Traffic is the cause of frustration for most of our metro city dwellers. It is the chief reason we try to get far from the maddening crowds once in a while. It is the primary reason for the shoots in our BP, smoke in our lungs, and holes in our ear drums!
One main reason for the hugely congested traffic is utilization of personal vehicles by employees to commute to their offices. We IBMers can become role models by effectively utilizing public transport and avoiding use of personal vehicles.
The advantages are:
1. Public transport is cheaper
2. Less stressful
3. Less health risk because of noise and air pollution
4. Least risk of accident (God forbid!)
5. Petrol is an import by India and we as a nation spend hugely on oil imports. We can help reduce that!
6. We can read books, listen to music, or just chat and make friends with strangers in the bus
The government has introduced AC buses so that we can commute comfortably.
Let us IBMers do great service to ourselves, our beautiful cities, and our beloved country by availing public transport effectively! ---------------------------------------------------------------One of my posts in IBM JAM held in February 2011, on the eve of IBM's centennial.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Education Reforms & Inclusive Employment Policies
Most of us Indians, be they from any background, agree that our formal education system needs to be reformed. Many of us acknowledge the ill effects and disadvantages of the existing system.
1. The compulsion for rote learning and puking in the exams
2. Rigid course curriculum. No flexibility of choosing subjects once a student has opted for a particular stream.
3. Lack of exposure to real-time technologies and practices
4. No importance to soft skills
5. Only teaches how to earn a living and not how to live
6. Outdated methods of pedagogy
In spite of this widespread acknowledgment of the shortcomings, employers inexplicably insist on a certain threshold percentage to even consider a candidate fresh out of college. And some companies insist that the percentage of marks scored in X, +II, and graduation be uniform - no steep spikes or troughs! Some companies insist that there be no a gap of more than two years in education or employment.
Why do employers insist that the candidate's life be a straight line and that s/he should retain the same level of interest in our examination/marks system all through her/his education? How can the life of unfortunate/poor students follow such a straight line? Is it really possible for genuinely excellent minds to pass through the rigmarole of such dim-witted education system, without blinking an eye?
Is it because companies only look for mediocrity. We can proudly say that IBM is one company that gives more importance to experience and skills. What else can IBM do to be more inclusive in its employment policies? What can IBM do to ensure that our education system is reformed? With whom does IBM need to collaborate to achieve this end?
--------------------------------------------------------------One of my posts in IBM JAM held in February 2011, on the eve of IBM's centennial.
1. The compulsion for rote learning and puking in the exams
2. Rigid course curriculum. No flexibility of choosing subjects once a student has opted for a particular stream.
3. Lack of exposure to real-time technologies and practices
4. No importance to soft skills
5. Only teaches how to earn a living and not how to live
6. Outdated methods of pedagogy
In spite of this widespread acknowledgment of the shortcomings, employers inexplicably insist on a certain threshold percentage to even consider a candidate fresh out of college. And some companies insist that the percentage of marks scored in X, +II, and graduation be uniform - no steep spikes or troughs! Some companies insist that there be no a gap of more than two years in education or employment.
Why do employers insist that the candidate's life be a straight line and that s/he should retain the same level of interest in our examination/marks system all through her/his education? How can the life of unfortunate/poor students follow such a straight line? Is it really possible for genuinely excellent minds to pass through the rigmarole of such dim-witted education system, without blinking an eye?
Is it because companies only look for mediocrity. We can proudly say that IBM is one company that gives more importance to experience and skills. What else can IBM do to be more inclusive in its employment policies? What can IBM do to ensure that our education system is reformed? With whom does IBM need to collaborate to achieve this end?
--------------------------------------------------------------One of my posts in IBM JAM held in February 2011, on the eve of IBM's centennial.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Bridging the Skill Gap
In India, hundreds of thousands of graduates are coming out of professional colleges and universities. However, much to the lament of employers, only a minuscule percentage turn out to be employable. Corporates have to sieve through hundreds to find a handful of employable candidates equipped with the right skills.
