Fostering Corporate Entrepreneurship : Feature Article; July'08

Understanding Corporate Entrepreneurship

Do you long for the spark, innovation, speed and risk taking that small entrepreneurial companies have and envy the passion people working in such firms display? Fostering Intrapreneurship is the key to achieving this in your own organization even if it is not in a start up phase. Intrapreneurship is all about retaining ideas / product innovations within your company. It is being able to create an environment where the idea generator does not feel the need to leave the company to take his idea to the market but finds the support systems within. And the company gets to share the benefits!

Gifford Pinchot III coined the phrase 'intrapreneurship' in 1985 to describe the marriage of an entrepreneurial spirit - complete with its fierce independence and lack of deference to established views and the strictures of conventional wisdom - with the resources of a large corporation.

“ “They (corporate entrepreneurs) are always the dreamers who figure out how to turn an idea into reality.” - Pinchot ”

Entrapreneurship also known as Corporate entrepreneurship (CE), generally, refers to the development of new business ideas and opportunities within large and established corporations (Birkenshaw M.J. Scheepers, J. Hough and J.Z. Bloom 2003). And Entrepreneurship should not be confused with just incremental improvements - it is about a new idea, product, revenue stream or way of maximizing returns. In most cases, CE describes the total process whereby established enterprises act in innovative, risk taking and proactive ways (Zahra 1993; Dess, Lumpkin and McGee 1999; Bouchard 2001). But what prevents most individuals from bringing the entrepreneurial energy to their jobs?

What retards Corporate Entrepreneurship in large companies?
Primary factors in large organizations that discourage Corporate entrepreneurship are:-

• Mindset of Senior Management who support sure success ideas only: The view that most of us share as analysts and problem-solvers runs counter to successful entrepreneurship. When demand for lots of data is made it kills the entrepreneurial spirit which relies more on instinct.
   
• Cost of Failure: The costs of failure are too high and the rewards of success are too low. Failure is an unavoidable aspect of the Intrapreneurial process. But Intrapreneurs are not given the space in which to fail. The rewards for success are usually inadequate. Very few organisations provide rewards for Intrapreneurs that come close to the rewards available to their entrepreneurial counterparts.
   
• Inertia: Inertia is caused by established implicit and explicit systems that no one is willing to change. Intrapreneurs are met with "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", and "changing it now would just take too much effort..." In fact many organizations use their existing systems to prove they already have the "right answer" effectively killing creativity.
   
• Hierarchy: The deeper the hierarchy, harder it becomes to get permission for anything new. How long does it take to get the green light and obtain resources to implement a good idea born at the grass root level in your company? If the answer is long then it will be tough to foster intrapreneurship in such a culture. This is not to say that there should not be a business approval process, but that it should be efficient.
   
• Complacency: A company that does not encourage its employees to reinvent themselves and their careers at regular intervals also faces the risk of complacency in thought and action among its employees.

So how can one get individuals to act in an entrepreneurial manner? Cultivating corporate entrepreneurs requires creating a corporate culture which encourages firm-level entrepreneurial orientation that is reflected by five dimensions: autonomy, competitive aggressiveness, proactiveness, innovativeness and risk-taking. Let’s look at the ways to create an intrapreneurial culture.


Be an “Intraprenuerial” Company
BP PLC a leader in the restructuring of the global oil and gas industry and a highly innovative, forward looking company has a management model that rests on four components that help guide and control entrepreneurial action.

In fact the four elements in the above model are well balanced in all companies that are successful at encouraging entrepreneurial behavior in their employees. 3M’s “15 Percent Rule,” which enables employees to spend 15 percent of their time on pet projects (space), encourages the use of cross-functional and cross-country teams (support), and still adheres rigorously to the broader growth objectives and values of the company (direction, boundaries). But when too much space, too little direction and support and too few boundaries are there it can lead to chaos. For instance having too few boundaries at Enron resulted in its demise. It was ultimately a failure of control and governance. At the organization level, lack of support typically results in business units doing their own thing duplicating efforts. For example at one point executives in Ericsson’s central research and development organization discovered five separate development teams in different countries all working on their version of a ‘screen phone’ — a telephone with a small TV screen for Internet access. Quickly steps were taken to bring these teams together and to encourage a more coordinated effort.

Here are some ways you can create space within your company for all those potential “entreprenuers” employed with you. Of course how you do it will depend on the kind of business you are into. Like Google not every company can afford to let all its employees spend a day in a week working on their pet projects.

Defining characteristic of entrepreneurs are confidence, optimism, and the perseverance to keep working toward the goal no matter what the odds. Your company needs to support this by providing the freedom to fail! A manager at Dow Chemical remained optimistic and determined that a new class of plastics would lead to important products for the company. His research in the area was killed twice because nobody else saw the possibilities. Thankfully the researcher never became discouraged. And, in time, it lead to plastic films that are resistant to oil and moisture, and today are used in the packaging of everything. In contrast Game designer Seamus Blackley who joined Microsoft in 1999 after a big project of his failed was able to develop his Xbox concept in relative freedom at Microsoft, and get credit for it.

Some amount of failure is inevitable when one is trying to achieve something new or different. Do not penalize such failures thus sending out the message that failure is not tolerated. Otherwise people will always play it safe. Many entrepreneurial careers are built on a succession of minor failures. As long as the idea was well thought of, well planned and well executed the failure should be viewed constructively. People learn to trust their leaders and the culture if interim setbacks are not politicized and used in unhealthy ways against them. Of course the company must encourage responsible and optimistic risk taking. There is no place for recklessness in CE and all initiatives should be backed by solid business cases. For intrapreneurship to work effectively, risk should be balanced with reward and opportunity with difficulty.

Allow challenging of status quo. It is essential to have rules and processes in every organization for order to prevail. But when we catch ourselves saying “we've never done it that way before" or “that's not how we do things here”, then we need to evaluate those rules to see whether they still serve the purpose of guiding the current business or are they restricting successful building of a new business. There is every chance that we may be citing a rule that may no longer be appropriate for the new situation. In fact it is even necessary, to sometimes break with past traditions and status quo and establish new precedents to respond to new opportunities. Disparate voices should not be squelched, but encouraged, and disruptive ideas should not be labeled troublemaking, but entrepreneurial.

