantly improve the odds of the success.

What will the change’simpact be on existingpower & statusrelationship?

The more a proposed change conforms tothe existing power and status structure, theless likely it is to be opposed by entrenchedpowers. But what if the point is to change thisstructure as in process reengineering, wheredepartmental “silos” are supposed to give wayto a new structure based on the processesthat serve customers? One possibility is thatthe organisationmight begin reengineering ona small scale and count on the logic of it to drivethe reorganisation throughout the company.

Will the change fit theexisting organisationalculture?

The better the change you propose fits thevalues of the existing culture, the better itschances of success. For example, many com-panies have struggled with the conflict be-tween quality defined as technical excellenceand quality defined as customer satisfaction.The more that customer satisfaction can bepresented as an extension of the tradition ofexcellence, the smother the transition will be.

Is the change certain tohappen?

Top management support counts for morethan any other variable in the equation. Peopleare much more likely to get involved withsomething if they believe it is really going tohappen. The point is simple: if you want some-thing to change, line up enough organisationalhorsepower to ensure that it will before youstart the change.nThe writer is Ph.D scholar

CHANGE MANAGEMENT


We’ve all heard the old saying that “people resist change”. But it doesn’t take a rocket scientistto figure out why: people resist being changed especially when the change appears to have a

pay off for someone else. A great deal of organisational change takes this form, and it feels a lot likecoercion.We need to understand the factors that matter in change and what impact they haveon the people we expect to change. Managers can best think of the factors as questions thatneed to be answered to improve the odds that innovationswill succeed. Here are those questions:

Peoplewill change their behaviourwhen it suits them.They justwon’t do it to suit you

MUHAMMAD ZAHEER

he new managerial thoughts andstrategies of current decade almostturned 360 degree reverse from thethoughts and strategies of past fivedecade. Not long ago, large organisa-tion, more manpower, permanency,

consistency and the like were considered as asource of organisational flexibility and agility.The same is now being rejected as causes oforganisational competitive backwardness,business redundancies and managerial inef-fectiveness. The prominent among new strate-gies that can ensure organisational flexibilityand competitiveness is downsizing. However,experiences of organisations with downsizingare mixed. Some succeeded in achieving an-ticipated results while others encounterednew problems. This is due to adoption of un-sound downsizing practices, claim experts onthe subject. It is no denying the fact that, moreand more organisations have to offload moreand more manpower in coming years due to

the fast developments in technologies, mar-kets and managerial systems. Therefore, weneed to understand and follow the practicesregarded as best in downsizing efforts. ProfKimCameron ofMichigan University, based ona study of 30 organisations that were en-gaged in downsizing, identified eight best prac-tices in downsizing, and enumerated them inhis paper titled “Strategies for SuccessfulDownsizing” published in Human ResourceManagement in 1994. These are:1.APPROACH: This practice advocates1 approaching downsizing as a long termstrategy,2 approaching HR as assets rather than as li-abilities and approaching downsizing as an op-portunity rather than as a reaction to crises.2.PREPARATION: It consists of three activi-ties:1 involving employees in downsizing imple-mentation rather than driving as top down,2 seeking involvement and suggestion fromsuppliers and customers and 3) treatingdownsizing as everybody’s activity rather thanonly of top management.3.LEADERSHIP: During the downsizingprocess, leaders must be quite visible and ac-cessible, and they must personally communi-cate with all the employees. They must seekfeedback continuously from all the people andfind out ways tomotivate people in downsizingsituation.4.COMMUNICATION: Employees particu-larly need to be over communicated in down-sizing process. Further, the communicationmust be fast and honest. It must be truly a sys-tem of multiple communications.5.SUPPORT: It involves1 providing a safety net to those being down-sized,2 training and retraining to ensure uninter-rupted availability of skills and 3) pay attention

to people who stay in organisation.6.COST CUTTING: In order to realise thebenefits of downsizing, simultaneously threeactions must be initiated:1 analyse all the activities in the organisationto eliminate inefficiencies, non value addedservices, redundant processes and2 institute a variety of cost cutting measures.We need to develop the measures and pa-

rameters and also decide on methodologythat facilitates in realistic assessment of var-ious things connected with downsizing in pre,present and post scenarios. For example,there must be a system of measurement tounderstand what skills of employees arevalue-added and redundant in order to draftappropriate actions. This is a critical prac-tice in the entire downsizing program. Itshould be implemented with all fairness. HRpractices such as appraisal, reward, selec-tion, development and communication mustbe reoriented to reflect the goals and objec-tives of downsizing. Employee involvementand participation must be paid full attentionin the implementation phase. nThe writer is Human Resource Manager ina local company


ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

T This has many practical implications. Forexample, it emphasizes that downsizingin action must be presented and treatedas a big opportunity to recast organisa-tion’s focus rather than a reaction com-ing from a desperate company. This is amistake many organisations commit inpractice. Secondly, administer the wholeprogram from a positive perspectiverather than in paranoid style. Thirdly,downsizing must be understood as anorganisational program comprisingmany strategies such as revampingmanagerial systems, shifting marketfocus, altering the company objectivesand of course, reducing the manpower. Inpractice, organisations make the mis-take of limiting themselves to manpowercuts and forget redefining the downsizedorganisation. Therefore, these eight bestdownsizing practices have valuable prac-tical for managers.

Managerial Implication

ZULFIQAR ILAHI


CUSTOMER SERVICE

The best time to renew a client is from thefirst day after a sale. You need to provide ev-idence of value to your existing customersfrom day one, not just days before their serv-ice expires. Do you have products or servicesthat must be renewed on a regular basis?Think about engagement. Do you engage

your customer in a dialogue throughout theyear? There are a number of tactics fordoing so that will help you engage your cus-tomer, develop a relationship and provevalue.

1NEWSLETTERS ORANNOUNCEMENTS

Each month, give yourself and your com-pany a reason to reach out to your cus-tomers with information valuable to them.Do not underestimate the power of frequentcommunication. Be flexible with your contentand include opportunities to solicit feedbackfrom your customers.

2 CUSTOMERSURVEYS

Ask your customers through an online sur-vey what matters most to them. Show themthat their opinion matters. Once you askthem to complete a survey, collect the re-sponses and analyse them. Once you havesomething meaningful to share, distributeyour findings. Customers will see the valueyou provide and develop more trust in youand your services.

3 SHARE BESTPRACTICES

Whether it is a white paper, brief, or forum,share information you've learned from yourcustomers and distribute to a larger group.Share these findings in various formats. Thisshows that you value your customers' timeand want to make them successful.

