India Inc.'s Role as an Enabler in an Era of Constant Change

Changes Needed In Leadership Education

Abstract

Modern Education system is based on scientific principles which most business schools accept for academic credibility. However, Leadership Education is more of an art than a science and needs to be taught like an art.

Next we discuss the reasons modern business schools fail to produce leaders whose careers, in general are successful as compared to their counterparts without business school education. We study the causes of decline of business school education and discuss some remedial measures.

Assumptions

While references and explanations are given to most statements in this paper, there are 3 fundamental assumptions I make without any explanation.

1. Human behavior is unpredictable in nature
2. "Leadership” and “Leadership Education” are not entirely the same thing and may have differences
3. Leadership Education is primarily delivered by Business Schools

Leadership Education as an Art

The current Education system is predicated on the idea of academic ability. Reason being that the whole system was invented round the world in the 19^th century prior to which there were no uniformly structured public systems of education. They all came into being to meet the needs of industrialism.

The hierarchy came to be rooted in two ideas. One, the most useful subjects were science, technology and math, which came to define academic institutions and academic credibility. Two, the idea of academic ability came to be as a measure of intelligence, because the universities designed the system in their image. The whole system of public education around the world was a protracted process of university entrance (Sir Ken Robinson 2006).

In 1959, the Gordon and Howell report described American business education as “a collection of trade schools lacking a strong scientific foundation” (Zimmerman, 2001). The Gordon and Howell Report and funding from the Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Council (Pierson, 1959) started business schools on their continuing trajectory to achieve academic respectability and legitimacy on their campuses by becoming applied social science departments. In the process of achieving academic legitimacy, business schools took “on the traditions and ways of mainstream academia” (Crainer & Dearlove, 1999). Quantitative, statistical analyses gained prominence, as did the study of the science of decision making. In both their teaching and research activities, business schools “enthusiastically seized on and applied a scientific paradigm that applies criteria of precision, control, and testable models” (Bailey & Ford, 1996).

However, unlike scientific research, research at a b-school need not necessarily be implementable or even reproducible elsewhere. Infact, results observed by a company might not necessarily be implementable in another. This is because traditionally, science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions (Wilson, 1998); while leadership deals with humans behavior which denies predictability.

Moreover, scientific method works on the principle of reproducibility, which govern that any experiment has the ability to be entirely reproduced, in similar environments, at any point in space and time, either by the researcher or someone working independently. The unpredictability of human emotions and mindsets do not grant this right to leadership theories based on scientific principles.

If Leadership Education were to be visited by an alien who asked what is it for, looking at the output, who does everything they should, who are the winners, one would conclude that the whole purpose of Leadership Education throughout the world is to produce university professors who teach and research on Leadership Education.

Leadership Education is more of an art or craft than a scientific study. When an artist breaking the traditional rules of her/his craft does not make a bad art, but rather a new art which may or may not be appreciated. However, scientific theory is either right or wrong, and remains so at any point of time anywhere in the universe. Leadership decisions, like art, change credibility with context, audience, and time. Hence, it is safe to say that concrete theories are not the path to follow for Leadership Education, but rather contextual stories help develop leadership. One may read all literature available on Leadership and still, going against the theorized principles might make good decisions.

Leadership, like any art, is better learnt with practice than simply studying the available models. Leadership problems demand imagination, creativity and out-of-the-box thinking for their solutions. Teaching Leadership as a science with theories and numbers sounds good for academic credibility, but not for real world applications. That is similar to teaching dance via lectures in the field of human anatomy; or teaching cycling with an expectation that once one has learnt all the principles of physics and balance, one can learn to ride a bicycle without falling.

Why Business Schools fail to produce good Leaders

In the last half-century, the business of business schools has grown exponentially. Between 1956 to 1998, the number of MBA degrees awarded in the US grew from 3200 to 102000, i.e. by almost 32 times (Zimmerman, 2001). By 2001, 92% of all accredited colleges and universities in the US offered an undergraduate major in business (US News and World Report. 2002). In Britain, the number of business schools rose by 6 times from 20 to 120 between 1980 and 1996 (The Economist, 1996).

