The Quality Conscious - Not for us

Quality – our Mission

Quality is core to the success of our company. We want to provide quality services to our clients. We are committed to quality; whether for our clients or for our employees. These are some of the mission statements made by the upcoming corporate firms in India. But, but, but when it comes to quality of work life for employees, the word Quality starts fading from the ruthless ears of the top management. Quality work-life, almost becomes an oxymoron. Its bitter, because it’s true, that each of us is appraised on the basis of the perfection with which we work in office, but when it comes to the services an organization ought to provide us, laxity conquers.

QUALITY – What is it? The cafeteria food which is worse than the food in a hostel Mess or the free of cost transport (one of the highlights used to lure potential candidates) which includes travel in rickety buses and rude drivers with rash driving skills as their forte, or the bus route which is deliberately planned to make an hour journey into two? And don’t even try talking to the management about it, because this is too small a matter for them to handle. Try going to the middle-management and you will hear only one thing - its imposed from the top. Where will you go? Your manager? Forget it. He would just say that these things are too petty for you to consider. Just concentrate on the quality of work you deliver and how the quality can be improved, you know our client has become more finicky on quality these days….blah blah blah….here baby.take the QUALITY CAPSULE yet again.

Corporate Hypocrisy

Here goes my first post about something that has annoyed me the most in my career, CORPORATE HYPOCRISY.

I could and would never be able to understand how people change their philosophies, ideologies, thoughts and eventually themselves to become what they hate the most. I have come across people who would initially disgrace the “Boss”the most, but later would love to go on dates with him. Such was the case with two colleagues of mine at my previous firm. They would always hate the "Boss"; take oaths to be good managers, rattle-off verses of wisdom. And then I see them hanging out with the same boss, who at some point in time was suppose to be nasty and cruel. The next appraisal cycle comes, and bingo, they get promoted and become the same nasty cruel boss. Change is the only constant, I know, but I guess there is a fine line between change and hypocrisy. The latter being applicable to people who change their thoughts for their convenience. The day, I joined the corporate world; I got to learn that hypocrisy is the name of the game. You are not allowed to be honest. In every town-hall, you would hear the newly promoted managers say: "I have learnt a lot in this company”. I wonder what learning meant for them. Was it about learning how to fake, how to be nasty to subordinates and slaves to bosses, how to make a normal deadline a challenging one so that subordinates can stretch and the managers get the appraisal? If that is what learning is meant to be, then I am glad I never took my lessons!!