4 INVITE YOUR CUSTOMERS TOONLY EVENTS

Teleconferences, webex presentations,etc. that can help your customer betterutilise your product or service is anotherway to keep them engaged. Keep them in-formed of updates and changes and provideongoing training and support.These are just a few of the tactics for com-

municating the value of your products andservices to your customers. When it comestime to renew, you won't have to sell. Yourcustomers will inherently know and feel thatvalue you have provided over the past year.Remember, the time to renew is now. Do

not wait until days before the subscription isabout to end to make your first contact. Asthey say, get out in front of the curve. Overtime, this strategy will help you exceed yoursales goals and allow you to develop a largefollowing. n

Renewyour customers

again & again

SONIA UROOJ

SALES &MARKETING

AASIM S. MULLICK


saLEANATOMY OF AANATOMY OF A

Let’s take a few moments to look at selling fromthis point of view. As we do, let’s see if we canlearn something that can make us bettersalespeople.

Millions of sales people consider themselves profession-als. Many read books, listen to tapes, go to seminars,and practise to improve their selling skills. Very few, how-ever, take the time to carefully dissect a sale and the sell-

ing process to analyse it, and find out it is really made of.Let’s take a fewmoments to look at selling from this point of view. As

we do, let’s see if we can learn something that can make us bettersalespeople. Never sell any product or service that you do not firmlybelieve will offer benefits to yours customers that outweigh the cost.Also find a product or service that has broad applications or enoughappeal to enable you to make a good living from selling it. Make yourcustomers think of you as someone they would always like to talk to.Self-confidence is the number one prerequisite for success insales. Self-confidence comes from focusing on three key issues. Thefirst is knowledge. Learn everything there is to know about the productor service you are selling. The second is practice. Rehearse your salespresentation until you can say it perfectly and convincingly. The third isexperience. It takes a long, determined effort and a sincere commit-

ment to develop the skills needed to succeedin sales.Identify and locate customers who will

genuinely benefit from your product orservice. Qualify your customers to verify thatthey are able to make the buying decision.Questions such as “Are you the owner of thebusiness?” or “Do you have a partner?” areappropriate and helpful. Do not waste yourtime trying to find a customer whom youthink will buy. You cannot know who will buybefore the selling process because perspec-tive customers do not know whether or notthey will buy at this point.The first impression any professional

salesperson make on a prospective cus-tomer is vitally important. True profes-sionals know exactly what they are going tosay, and they expect others to listen tothem.Tell customers whom you work for,

and do it with pride. Be sure to tellthem what your company does, andwhere it is located. Doing so makesthe company seemmore real becausecustomers can fix location in theirminds. This in turn makes customersfeel more comfortable and secure.Show excitement as you introduce

the product or service. Excitement andenthusiasm are contagious. Create at leastone good reason why your customer shouldtake a look and consider your product orservice now. You might say, “This product isnew, and we have a special introductory offerfor you today.” Be brief. Put a premium onyour time and use it wisely. If you do not, noprospective customer will take you seriously.At this point in the sale, your objective is toget the customer to look at your product orservice. Do not jump ahead by trying to sellhim or her on its merits. That comes later,after he or she has agreed to listen to yourpresentation.THE EXPLANATIONWise sales professionals set the stage for

their presentations with a brief explanationbefore beginning the formal presentation. Asensible explanation might go something likethis: “Mr or Ms customer, I am going to take

a minute to show you the difference betweenour product or service and the others thatare out in the market.I am going to show you something new. If

you like what you see, then I am going tomake you a fantastic offer.”When customershave been given a brief explanation of yourplans, they can feel assured that they will notencounter any surprises.DEMONSTRATION OR PRESENTATIONBe informative. People will always give you

their time when they feel they are learningsomething new and interesting from you.

Provide your prospective customers all theinformation they need to make an intelligentbuying decision. Point out all the unique fea-tures and benefits of your product or service.Become a great actor. Learn your lines,choreograph your movements, and focusyour entire performance on your basic ob-jective to sell the product.CLARITYThe salesperson depends on the cus-

tomers to understand and retain vast arrayof facts presented in a single, casual offering.To make matters even more confusing, thesalesperson peppers the presentation withjokes, anecdotes, and questions. Then when

the salesperson attempts to close the sale,the customer slams on the breaks with linelike, “I have to think about it.” Of course, hehas to think about it! The customer did notunderstand what the salesperson was say-ing! Remember that you cannot make a suc-cessful sale to every one understands yourproposition.VALUE OF YOUR CUSTOMERThe only reason anyone buys anything is

that he or she perceives a real value or ben-efits in owning the product or service. Youshould master the art of building value intoyour product or service.CREATING URGENCYFor any salesperson to be successful, he orshe must master the skill of giving the cus-tomer a reason to do business now ratherthan later. Urgency is made up of two ele-ments: the reason and the reward fordoing the business now. To create ur-gency, the customer must first wantyour product or service. Until this de-sire is in plan, it is impossible to gen-erate urgency.YOUR PROPOSITION TO THECUSTOMERAt this point in the sale, you describe

the benefits of owning your product orservice to the customer. You also point

out or demonstrate the unique nature ofyour special offer. In addition, you describe thestability and reliability of your company. Youdemonstrate your own competency, ability,and knowledge. Clearly outline the terms andconditions of the sale. Make your propositionin straightforward manner. Be concise whilestill communicating all needed information.THE CLOSEThe close should always be the logical con-

clusion of your well-thought-out, carefullyplanned, and professionally delivered salespresentation. The proper time to close a saleis when the customer is ready to say yes.If you have done your job properly, you will

get either a yes or a no at this point. If youhave done your job convincingly, you will getmore yeses than nos. nThe writer is Corporate Sale Trainer atLeading Edge


EstablishRelations

NeedRecognition

FormulateSolution

Close theSale

Deliver andEvaluate

PICTORIAL


Dr. S.M. Naqi presenting a book to Masood Ali Khan

Participants with Mr. Bakhtiar Khawaja, training head of Bank Alfalah Ltd.Ijaz Nisar and Shakil A. Chudhary in ‘CommunicationSkills Program’

Group photo of participants in training “Developing the Manager in You.”

Participants doing relaxation exerciseIjaz Nisar is giving a thought-provoking talk.

Glimpses of Leading Edge Trainings

Leading Edge is a higly proactive and client focued Training & Development Consultancy. As an energetic company, it is infused with a de-sire to provide value added services. The core phillosophy of Leading Edge is “Learning with fun”. To demonstrate this philosophy ,below

are the glimpses in which participants, from different organisations like, Federal Board of Revenue, Allied Bank Ltd., PEL, Ufone, A.F. Fergu-son, Bank Al-Habib, Royal Palm Golf & Country Club, are learning and having fun together.


Leading Edge Philosophy “Learning with Fun!”

Teamwork and creative learning

Team “Cheetay” with their own designed flag.Participants preparing for balloon bashingexercise

Teamwork and creative learning Brain storming session

Interactive and participative learning

ENTREPRENEUR


r SM Naqi is truly a remarkable per-son. He did his PhD in business ad-ministration from the United Statesat the age of 63. Among manage-

ment gurus, he is greatly impressed byPeter Drucker (1909-2005). Mr Naqistarted his career with the government ofIndia in 1945 as an engineer, working onthe Indian Railways, having been selectedby the All India Civil Services Board. He wasfirst posted at a station on the East IndianRailways, near Calcutta. After the inde-pendence, he opted for Pakistan Railwaysand moved to Lahore. Subsequently, heworked in Multan, Quetta, Karachi andRawalpindi in various capacities.