Since the mid-1980s, 36 Americans have each given more than $10M to business schools (The Economist, 1996). In the United Kingdom, business schools “are among the top 50 exporters, attracting over $640M a year from other countries” (Crainer & Dearlove, 1999). A McKinsey-Harvard report from 1995 estimated that non-degree executive education “generated around $3.3 billion and was growing at a rate of 10% to 12% annually” (Crainer and Dearlove, 1999).

The business and growth of business schools is depicted in Appendix 1.

Given the overbuilt setup of the MBA industry (Gaddis, 2000), and the huge profit-making sector it has turned out to be, it is not surprising that so many MBA schools have come up in such a short span of human existence. Usually, business schools charge between $7k to $110k for an MBA degree. This is much more than a regular engineering degree and lacks infrastructure such as laboratories and high-costing experimental equipment. The rationale behind this is that business schools offer faculty who are capable to earn more than engineering faculty in their respective areas. Also, a business school graduate, in general, tends to earn more than an engineering graduate. While this is true in most cases, this has led to business schools as a fast-profit generating enterprise where sometimes small incapable players jump in to have a slice of the pie.

From data gathered from Business Insider, Businessweek, The Economist, US News, Forbes and Financial Times (2011) on 341 US business schools, a study conducted shows that judging on the basis of starting salaries as a measure of Education competency, most business schools fail as compared to the premier ones.

As with any status based system, status is achieved partly through the status of the organizations with which one associates (Podolny 1994). However, most business schools fail to even come close to the standards set by the premier business schools.

Given the vast supply of an MBA degrees and everyone wanting one, the degree is being sold easily, however, each MBA degree does not have the same value as conferred in the above study. Low cost price and high selling price of business education makes it a “cash cow” at many universities. This is also proved by the numbers of programs which have proliferated including, more recently, part-time, evening, and weekend programs; executive MBAs; and expansion of existing programs. This huge supply of MBAs automatically translates into less advantage in terms of salary or other career outcomes for MBA graduates.

The current system of Management Education has created a bottleneck for competition even in good accredited universities where it’s difficult to get in but getting insanely easy, making grades or completion useless measures of learning. Grade inflation is pervasive in American higher education (Kuh & Shouping, 1999; Muuka, 1998; Redding, 1998).  As a consequence, almost no one fails out of MBA programs, which means the credential does not serve as a screen or an enforcement of minimum competency standards. If the MBA degree doesn’t really distinguish among people then it is no surprise that it doesn’t have much affect on career outcomes.

Armstrong, a professor who has taught MBAs for more than 30 years observed, ‘In today’s prestigious business schools, students have to demonstrate competence to get in, but not to get out. Every student who wants to (and who avoids financial and emotional distress) will graduate. At Wharton, for example, less than 1% of the students fail in any given course, on average… the probability of failing more than one course is almost zero. In affect, business schools have developed elaborate and expensive grading systems to ensure that even the least competent and least interested get credit (1995).’

In India, a city named Kota has come up with a network of non-accredited educational institutes which coach candidates for India’s most competitive university entrance examination, IIT-JEE where the intake is almost 1% of the appearing candidates and is decreasing annually by about 0.05% due to increasing number of candidates.

Kota specializes in coaching institutes which train students for IIT-JEE. In every institute, there are batches of students. Monthly tests determine the batches of each student. For example, the top 100 scorers will be put in one batch, the next hundred in another batch and so on up to the last hundred. This creates a discriminatory class division of which every one of the 80,000 students of Kota are a part. While it becomes highly depressing for students in the bottom-most batches, it tells the students where they presently stand by the IIT-JEE standards and which of them need to work the hardest.

Often, this discrimination on the basis of knowledge results in severe anxiety, depression and even suicides. While this is too extreme a measure to be taken at university level, it clearly shows that there needs to be a regular check on students academically to keep them in check and to let them know where they currently stand, so as to let them know what the prospects of their current position are. In business schools, this characteristic of education seems to be lost and is resulting in a pool of MBAs who do not know where they stand when it comes to looking for career opportunities.