Allocate adequate resources for entrepreneurial pursuits. If you want entrepreneurship to be part of the organization’s DNA, everyone should have access to the tools, training, shared techniques and resources to quickly bring their innovations to market. Leaders should demonstrate the willingness to listen to and recognise good ideas whenever and from whomever they arise. Do not classify ideas as good or bad based on the persons it come from. A culture with one set of rules for some and another set of rules for the rest of the employees will not work. Instead every person should have the opportunity to innovate while accepting responsibility for his/her choices. Company should provide financial, technical and motivational support to all good ideas that will help meet organization goals.

Adobe India, for instance, launched the incubation program under which, employees generate ideas which are then sifted through various channels and finally recommended by a committee for innovation. Once it’s approved, these ideas get the support from Adobe’s global expert pool for further development. Apart from initial funding of $1 million, the idea initiator also gets a 6-12 months window to work on it. If it succeeds, it’s scaled up and the person behind it ends up heading the entire project or venture. And has it been successful? Well, in three years time, the IT major’s Indian arm filed 60 patents and 25% of the patents filed by Adobe worldwide in 2007 came from India alone.

Reward entrepreneurial behavior : One way you can reward is by allowing intrapreneurs to follow through with their ideas. The intrapreneur's creativity and emotional investment in the project and knowledge and understanding of the various issues under consideration will be helpful in further developing the process or product. Also not allowing these intrapreneurs to do so can lower their morale and reduce future contributions from others, too. Orkut.com, the online social networking service was based on Google engineer Orkut’s selfdirected research that Google encourages. So not only did Orkut become the technical lead for the project, Google also named the site after him. Entrepreneurial behavior should also be financially rewarded. Your objective is to inculcate entrepreneurs within the company and not for them to seek better rewards by implementing their ideas outside the company.

Finally entreprenuership is not accidental, but intentional. CE must start at the top. Top management support for CE is crucial to developing a climate that is supportive of entrepreneurial projects. Senior management must be comfortable dealing with ambiguity, fast-paced workplace developments, and changing marketplace dynamics. They must possess the collaborative skills needed to “flatten decision-making” with internal constituents, partners, suppliers, and customers in order to bring innovative products to market faster.

A case in point is Google. Marissa Mayer director of consumer Web products at Google is good at drawing out programmers informally, during a chance meeting in the cafeteria or hallway.
During a casual chat in 2003, an employee told her about the project of an Australian engineer, Steve Lawrence. He was developing a program to track and search the contents of his computer, which ran on the Linux operating system. Knowing Google had to figure out a way for people to find stuff on their own computers, Mayer tracked Lawrence down and asked him about developing a version of his software to search any PC. He was enthusiastic, so she helped assemble a team to work with him. The result: Google introduced its desktop search in October, 2004, two months before Microsoft.

Conclusion
Entrepreneurs build businesses. Great entrepreneurs are able to create value from almost nothing, often by building on existing ingredients. You may see the result and wonder 'Why didn't I think of that?' Entrepreneurs see the world differently. They see possibilities. They see what can be. Google has institutionalized this process and is able to remain the leader and be competitive because the whole company is an ‘innovation lab’. Being an intrapreneur is more about attitude than aptitude. So one can be an entrepreneur even while running a department or leading a team just as much as by starting a company. The question is whether you have created an organization culture that will allow, encourage and sustain Corporate Entrepreneurship in your company.

References

• Nurturing the corporate entrepreneurship capability
  ‘Intrapreneurship’,
• ‘Evolving the Enterprise: 7 Characteristics of a Healthy Entrepreneurial Ecosystem’, 18 April 2009,
  Biswas ,S, ‘India Inc bets on 'intrapreneurs'’, 10 Sep 2008,
   
• L ,Anu, ‘Fostering Intrapreneurship - The new Competitive Edge’, Conference on Global Competition and Competitiveness of Indian Corporate, dspace.iimk.ac.in/bitstream/2259/471/1/149-156+.pdf.
   
• Intrapreneurship’,
• Birkinshaw , J, ‘The Paradox of Corporate Entrepreneurship’,
  
  McCrorey , D, ‘Corporate Entrepreneurship 2008 Style’, 17 January 2008,
  
  Shrader , Dr R, ‘Entrepreneurship: It's Not About the Product ... It's About the Passion’, October 18, 2000,
  
  Arakeri,NV & George, R & Wey,M & Yu, N & Zhuang, D, ‘Product Initiation Processes at Google Inc.’, navanitarakeri.com/FinalReportGoogle.pdf.
   
• ‘Managing Google's Idea Factory’, OCTOBER 3, 2005,

Ask the Expert: March'08

1. I have been identified for a Team Leader position for one of the company projects. My peers are questioning this since we all worked together as a team on one of our earlier assignments. How do I go about delegating the work among my peers without them undermining my authority?

Leading your team members rather than just delegating work to them is what you should focus on. Leading individuals who were your peers in earlier assignments can be a touchy proposition, but not an impossible undertaking. You have been selected to lead the team because of the confidence your seniors have in your abilities. So exhibit confidence in your abilities.

Start by asking your team members for their inputs and suggestions in making the project a grand success. By using and implementing the team’s ideas, there would be greater encouragement and motivation among the team members. Do not just delegate the work but also assist by giving them a better understanding of the task assigned.  Do not get dejected if they don’t come to you immediately for guidance. Help those who do and if you give valuable inputs word will get around. Credit team members with project successes. Your willingness to help them while giving them credit for good work would be well appreciated! If any of the team members disobeys you, be direct and firm in dealing with him/her.

Your team members have not had a chance to see you in action as a team leader. Once they see you as being capable they will naturally appreciate and respect you. Work towards wining their confidence over a period of time.

2. Recently in a meeting with senior managers I completely embarrassed myself by not being articulate in the discussion. That day, I realized that I need to improve my communication skills to be more confident and to be able to persuade others in a meeting. What are some of the steps that I need to adopt for the same?

You are right! Being articulate gives people the impression that you know your subject well, an important aspect of convincing others.  Here are some suggestions to help you become more articulate.

