Reservation & robots

“I want my country to be first class in everything.

The moment we encourage the second rate, we’re lost”

– Mr. J.M. Nehru

Dated Déjà vu

When Dr. Ambedkar came up with the caste based reservation, the era was different. SC/ST people were not even considered as humans let alone be equal. I believe thus, it was an astounding move to bring back such community to life, giving them their identity. Nevertheless, the only aim of this campaign was fulfilled aeons ago. Now people are no longer treating them as they were before. Mutual respect prevails between all the communities at most of the places, if not everywhere. Thus I reckon, the only classification, if at all, must take place then it ought to be income basis & need to be scrapped once the very purpose is served which is equality. Bridging the gap between poor & rich is a need of an hour as richest 1% holds a staggering 73% of the total wealth in India. This calls for some serious efforts in this direction.

Be it a 35 percentile student getting into IIMA or 1000+ ranked (UPSC) person is posted in IRS. Who do you think suffer here? Our dear nation. Then we all whine, why our intellectuals are leaving India. What will they do here? Wait for their another chance just to get ruined by (some) reserved category student?

On one hand we’re very keen to progress in the tech world & on the other hand it’s very convenient for us to stay as regressive. This impact is much profound than it seems. (Some) People living in such society tend to misuse the extra they get. It’s not just about caste based reservation, such issues aggregately point at one thing. I.e. our frame of mind. It’s pretty much the same as many traditions, that we blindly tag along just because they have been there for generations & are accepted by all.

The Impending Rant

It’s not an appealing picture when you imagine technologies such as AI, Optogentics, and Autonomous vehicles coexist with a society that we are living in right now. I came across this very considerately imagined chart showing what we’re heading next to,

                                                                                                                                                                                           (Source: https://waitbutwhy.com)

This is a simple yet powerful chart delineating what we’re dealing next! Unprecedented steep growth is what we are looking at. Apparently, we can’t afford to be as inattentive as we are right now.

The pace at which we’re advancing in the tech world is quite scary. What our previous generation were imagining, is very much normal nowadays. The only place where they saw a robot was in movies. Now Alibaba’s warehouse, in its entirety, is operated by robots. As if that wasn’t enough, Scientists are working on edifying ASI (Artificial Superintelligence) wherein Robots will have the ability to develop their mind on their own. Needless to say, they’ll be smarter than us. But would they be as good to us? Would they give us, humans, a benefit of reservation? 😈

He knew!

From the beginning only, Emotions never got better of me. I've always

been the phlegmatic one. But that day was quite uneasy. It was an

early windy morning. I was standing on one end of the post in

Jawaharlal national hockey stadium. I have never been so nervous in my

life so far. I had a big finale coming up later in the morning. We

were up against an exorbitantly strong opponent. They cruised to final

without even conceding a single goal. Our overall record against them

was P4 W0 D0 L4.

Being a captain, I needed to motivate my boys instead I was shivering.

Then I saw my coach looking at me from the other end. He didn't say

anything. Just looked into my eyes for a while & he left the ground.

He didn't turn up even when the match got started when he was supposed

to be there at the touch line. Even in his absence, I felt his

support. I knew he trusted me with the squad. Those quiet eyes

conveyed a lot. I felt energetic like never before. I called an

instant team meet & explained everyone about how crucial the match

was. We were all fired up. The whistle blew. We played our hearts out.

Match ended at 2-2. Then we went down on the penalties.

We lost. Again. We did everything that we could. No stone was left

unturned. Still, I felt ashamed because I had let one man down.

I saw my coach coming up to me. I couldn't move. He hugged me & I

started crying, crying so hard that my teammates got worried thinking

I might have suffered an injury. Everyone was asking what had happened

except my coach. He didn't ask me anything.

Because, he knew.

GenZ & Management

“Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we have ever known”

-Ronald Reagan (40^th U.S. president)

Z is the new A:

If you believed Millennials were an assailing generation, hold on until you get to know Gen Z. the oldest breed of this generation is only born in 1995 but don’t be duped by their youth. Infact they are matured Millennials. This generation is still in the high school but it’s not too early to think about what importance they will hold in near future.