References

• AACSB Newsline. 1999. Number of undergraduate business degrees continue downward plunge, while MBA degrees awarded skyrocket. Doctoral degrees on the decline.
• Armstrong J S. 1995. The devil's advocate responds to an MBA student's claim that research harms learning. Journal of Marketing. 59: 101-106
• Bailey J & Ford C. 1996. Management on science versus management as practice in postgraduate business education. Business Strategy Review. 7(4); 7-12
• Crainer S & Dearlove D. 1999. Gravy trainings: Inside the business of business schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Boss
• Gaddis P O. 2000. Business schools. Fighting the enemy within. Strategy and Business. 21(4): 51-57
• Gordon R & Howell J. 1959. Higher Education for business, New York Columbia University Press.
• Kuh G D & Shouping S 1999. Unravelling the complexity of the increase in college grades from the mid-1980s to the mid 1990s. Educational Evaluation & Policy Analysis. 21: 297-300.
• Pfeffer J & Fong C T. 2002. The End of Business Schools? Stanford University.
• Pierson R C. 1959. The education of American businessmen. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Podolny J M. 1994. Market uncertainty and the social character of economic exchange. Administrative Science Quarterly. 39; 458-483.
• Sir Robinson K. 2006. Do Schools Kill Creativity? TED.
• The Economist. July 20, 1996. Dans and Dollars.
• US News and World Report. 2002. Top Business Schools: 2002.
• Wilson E O. 1998. Consilience: The Utility of Knowledge. New York, NY: Vintage Books. 49-71.
• Zimmerman J L. 2001. Can American business schools survive? Rochester NY: Unpublished manuscript, Simon Graduate School of Business Administration

Resources, Energy, and Growth in the Indian Context

Introduction

It takes nature about 5 million years to produce the fossil fuels the world consumes in 1 year. The modern way of life is dependent on fossil fuels whether it be for furniture, entertainment, comfort materials, etc. However, fossil fuels are non-renewable in nature. Since 1860, geologists have discovered over 2 trillion barrels of oil (318 km³). Since then, the world has used approximately half of it. ^[1]

Once a source starts producing fossil fuels, be it oil or coal, it’s only a matter of time before it a matter of time before it enters a decline. Individual mines and wells have different production rates. When taken together, we find that the production increases after the source has been discovered, reaches a peak and enters a permanent fall. In 1956, Shell geoscientist M King Hubbert predicted that the overall petroleum production would peak in the US between 1965-75.^[2] In 1970, the US oil production peaked and entered a permanent decline. Subsequently in 1974 Hubbert projected that global oil production would peak in 1995.^[3] Various predictions were made by others as trends fluctuated in the intervening years claiming different dates for global peak oil. Hubbert’s theory, and its implications for the world economy, remain the only factual proof about the case.

Evidence is mounting that the world’s oil production is peaking, or is close to it. The rate of discovery of new oil fields peaked in the 1960s. Over 50 years later, the decline in discovery of new oil fields seems unstoppable. 54 of the 65 major oil producing nations have already peaked in production. India said to have peaked in 2007.

Modern cities are fossil fuel dependent. Even roads are made from asphalt, a petroleum product, as are the roofs of many homes. Large areas would be uninhabitable without heating in the winter or air-conditioning in the summer. Suburban sprawl encourages people to drive many miles between work, school and stores. Major cities have been zoned with commercial and residential areas placed far apart forcing people to drive. This concept of Suburbia was designed on the assumption of plentiful oil and energy. Chemicals derived from fossil fuels, i.e. petrochemicals are essential in the manufacture of countless products from phones to footballs. The modern system of agriculture is heavily dependent on fossil fuels, as are hospitals, aviation, water distribution systems, and the military. Fossil fuels are also essential for the creation of plastics and polymers which become the key ingredients in computers, entertainment devices and clothing.^[1] We are so dependent on oil and other fossil fuels that even a small disruption in supply may have far-reaching effect on every aspect of our lives.

Energy

The average Indian uses 6.42 MWH of energy per year, i.e. the equivalent of 2.4k slaves working 24 hours a day.^[4] Materials which store this energy for work are called fuels. Different fuels have different energy densities, i.e. the amount of extractable energy in the material per unit mass or volume. Of these fuels, oil is the most critical. India consumes 211.42 MT of oil per year, which is equal to 267.62 m³. In the year 2011-12, 81% of India’s oil was imported from Saudi Arabia (28.17%), Iraq (14.09%), UAE (10.68%), Nigeria (9%), Kuwait (8.91%), Iran (6.38%), Malaysia (4.97%), Angola (3.98%), Indonesia (3.31%) and few others (10.51%).^[5] Several factors make oil unique. It is energy dense (46.3 MJ/kg), liquid at room temperature, easy to transport, and usable in small engines.