• Know your subject well: Firstly, get a thorough understanding of the subject and make a note of relevant points that can be discussed in a meeting.
• Visualize yourself speaking: Imagine yourself adding to the discussion with grammatically correct and complete sentences.
• Think before you speak: Once you get into the meeting, take a moment before highlighting a point. This helps you eliminate verbal pauses and may prevent you from saying something that does not make sense.
• Be as concise as possible: Add valuable content to your discussion by stating your points briefly. That way you don’t loose the attention of the audience.
• Eliminate pauses and restrict usage of big words: Fillers like ‘um’ etc can disturb the flow of thought and make it seem detached. Simultaneously, make sure you restrict the usage of big words, which may reduce the clarity of your communication.
• Self-improvement: Reading aids the effort of being articulate. Attend seminars on communication and presentation skills to gain some valuable insights.
• Have patience and practice continuously: Improving the way you speak takes a great deal of time and effort.

3. My Manager is not assertive enough when it comes to clients constantly changing their requirements. This is causing a lot of undue stress, longer working hours and de-moralization of the team. How do I convey to him the need to be more assertive in extending deadlines when clients change project specifications constantly?

This is a common scenario in most companies these days. However, it can be subtly dealt with. Bring to the notice of your Manager the current de-motivation within the team owing to the long working hours. Veer the discussion to possible ways of avoiding undue stress for the team. See if the manger himself comes up with the suggestion of being assertive with the client on deadlines. If not, you can check with him whether it would help being assertive with the client.

Make sure that the communication is positive and does not offend him in any manner. Do not take an accusatory tone of “You should….” but that of a “we are in this together” tone by using “We can…. We should explore…”

Some points that you could cover at the time of discussion are:

• If the team gets stressed the quality of work output will suffer in turn affecting the client satisfaction. Team members may also exit the company. Cite examples.

• If the client requires the team to complete additional or changed project deliverables, then the Manager could ensure that the team gets sufficient time to complete the project. A reasonable timeframe can be established in consultation with the team and client. If anytime this has been done in the past mention it.

• While some deadlines can be negotiated some cannot and there still will be times when the team needs to put in that extra effort. What will help then is the team bonding. So the manager should plan for the entire team taking some time out to have fun and de-stress together. This enhances team spirit and it will also increase the productivity among team members even under tight deadlines.

Becoming Lean – Reaping benefits of Lean Solutions : Management Funda; March'08

Becoming Lean means eliminating waste at every product or service creation phase and becoming highly responsive to customer demand while producing quality products and services. For example the new car ‘Nano’ uses less steel, less plastic, less space and less energy to run. People love it and there is already a huge demand for it. This definitely makes the car ‘Lean’.

Origin of Lean
Lean was born with the Toyota Production System a manufacturing methodology developed originally by Taichi Ohno for the manufacture of automobiles at Toyota. Its goal was "to get the right things to the right place at the right time, the first time, while minimizing waste and being open to change". During the 1980s, Lean production was adopted by many U.S. and European manufacturing plants. It has also been implemented with success by service organizations, logistics and supply chain organizations.

Implementing Lean
The following steps need to be followed:-

• Define who are the customers

• Define desired outputs and value in customer terms

• Define current process as it really is, not as it is supposed to be

• Identify and eliminate waste (non value adding steps) ie., all steps should directly contribute to satisfying customer need

• Make the process flow so the customer can ‘pull’ (i.e. demand from the customer)

Types of waste in Service context
Now, let’s move away from Production environment and see what resources typically a service company wastes.

Points to remember while implementing Lean:

• The focus of Lean initiative is on delivering continuous improvement and a mix of long term as well as short term improvements.

• Ever heard of continuous improvement taking place in the absence of measurements? So, a regular measurement of improvements is important.

• Kaizan, Just In Time, Six Sigma, process reengineering etc are some of the Lean tools. But unless you know what you want to achieve using the tools, the tools are useless. It’s like giving a cook lot of ingredients without telling him what needs to be cooked. Thus it is necessary to have a clear vision of your organizational objectives before you choose your Lean tools.

• A holistic approach is the key to making Lean work. Every one who is involved in providing the service needs to understand what and how they are delivering to the customer and how they can eliminate the waste from their actions.

• While the principles of Lean are common for all organizations, the way it gets implemented will differ from company to company.

Examples of benefits that you will enjoy

• Operational excellence: Companies such as ICICI Bank and Wipro have been successfully using Lean for driving this.

• Flexibility to meet varied customer demands: By reducing production system response time Toyota was able to quickly change and adapt to market demands.

• Minimised costs: Dell implemented Lean to remain profitable by minimizing costs.

• Better service: By combining Agent-assisted Voice Solutions and Lean's waste reduction practices, a call centre company reduced handling time, between agent variability and accent barriers to improve live agent call handling.

• Better price realization: General Cable achieved this from ‘Lean’ initiatives.

• Competitiveness: Lean manufacturing reduced lead time, reduced costs and improved quality providing opportunities for new marketing campaigns, allowing companies to gain market share from competitors that were slower, costlier or of poorer quality.

Conclusion
Can you ever say you have done all that is required to become ‘Lean’? Well, can you ever say that my customer will always be happy with my current level of service or that there are no more ways I can improve my processes? No! Since becoming ‘Lean’ is a continuous process and to bring about meaningful results Lean management needs to be sustained over a period of time. Regardless of the industry, company size or culture, the Lean concept can be used to provide value to your company and yourself.

References

• Malloy, J, “Lean production”, http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid182_gci810519,00.html.
• “Leading In Lean Time”’, http://www.themanagementor.com/EnlightenmentorAreas/sm/MS/Leanlead.htm.
• Kumar, V. R, “Just get Lean and mean”,http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ew/2005/01/17/stories/2005011700180300.htm.
• Sarkar ,D,  “ ‘Lean’ is more than a cost-cutting tool”, http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/02/14/stories/2008021450240900.htm.
• “Lean manufacturing”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_manufacturing.
• ‘Lean Process Improvement - effective organizational improvement though your people’ pdf document.

Employee Speak: Mr. Amit Kumar Das, Director - Human Resources, Allergan India

www.allergan.com

Tell us something about Allergan?