“It’s a buoyant group that’s full of zeal”

This progressively entrusted cohort is two billion strong worldwide. By 2020, they will make up over 35% of workforce. It already has huge purchasing power and is the most pleasingly diverse generation in the history. They are described as conscientious, hardworking, pragmatic, a bit anxious and are futuristic. They are more about closeness, not tolerance and have greater humility as realists compared to Millennials. But how these peculiarities will affect the business management world?

More of picture, less of words:

What aftermath are fast advances in technology in virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D printings, wearables and the internet of things having on this generation as they grew up with the technology? Gen Z may be young but they are curious and inquisitive about the tech universe in which they live. And why shouldn’t they be? After all, this bunch of ‘cool’ kids has always known ‘Google’ to be a verb! Most of them have no idea how the world was before the existence of smartphones. Popularity of Instagram, snapchat with Gen Z members also results from their want of not to be tracked and to limit what they post. They have indeed seen the idiocy displayed by their predecessors who seem to have no boundaries for what they share.

Gen Z and Market:

With so many alternatives out there, Generation Z will simply overlook marketing efforts that they don’t want to see. So how can marketers connect with this new type of customers?

Long gone are the days when marketers could depend on a captive set of customers to receive and respond to their marketing message. The average consumer from this generation sees something around 4000 messages everyday, with half of them going unnoticed. And as this generation becomes dominant economic player, marketer will found that will have to conform to a whole new set of rules.

Though most of the brands can’t get enough of Millennials, It’s the matter of that they are the most researched generation in history. They came of age with www, and since, they dictate the workforce and have a lot of buying power, almost everyone in the market has devoted time, money and energy after analyzing the buying behavior of Millennials.

This generation on the other side is still a conundrum to solve for many brands. These are the kids for whom social media is the only world that exists. They are even suspicious, less brand loyal and are more reluctant to corporate hypocrisy.

Gen Z consumers​have been heightened on social media and community, and instantaneously qualm any brand voice that's not perceived to be credible. The fundamental way to associate to Gen Z is peer to peer; really involving them in your brand, your product development and making them feel part of.

"Relatability is the authenticity of today,"

(Gregg Witt, chief engagement officer of Immersive Youth Marketing, a San Diego-based marketing agency.)

Instagram model Indy Clinton, 18, fell into her job almost by accident, when she started posting random photos of herself walking her dog and exercising. By the time she had 20,000 followers, she started charging businesses $50 for one post featuring their product. Now brands like the McGrath Foundation, Coca-Cola, and Surf Dive 'n' Ski pay her up to $750 per post. (Having posed for a photo-shoot for AFR Weekend she swiftly posted two shots to Instagram. They already have more than 1000 "likes") –another way of reaching Gen Z audience!

Gen Z and Management practises:

There has been a great deal of conjecture about how Gen Z will work and much of it based on looking at the way they currently hook up in their education and sports activities. Projecting Gen Z’s future of work and leadership style is indeed appalling task because here we are delineating an attitude shift which has no precedent in the entire human history.

So how organizations would be able to captivate this talent? The current way of recruiting people at the entry level might not work. Some of the current sizzling industries like IT might run out of steam in near future. Instead fields like media, fashion, photography etc. might make their way to the top. This will hasten a whole new ways in which people see their career to be. Terms like ‘job security’ or aspects related to commitment may become old fashioned. Earning respect of this generation by speaking about things we consider is significant like ‘technology’ might not work. Another interesting stint could happen is that Gen Z might prefer to work in their own countries instead of going abroad for lucrative jobs. By the time this generation finds its way into leadership roles, there will have been fully programmed in a new model of teamwork, allocating, pellucidity, learning and influence. Might this create such organizations in which leaders are no longer needed? We already have such organizations at present. I.e. Wikipedia. Which is working just fine as a flock of individuals with a common objective. Gen Z is aggravating leadership by short circuiting traditional paths to top. In process, it will guide in the democratisation of leadership by providing channels to leadership.