D

NABEELA MALIK

vIsIonA true story of

passion& disciplineIt is a story of transition from thegoverniment service to privateinitiative at the age of 52.


In 1972, he was drawn into the vortex ofpublic sector, when big industrial unitswere nationalized. He worked on differentpositions in the public sector, such as man-aging director of companies like HyesonSteel (now Karachi Pipe Mills) Karachi, It-tefaq Foundation (later named LEFO) La-hore and Batala Engineering Company,later named Pakistan Engineering Com-pany. After six years in different compa-nies, he was elevated to the position ofchairman of the Engineering Corporation,which was the holding company for all thelight engineering units, under the govern-ment sector.After spending seven years in senior po-

sitions involving high finance, labour man-agement, marketing and administration, hedecided to start his own business. So, hegot his son, Almas Hayder, relieved fromthe army. Almas had earned an engineer-ing degree as a defence nominee. After hisrelease from the army, Mr Naqi got him toreceive training from Amir Ali Fancy, one ofthe most successful Pakistani entrepre-neurs at the time. Then he asked his sonto study the market for identifying a suit-able line for setting up a family business.The first project was the production of

low-cost plastic shoes to meet the growingdemand, particularly among the cash-strapped people who could not afford tobuy expensive footwear. Some funds weremobilised by selling the family property andfrom partnership with a few friends andrelatives, he started production of low-costplastic shoes and flip-flops at a rentedplace on Ravi Road, Lahore.At this stage, Dr Naqi quit the govern-

ment job and devoted himself fully to hisbusiness. He looked after the productionand ancillary activities, while his son tookcare of the marketing.In a couple of years, he realised that the

business involved credit selling and thewholesale customers would not keep their

promises of timely payments. A stagecame when the bulk of the working capitalgot stuck in the market. The company’s ca-pacity to produce at the optimum level wasbadly affected. At last where it became im-possible to continue the business. Conse-quently, he had to close the shop.Simultaneously, he decided to diversify theproduction line to cover manufacture ofspecialised components for assembling theplants of auto industry.While diversifying, he decided to stay with

the basic technology in which the companyhad specialised i.e. polymer or plastic tech-nology. Thanks to his foresight, he did nothave to change the name of company. So itremained Synthetic Products Enterprise(Pvt) Limited (SPEL).At that time, the government had asked

the auto industry to locally manufacture upto 75% spare parts within five years. Sothe auto industry was under pressure toget their components made through localvendors. Most of the auto industry wasbeing managed by the public sector ofwhich Dr Naqi had a vast work experience.Owing to his contacts, he was able to se-cure orders with advance payments formaking the moulds and also securing theappropriate machinery and equipment.The company started first manufactur-

ing gear shift lever knobs and then thesteering wheels for Millat Tractors. Thesamples produced by the company passedall the tests and confirmed orders were re-ceived for full delivery of the components.Thereafter all the car and tractor makersin the country went to the SPEL for themanufacture of the steering wheels. SPELhad the quality and the right price. So for aconsiderable time, SPEL continued to bethe only company that produced the steer-ing wheels and that line of product still con-tinues along with several othercomponents, that SPEL now makes.Starting with one local machine and a

local mould, the company now has a seriesof state-of-the-art machines installed at thefactory, which now spreads over acres.Product diversification and market diver-

sification had been continuing for the lastthirty years now. The SPEL has also in-stalled sophisticated machinery to makemodules and dyes in house not only for theproducts that it is making but also for ex-port. Modules are being produced forother customers in the country, as well.SPEL has recently added a blow moulding

unit to produce heavy-duty large bottles formineral water and other liquids. Becauseof SPEL’s high standards, quality-consciouscompanies such as Nestle and LeverBrothers are its loyal customers.The SPEL has set up another factory i.e.

SPEL Packaging Industries, to make dis-posable containers for ice cream and yo-gurt etc. This unit is being managed by Dr.Naqi’s second son, Zia Hayder, who is anengineer and also has done MBA.SPEL is the market leader in both of

these fields. In addition, the SPEL has setup a business by the name of SPEL Elec-tronics, to make security devices for homeand cars including CCTV systems. Anothercompany was formed by the name of SPELFujiya to manufacture and market split air-conditioners. The business is managed bythe third son, Raza Haider, who also is anengineer and an MBA graduate.In SPEL’s effort to globalize the business,

Raza moved to Canada to set up shopthere. Interestingly, the SPEL sold the SPELElectronics and SPEL Fujiya to loyal em-ployees of the company, who are runningthese companies in a very conscientiousmanner. n

ADVICE

Get up early in the morning. Plan yourday. Show commitment to yourself andyour passion. Provide quality customerservices and exceed the expectations.

Most of the auto industry was being managed by the government in the public sectorof which Dr Naqi had experience. Most of the auto industry was being managed bythe government in the public sector of which Dr Naqi had a vast work experience.

TIIME MANAGEMENT


Time management is the key to asuccessful career and a panaceato all work related problems. Inview of the current scenario, theentire world is clamped in the eco-nomic crunch and the interna-tional ramifications of downsizing,the stress at the workplace hasincreased. The successors ofdownsizing are facing the majorchunk of this workplace pressure,with added responsibilities andmore intense expectation of theiremployers. More or less in everyorganisation there is a culture ofsluggishness with special refer-ence to the Pakistani society. Butthings should not be taken aswhat they seem to be ostensibly.This is my personal observation

that 80 per cent of themanagersin Pakistan today, are to blame forthe indolence just because theyare not familiar with the term'work-life balance'. To get rid of thestress and to manage things bet-ter at workplace, one of the toolsof the trade is “to balance time be-tweenwork and life”. Following arefive preeminent tips to have equi-librium between official and per-sonal time.

1. Figure out what reallymatters to you in lifel Gettingyourprioritiesclear isthe

first andmost essential step.l Use an exercise to explore

what matters the most.l Take couple of days off to

meditate and contemplatethe answers to the followingquestions:

I. If my life could focus only onething, what would that be?II. If I could add a second, what

would be that?III. A third? And so onAmong these top priorities

there may be family, career, reli-gion, health, sports, communityservices, spirituality, art or hob-bies. Split your time and yourmind so that, when at work, thinkfor work only, and pay attention toyour family when you are athome.

2. Drop unnecessary activitiesPeople are devoting too much

time to activities that are their ourpriority, and can be adjusted ac-cordingly. Unnecessary activitieskeep you away from the thingsthat matter to you. For instance,If you have a newborn, you shouldcut back on television.