Allergan is a global health care company focused on specialty Pharmaceuticals products. Founded in 1950 in US, it is currently headquartered in Irvine, California. Allergan was launched in India in 1995 as a joint venture with Nicholas Piramal. The inspiration for setting up Allergan came from the need to deliver value to the end consumer and to provide an improved and promising future for the life of a patient. The primary business focus of the company is in the Eye care, Aesthetics and Neurosciences areas of specialty pharmaceuticals.

What is Allergan popular for in the Pharma market? What are it's specialty areas?

Allergan is popular in the Pharma for Eye care products and treatment of eye diseases like Glaucoma and Dry Eyes. We are currently the market leader in eye care products and have taken the initiative to create awareness for the various treatments. Over a period of time, Allergan has also become extremely popular for Botox, a patented product, which enjoys 95% of the market share in India. Botox is used for both therapeutic as well as for cosmetology purposes. Botox is also approved for indications like Cerebral palsy, migraine and urinary tract infection to name a few. It is injected only by a trained medical practitioner.
        

What is your role in the company?

As the Director - Human Resources, I am responsible for developing and executing all the Human Resource policies for the company. Our entire Human Resources team is committed to ensuring an employee-friendly environment where each individual would be provided various opportunities to realize his/her dreams and goals. We partner with the business managers to ensure that the company’s goals and objectives are met.

What are the key challenges that you face in your industry and specifically in your role? 

The Indian Pharma market is characterized by companies with generic products who are quick in copying (or bringing out copies of the) patented products at lower prices and who have a large sales force reaching all corners of the market. Capability building, attraction of right talent, availability of talent pool and retention of employees are some of the high priority challenges for Allergan India. We have institutionalized right processes and taken active measures to address them.

What are some of the best practices in HR that have been implemented in Allergan?

Allergan has established a robust Performance Management System, Capability building and Career development processes. Our global recognition program ‘Hidden Gems’ recognizes excellent performers in the organization and the selected employees are flown to California to be a part of the recognition ceremony which is part of Allergan Quarterly meeting. Individuals who contribute significantly in any specific assignment or project are rewarded with Excellence Award and cash incentive. Employees who have been in the system for more than 5 years, also receive awards for their hard-work and commitment to the company. We also have excellent employee development initiatives.

What are some of the employee development initiatives?

Learning has been given a great deal of importance in Allergan. We have institutionalized the Allergan India Learning Resources Centre and Allergan Institute of Management to increase the competence level of the employees. We have also put in place a process to ascertain the knowledge level of the field sales team. Regular tests are administered to check if the sales executives keep abreast of the recent pharma industry developments. A knowledge allowance is also provided to them if they perform extremely well. The training programs are categorized as:

•  

Integrate - focuses on bringing the new team together

Improve- focuses on capability building of the team

We believe that learning has to start from the time one joins the company. Hence the training provided at that stage covers all the basic aspects of selling and product knowledge with specific programs like Torque and Momentum. Torque is a fast-track 3-day program and Momentum is a 16-day product training program for new joinees. The intensity of the training programs increases as the employee moves up the ladder, focusing more on acquisition of essential competencies for the next role.

Tell us something about the real-time data capture software at Allergan.

‘Envision electronic reporting’ (PDA) was introduced to track and capture real-time data from the Sales executives who make regular sales calls with medical practitioners. The field sales executive carries a PDA which has a list of doctors that he/she has to meet. Once the meeting is complete, he/she updates the PDA. These details get captured onto the main database.

How significant are Research and Development activities for Allergan?

In this growing age of incurable diseases, it is vital for any Pharma company to pursue and continuously do research on new cures for diseases. We invest a great deal in research and development because that’s what we believe will give us our edge over other pharma competitors. Every year, the investment spent on R & D has been significantly increasing and will continue to increase in the years to come. The kind of Product pipeline we have is a matter of envy for all our competitors. We also have a Clinical research set up in Bangalore, India.

What do you think are some of the key success factors of Allergan India?

Allergan India is the acknowledged leader in the eye care segment with roughly 21% market share. Low input costs and customized formulation for Indian markets have also helped us to sustain large volume production. Our competitive advantage over other Pharma companies in India is the trained, knowledgeable and motivated field personnel. Precisely this is the reason for us investing heavily in development and empowerment of our employees. World-class infrastructure and use of innovative technology cannot be discounted from our success factors.

What are some of the future plans for the company?

The company plans to rapidly move into the health care segment with emphasis on Botox. We intend to introduce state-of-the art products for reducing morbid obesity in individuals. We will continue to leverage our expertise in R&D activities to create new and better products for consumers and ensure an improved life for them.

What are your Career Anchors? : Quiz; March'08

Career anchors are distinct patterns of self perceived talents, abilities, motives, needs, attitudes and values that guide and stabilise a person’s career after years of real world experiences and feedback.

To determine your career anchors give a response (SA= Strongly agree, A=Agree, D=Disagree, SD= Strongly disagree) that best describes your feelings about each statement below.

1. 1. I would leave my company rather than be promoted out of my area of expertise.

   2. Becoming highly specialized and highly competent in some specific functional or technical area is important to me.

   3. A career that is free from organization restriction is important to me.

   4. I have always sought a career in which I could be of service to others.

   5. A career that provides a maximum variety of types of assignments and work projects is important to me.

   6. To rise to a position in general management is important to me.

   7. I like to be identified with a particular organization and the prestige that accompanies that organization

   8. Remaining in my present geographical location rather than moving because of a promotion is important to me.

   9. The use of my skills in building a new business enterprise is important to me.

   10. I would like to reach a level of responsibility in an organization where my decisions really make a difference.

   11. I see myself more as a generalist as opposed to being committed to one specific area of expertise.

   12. An endless variety of challenges in my career is important to me.

   13. Being identified with a powerful or prestigious employer is important to me.

   14. The excitement of participating in many areas of work has been the underlying motivation behind my career.

   15. The process of supervising, influencing, leading and controlling people at all levels is important to me.

   16. I am willing to sacrifice some of my autonomy to stabilize my total life situation.

   17. An organization that will provide security through guaranteed work benefits, a good retirement, and so forth is important to me.

   18. During my career I will be mainly concerned with my own sense of freedom and autonomy.

   19. I will be motivated throughout my career by the number of products that I have been directly involved in creating.

   20. I want others to identify me by my organization and my job.

   21. Being able to use my skills and talents in the service of an important cause is important to me.

   22. To be recognized by my title and status is important to me.

   23. A career that permits a maximum of freedom and autonomy to choose my own work, hours and so forth is important to me.