This generation is going to be bolder, nonpartisan and managing them through traditional way might not really work. This will also call for new practises and organizations are going to face a stalemate managing ambitions of many generation.

Gandhiji, nonviolence and today

Gandhi- The great soul:

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever”

-MK Gandhi

The world knows him as Mahatma. & indeed he did many great tasks which no one can forget. This country owes so many things to Mr. Gandhi which can’t be repaid. The least we can do is on this Gandhi Jayanti, let us remember our Baapu and also let us have a glimpse on his favourite weapon i.e. nonviolence.

It’s generally believed that he lived a stringent life, followed strict vegetarianism and refrained from alcoholic drinks, tobacco and even the milder stimulants like coffee and tea. His preference to simple natural remedies against illness and disease and his radical ideas on education are not so well known to the outside world and, even in India, they have not made much impact. Gandhi deliberately abstained from making these public issues and thereby confusing the people. The only exception was prohibition of intoxicating drinks which became a tool in the armoury of Satyagraha. Therefore it became a plank in the Congress program but it was well known that many an important supporter of Gandhi was privately addicted to drink and the great leader did not take undue notice of it. Even though it got into the Constitution in the form of a Directive Principle, there has been no honesty about prohibition among the Congress Governments and Congressmen in general. Gandhi’s views on language, government and economics played a considerable part in his political movements; and in the program of Khadi and Village Industries included in the Five Year Plans and in the Panchayat Raj which has recently been established, they have been accepted and implemented to some extent. 

If one does take a closer look  to all these ethics & tasks are viewed in isolation, they form an assorted and rather outmoded collection, the importance of which will shrink and fade away with time. It is only when it is realised that Gandhi was fundamentally a moral and social philosopher and that, through these items, he sought to experiment with certain far-reaching fundamental principles, of whose absolute truth he was convinced beyond all doubt, that their true significance becomes clear.

The gospel of Ahimsa:

“I know only one way-the way of nonviolence. The way of violence goes against my grain. I do not want to cultivate the power to inculcate violence.”

-MK Gandhi

The mightiest power of the world by 1950s started losing one colony after another. Where did this strength to decolonize come from? All the strength and power of the British, were no match for the joint will of the people of India. How was this Ahimsa such a powerful tool to unseat the British power from across the face of the world?

What is this Ahimsa?

Himsa, hinsa means “to hurt others wilfully, physically and mentally”. The English word “heinous” seems to have its etymological roots in the word hinsa, himsa. Ahimsa means “to not hurt others wilfully, physically and mentally.”  In other words, Ahimsa is Non Violence in thought and deed.

According to him, unfortunately for us, we are strangers to the nonviolence of the brave on a mass scale. Some even doubt the possibility of the exercise of nonviolence by groups, much less by masses of people. They restrict its exercise to exceptional individuals. Only, mankind can have no use of it if it is always reserved only for individuals. He realized us the power of nonviolence in the real sense.

La situation actuelle:

Though 67 years have been passed since his assassination, Gandhi still lives in our hearts in the forms of his beliefs, ideals, ethics and values.

Gandhi's ideals are not all lost to deaf ears, though. He still serves as a pillar of the nonviolence, living on in leaders such as South Africa's Nelson Mandela. His visions of unity, prosperity for all, and most importantly religious harmony will one day come true. India too, has not grown into a monster of all evils in the last 50 years. It stands as the leader of the computer industry, the sciences, and many other consumer industries. Under the new open markets which have emerged, India is the new dreamland for multinational corporations seeking new endeavours and markets.

The power of Ahimsa thus has had its recurrent effect not just in India, but in different parts of the world repeatedly. The Ahimsa movement which had its effectiveness in the 1930s and 1940s in India, led to the cascading effect of dismantling colonialism the world over. The equal rights for Afro-Americans, that was fought in 1960 in America, under the leadership of Martin Luther King Junior, also had nonviolence as its basic tool to fight the unequal policy of the land then. The non-violent resistance movement of solidarity in Poland following the principle of Mahatma Gandhi started the dismantling process of communism in the 70s and 80s in Eastern Europe. In South Africa, the apartheid, the apartness policy was torn apart by the non-co-operation movement again inspired by Gandhi’s Ahimsa principles.