To acquire energy, energy needs to be used. The trick lies in using smaller amounts to find and extract larger amounts. This is called EROEI (Energy Returned On Energy Invested). If more energy is used to get the fuel than is extractable from the fuel, it’s not worth the effort of extraction.

It is possible to convert one fuel source into another, at the expense of energy density contained. For example, there are unconventional fuels such as tar sand and shale, both of which can be converted to synthetic crude oil. However, this requires large amounts of heat and freshwater reducing their EROEI which varies from 1.5-5.

Coal exists in vast quantities and generates almost half of the India’s electricity. India uses almost 535.88 MT of coal per year. Production issues arise as surface coal is depleted and miners have to dig deeper and in less accessible areas. Many use destructive mountain-top removal to reach coal deposits, causing environmental mayhem.

Natural gas is often found alongside oil and coal. Indian gas production is said to have peaked in 2001.^[6] Recent breakthroughs have allowed the extraction of unconventional natural gas, such as shale gas, which might offset the decline in the years ahead. However, it is controversial as it needs high prices to be profitable.

Large nuclear fuel reserves for fission still exist. To replace the 3.57 petawatt hours India currently produces per year by fossil fuels would require 303 nuclear power plants.^[4] At that rate, the known reserves of fossil fuels would last for only 2 years. Experiments with Plutonium based fast breeder reactors in France and Japan have been expensive failures. Nuclear fusion faces massive technical obstacles.

Wind power has a high EROEI, but is undependable. Hydropower is reliable, but most rivers are already dammed. Conventional geothermal power-plants use existing hotspots near the Earth’s surface. They are limited to those areas. In the experimental system, 2 shafts are driven 10 km deep. Water is pumped down one shaft to be heated in fissures then rise up the other generating power. This technology might supply 138µ% of India’s energy. Wave power is restricted to coastal areas. The energy density of waves varies from region to region. Transporting wave generated energy in land is challenging. Also, the salty ocean environment is corrosive to turbines. Bio-fuels are fuels that are grown. Wood has an energy density of 18 MJ/kg, i.e. 39% of that of crude oil, and grows slowly. India uses 216 MT of wood per year. Bio-diesel and ethanol are made from crops grown from petroleum powered agriculture. The energy profit from bio-diesel is 42.2 MJ/kg and that of ethanol is 30 MJ/kg. Some scientists consider turning corn into ethanol. Using ethanol to supply 10% of India’s oil demand in 2012 would require 3% of India’s land, i.e. 5% of the agricultural area of India. To supply all of India’s oil consumption, would take 50% of the land used to grow food.

Hydrogen has to be extracted from natural gas, coal, or water; which uses more energy than is generated from hydrogen. This makes a hydrogen economy unlikely. All of India’s photovoltaic solar panels working at 100% efficiency are expected to generate as much electricity as 9 coal power plants by 2020. The equivalent of 1-4 tons of coal are used in the manufacture of 1 solar panel. 29,293 km² of panels would have to be covered to meet India’s energy demands. As of 2010, there were only 133 km². Concentrated solar power, or solar thermal, has great potential. However, at the moment, only 6.42 km² of installations have been made.^[7] They are limited to sunny climates using large amounts of electricity to be transmitted over long distances.

All the alternatives to oil depend on oil powered machinery or require material such as plastics that are produced from oil. When considering future claims of amazing new fuels or inventions, it must have a working commercial model of the invention. The energy density must be high enough to make it commercially viable to extract energy out of it. It must be easy to store and distribute, reliable, scalable, devoid of hidden engineering challenges and environment friendly. A transition from fossil fuels is a monumental challenge. As of 2013, coal generates 50% of India’s electricity; 10% is from natural gas, 9% is from oil and 31% from hydro. Nuclear and renewables other than hydro only generate 1% of India’s energy demands. It is difficult to replace a system based on fossil fuels with a patchwork of alternatives. Major technological advances, political will and cooperation, massive investment and international consensus would be needed. It would involve a retro-fitting of the $1.8 trillion Indian economy including transportation, manufacturing industries, agricultural systems and officials competent enough to manage the transition. If such a change is put in place, the current way of life must change.