This is the reason for the huge demand for the top educational institutes like IITs and the IIMs among the big corporates. India has only a handful of such world-class higher educational institutions. Corporates offer huge packages as salaries to students of top-notch institutes.
It is a struggle for companies to find the right candidates to fill up their positions, both technical and managerial. For students of hundreds of obscure colleges, it is a hard struggle to find their first job. In their search for job, gullible students are falling prey to fraudulent consultancies and crash coaching centers and end up paying huge amounts of money as fee.
On the other hand, in second-tier cities and districts, the problem is of a different nature. Lack of proper communication skills is the main hurdle for the candidates there.
India has the best human resources potential and if corporates wish to tap it effectively, the issue of the skill gap needs to be addressed. Can the Big Blue (IBM) take the initiative of collaborating effectively with educational institutions and universities? The following reforms are needed in our higher education system:
1. What is practically relevant in real-time is taught to students and enough importance given to practice rather than theory.
2. Teaching the skills that are relevant to the industry, not some archaic theory.
3. Reform the examination system to do away the need for rote learning.
4. Make the courses more flexible. Allow students some options to choose the credits and subjects they are interested in, in a semester.
5. Introduce alternative/innovative teaching methods.
6. Effective use of e-learning
7. Teaching soft skills
If done effectively, this will be a win-win situation to students and corporates. For corporates, the increment in the number of industry-ready students coming out of colleges will result in huge savings in the form of reduced amounts spent on training candidates and headhunting. For students, it would spare them the agony of spending money and time on crash courses offered by institutes of dubious nature.
Please share your ideas on how corporates can take the lead in bridging the skill-gap to the advantage of students and corporates in particular and the welfare of the country in general. --------------------------------------------------------------------------One of my posts in IBM JAM held in February 2011, on the eve of IBM's centennial.
This is the reason for the huge demand for the top educational institutes like IITs and the IIMs among the big corporates. India has only a handful of such world-class higher educational institutions. Corporates offer huge packages as salaries to students of top-notch institutes.
It is a struggle for companies to find the right candidates to fill up their positions, both technical and managerial. For students of hundreds of obscure colleges, it is a hard struggle to find their first job. In their search for job, gullible students are falling prey to fraudulent consultancies and crash coaching centers and end up paying huge amounts of money as fee.
On the other hand, in second-tier cities and districts, the problem is of a different nature. Lack of proper communication skills is the main hurdle for the candidates there.
India has the best human resources potential and if corporates wish to tap it effectively, the issue of the skill gap needs to be addressed. Can the Big Blue (IBM) take the initiative of collaborating effectively with educational institutions and universities? The following reforms are needed in our higher education system:
1. What is practically relevant in real-time is taught to students and enough importance given to practice rather than theory.
2. Teaching the skills that are relevant to the industry, not some archaic theory.
3. Reform the examination system to do away the need for rote learning.
4. Make the courses more flexible. Allow students some options to choose the credits and subjects they are interested in, in a semester.
5. Introduce alternative/innovative teaching methods.
6. Effective use of e-learning
7. Teaching soft skills
If done effectively, this will be a win-win situation to students and corporates. For corporates, the increment in the number of industry-ready students coming out of colleges will result in huge savings in the form of reduced amounts spent on training candidates and headhunting. For students, it would spare them the agony of spending money and time on crash courses offered by institutes of dubious nature.
Please share your ideas on how corporates can take the lead in bridging the skill-gap to the advantage of students and corporates in particular and the welfare of the country in general. --------------------------------------------------------------------------One of my posts in IBM JAM held in February 2011, on the eve of IBM's centennial.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Importance of Voting
India, as we know, is the largest democracy in the world. However, it was only after years of struggle that we achieved freedom from foreign occupation and became a democracy. Our freedom is the fruit of the sacrifices of generations of leaders and millions of ordinary men and women.