   24. A career that gives me a great deal of flexibility is important to me.

   25. To be in a position in general management is important to me.

   26. It is important for me to be identified by my occupation.

   27. I will accept a management position only if it is in my area of expertise.

   28. It is important for me to remain in my present geographical location rather than move because of a promotion or new job assignment.

   29. I would like to accumulate personal fortune to prove myself and others that I am competent.

   30. I want to achieve a position that gives me the opportunity to combine analytical competence with supervision of people.

   31. I have been motivated throughout my career by using my talents in variety of different areas of work.

   32. An endless variety of challenges is what I really want from my career.

   33. An organization that will give me long run stability is important to me.

   34. To be able to create or build something that is entirely my own product or idea is important to me.

   35. Remaining in my specialized area as opposed to being promoted out of my area of expertise is important to me.

   36. I do not want to be constrained by either organization or the business world.

   37. Seeing others change because of my efforts is important to me.

   38. My main concern in life is to be competent in my area of expertise.

   39. The chance to pursue my own lifestyle and not be constrained by the rules of an organization is important to me.

   40. I find most organizations to be restrictive and intrusive.

   41. Remaining in my area of expertise, rather than being promoted into general management is important to me.

   42. I want a career that allows me to meet my basic needs through helping others.

   43. The use of my interpersonal and helping skills in the service of others is important to me.

   44. I like to see others change because of my efforts.

Scoring Key

Score your responses by writing the number that corresponds to your responses. (SA=4, A=3, D=2, SD=1) to each question in the space next to the item number. Then obtain subscale scores by adding your sore on the items indicated and then divide by the number of items in the scale.

The types of career anchors are:-

1. Technical competence: You organize career around the challenge of the actual work you are doing.
2. Autonomy: You value freedom and independence.
3. Service: You are concerned with helping others or working on an important cause.
4. Identity: You are concerned with status, prestige and titles in your work.
5. Variety: You seek an endless variety of new and different challenges.
6. Managerial competence: You like to solve problems and want to lead and control others.
7. Security: You want stability and career security.
8. Creativity: You have a strong need to create something of your own.

Ask yourself ..On which anchor did I receive the highest score? What jobs fit best with this anchor? Use your analysis to select the right job and career for you. You will function best when your job fits with your career anchor. 

Source: Robbins, SP, 1994, ‘Organizational Behavior’, 6th edition, Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking: Book Review; March'08

Title:Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

Author:Malcolm Gladwell

Publication details:  Allen Lane, Great Britain, 2005

Number of pages:277 pages

Ever assessed a person the moment you met him and then later found out that the assessment was right. Malcolm Gladwell, the author of the best seller 'The Tipping Point’ writes yet another engaging book ‘Blink’ about how brilliant decisions makers make their judgement in the blink of an eye. It shows how we can hone our instinctive ability in order to become better decision makers in our homes, offices and everyday life.

Blink explores how a part of the brain can leap instantly to conclusions based on very little information. The book opens with the story of a magnificently preserved ancient Greek statue about to be purchased by the Getty Museum in California for about $10 million. After 14 months of investigation, the Getty staff had concluded that the statue was genuine. But an art historian taken to see it, in an instant decided it was fake. Further investigations revealed that the statue had been sculptured by Roman forgers in the early 1980's. The analysts who did research turned out to be wrong. The historian who relied on his initial hunch was right.

In our brains there is, Gladwell argues, a mighty backstage process, which works its will subconsciously. Through this we have the capacity to sift huge amounts of information, blend data, isolate telling details and come to astonishingly rapid conclusions. And the good news is… "The power of knowing, in that first two seconds…. is an ability we can all build for ourselves." The key is to understand and enhance a natural human adeptness at ‘thin slicing’ picking up on patterns in situations based on very narrow slices of experience. Gladwell cites successful people who trust what they know, instead of succumbing to ‘paralysis through analysis.’

What I found interesting is the way people rely on the accuracy of such assessments even when they are dangerously wrong. The book describes this ‘dark side of rapid cognition’ with examples of voters electing Warren G. Harding, one of the worst presidents, because he looked presidential. It also shows how snap decisions can lead us astray if they're rooted, for example, in cultural prejudices with the instance of the New York police shooting and killing an unarmed immigrant because they misread his intentions.

But thankfully the book says that such behavior can be anticipated if it is better understood, and can be modified. ''Every moment -- every blink -- is composed of a series of discrete moving parts,'' he writes, ''and every one of those parts offers an opportunity for intervention, for reform, and for correction.'' And like Galdwell rightly points out "It doesn't seem like we have much control over whatever bubbles to the surface from our unconscious. But we do, and if we can control the environment in which rapid cognition takes place, then we can control rapid cognition. We can protect people fighting wars, or manning emergency rooms….from making mistakes."

Nothing new here I would say, but what is new is the way Gladwell uses fascinating stories to explain his ideas. For instance in an experiment he describes, consumers invited to rank 44 different jams ranked them similar to a panel of food experts. Then another nonexpert group was asked to rank the jams, but with detailed explanations for the ranking. Result: The rankings were drastically different. Gladwell thus justifies the point of how "introspection destroyed people's ability to solve insight problems." Now I know why when I ask my husband “Why do you love me?” he is unable to give an adequate explanation. He just knows. So next time data tells you something and your intuition tells you something else, there is every reason you should explore further. With its blend of anecdotes and academic research Blink is a brilliant book. A book you must definitely read!

Making the Most of Performance Reviews : Feature Article; March'08

Performance Reviews – making the most of them !

If I mention “Performance Review” most of you would think of rating, salary increments, bonuses and promotions. Would you also think of future performance, skill enhancement and charting a stellar career? If the answer is “Yes” then you may already be making the most of your performance review, if the answer is “No” then read on. 

Why do Performance Reviews exist?
By and large they exist to review your past performance and provide you feedback for improvements. Most performance reviews are completed on a yearly basis. For the organization the main objectives of having performance reviews include:-

• To ensure each team member knows clearly what they are expected to do, individually.

• To set standards / establish a level of competence for both the individual employee and the workplace as a whole.

• To plan for and receive inputs from employees for their professional and career growth.