Growth

Humanity has lived on a model of growth since the discoveries of oil and coal. Growth, low or high, produces large increases in total volume over time due to an exponential effect. At a 1% growth rate, an economy doubles every 70 years. At 2%, it doubles in 35 years. At a 10% growth rate, it doubles in only 7 years. If India keeps growing at the current rate of 3.2%, it will double every 22 years. With each doubling, the demand for energy and resources will exceed all the previous doublings combined.

Banks lend money they don’t have, in effect, creating it. The borrowers use the newly created money to build their businesses and pay back the debt with an interest payment, which requires more growth. Due to this debt-created money, most of the world’s money represents debt with interest to be paid.^[8] New and ever-larger generations of borrowers produce growth and thus pay off these debt, inflating the balloon of world economy to the point near its collapse. This system is meant to either expand, or die. Partly through this debt system the effects of economic growth have been spectacular in GDP, damming of rivers, water use, fertilizer consumption, urban population, paper consumption, motor vehicles, communications, and tourism. Economic expansion has also resulted in increases in atmospheric nitrous oxide and methane, ozone depletion, increases in great floods, damage to ocean ecosystems, including nitrogen runoff, loss of rainforest and woodland, increases in domesticated land, and species extinctions.

Conclusion

The Indian Economy grows at about 3.2% an year consuming increasing amounts of non-renewable fuels, minerals and metals, as well as renewable resources like water, forests, soils and fish faster than they can be replenished. At this rate, the economy will double every 22 years. The problem is intensified by other factors: Globalization allows people on one to buy goods and food made by those on another. The lines of supply are long, placing strains on a limited oil resource.^[9] We now rely on distant countries for basic necessities. Modern cities are fossil fuel dependent. Most Banking Systems are based on debt, forcing people into a spiral of loans or repayments - producing growth.

Conservation will save money, but it alone won't save India. If some people cut back on oil use, the reduced demand will drive down the price, allowing others to buy it for less. In the same fashion, a more efficient engine that uses less energy will, paradoxically, lead to greater energy use. In the 19th century, English economist William Stanley Jevons realized that Better steam engines made coal a more cost effective fuel source, which led to the use of more steam engines, which increased total coal consumption.^[9] Growth of use will consume any energy or resources saved through conservation.

So called sustainable growth or smart growth won't help, as it also uses non-renewable metals and minerals in ever increasing quantities. Recycling will not solve the problem, as it requires energy, and the process is not 100% efficient. It is only possible to reclaim a fraction of the material being recycled; a large portion is lost forever as waste.

Many economists believe that the free market will substitute one energy source with another through technological innovation. However, the main substitutes to oil face their own decline rates. Substitution also fails to account for the time needed to prepare for a transition. The issues of energy shortages, resource depletion, topsoil loss, and pollution are all symptoms of a single, larger problem: Growth. As long as our financial system demands endless growth, reform is unlikely to succeed.

What should a person do to prepare for such a possible future? The society must fall back to a simpler state, one in which energy use is a lot less. This would mean a harder life for most. More manual labor, more farm work, and local production of goods, food and services. Supplies of food and goods from far-away places must be decreased. Walking and recycling must gain importance. People must get used to using less electricity and debt, and try to avoid banks. Instead of shopping at megastores, local businesses must be supported. Food grown locally must be brought. Gardening to grow one’s own food is also an option, while learning how to preserve it. Should the larger economy fail to function^[10], local currencies will need to be used while developing greater self-sufficiency. None of these steps will prevent collapse, but they might improve chances in a low energy future, one in which we will have to be more self-reliant, as our ancestors once were.^[11]

References

1. There’s No Tomorrow. Incubate pictures. 2012.
   
   
2. Hubbert M K. Nuclear energy and the fossil fuels. Exploration and Production Research Division, Shell Development Company, Houston Texas. June 1956.
   