3. Protect your private timeThink twice before skipping

work. Your private time de-serves respect. Carve out hoursthat contribute to your relation-

ships. Guard the personal timefervently and do not let work in-trude. Even stop checkingemails or cell phones. Few peo-ple are important enough to becon-tacted at personal time. Ifwork consistently interfereswith your personal time, youshould discuss some adjust-ments with your boss. “Morehours mean more”. You can de-liver better results in fewerhours. Your job performanceshould never be judged in termsof hours of input. Protectingyour private time often leads togreater satisfaction, productiv-ity and creativity. If you are yourown boss, it is up to you to cre-ate boundaries that keep workfrom intruding on family time.Make it clear that you will workat nights or holidays at your op-tion. Tell them that if they call youat your personal time, theyshould not expect you to answeruntil the next business day.Learn to be open-minded, ex-cited and curious about life. Keyingredient for innovation isbreakthrough thinking. If you donot spend time with your chil-dren, this opportunity will be lostforever.

4. Accept help to balanceyour lifeAllow yourself to rely on your

partner, or friends, who canwatch the kids or run an errandwhile you focus on other top pri-orities. Try tag-teaming onespouse works out before dinner,one after dinner, while the otherwatches the kids. To get morealone time with your life-partner,accept babysitting offer fromanother couple, or try a regulartrade off. Watch their kids thisSaturday and they will watchyour kids next Saturday. Tag-teaming is a great way to cre-ate extra free time.

5. Plan funand relaxationAn essential part of living a

well-balanced life is fun and re-laxation—weekly guitar lessons,a yoga class, a date night withspouse, even exercise on atrampoline in backyard. Wemust believe that the most im-portant thing is to be happy inlife and this cannot be achievedeven if one becomes millionaireor stands retired. So do notsqueeze your playtime whilerunning your business or shar-ing the responsibilities. n

MARIAM LODHI

1 COMMUNICATIONThe best type of communica-tion in families is positive,open, honest and, in somecases, laced with humour.Weshare a freedom todiscussanything that comesourway,whether is be aworry or joy.

2 TOGETHERNESSStrong families share an “in-visible glue,” giving them afirm sence of belonging.When someone in our familyhas a problem, we pull to-gether to find the solution.

3 SHARING ACTIVITIESStrong families choose toplay together. “Over the years

we have done skating, camp-ing, walking, swimming, etc.We believe this is helping ourchildren catch the idea ofstrong family bonds.”

4 AFFECTIONMembers regularly showeach other they care.“Affection is simply stuff, like acuddle in the morning, or justa pat on the head…a questionabout how things aregoing…and being genuinely in-terested in the answer.”

5 SUPPORTThey are comfortable offer-ing or seeking support.Being a strong family unitmeans if one of the family hasa challenge, there are manyfamily members to listen, ad-vise and support.

6 ACCEPTANCEMembers value, acknowledgeand tolerate each other.We see one another as an in-dividual, and respect and cele-brate our differences.

7 COMMITMENTThe wellbeing of the family isa high priority.Commitment is to stand firmregardless of the situation.

8 RESILIENCEReacting to challenges in apositive way is essential.We have encountered sev-eral trying situations thathave had the capability oftearing us apart, but whichhave in fact bounded ustogether.


RELATIONSHIPS

HASEEB NISAR

Researchers at Australia’s University of Newcastle surveyed more than 600 membersof close families about their values and attitudes, isolating eight key characteristics fromresponses.

RASHIDA HAYAT MALIK is Secre-tary, Management and ProfessionalDevelopment Department, Govern-ment of Punjab (MPDD). She is a dy-namic lady andmuch likemost womenat the top, she hasmade a benchmarkand has provided leadership and devel-oped Human Resource Managementin the public sector through hard workand dedication. She joined the Civil Serv-ices District Management Group in1983. She is gold medalist in psychol-ogy, took distinction in Master’s in De-velopment Administration from theUKand various other scholarships fromHarvard University. Her distinguishededucational background, exposure andexperience make her a prominent fig-ure in public sector of Pakistan.Could you tell us about the estab-lishment and role of Managementand Professional development de-partment (MPDD)?TheMPDDPunjabwas established in

July 2002 by upgrading Punjab Insti-tute of Human Resource Development(PIHRD). MPDD is the apex training de-partment responsible for imparting

quality training to the officers and offi-cials of different departments of gov-ernment of the Punjab. Our vision atMPDD is to develop motivated, proac-tive, dedicated, disciplined and compe-tent public service through high qualitytraining aimed at inculcating appropri-ate attitudes, skills, knowledge and be-havior for top class service delivery.MPDD is planning, organizing, designingand conducting training programs toimprove the human resource potentialof Punjab government taking into ac-count future needs.MPDDhas focusedon the following major areas of im-provement in the last one year:1) Quantitative increase in number of

courses2) Qualitative excellence3) Infrastructural improvements in

training. 4) Development of qualityprocesses and systems

WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE


RASHIDA HAYAT MALIK

MPDD is the apex training departmentresponsible for imparting quality training

PROFILE

SABA KIANI

How do see the state of women empower-ment in Pakistan?Unfortunately, statistics do not tell a positive

story. I believe still there is no completechange present institutionally. There should bemorewomen in government service also. Nowwomen are coming into different fields but yousee about seventy per cent of them thrive intomedical profession. Then there is notmuch ofwill in our women. They do not really want toexcel in competitive professions, as most ofthem end up adopting teaching as their pro-fession and taking it as a career. Until and un-less there is change in the mindset of thewhole society, situation cannot be improved.Even our Mullahs discourage women empow-erment but actually it is not the Mullah factorresponsible but many other factors as well.Regardless of whatever Mullahs had in mindthey had no objections against women in real-ity but steadily they are made to say what thefeudal system or the bureaucratic systemmade them to say. Thus, actually backed bythe overall system they also spoke the lan-guage of the general masses and the societyon the whole. Butmy experience says that oursociety has to go a long way. Social change isaffecting women’s lives in many ways but theoutcome is not nearly as empowering as wetend to expect.What challenges and issues you facedbeing on the top and how do you deal withthe challenges related to training?You have to be innovative and change ori-

ented. Probably you have more opportunitywhen things are very bad and your area of re-sponsibility is rather limited. In smaller organ-izations you have greater area of doing thingsandmaking a difference. I had to set the trend,never to deny any training options and I al-lowed trainings at our premises. We got veryfirst financial support from the government.We used to run three training classes at atime.We established service rules which wereon plan but practically missing for the past sixyears.We got government approval, made re-cruitments of staff and it wasmade strictly onmerit. So, challenges are unlimited but thegood thing is they become opportunities when

one is willing to perform.Do you think that corporate manage-

ment practices can be incorporated in pub-lic sector? And what are its limitations?The debate is very much in the air but in re-

ality it is not easy. We are actually not at thestage where we might do something practi-cally in terms of incorporating corporateman-agement practices into the public sector. Andstill we are introducing different strategiesand we are inculcating the areas where thetraining may be needed for all officials. I em-phasize on the possibilities of what actually wecan do. Then, there are issues concerned withblaming others for different problems. Eventop management is blamed for faulty policies;means there is a chain of blaming one anothergoing on from top to bottom. Everyone asksfor making good policies but nobody cares forimplementation and utilization of policies thathave been already made. You should stopblaming others at top. I remember I was Ad-ditional Secretary Education and SheikhRasheed was Minister for Overseas Pakista-nis Foundation. He established four collegesfor girls on the land of Railways of Pakistan,using the money of the Overseas PakistanisFoundation. They asked me to get there forthe recruitment of the lecturers for those col-leges but I said I would not go for the purposeas I bluntly told him that I personally did not feelappropriate. But you see many of us do nothave courage to voice their disagreement. Ourpeople, even if they feel against the said roles,they keep on performing them, simply to stayon their positions and fearing the loss of theprivileges etc.What are your upcoming projects at

