संस्कृति- THE WORLD IS NEVER FLAT

Published in Corporate Dossier, ET, August 17, 2012

Is it advisable to have a totally flat organization where there is no differential treatment or extra perks or privileges given on the basis of seniority (except perhaps in salary) Examples: reserved parking, special canteens, larger cabins, business class travel, etc. Would this motivate people more or cause dissatisfaction in the ranks?

The idea of a flat organization where everyone is equal is a romantic idea, with its roots in the French Revolution, which demanded equality for all citizens, unlike the earlier feudal order where the King saw himself as a representative of God on earth and there was a hierarchy that determined identity as well as access to resources and privileges.

The idea of equality is strong in Abrahamic religions. Hence the greeting ‘Shalom’ in Judaism (from where comes the word ‘salaam’ we use in India) which means ‘peace be with you’ and not ‘salute’ as is popularly believed, for everyone is equal before God and man should bow to none other than God. Equality is the reason why Muslims are encouraged to eat from the same plate, sitting together in a circle.

But in nature, all things exist in hierarchy. The strongest, or the smartest, eats first and most. Since it is all about survival of the fittest, everyone is competing to be stronger or smarter, hence all packs and herds have a pecking order. The biggest tree will take the most sunlight. A lion will not share its food with a hungry lioness.

So hierarchy is the natural, the default state of beings. Equality is human design, a dream, an aspiration.

In Hindu mythology, Shiva does not care for organizational structure and hierarchy while Daksha Prajapati is obsessed with structure and hierarchy. The two are in conflict. But to be Shiva, one has to outgrow desire for all things material. He is comfortable allowing serpents to slither on top of his body; he does not mind drinking poison; he is happy wrapping his body with animal hide, not bedecking it with silks and gold. How many people in our company will be happy allowing people to walk all over them? How many people in our company are comfortable sharing resources and being treated equally?

Politically the right thing to say is that we must have equal perks in the office. So lets take a case in point: Should everyone have cabins or should we have an open office? Cabins are expensive so the CFO will favor open offices – but it will be sold to the company as the ‘right thing to do’. An open office demands discipline in people – talking softly, using headphones. It demands having conference rooms for group discussions, telephone conversations, meetings and private negotiations. Which means  these need to be provided in adequate numbers. But they will always be in short supply, so there will be need for planning, hence someone to monitor and control its usage. Then there will always be emergencies when someone will be forced to forfeit their bookings. When resources are abundant, hierarchy does not matter. But when resources are in short supply, hierarchies come into the picture. And in business, resources are always in short supply as everyone is pushing the envelope.

As corporate animals, we aspire to be ‘bigger, faster, stronger’. The best gets gold. We want gold. We want the better office in the corner, the bigger car, the great address. We can, of course, outgrow this desire. It is the noble thing to do. When we are all noble, the flat organization will surely come into being. Until then, it will remain a desirable delusion of authority that those below are compelled to grin and bear.

संस्कृति -चरण स्पर्श के फायदे

चरण स्पर्श के फायदे 

संस्कृति-Best Sleep Position

Best Sleep Position ~
Generally speaking, side or back sleeping is the best. I say this because true stomach sleepers must wrench their necks to either side. When you are a small child, it works because you can turn your head 90 degrees to either side. As you get older, this becomes more difficult and you can end up with a strained neck. Back and side sleeping will keep your spine in its best ali

gnment.
Sometimes, snorers, sleep apnea sufferers, or people with heartburn/acid reflux may have some difficulty with these sleep positions.
However, with a good neck pillow that opens up the sinuses and restores the neck curve, apnea and snoring are much improved. With a slight incline, reflux disease can be improved also.
A neck pillow also keeps your head level when youre on your side. Put a pillow between your knees and you keep your legs and pelvis level too.
Whichs ur sleeping position??

संस्कृति- YOU STILL EAT WITH YOUR HANDS

“You STILL eat with your hands.” This is a comment (allegedly) made by Oprah Winfrey in her show on India, suggesting as if eating with hands is something primitive and undesirable. Such cultural insensitivity from a TV hostess renowned for her empathy! Why this disgust about eating with hands?

Tribes in Africa eat with their hands. Tribes in Australia eat with their hands. Tribes in America eat with their hands. Greeks did not use cutlery. Romans did not use the fork and knife. And Jesus certainly broke bread with his hands.

Long before cutlery became fashionable in Europe, chopsticks were used in China. The oldest ones, made of bronze, have been dated to 1000 BC. In the Orient, it is considered uncivilized to serve a guest food that has to be cut or torn with a knife or speared by a fork.

In Europe, during the Middle Ages, food was eaten on hardened stale bread called trenchers. Knives were used not because they were necessary but because it was impressive. Men impressed ladies by cutting slices of meat, spearing it and offering it to them. In the 16th century Catherine de Medici took the first fork (or the two-pronged ‘split spoon’ as it was called) from Italy to France as part of her dowry. Everybody laughed but eventually everyone mimicked her, as eating with it became a sign of snobbery and aristocracy.

It is interesting that the rise of use of cutlery can be mapped to rise of European imperialism, American colonization and African slavery. Eating by hand came to be associated with natives, laborers and servants.

But think about it, at formal dinners the Indian Army and the Indian Government expects all its officers and diplomats to use cutlery. That is proper.  The option of eating with the hand does not exist. A colonial hangover? So why chastise Oprah?

One can understand that in cold countries the hands would be covered with gloves and so eating using an instrument would have made immense sense. This need led to the innovation of the fork in Europe and the chopstick in China. But in warm countries like South Asia and Middle East, eating by hand always made immense sense.

One can argue that hands are dirty and even unhygienic. But that argument does not hold if there is water and soap and towels available to wash and wipe hands. In many parts of North India, while roti is eaten by hand, people prefer using the spoon while eating rice. This must have something to with having grains sticking on the fingers, which is much more while eating rice and much less while eating bread.

In Vedic texts, food is a goddess and fingers are the midget sages known as Valakhilyas. The sages carry the goddess to our mouths so that we sustain ourselves. In Jyotisha, the five fingers are associated with the five elements: earth (little finger), water (ring finger), air (middle finger), ether (index finger) and fire (thumb). Thus when we eat by hand, the five elements get symbolically connected with the food. But such symbolism and speculations do not matter as one gets more modern and civilized, I guess.

Source- Published in Devlok, Sunday Midday, August 05, 2012

संस्कृति-Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi arrested on these cartoons