   
3. Grove N. Oil, the d\Dwindling Treasure. National Geographic. June 1974.
   
   
4. Energy Statistics. Central Statistics Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, New Delhi. 2013.
   
   
5. Crude Oil Import in India Data and Reports. InfodriveIndia.com. 2014.
   
   
6. Forecasting India's oil and gas reserves and production potential. ASPO International. 1 January 1991.
   
   
7. Fossil and Nuclear Fuels – The Supply Outlook. Energy Watch Group. p 91. March 2013.
   
   
8. Crash Course Chapter 12: Debt. Peak Prosperity.
   
   
9. Galuszka P. Will Shipping Fuel Price Hikes Scuttle Globalization? CBS Money Watch. 5 August 2008.
   
   
10. Jevons paradox. The Encyclopedia of the Earth. 8 October 2006.
    
    
11. Haley J. Some communities are printing their own currency. CNN. 22 April 2009.
    
    
12. Coal. US Energy Information Administration.
    
    
13. Dukes J S. Burning Buried Sunshine: Human Consumption of Ancient Solar Energy
    
    
14. Campbell C J. Peak Oil: A Turning for Mankind.
    
    
15. Oliver Rachel. All about: Food and fossil fuels. CNN. 17 March 2008.
    
    
16. Horgan G P. Wood Energy Economics. FAO.
    
    
17. Bartlett A. Forgotten Fundamentals of the Energy Crisis.
    
    
18. Vitousek P, Ehrlich P R, Ehrlich A H, Matson P. Human appropriation of the products of photosynthesis. 1986.
    
    
19. Galdikas B M. The Vanishing Man of the Forest. The New York Times. 6 January 2007.
    
    
20. Orlov D. Post-Societ Lessons for a post-American Century. 2005
    
    
21. Orlov D. Thriving in the Age of Collapse. 2005.

The Harbor Line - Mumbai Experiences

After 2 years in this Monstrocity, I finally completed my list of all scenic spots / experiences / activities in Mumbai. Below are my 22 favorite recommendations from the list.

1. Prithvi Theatre

Starting with a cliché. But clichés exist for a reason. I don't think anyone exits Prithvi Theatre as the same person as they went in after watching a play there. This place is yet to disappoint me in in terms of the quality of the plays they stage there.

Bonus tip: Go on a weekday and you'll probably find some great actor or musician from our times. If you're lucky, they'll be sitting in the cafeteria and performing for the crowd.

2. Drive an auto

Try it out in Bandra. Even the autowallas are cool in Bandra. Because if Salman Khan can do it, so can I (though I admit my driving skills are slightly better).

3. Drive on the Sea Link

I cannot explain the feeling of driving in Mumbai on a road without traffic. But if there was a highway to heaven, it'd have the sea link on it.

4. Breakfast at Taj Lands End

The finest spread of breakfast in Mumbai. Their Breakfast Lounge offers a view of an exquisite lobby and the most elaborate breakfast in the city. What better way to start the day?

Bonus tip: Try making a salad in a bowl.

5. Belapur Fort

Most of the fort is in ruins now. The only feature of interest is a long plank which goes a distance into the sea. Not for the faint hearted, try if you dare.

6. Kanheri Caves

It's not the destination that matters. It's the journey. Go through a single mountain cut by an ancient Buddhist civilization long before Mumbai was Mumbai. Built in the heart of a forest which in turn is in the heart of Mumbai, this never disappoints.

7. Global Vipassana Pagoda

If you've stayed in the city for too long, at some point you will want to get "away from it all". The Pagoda is the only place that offers a solace that is the very opposite of the nature of this city.

Bonus tip: They have 10 minute Vipassana sessions through the day. Try it out. Gives you a calm seldom bestowed upon a Mumbaikar.

8. Stay at Taj Mahal Palace

Unarguably the finest hotel in Mumbai. This hotel boasts not only of the guests of the highest order, but Sea Lounge which offers a view of the rising Sun in Mumbai, a carriage-parking-space converted to a swimming pool, and quite literally anything you can ask for will be delivered. They live to serve.

Bonus tip: Ask for the Indonesian rice at the Shamiana. You're welcome.

9. Film City

They conduct tours for the public but you need to book fast as there are limited spots everyday. The booking system is effective though not too professional or transparent. But they won't cheat you.