MPDD?We have established a resource person

search committee. Although our departmentis small but it is working very efficiently as com-pared to other departments or to the civilservices academy. They have senior scalestaff and plenty of workers but we have onlyfew people and with them we are holding amajor eight month post induction course andalmost on yearly basis.We are in collaborationwith the resource persons to hire for the train-ing of session judges and for that we would befocusing on the practical training because theyhave read the laws in theory and in detail. Sothe practitioner focus and emphasis would beon ground realities and implementation. Wehave five to six promotional related long termcourses that we complete on yearly basis.Right now we are conducting two such train-ings including EDOs working on grade nine-teen positions. So, two full time batches arebeing managed and trained at MPDD.In our social set-up it is widely believed

thatworkingwomen’s families suffer. Howdo you manage this social approach?I think it is very unjust and wrong approach

to expect from them to devote as much timeto their families as give to their professions.This unjust requirement makes workingwomen feel uncomfortable, rather guilt con-scious when they face the allegation of a mis-managed domestic life because of theirprofessional business. What I want to com-ment is that working women are not superhuman beings; they need support and assis-tance on themaximum. The tendency of blam-ing working women should be stopped, ashusbands keep commenting bluntly that thework routine of wives disturb family setup andit is simply to make women less productiveandmore frustrated. On the other hand thereare upper class socialites amongst ourwomen and they do not take care of their fam-ilies and their children’s but nobody blamesthem. So there should be a set of social valuesto be followed by our women. If the set priori-ties are right, nothing will be wrong but if thefamily is not on one’s priority, it will suffer, nomatter women are working or not.n

Our vision at MPDD is to develop motivated, proactive, dedicated, disciplined and competent publicservice through high quality training aimed at inculcating appropriate attitudes, skills, knowledgeand behavior for top class service delivery.


HUMAN RESOURCE

36MANAGER TODAY | April - May 2009

Behavioral & Technical Skills Required from HR Managershe competencies required to perform therole of HRM professionals is rapidlychanging. Further, HR professionals per-form different roles such as generalist,consultant, organisation leader, strategistand specialist in a particular area of HRM.

However, what competencies are essential anddesirable in order to perform these roles effec-tively is a big question to many across the disci-pline. Experts have identified 11 corecompetencies and six leverage competenciesthat are commonly required for all types of roleswithin HRM function based on our research.These are briefly explained in the following:

CORE COMPETENCIES1. Ethics: Possesses fidelity to fundamental

values, including respect for the individual,responsibility of purpose, honesty, reliabil-ity, fairness, integrity and respect for prop-erty.

2. Communication: Uses language, styleand effective expression, including non-ver-bal in speaking and writing so that otherscan understand and take appropriate ac-tion.

3. Listening: Able to interpret and use in-formation extracted from oral communi-cation.

4. Relationship building: Able to establish

rapport, relationships, and networksacross a broad range of people andgroups.

5. Teamwork: Understanding how to collabo-rate and foster collaboration amongothers.

6. Standards of quality: Have high per-formance expectations for self and others.

7. Judgment: Able to make rational and re-alistic decisions based on logical assump-tions which reflect factual information.

8. Result orientation: Knows how to workto get results.

9. Initiative: Able to go beyond the obviousrequirements of a situation.

10.Self-confidence:Possesses a high degreeof confidence in own abilities.

11. Enthusiasm and commitment: Able tobelieve in employer, find enjoyment and in-volvement in work, and to be committedto quality performance.

LEVERAGE COMPETENCIES

1. Influence: Ability and skill to cause an ef-fect in indirect ways. Ability to impact indi-viduals and organisations without exerciseof direct power or command.

2. Utilisation of resources: Able to find, ac-quire and leverage appropriate resources,inside and outside the organisation.

3. Customer awareness: Understand both

internal and external customers and theirneeds.

4. Creativity: Ability to invent, explore, imag-ine new approaches, framework or solu-tions; ability to stimulate ideas in self andothers.

5. Questioning: Ability to gather and inter-pret objective information through skilfulquestioning of individuals and groups.

6. Organisational astuteness: Under-standing individual sensitivities, power dy-namics, relationships, and how theorganisation operates.

MANAGERIAL IMPLICATION

This competency model helps organisationin many ways. This can be used for require-ment and development of HR managers andjob analysis purposes. This also helps as abenchmarked competency set for HR profes-sionals for charting their own development.HR professionals must make an assessmentof themselves with references to these com-petencies and work to acquire the missingones. These competencies are commonly ap-plicable across all the roles and managerialposition within HR function. Therefore, HR de-partments in organisations can draft trainingprograms to impact and develop their HR ex-ecutives on these competencies.n

tCore Competenciesfor HRM Professionals

Core Competenciesfor HRM Professionals

IJAZ NISAR

Stress is a messenger listen to it.Consider your pressure a challenge; yourcoping ability will increase.Meet, great and beat your stress successfully.There is always a hidden benefit in every event of life.You are unique, don’t compare yourself with others.The past is cancelled cheque; don’t repeat your mistakes.Future is promissory note, don’t worry about it.Be content, do not be jealous.Give up your ego, don’t feel superior.The world is huge drama; don’t get upset byscenes of sorrow and tragedy.Spare time to help others, and your worrieswill soon be forgotten.Your critics are instruments to carry you forward,so consider them as well wishers.Forgive and forget, don’t think of taking revenge.Observe your mind, control you mental trafficand you will not have waste thoughts.Laughter is an antidote to stress, laugh at yourmistakes but not at others.15 minutfes of meditation daily will bring peace,happiness and relaxation of mind & body.

Golden Principles of

Stress-free living

STRESS MANAGEMENT

38MANAGER TODAY | April - May 2009

ECONOMY


As far as the current globalcrisis is concerned there is notmuch we can do except wait forit to recede. However, it deeplyimpacts our economy.

