Cellphones

There are some inventions that make you wonder not just at the 'Power' of that invention but also at the 'Added Features' to that invention(In all the wrong ways,though!). The cellphone, invented by some xyz is one such technical gizmo that make you go sane & insane at the same time depending on which part of the world you live in at that particular moment.

How will someone explain the so many noises or the 'technically correct' word called as ringtones? Someone has a noise of a baby crying, that of a dog barking, an alien smiling and whatever noise that they could lay their hands (or ears) on is made into a 'Ringtone'.

Here is a person who walks unto you and asks about the various features of your cellphone as though these features make the 'Lifeline' of your everyday existence. Does it have a radio? A torchlight? A camera? A pacemaker? A remote to control their brains? Why should a cellphone have anything other than the ability to talk with people is something that always beats me.



Then there is this person talking seemingly to thin air making me wonder about the technological advances in 'Wireless Technology' till I was brought down to earth (And further below as well) by my friend who explained me about the concept of 'Hands Free' to me. Technology DOES drive people insane for sure!!!!

And the purpose of having a video ringtone is also something that my primitive mind always fails to comprehend. Will the person having this video ringtone be watching the video and forget to attend to the call before the caller disconnects because of frustration?(And who would like to pick a call from your friend when 'Aishwarya Rai' is dancing for you!!!!!!) Maybe that is the whole point of having a video ringtone.

And last but not the least of the insanities of a cellphone user is the ubiquity of the device itself. Every person on earth seems to have ATLEAST one cellphone that you are left wondering whether you should be giving your old cellphone to your dog and buying a costly model (One with all the 'Features', video ringtones and other 'Useful' stuff). But the only problem with that approach is that I would never be able to tell whether my dog is talking(barking) to me or whether I am getting another call(Well, I have a dog barking as my ringtone!!!)

Excuse me folks. I have to finish my article at this point. My cellphone is ringing!!!!!!!

The Search Begins.......

Have been thinking a lot of late about some really complex issues that I have been facing (And when I come to think of it, "Thinking" by itself is a complex task for me!!!). Been trying hard to understand people around me, their behaviors, their likes, dislikes and everything inbetween. Probably I should try to learn "Rocket Science" for that should be much simpler than the "Bewildering" task that I have undertaken.

There seems to be no 'Predictability' about people & their behaviors. Then I started thinking about why people are like this & what could be the possible reason for these "Random Outcomes" from people. What could hold answers for this? Psychology? Culture? Social Upbringing? Freudian 'Something'? Is there something very obvious that my pea sized brain (Thank God, I have that atleast) is missing? A 'Clue' perhaps that is always present but which I am over-looking out of my ignorance or otherwise? Maybe yes. Before I even ventured on to 'Predict', 'Analyze' & 'Understand' others, do I know myself?

Hmmm. There it is. I think I have hit the nail on its head. I am not sure on whether I know myself well. With such limited understanding of my own self, I had no chance whatsoever of understanding others. What is needed is an introspection, probing deep into my inner self & finding hidden meanings about myself.

It is the understanding of my heart that holds the key to the heart of others. Knowing fully well the arduous task that I have undertaken, I am determined to go the full distance to get the answers. The search has begun.......

Editorial On Culture

This is an article that I wrote for my company's newsletter. It was published as the editorial for the November 2005 edition.

"By culture we mean all those historically created designs for living, explicit and implicit, rational, irrational, and non rational, which exist at any given time as potential guides for the behavior of men" -- Kluckhohn & Kelly in the book 'The Science of Man in the World Culture'.

The roots for the evolution of a culture could be traced back to the evolution of the human race itself. Culture, when applied to companies, educational institutions & universities form the organizational culture. When we talk about organizational culture, it can be described as the shared set of values, goals, behaviors & beliefs of the people working in an organization that get exhibited in their day-to-day working style.

With studies indicating a strong relationship between the culture of an organization & its success, it becomes imperative for people leading organizations to pay close attention to the culture that exists in their organization and on ways to improving it. The steps that can be taken for making the shift towards a culture that would lead to high productivity include

(1)Gauging the culture that exists presently in the organization
(2)Having a clear idea of what the culture of the organization should be in the future
(3)Taking a positive step towards that cultural change

The culture that exists in Chrysler & British Airways (BA), the cultural change programs that these companies introduced to bring about the present culture serves as a case in point for the importance of culture for an organization, its relevance to the organization's growth & the growth of its people.

Chrysler of the 90's, for example, had a bad reputation for customer service & press relations. The company was incurring huge losses & its market share was falling drastically. Bob Lutz, the president of Chrysler at the time of this crisis, had a vision of making Chrysler the technology leader in the cars & trucks segment. He introduced a cultural change program called as 'Customer One' to enable Chrysler to move towards his vision. The basic areas in which the 'Customer One' change program focused on are: involvement of people, agreeing on objectives, learning & emphasis on quality. This cultural change brought about results that were astounding by any yardstick. Chrysler's stock value increased by close to four times & it had moved from an organization on the verge of bankruptcy to a profitable organization.

Cultural changes take a long time to sink in & the transitions are difficult. But the fruits of the change are very significant. The culture that a person imbibes from the organization and his individual culture are so closely interwoven that the manifestations of one is noticed in the other.