Bonus tip: Hang around the gates for a while. You're not allowed to smoke inside so you're likely to find your favorite actors coming out for a whiff.

10. UFO Revolving Restaurant

It's just a restaurant with a revolving floor. Not much novelty there. But if the concept excites you as it did me, you're going to make a trip to Kandivali. Though that might be the only thing you'd ever goto Kandivali for. #NeverNorthOfAndheriAgain

11. Kharghar Hills

They open it only for 2 hours in the morning between 5 - 7. And its completely worth the early morning trip to Kharghar. The most bautiful view of the city awaits you infront of a Sun rising from behind the mountains. If happiness had an image, it'd be there. At sunrise.

Bonus tip: Take the right from the diversion and walk. You'll know where to stop.

12. Esselworld

No. Not Imagica. Esselworld. 3 reasons. (1) It's every 90s kids dream. (2) It has "Top Spin". Imagica doesn't. (3) Esselworld mein rahunga main. Ghar nahi jaunga main.

13. Get Wet in the Rain

You haven't embraced Mumbai if she hasn't drenched you in her rains. At some point you need to let go and embrace her love and that day, you become a true Mumbaikar. I did it by Powai lake. Can't imagine a more appropriate place.

14. Trendy Taste

If you haven't gone to college in Vile Parle, then you are probably unaware of this place. Its a shop that promises to bring back memories for the 90s kids. And yes, there's a new discovery of twisty potatoes waiting for you that makes you say - French Fries, but better.

15. Mumbai Marathon

It's a one-of-a-kind unique experience in Mumbai. I admit I have only thought of running it and the mere thought has made me lose a pound of weight. I have since then tried to ride it on a bicycle but only managed half the distance. Then I just drove it.

16. Stand Up Comedy

No it's not going to a stand-up comedy show. Mumbai offers more. You can goto an open mike event and perform. Try it out. It'll be one of the most self-discovering experiences you ever have.

17. Comic Con

Presently the only city in India that offers Comic Con. The only place where geeks can hope to get laid. But don't let that be your only incentive. The energy at Comic Con is unlike any other.

Bonus tip: Get the VIP pass. It's worth the money.

18. Shadow Dabbawallahs for a day

By far the most challenging of my tasks. But to get a feel of the spirit of the city, shadow a dabbawallah for a day to understand a day in their life. It'll teach you a lot about respect, Mumbai, and ethic. A record of consistency takes sacrifices, discipline, and rigor. And no one does it better than a Mumbai dabbawalla.

19. DDLJ at Maratha Mandir

Every day at 10:30 AM DDLJ screens at Maratha Mandir. And every day scores of fans fill up the auditorium and whistle when Raj appears playing basketball in what is too short to be shorts. The fans still cheer when Simran catches the train and sing along with "na jaane mere dil ko kya ho gaya". The magic continues.

Bonus tip: Get the dress circle. Always get the dress circle.

20. Khotachiwadi

It's Mumbai's Diagon Alley. You won't find it if you're not looking for it. Hidden in a small alley at Grant Road, it's the remnants of about 26 bungalows from Portuguese times. They're slowly being torn down to give way to sky scrapers. So try it out while it lasts.

21. Vasai Fort

Some people find ruined forts haunted. Some find them romantic. It's definitely Mumbai's most preferred pre-wedding shoot location. But if walls could tell a story, you'd find them shouting in Vasai Fort.

22. Nehru Science Center

There's nothing too special about the overall place. It's a science museum, if such a thing interests you. But there's a "giant heart" which you can step into. Now what can be better to kiss someone inside a giant heart?

No pictures for this one. Go see it for yourself.

Strategic Workforce Planning

Imagine knowing that your right hand person, is at a high risk of leaving. Imagine if you could predict who was at a high risk of leaving your organization, 12 months before the resignation arrives, regardless of location, department, level, gender, ethnicity and person. Imagine if you could easily find your 10 leading performers who are at risk of leaving. What if you could know not only who is at risk of leaving but also why? And how much it is expected to cost you? What if you could know that one more hour in the day or one more vacation a year could keep your employees engaged and improve your bottom-line? Strategic Workforce Planning takes you to the future by helping you find this information. Let us begin by understanding the concept of Strategic Workforce Planning through a small Case.