Major problems facing Pak-istan’s economy like our cur-rent account and fiscal deficitwere there even before the

global financial crisis began to impact us. Theglobal crisis has intensified the crisis. Thetwin deficits are a consequence of our badpolicies and indiscipline. It requires a firm re-solve of our political and business leadershipto tackle them. Good governance, invest-ment in physical and human infrastructureare the underlying issues which need to beaddressed on an urgent basis. Efficient for-mulation and implementation of policy is re-quired.As far as the current global crisis is con-

cerned there is not much we can do exceptwait for it to recede. However, it deeply im-pacts our economy. For instance our exportsgrowth which has been stagnant for a longtime is also now getting adversely affectedby the slowdown in the US and the EU.This isbecause the consumer in the west faces un-employment and lack of availability of credit.Consumer confidence has suffered and pur-chasing power is low. Garments and bedwear, for example, are items whose pur-chase can easily be postponed for a year ortwo. Textiles are more than 60% of Pak-istan’s exports and will continue to face diffi-culty till there is a turn around in theeconomies of the EU and the US.Experts have developed scenarios which

see a turnaround in the US as early as thelast quarter of ’09 and then there are thosewhich do not see the US economy turningaround even in 2011.Many economists be-lieve that even today (China notwithstanding)US is going to be the engine of global recov-

globaleconomy

Turnaroundin the

& our exports growth …the likely scenario

BILAL ILAHI


ery. In other words, we have to see a turn-around in the US before we see a turn-around in the global economy.So what are the signs in the US economy

that we in Pakistan should be looking for?What will indicate that the US is indeedcoming out of the recession? And when canwe expect an improvement in our exportsto the US; our largest export destination?The genesis of the current US financial andeconomic crisis is the “Sub-prime mort-gage”. USA has one of the highest homeownerships per capita in the world. Typicallyfor an American home owner, the house ishis or her most valuable asset. Mortgagesplay a huge role in home buying. Also risinghome prices positively impact consumer be-havior because home owners are then ableto take out second mortgages. This leadsto higher consumer spending. As the con-sumer is 70% of the US GDP, higher con-sumer spending has a substantial impacton US GDP figures. In the decade of the90’s the US economy saw heady growth.Wall Street not to be left behind came upwith newer and more innovative financialproducts, one of which came to be knownas the “sub-prime mortgage”. This basicallywas a mortgage which banks begin givingto borrowers who were not financially qual-ified. In a growing economy all went well fora few years. Real estate demand and valueswent up. Financial sector’s profits andgrowth were unprecedented. When thedownturn began and unemploymentstarted rising many of the sub-prime bor-rowers were unable to service their debt.Defaults led to oversupply of housing whichin turn led to real estate collapse and a fallin consumer confidence. The resultantdownturn is the most severe since thegreat depression.Whatever the time line of US recovery, the

most likely scenario will play out in this se-quence:

1. Choked credit markets become un-clogged. Banks not only begin to lend

to each other but also to customers.

2. Increased liquidity creates a demandfor homes which boosts home pricesand real estate values.

3. This in turn positively affects US con-sumer confidence and increases con-sumer spending. Including spendingon garments and bed wear!

4. Increased consumer spending putsthe US GDP on a growth trajectory.

5. US GDP growth provides a stimulusfor the global economy.Until these events begin to take place in

the US and the rest of the world, we shouldnot expect to see an increase in demand ofour exports. Healthy exports will improve ourbalance of payments. In the meantime, theother underlying issues of our twin deficitsneed resolution on an urgent basis.nThe writer is business consultant &corporate trainer

Many economists believe that even today (Chinanotwithstanding) US is going to be the engine of globalrecovery. In other words, we have to see a turnaround inthe US before we see a turnaround in the global economy.

COMMUNICATION/HUMOUR

44 MANAGER TODAY | April - May l, 2009

aberration:a departure from what isright, true, or correctl He stole my pen in amoment of aberration.alienate:to make someone un-friendly or unwilling tosupport you.l The president hasalienated some of his al-lies.ambience:the general feeling thatyou get from a particularplace; atmospherel I like the relaxed am-bience of this restau-rant.ambivalent:having or showingmixed feelings about acertain object, person orsituationl He has an ambivalentattitude towards coedu-cation.amenable:willing to be influencedor controlled by some-thingl I’m sure he’ll beamenable to rational ar-gument.anathema:something that is com-pletely the opposite ofwhat you believe in; aperson or thing that isdetested or despised

l For a long time theidea of majority rule wasanathema to mostwhites in South Africa.anodyne:dull; unlikely to cause ar-gument or offence, in away the opposite of con-troversiall He is known for writ-ing anodyne book re-views.apocryphalan apocryphal story(usually about a famousperson or event) is wellknown but probably nottruel Most of the storiesabout his private life areprobably apocryphal.articulate:able to talk clearly andeffectivelyl This department storeis looking for a highly ar-ticulate spokesperson.banana republic:a derogatory word for asmall, poor and unstablecountry with usuallyone-crop economy con-trolled by foreign capital.It has a weak (and oftendespotic) governmentthat depends on finan-cial help from abroadl Howmany banana re-publics are there in theworld?

SHAKIL A. CHAUDHARY

VocabularyBank

Manager’sHumourCorner

Memo from CEO to manager:

Today at 11 o'clock there will be a total eclipseof the sun. This is when the sun disappears be-

hind the moon for two minutes. As this is some-thing that cannot be seen every day, time will beallowed for employees to view the eclipse in theparking lot. Staff should meet in the lot at ten toeleven, when I will deliver a short speech intro-ducing the eclipse, and giving some backgroundinformation. Safety goggles will be made availableat a small cost.

Memo from manager to departmenthead:

Today at ten to eleven, all staff should meet inthe car park. This will be followed by a total

eclipse of the sun, which will appear for two min-utes. For a moderate cost, this will be made safewith goggles. The CEO will deliver a short speechbeforehand to give us all some information. This isnot something that can be seen everyday.

Memo from department head to floormanager:

The CEO will today deliver a short speech tomake the sun disappear for two minutes in the

form of an eclipse. This is something that cannot beseen everyday, so staff will meet in the car park atten or eleven.This will be safe, if you pay a moderate cost.

Memo from floormanager to supervisor:

Ten or eleven staff members are to go to the carpark, where the CEOwill eclipse the sun for two

minutes. This does not occur everyday. It will besafe, and as usual it will cost you.

Memo from supervisor to staff:

Some staff will go to the car park today to see theCEO disappear. It is a pity this does not happen

everyday.