For people of many countries, even now democracy is a distant dream. The most populous nation on our north-east is still not one. We can see people of many countries still rising in revolt against dictatorships.
Now, because ours is a democracy, we Indians can elect our leaders. We can vote for the candidate who we think will work for us and will spend the funds for the development of our constituency, and will help make laws that will help our country progress. But are we utilizing this privilege that so people of so many nations are still dreaming for?
For many of us, especially the educated and economically well off, the day of voting is just another holiday. If on the same day, there is a cricket match being broadcast live, all of us will be hooked to the television.
As a result of the apathy of the so-called cream of the Indian society, the voting percentage does not cross 60. The politicians have become adept at garnering easy votes by dividing people across caste, religion, region and by promising mindless schemes and sops that prove costly to the exchequer. Unscrupulous politicians buy votes of the economically weaker voters. As a result, each candidate is spending Rs. 5-10 crores to win a state assembly election and multiple times of that for a parliament seat. There is now no place for honest leaders. Crooks and anti-social elements are able to find their way into the law-making houses.
Is it not a pathetic state?
We, the arm-chair intellectuals philosophize and sit at home on election days and the crooks loot our dear nation. Why can't we behave responsibly. Why can't we just go out and vote. We should remember that we have a responsibility towards voting because we understand better the capabilities of a leader and can see through their dishonesty better than our less educated and less privileged gullible brethren.
The worst affected people because of our apathy are the downtrodden lot. If crooked politicians make their way and continue to loot, they continue to wallow in poverty and ignorance. They continue to go hungry to bed every night and their children will continue to work as child laborers to earn daily bread. The status quo will be perpetuated while we enjoy our cricket match with a pack of popcorn!
The only solution to this is to go out and vote for the right leader in the elections and encourage all our friends, relatives, and acquaintances to do the same. This is the minimum that we can for our fellow, less privileged brethren.-------------------------------------------------------------One of my posts in IBM JAM held in February 2011, on the eve of IBM's centennial.
For people of many countries, even now democracy is a distant dream. The most populous nation on our north-east is still not one. We can see people of many countries still rising in revolt against dictatorships.
Now, because ours is a democracy, we Indians can elect our leaders. We can vote for the candidate who we think will work for us and will spend the funds for the development of our constituency, and will help make laws that will help our country progress. But are we utilizing this privilege that so people of so many nations are still dreaming for?
For many of us, especially the educated and economically well off, the day of voting is just another holiday. If on the same day, there is a cricket match being broadcast live, all of us will be hooked to the television.
As a result of the apathy of the so-called cream of the Indian society, the voting percentage does not cross 60. The politicians have become adept at garnering easy votes by dividing people across caste, religion, region and by promising mindless schemes and sops that prove costly to the exchequer. Unscrupulous politicians buy votes of the economically weaker voters. As a result, each candidate is spending Rs. 5-10 crores to win a state assembly election and multiple times of that for a parliament seat. There is now no place for honest leaders. Crooks and anti-social elements are able to find their way into the law-making houses.
Is it not a pathetic state?
We, the arm-chair intellectuals philosophize and sit at home on election days and the crooks loot our dear nation. Why can't we behave responsibly. Why can't we just go out and vote. We should remember that we have a responsibility towards voting because we understand better the capabilities of a leader and can see through their dishonesty better than our less educated and less privileged gullible brethren.
The worst affected people because of our apathy are the downtrodden lot. If crooked politicians make their way and continue to loot, they continue to wallow in poverty and ignorance. They continue to go hungry to bed every night and their children will continue to work as child laborers to earn daily bread. The status quo will be perpetuated while we enjoy our cricket match with a pack of popcorn!
The only solution to this is to go out and vote for the right leader in the elections and encourage all our friends, relatives, and acquaintances to do the same. This is the minimum that we can for our fellow, less privileged brethren.-------------------------------------------------------------One of my posts in IBM JAM held in February 2011, on the eve of IBM's centennial.
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