Plan Appétit is a newly opened 100 seat restaurant in the financial district of Vancouver. Based on a market study, the restaurant anticipates reaching full capacity at the end of its first year. All full capacity, the restaurant would serve about 900 patrons per day, or 6,300 patrons per week, or 25,200 patrons per month. As per the planned marketing effort, the restaurant anticipates a 10% increase in clientele each month. With these marketing insights, the restaurant manager creates a staff augmentation plan. The restaurant manager now knows how many staff members will need to be added each month. This means the restaurant can conserve funds by not hiring all the staff all at once. It can instead divert those funds into other activities to grow the business.

Strategic Workforce Planning is understood as a core process of human resource management that is shaped by the organizational strategy and ensures the right number of people with the right skills, in the right place at the right time to deliver short-and long-term organization objectives. Sibson Consulting uses this definition to construct a framework to implement Strategic Workforce Planning as shown in Exhibit 1.

It typically starts with the organization’s business strategy, operations plans, and people management strategies. This implies that organizations engage in rational planning activities – or at least are in a position to articulate some elements of these strategies in structured coherent ways. Qualitative and quantitative workforce information is then gathered which should assist in providing an understanding of the current situation and what needs to be change to meet these strategic requirements in the future. Such information includes the number of staff that the organization estimates will be required, their location, and their skill requirements.

The next stage involves data analysis and clarification of the picture. This typically sees HRM and business managers contributing their observations and predictions around resourcing requirements. These discussions should result in agreement about what the plan is trying to achieve, which is then reviewed against available resources. To do this, planners will need to review the supply of labor, internally and externally, assess the potential capability of the workforce to develop any requisite skills, and then identify areas where recruitment will be needed. An example of this process in action at Siemens, along with the role played by the HR function, is outlined below.

Siemens is a global engineering and technology services company employing over 400k employees worldwide with revenues of nearly €73.52 bn in 2010-11. Business environment analysts identify the markets that are attractive to Siemens and as the company develops its strategies to take advantage of market opportunities, people implications are identified on either a business unit or geographic basis. The workforce plan is used to identify not only people resources to deliver business objectives, but also the HR resources needed to support this. The HR business partner engages business unit management teams on workforce planning implications of their business strategy, examining the type of competence that will be required in the next year and making an assessment of their availability in the marketplace. The HR specialists establish the process for workforce planning, the consistent application of tools and systems across business units, and performance/progress reports over the period of the plan.

Whilst the literature concerning workforce planning is dominated by strategic concerns, the success of the process is underpinned by good relationships between business and workforce planners at the strategy level and between HR business partners and an organization, which drives the process, and securing line manager input, i.e. those who know locally and operationally whether plans are realistic, can be challenging, especially for geographically diversified organizations. Given that line managers are usually tasked with the delivery of the workforce plan, they will need to be clear as to the future direction of the organization and how it will impact their team/department. Consequently this will require them to have a vehicle for creating dialogue with managers concerning these micro-needs.

Finally workforce planning increasingly has to account for wider demographic issues that are beyond the control of the organization. Different stages pose complex work-life challenges for employees which have implications for workforce planning. Where older workers are concerned, they possess a range of attitudes towards retirement and planning for it and that a “one size fits all” approach is not possible. This highlights the tensions organizations face in meeting work-life requirements and operational requirements within existing resource capabilities.

References

1. CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel Development) 2010, Approaches to change: building capability and confidence. CIPD, London.

2. CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel Development) 2010, Workforce Planning: Right People, Right Time, Right Skills. CIPD, London.

3. Sibson Consulting 2009, Strategic Workforce Planning. The Segal Group Inc., New York.

4. Gilmore, S & Williams, S 2009, Human Resource Management, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

5. Acas 2014, Age and the workplace. Acas, London.

6. Malik F, McKie, L, Beattie, R & Hogg, G, 2010, A toolkit to support human resource practice. Personnel Review, 39/3: 287-307, Bingley.

7. Flynn, M, 2010, The United Kingdom government’s “business case” approach to the regulation of retirement. Ageing and Society, 30/3: 421-43, Champaign.

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