Weare living in exciting times.The people never had moreopportunity to pursue thelife of their dreams, a life rich

with extraordinary personal and professionalachievements.The opportunity is here now for us individ-

ually and collectively to make the transfor-mation from worst to best — literally fromthe worst shape of our lives to the best.There are five essential steps to begin andsustain the process of transforming yourhealth for life.1. Accept your ability & responsibilityWe have the ability to create stunning

changes for the better in our bodies andlives. It is exciting and empowering to con-sider the scope of this ability. However, it isnot always as exciting to accept that alongwith our ability to transform comes the re-sponsibility to do so. Until that responsibilityis accepted, the ability lies dormant.2. Being healthy a priorityOver the past 20 years of working in the

world of well-being and fitness, I have discov-ered that when people highly value theirhealth, they do what has to be done to be-come healthy. So when I see people who areoverweight, underweight or who are suffer-

ing from entirely preventable illness, I knowthey do not yet place a premium value ontheir well-being. In many cases, this includespeople who are achieving successful resultsin their business endeavours and otherareas of their lives.3. Set specific health and fitness goalsAn entrepreneur should learn the funda-

mental facts about exercise, nutrition, fatloss and muscle strengthening. Get in greatshape is not a goal. It is a wish, a dream andan idea. Within 12 weeks, I will lose 20pounds of fat. Within 12 weeks, I will reducemy low-density cholesterol by 20 per cent.These are goals. They are specific, measur-able and challenging.4. Keep your plan of action simpleIt is not at all necessary to put together a

complicated programme with undue em-phasis on diet and exercise idiosyncrasies toachieve your goals. What works better is asimple combination of strength training and

aerobic exercise combined with balancedand smart eating.5. Prepare to succeed every dayAnyone who has achieved success knows it

is more than a matter of mere luck. Whenone prepares to succeed by consciouslyscheduling his workout time in advance justas he would have an important business ordoctor appointment, he finds it easy to followthrough and no ‘thinking’ is required. Oneshould do the same with his meals. When heschedules what he is going to eat, at whattime and in what quantity, before the day be-gins, he does not waste any time.These five essentials constitute a practical

and powerful method for becoming healthier,stronger and more energetic manager.When practiced consistently, this is a way torealise your true potential to transform yourhealth and enjoy a richer quality and quantityof life. nThe writer is nutrition & health consultant


HEALTH & WELLNESS

Manager’shealth and fitness

DR. AMIR MEHMOOD

The opportunity is here now forus individually and collectivelyto make the transformationfrom worst to best

In today’s work environment, doing the workyou love is critical to success.Here is how to find it.The rat race. The fast track. The old grind.

The same ol’ same ol’ – whatever you wantto call it, a lot of people are looking for a wayout. Many today have a sense that their livesare not their own, that they have few choicesand little power over their own destinies.They see their lives getting away from them,moving at a frantic pace they feel powerlessto control.

We have been told that the rat race is theroad to success. Yet many today have anidea of success different from those of pre-vious generations. For these people, successis not defined in economic terms, but in-

cludes the opportunity to express their in-nate talents and abilities, to be creatively en-gaged (not simply to show up), to feel asthough they are making a meaningful differ-ence, and to integrate their spiritual valueswith the everyday business of working andmaking a living. Where once people werewilling to do the work they were born into.were content to view work merely as ameans of making a living, today many peopleare looking for considerably more.They are expecting to find a place for their

heart and soul in their work, a place to ex-press their unique talents and abilities. Theywant a greater sense of joy and meaning intheir work. Life’s work. The issue is not somuch one of “putting people to work” as it isof empowering them to work – unleashingtheir innate creative powers. This processbegins with each individual finding the workhe or she loves. While the idea of doing thework you love may be new to some, itharkens back to a cardinal tenet of many sa-cred and philosophical traditions that eachof us is called to do a unique life’s work More


CAREER MANAGMENT

SAGHIR AHMED

than a job or career, it is your special gift tohumanity. Traditionally, life’s work was calledvocation, which literally means “calling”. Tothe extent that your work takes into accountthe needs of the world, it will be meaningful;to the extent that through it you expressyour unique talents, it will be joyful.The quest for the work you love begins with

a few simple questions: Who am I -?What inthe world am I doing ? What is my specialgift to give? Where it ends is up to you. Tobe satisfying, your answer must be morethan philosophical speculation; that must be-come your life. It means putting your valuesto work by determining to make what you doreflect who you really are.

THREE DECISIONS

The process of finding the work you love isbest understood as a matter of makingthree decisions. It requires that you decidewhat you are looking for is not a career roleper se. What “it” is your creative passion.Over the course of a lifetime, it may take avariety of forms, roles, or structures; yet run-ning through all of these will be a commonthread of meaning and joy.

DECIDE WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

Finding the work you love begins with ask-ing the right questions. When framing yourcentral question, tailor it to your individualneeds and be as specific as you like. For Ex-ample, in seeking his calling, BuckminsterFuller, an American engineer, designer andarchitect, asked, “What could a healthyyoung male human of average size, experi-ence, and capability with an economically de-pendent wife and newborn child, startingwithout capital or any kind of wealth, or uni-versity degree, effectively do that could notbe done by great nations or great private en-terprise to lasting improve protection andsupport of all human lives, abroad our planetEarth?” It led him to the study of mythology,which he helped to reinvigorate and popu-larise in the later part of twentieth century.In your own words and in a way that is

meaningful to you, frame a question thatworks for you. Take a few minutes to writedown the question you were asking that ledyou into this occupation. For example, whatwill bring in the most money?What is most indemand? What will take the least effort?What will give me status and prestige?What

will be the most secure? Now write the ques-tion that you want to use to shape the re-mainder of your work life. Make sure that isreally meaningful to you. For instance, whatwould I truly love to do? How can I be useful?What is my natural work? What would giveme the greatest joy and satisfaction?

DECIDE TO KEEP LOOKINGUNTIL YOU FIND ITOnce you decide what you are looking for,

determine to persist until you find it. Many ofus have not learned to assert what we want,not only in terms of career, but in otherareas of our lives as well. It may take ussome time before we are ready to admit thatwe, in fact, know what we want. Be patientwith yourself. As the poet Rainer Maria Rilkeput it, “Be patient toward all that is unsolvedin your heart and… try to love the questionsthemselves….”

DECIDE WHEN YOU HAVE FOUND IT

The final and most important decision inthe process of finding the work you love isthe decision that you have found what youare looking for. This means to definitely claimthat you know what your work is. We shouldrecognize that claiming the work you lovecan seem like a big emotional risk. If you havea job that is not coming out of who you reallyare (your career passion), you might erectan emotional barrier between yourself andyour work. Then, when your work is criticisedor you fail to do your best. You can say. “Well,this is just my job. It has nothing to do withmy real life.” But when you are doing workyou really love and are criticised or come upagainst odds about your ability to see itthrough, you may feel much more vulnera-ble. It takes great courage then, to claim thatyou know what you want.

QUICK STARTBegin doing the work you love as soon as

possible, even if you don’t get paid for it, orif you can only work at it part-time. AlbertEinstein was unable to secure a job as aphysics professor. He could have said tohimself, ”Well, I just don’t have what it takesto work in physics. I should give up on it andsettle for something else. Instead, he wrotethe two most significant papers of his re-markable career while employed as apatent clerk. After their publication, therewas not a major university in the world thatwould not have been delighted to have himon their staff.If you want to work as an artist and you

are making a living as a waiter, don’t thinkof yourself as a waiter who hopes one dayto become an artist. That puts the workyou love somewhere off in the distant fu-ture. Rather, think of yourself as an artist,temporarily supporting yourself by waitingtables and paint, draw, or sculpt as much

as you can. It is possible to earn a livingwage as a waiter working 24 hours a week.That leaves plenty of time to devote totraining or developing your craft in the offhours.While seeking to discover the work you

love, it helps to expand your awareness intothe universe of all possibilities. You don’twant to be limited to preconceived ideas ofwhat you should do or confined to what youhave done before.Having opened to all possibilities, you

then focus again by making a definite deci-sion and claiming to work you love as yourown.You decide what you are working for.