In nutshell, Gandhiji showcased the strength of being Ahimsak. Additionally, Ahimsa has had its positive impact right through the ages not only in India but across the globe to this day and shall do so in future too whenever the hand of brutality rises. And to do that, let us collectively underpin the nonviolence so that incidents such as Syria attacks, Gaza attacks can be avoided.

Global Crisis and India

In the midst of looming global crisis, when everyone is speculating about the Indian economy, let’s have an agile glance over what’s actually happening around the globe and where it could end up.

As it happened:

Subprime crisis, Greek nonremittal act & the latest Chinese meltdown. Apart from the other major reasons, All three of them had one thing in common, ‘excessive debt’. In USA, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers collapse happened due to their inability to meet financial obligations as they already borrowed so much and had nothing but a bunch of CDOs which they could not sell. Whereas in case of Greece, by the spring of 2010, Greek officials knew that their public expenditure is shooting while they did not have enough revenue to meet them and so was clear that it was veering toward bankruptcy, which threatened to set off a new financial crisis. In July, the €85bn bailout package was offered in order to mitigate the situation. The most recent one is China. Their debt to GDP rate is staggering 207%. The problem with China is explained in the hilariously perfect way, “China could be in the world's greatest depression and they would still report 7%," says Gordon Chang, a China expert and author of ‘The Coming Collapse of China.’”

The Imminent Level:

Now it’s pretty clear to everyone that if China is heading to a breakdown then it’d have consequences all over the world. But the question is how it’ll affect the Indian economy. Currently India is having debt to GDP rate is around 63%, much lower than other preeminent countries. This is the basic reason why experts are bolstering the domestic economy being a fundamentally strong one. Secondly, falling crude (39.29 $/bbl) is certainly a blessing for the economy as it helps macro-economic management (both budget and fiscal) by improving macro fundamentals (inflation, fiscal deficit and current account deficit). Despite all the optimisms about the Indian market, a few days back, Sensex plunged like never before. Though it’s just a temporary fall and markets are likely to recover in the forthcoming days, only time can tell us whether this Chinese boomerang will hit the Indian economy just like the Subprime crisis did or this time India to emerge as the strongest powerhouse whenas the world is sinking!

Quick Statistics (India):

$	66.27 INR
Crude oil	39.29 $/bbl
GDP growth rate	7.5%
CA deficit	1.5%
Fiscal deficit	4%

a friend and a lesson

It was a rainy Thursday morning. The atmosphere was pleasingly fainéant and a gentle mizzle continued to play with the chilly wind. As usual, I was sitting on the couch having a Nescafe cup and The Economic Times in front of me whenas my cell phone rang. The 4'' screen showed unknown. Amidst my amazement, I received the call. It was an unfamiliar male voice on the other end. Surprisingly, he was one of my high school friends. Within the fraction of a second, old memories ran through my nous. Our bunks, tons of masti we had, number of pranks we played, shared laughter, intense fights and a lot more. School life ended and I moved to another city hence we hadn't been in touch for years.

A loud "Hey, are you there?" From him startled my cerebration right away. When that call ended, the call duration displayed was 01:02:47.

As many of us could've, he didn't wait for Sunday, the friendship day. Then why do we wait for that day to remember our friends, who are an inherent part of our lives perhaps. Why do we wait for one particular moment to arrive? Why don't we just seize it straight away and make it perfect just like he did!

Where are you?

Mother,

When I cried first time, you were there.

Now my silence is becoming deafening,

Where're you?

When I laughed first time, you were there.

Now my eyes are tired being moistened,

Where're you?

When I Walked first time, you were there.

Now my each step pushes me into duskiness,

Where're you?

When I wrote the first letter, you were there.

Now I can't depict how much I miss you,

Where're you?

When first I needed a hug, you were there.

Now my soul is jeering for that comfort,

Where're you?