• To ensure performance of employees are evaluated on same criteria for the same job.

• For a fair and objective basis for rewarding and recognizing individual performance To provide regular feedback on how one is doing to improve/develop self.

Usually performance reviews are completed by your manager and then reviewed together by both of you. This gives you one-on-one time with the manager to highlight your abilities and discuss professional growth. Thus the discussion is an important aspect of the review process. Let’s see how you can make this discussion meaningful.

Preparing for the Performance Review
Preparing for the performance appraisal ensures you are ready with your points of view and can table them with your Manager. Being unprepared means being a reactive or a passive participant in the process.  It is essential that you take time out and do the following:-

• • Review your work: Think about ….

    • Your job description, job responsibilities, and any job performance expectations set with your manager

    • Key achievements and factors that contributed to them

    • Factors that inhibited your optimal performance

    • Steps taken towards self-development

    • Career aspirations for future

    • Training and self-development needs.

  • Document adequately: If the review form does not provide space for the points mentioned above document them in additional comments section. Be detailed in writing your self-evaluation. Make sure to give specific examples. If you saved the company money by suggesting and implementing a process, add that. Mention figures. Write “Trained 8 batches comprising of 15 people each” instead of “Conducted training for a lot of batches’’.
  • Ensure feedback is received from all managers: If you've had more than one manager in the performance assessment period, be sure that the earlier manager has passed on feedback of your performance to the current one.

What you should do during the review discussion

What you should not do during the review discussion

What about Post Discussion?

The value of a performance review lies in the action that you take based on the discussion you have had with your manager. Do work on the feedback received. Follow through on action points you have agreed upon. If your manager has agreed to support you, remind him gently if he does not keep his commitment.

• 1. Be an active participant: Your performance review will be effective if you are as active and involved as your Manager in expressing your positions and ideas. Performance appraisal time is an excellent time for you to make suggestions about work practices that could be changed to deliver better performance. Remember your manager can't read your mind. He/she can work with you to help you do your job more effectively, if you provide him/her with information and ideas.

  2. Be a positive contributor to the process: Seeing the process as a positive tool to build your career will help you maintain a positive frame of mind all through the discussion even when you are being criticized. The key is to participate with a problem-solving mindset focusing on how things can be improved.

  3. Review past performance: Go through your past performance and objectively identify the areas where you excelled. At the same time, do not avoid the criticism that might come your way. Be graceful in admitting where you went wrong and seek guidance from your Manager on how to proceed in future.   

  4. Understand your strengths and also weaknesses: Ask your manager to be frank in listing out your strengths and weaknesses vis-à-vis your current role as well as your next planned or targeted role.

  5. Discuss your career aspirations and related development needs: This is a good time to discuss your personal career goals and to get input on achieving these goals. If you don't know what role you can move into next, ask.

  6. Mention the support you need from your Manager: Be clear in letting your Manager know the areas where you would need her/his support. If you need help with more resources or you need your Manager to provide you inputs etc to be successful in your goals, mention that clearly.

  7. Ask for increased job responsibilities: If you want to grow, you must take on additional work responsibilities. So request for it. Even if you are not given higher responsibilities immediately, your manager will remember your eagerness to shoulder more responsibilities.

  8. Seek clarifications: Some managers communicate and explain well. Some don't. However, unless you clarify the reasoning or explanations, you won't know what you need to do to improve your future job performance. It's important to leave the review meeting having a good understanding of what's been said.

  1. Focus on just completing the Review Forms: The ultimate purpose of performance review is to allow employees and managers to improve continuously and to remove barriers to job success. Forms are simply a way of recording information for later reference. If the focus is getting the forms "done", without thought and effort, the whole process becomes a waste of time.

  2. Point out your manager’s shortcomings: This is a strict NO. It's your review, not your manager’s. So, do not be tempted to highlight her/his improvement areas; rather mention the areas where you need her/his cooperation. Discuss how the two of you can work better together.

  3. Express disappointment about responsibilities in the review period: If you are upset about your responsibility areas, you don’t have to wait until the review to express it. You should mention this at the time when you feel the tasks are not challenging enough.

  4. Play the blame game: Blaming others for your non-performance reflects poorly on you. Accept your mistakes gracefully, learn from them, and move on empowered with this new knowledge. Your Manager will respect you more if you are open to work on your shortcomings. 

  5. Be defensive: It is difficult to hear others' critical comments about our work. But, if you enter into the discussion with an attitude of "defending", then it's almost impossible to create the dialogue necessary for performance improvement. This does not mean you cannot present your own opinions and perceptions, but that you should present them in a calm, factual manner, rather than in a defensive, emotional way.

  6. Blackmail the organization to get a good performance rating: Don't use threats of resignation/offer letters from other firms to get a good performance rating. If your manager changes the rating based on it and gives you a rating you do not deserve, during the normalization process it will get normalised. In the long run you will lose more than you gain in the short term by way of the negative feeling of your Manager and colleagues towards you.

  7. Focus on review as a way of getting more money: Pay is important, but the focus on what ultimately matters over the long term ie., continuous performance improvement should not be diluted especially if because of the money focus one becomes hesitant to reveal shortcomings or mistakes. Improve and deliver brilliant performance. Money will automatically follow.

Conclusion

Reviews are not merely about recognition and rewards. It is also about learning and development. The feedback that you get can help you move up the organisational ladder faster. While during your review, your past performance is evaluated, the roadmap for the future is also prepared. This roadmap could define all the success you will enjoy in your professional life! Choose to be an active participant in this process and chart the path to where you wish to go in your career.

References

• • Bose, P, “Performance review: Dos and don'ts?”, http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2008/mar/11review.htm.
  • Ghosh, G, “Getting your performance review right”, http://gauteg.blogspot.com/2007/12/getting-your-performance-review.html.
    • Darode, V, “Top Ten Tips for a Better Performance Review”, http://techwriteway.blogspot.com/2007/06/top-ten-tips-for-better-performance.html.
    • Kirk, J.F, “It's the need to achieve that drives top performers”, http://www.selfmgmt.com/wpress/Toronto%20Star%20-%20Need%20to%20Achieve-Oct%202006.pdf.
    • Bacal, R, “Seven Stupid Things EMPLOYEES Do To Screw Up Performance Review”, http://workhelp.org/content/view/10/49/.