Doing the work you love then requires thatyou be equally comfortable with the imagi-native and the practical. It requires the abil-ity to dream big dreams and the ability toconfront and master all the little detailsthat go into making dreams come true. nThe writer is career consultant andmovtivational trainer

ELEMENTS CREATIVE POWER FOCUSING QUESTIONSINTEGRITY: A life's work is inspired from within, Conscience What speaks to me?born of your own values, visions & intuitions.SERVICE: A life's work is useful to others, providing Compassion What touches me?you with the opportunity to give your gifts in a meaningful way.ENJOYMENT: A life's work is natural to you, allowing Talent What turns me on?you to take full advantages of your innate talentsand abilities.EXCELLENCE: A life's work prompts you to do your best Destiny What draws out my best?work; you love what you are doing enough to do your best.


BOOK REVIEW


This book comprisesinterviews conductedwith more than80,000 managers

from more than 400 compa-nies besides 20 years of theirown experience in studying the core charac-teristics of great managers and work-places? Management consultants MarcusBuckingham and Curt Coffman published aremarkable book titled, First, Break All TheRules: What The world’s Greatest ManagersDo Differently. The study conducted by theauthors is the largest of its kind ever under-taken, which has great relevance to humanresource practitioners. Some of the key ob-servations of this work are:

1.Employee stock options and other ben-efit programmes, though can attractthe people to join in a company, it is the qual-ity of the immediate manager and the pro-ductive environment of the workplace thatdetermine the retention of employees in thecompany.

2.Great managers break conventionalwisdom in hiring norms. They do nothire a person based on his\her experience,intelligence and knowledge. They do so byidentifying a person’s talent. Talent here isdefined as natural recurring patterns, feel-ing, or behaviour that can be productively ap-plied.

3.Great managers do not believe thatpeople can change much. They dismissself-help and self-improvement programmesas ineffective. You cannot just teach eachemployee the nine habits of an effective lifeand expect them to excel.

4. Great managers be-lieve that perform-

ance is in synapses, theconnections between a per-sons brain cells. They developin early childhood. As a result

of this some people are great strategicthinkers, some have talent for mathematics,others in social skills and so on and so forth.Trying to put someone in a function his\herbrain cells do not match will result in job mis-match and on-the-job-failure.

5.Great managers follow some key prac-tices:1) keep the focus on outcomes,2) value world class performance,3) study your best,4) do not waste time trying to put in whatwas left,5) try to draw out what was left in.Authors have presented the following 12

questions that can be used to measurewhether your workplace is productive or not.Yours is a productive workplace if employeesanswer these questions affirmatively.1. Do I know what is expected of me?2. Do I have the materials and equipment I

need to do my work right?3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do

what I do the best every day?4. In the last seven days, have I received

recognition or praise for doing goodwork?

5. Does my supervisor or someone at workseem to care about me as a person?

6. Is there someone at work who encour-ages my development?

7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?8. Does the mission/purpose of my com-

pany, make me feel my job is important?

9. Are my co-workers committed to doingquality work?

10.Do I have a best friend at work?11. In the last six months, has someone at

work to learn and grow?12.Last year, did I have opportunities at

work to learn and grow?Further, the authors have criticised the con-

ventional career path of promoting people outof roles in which they excel and moving theminto roles in which they struggle. In essence,great managers break one conventionalgolden rule a day to create benchmarks. n

First, break all the rulesThis book comprises interviews conducted with more than 80,000managers from more than 400 companies besides 20 years of theirown experience in studying the core characteristics of

Managerial implicationhe book is greatly helpful for HRmanagers. It helps to draw prag-matic plans in the areas ofi) employee retentions, ii) hiring ofemployees,iii) matching the employee’ compe-tence profile with compatible job inthe organisation andiv) career management. More im-portantly, it provides valuable infor-mation, on how a productiveworkplace should be created, andits importance. The other insightsit can offer arel why managers should be greatmanagers, and their prominent rolein organisational functioning andl the limitations of behavioural in-terventions. This book may con-vince HR managers as to why theyneed to create managers who arecapable of breaking conventionalrules uninterruptedly for businessexcellence.

T

MUHAMMAD YASIR

The real difference between suc-cessful and unsuccessful people isthat in tough times the unsuccess-ful ones blame and complain but

the successful ones do their best to makethings happen against all odds. This is whatChris Gardner has done in his life, full ofodds, problems and disturbance but he didwhat he wanted to do. He wants to behappy. He pursues happiness and finds it.This is the gist of this film.Will Smith plays Chris Gardner who is a

salesman for expensive medical scanners,which were supposed to sell like hot cakesbut doctors considered it a luxury. So, no-body would buy it, but Chris is not the per-son to give in. These scanners are his lasthope to feed his family. He has spent hislife’s savings on them.He has nothing to do except selling these

scanners. He is struggling to sell scanners;his wife is moonlighting to meet householdexpenses. He is extremely depressed andunhappy. One day he meets happiness andhope outside of a brokerage firm. He ap-plies for a highly competitive internship atthe firm, in which 20 candidates will be se-lected and after six month only one will getthe job and above all that internship is un-paid. Meanwhile, his wife leaves him. Nowhe is with his son, his scanners and a hopefor broker's job. He has to compete for in-ternship; he has to sell scanners, and hasto take care of his son. He is very con-cerned about his son and wants to give himhis best. Things getting tougher by the day

and he is struggling harder and harder tomake both ends meet.One day he gets the shock of his life when

tax authorities withdraw all his money fromhis bank account. Now he has nothing: nomoney, no house and no friends. He is onthe street with his baggage, his son, andscanners. Each day seems to bring newand unsurpassable problems. He canbarely feed and house himself, let alone ful-fill the requirements of his internship. If hedoesn’t win the desirable single slotawarded at the end of the internship it willall be for naught. After all these trials and

tribulations, he ultimately finds what he islooking for.It is a fabulous movie. It tells you a lot

about resources, time management, smartwork and problems solving. It is a well-writ-ten, well-directed and well-acted movie. WillSmith has given a superb performance.The sequence is good, with beautiful dia-logues and an amazing. The actors haveput life in characters. After watching thismovie, you will be highly motivated and youwill start believing that nothing can stopyou from achieving your goal, provided youare determined.n


MOVIE REVIEW

STARRING:Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Castellan-eta, Thandie Newton DIRECTOR: GabrieleMuccino RATING: 4 out of 5

MUNIR HUSSAIN

W I L L S M I T H

1st issue by manager today managzine

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