Ask the Expert: Jan'08

1. I have to perform the difficult and unpleasant task of telling someone he is being fired from from the job for non performance. How do I do it in the most humane fashion?

You can start by consulting HR to understand more about the personal circumstances of the individual being terminated in case you are not already aware. Also developing a plan with HR prior to the conversation with the employee is a good idea - thinking about what you are going to tell, making notes of all relevant points and keeping all related paperwork handy to ensure that the meeting is concluded comprehensively. Your attempt should be to keep the meeting short and concise with a focus on conveying facts as kindly as possible.

Start the meeting by telling the person straightway that he is being fired. Be candid and clear about the reasons for the same and the last working day. If there are instances like comments on his appraisals asking him to improve performance, refer to them to provide a valid case for the termination of his employment. He should know that he has been give adequate time to improve. If he wants to talk, listen to him patiently and allow him to ask any questions that he may have. However, at any point do not let him think that he can convince you to reverse the discussion. Incase the person becomes emotionally imbalanced it is important that you keep your emotions under check and calm him.

Do not undermine the seriousness of the discussion by trying to make small talk at the beginning of the meeting or be unfeeling by not offering your sympathy. Be respectful and compassionate during the entire meeting. Depending on how the discussion has gone conclude the meeting with a discussion of his strengths and jobs that will be most suitable for him. Offer him any help like reviewing his CV, giving placement agency contacts etc only if you are sure you can provide that help.

2. I am scheduled to attend a training program? I know I’ll have a good time. But I also want to want to ensure that I actually gain from the training programs I attend? How do I do that?

It is good that you want to make the most of the training programs that you attend. Following are some general ways to get value from a training program:-

• Before the program: Any training program should help you improve your ability to contribute to your organization. So understand from your supervisor or HR what are the skills /concepts expected to be learnt during the training program and how are they going to help you at the workplace so that you are clear about the training program’s objectives. Be diligent about completing any pre training readings /exercises etc.
• During the program: Be an enthusiastic learner - participate actively in discussions, clarify all doubts, do not let work issues interrupt your learning process etc.
• At the end of the program: Review what you have learnt vis-à-vis the learning expectations that you had before the program. If they have not been met take guidance from the trainer on how to further develop in that area. Set some implementation objectives ie., things that you would like to try at the actual work place.
• At work: Look for opportunities to apply all that is learnt. Take feedback from your supervisor and colleagues on whether you have improved in the area you were trained in. Make good use of any post training support offered by trainer.

3. A colleague of mine is trying to spoil my personal and professional image by trying to belittle belittle me. What do I do?

Is this a one off incident or series of incidents? If it is just one instance and does not repeat you can ignore it. The person may have just temporarily given vent to some frustration.

If it repeats several times then it is time to take action. Firstly make sure your colleague is actually trying to belittle you. It may just be his/her way of behaving with everybody. In which case he/she needs to be given feedback about how it is affecting others. You can do a reality check with other colleagues. If they too feel that you are the only one being targeted by this person then enduring it silently sends out a message that you can be treated badly.

Stand up for yourself and take action. Confront him/her calmly next time the instance occurs in front of you. If it takes place behind your back, confront the person with proof/ instances when he/she has belittled you. Tell him/her that it is not acceptable. If he/she still continues then continue to confront him/her till it stops. Report the matter to your supervisor. He/she is responsible for maintaining a workplace which is positive and such instances can be toxic for the workplace.

Balanced Scorecard: Management Funda; Jan'08

What does it mean

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a performance measurement framework that focuses on a range of measures under 4 perspectives to provide a balanced view of organization performance. A BSC typically comprise of both leading indicators (measures which drive performance, eg., in sales ‘order bagged’) and lagging indicators (actual results of performance, eg., in sales ‘pipeline value’). By focusing not only on leading indicators like financial outcomes but also on lagging indicators like human issues, the BSC provides a more comprehensive view of a business thus helping organizations act in their long-term interests.

What are the 4 perspectives

The original BSC method developed by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton in the early 1990s as a result of a year’s research with 12 companies, mentioned the following 4 perspectives:-

• Financial perspective: This examines if the company’s strategy, implementation and execution are contributing to the company’s bottom-line improvement. It incorporates tangible strategy outcomes in traditional financial terms like cash flow, costs, ROI, revenue growth etc.
• Customer perspective: This defines the value proposition of the organization to satisfy its customers to generate more sales through the most desired (i.e. the most profitable) customer groups. The measures selected for the customer perspective measure both the value delivered to the customer like delivering committed quality or service and the outcomes of this value proposition like customer satisfaction, market share etc.
• Internal process perspective: This is concerned with the processes that create and deliver the customer value proposition. It focuses on all the activities and key processes required in order for the company to excel at providing the value expected by the customers both productively and efficiently. Some measures are accident ratios, defect rates etc.
• Learning and growth perspective: This is concerned with the intangible assets - jobs (human capital), the systems (information capital), and the climate (organization capital) of the enterprise basically the infrastructure needed to meet ambitious objectives in the other three perspectives. Measures can include employee satisfaction, internal promotions %, employee turnover etc.

Can other perspectives be used

Yes. Since the introduction of BSC by Kaplan and Norton many writers have suggested alternative headings for these perspectives and use of either additional or fewer perspectives. But basically designing the BSC requires selecting both leading and lagging indicators and selecting five or six good measures for each perspective. Thus the major design challenge faced is justifying the choice of measures made. If users are not confident that the measures are well chosen, they will have less confidence in the information it provides.

Example of a BSC of a Regional Airline

Mission: Dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride and Company spirit.
Vision: Continue building on our unique position -- the only short haul, low-fare,high-frequency, point-to point carrier in America.

How does it work

The general steps to using a BSC, which are also illustrated in the above Regional Airline example are as follows:-

1. Identify a vision: Implementing BSC starts from the company vision ie., where is the organization going?
2. Identify strategies: By identifying strategies you tell how you will get there.
3. Define perspectives: This means you have to ask what we have to do well in each perspective.
4. Identify the measures: From the perspectives defined, measures are identified.
5. Evaluate: Thereafter ask how do we measure that everything is going the expected way.
6. Create action plans: Based on this work you should create action plans and plan reporting and operation of the BSC.
7. Follow up and manage: Here you should have answers to …How will the BSC be managed? Who should have reports and what should they look like?

What are it applications

Kaplan and Norton found that companies are using the scorecard to drive strategy execution, to clarify strategy and make strategy operational, to identify and align strategic initiatives, to link budget with strategy, to align the organization with strategy, to conduct periodic strategic performance reviews and to learn about and improve strategy.
 

How can I use it

Before you dismiss this tool as just another organization strategy tool please note like any strategy tool, BSC can also be creatively applied in different spheres of our life. While the implementation of the scorecard generally begins at the corporate level, it can be useful at all levels of an organization. So as a manager you can create a scorecard for your team or as the head of a department you can create a scorecard for your department. All you have to ensure is that there is a good mix of leading and lagging indicators and the different perspectives selected by you provide a balanced approach to improving performance.  Talking of applications for you, would it not be great to see your life’s score card.

References

• • ‘Balanced scorecard’ , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_scorecard
  • http://www.balancedscorecard.org/Portals/0/PDF/Regional_Airline.pdf.
  • ‘How to use the Balanced Scorecard’, http://thebalancedscorecard.com/how_to_bsc.htm.
  • Missroon, A M,  ‘Demystifying the Balanced Scorecard’, DM Direct, May 1999 , http://www.performance-appraisals.org/cgi-bin/links/jump.cgi?ID=8131.

Employee Speak: Mr. Ashutosh Atray, VP Training and Fleet Management, V-Link Taxis Pvt. Ltd; Jan'08

www.merucabs.com

1. Tell us something about your company and what it is trying to do in the Market.

V-Link Taxis is a service oriented company. Its main aim is to provide hassle free, quality, premium service to its commuters which is not yet available in so many cities.

2. What is your role in the company?

I am responsible for Training and Resources.  Besides developing and ensuring that quality training is imparted to drivers, I am also responsible for effective utilization of resources like infrastructure, vehicles and the mobile servicing team.

3. What are the key challenges you face in your industry and specifically in your role?  How do you deal with them?

Tapping, attracting and retaining the talent pool among taxi drivers is a great challenge. The second key challenge is to maintain quality in service delivery to the customer.  Quality is required at several levels and departments, ranging from the call center, vehicle fitment, driver selection and training, IT systems and Recovery/Accounts.  In order to ensure quality, the entire machinery needs to be well oiled and work as a single unit. Each department needs to perform as a team based on set processes in a timely manner with a firm focus on business goals. The third key challenge is driver training and attitude.  Each driver reacts uniquely to different situations and to the same situations at different times.  Ensuring their adherence to processes to deliver the same quality each time is challenging.

4. What kind of training do you provide to the drivers who are deployed in Meru cabs?

In a way the driver is the face of our company. A lot depends on how the driver performs on that day.  Every thing becomes null and void if the driver makes the customer unhappy. We have a 5 day comprehensive training program that covers several topics like good driving, road safety, basic maintenance, technical specifications, city topography, personal hygiene, etiquette etc.

5. Is the training provided by V-Link to it’s cab drivers unique to the taxi industry in India?

It is unique.  Besides being very comprehensive and covering various aspects as mentioned before, strict adherence on the part of the driver to the set processes is largely dependent on the driver since he is not just an employee but a mini entrepreneur.  Our training also touches upon this aspect and raises the self esteem of the driver by making him understand the finer nuances of his new role. He not only needs to perform well but also needs to exhibit a finer behaviour and process adherence as this impacts the company as well as his business.

6. Recently V-Link was in the news regarding the training facility provided at the Regional Transport Office. How is this unique and what are the advantages for the driver undergoing such a program? Do you feel this can be replicated anywhere else in the country?

The transport department would like to groom and educate the drivers of Mumbai city.   Being in the industry we would like to actively contribute towards this social cause.  Whenever a driver comes to the RTO for a new license or renewing an old one etc, the RTO encourages them to meet our team specifically designated permanently for training at the RTO. The training is conducted by professional trainers in a room set up for such training.  The purpose is to raise driver awareness to higher levels thereby ensuring safer roads.  This training is on ongoing basis.  When the driver completes this successfully he is presented a certificate as well. This initiative is 3 months old now and we are proud to say that every day about 60 to 70 drivers are trained and a total of over 6000 drivers have been trained so far. We have two more requests from the RTO and we are in the process of developing a multilingual training in Hindi and Marathi as well.

7. What are the unique challenges of training drivers?

Ensuring satisfactory levels of service is very challenging indeed.  For example, our training chalks out that the driver be well dressed, clean shaven, wearing good shoes in other words very neatly turned out. To ensure the above he is also given a uniform and shoes.  In addition to this he needs to display positive attitude and caring guest handling. However the driver does not consider appearance as a key factor for his success and many drivers do not realize that they can really make a day for a guest by giving perfect service. The driver is an integral part of customer experience of Meru.  Our driver relations team meets this challenge by closely interacting with the drivers and putting them through periodic repeat trainings.  In addition we also have a news letter as a point of contact with the drivers.

8. Can you tell us a little about the work done by the fleet management team?

The work of the Fleet management team is very specialized since there are a large number of vehicles involved.  The key performance indicator is efficiency.  Greater efficiency and lesser vehicle downtime results in better output and thereby translates into greater revenue.  For this purpose a large database of vehicle information is maintained and data analysis is done on key parameters like servicing and preventive maintenance.

9. What are the future plans that you have for training and fleet management that you have for V-Link?

For training we would like to establish a world class futuristic training facility where anyone can send their drivers for quality training.  This facility would adopt the best training methods and practices with handouts, top class professional trainers and multilingual training.  The MCT (Mobile Communication Terminal) will have all routes mapped and a driver will have the discretion to use best possible route to his destination.

For Fleet management we are developing software systems and processes for data analysis. We are also planning to open multi-model service centers that will service and repair all kinds of vehicles.

10. What is different about working with V-Link?

The company is growing very fast. The operations are going to be pan-India. The company has already established a good name for itself in the market place. It is a challenge to come up to expectations. A management which provides the right mix of support and liberty makes working here extremely satisfying.  I am happy to be a part of this dynamic new business initiative.