June 10th, 2009 by Sanjeev SharmaHaving worked both in the public and private sector I have seen the functioning and differences therein of these sectors. Here are the few basic differences that make the two so different:
1. Reactive approach Vs Proactive approach: Instead of waiting for things to happen you find out what lies ahead and go about unravelling the curled spirals of project management.
2. No holds barred approach: There isn’t an excuse. No reason is big enough. If something has to be done there ought to be a way. Clear thinking and correct evaluation of a scenario holds the key. Once the problem is defined half the work is done you know!
3. Employee empowerment-You are trusted until you break trust. Complete power and total responsibility defines your role in the private sector!
4. Removal of unnecessary hassles- There’ll be numerous hassles that public sector ideology ties around your feet. You break free and kick the air. You do what is necessary and you won’t have to do what is wastes time or energy. You have the freedom to focus!
5. Value of time and money: Time is money and both are invaluable. Lose any and you lose your way. the ultimate essence of good management and a good manager! You respect these and respect comes to you automatically.
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April 27th, 2009 by Sanjeev SharmaThe world is reeling under the most monstrous financial crisis that has visited since the 1930s. Here’s my take on this and how I understand it:
The US is a developed nation with people whose needs are largely met and who have little incentive to go out and buy(stuff that really drives economies such as consumer durables, capital goods etc). As a result the growth of industry in the US as in any developed economy was stunted. At the same time there is a lot of money to invest both in the US and outside. Dismal bank rates and poor performing stock markets were bad investments to say the least. Avenues of investment with good return were limited.
MBAs in the US thought they could get out of this no returns on anything scenario by riding on the realty market where prices of homes were constantly on the rise. To feed the investors hungry for good returns they carved out a complex set of instruments bunndling the mortgages of home home buyers vested with lending institutions. These mortgages promised to be great investments when the house prices were moving up. Now to increase the supply of these mortgages more and more borrowers were required. The banks helped generate these borrowers by incresing lending. The quality of lending suffered as loans were readily made available to even those who did not deserve them i.e the sub-prime. This fed the raging fire i.e provided a huge market for investment for surplus cash with institutions.
The real chaos began when the subprime borrowers started to default on their payments and loan foreclosures started. The home prices started to fall with these foreclosures. Suddenly the complex instruments that seemed so lucrative when the borrowers were repaying their loans started to pop. Their values began to come down. Huge institutions with millions in these ‘assets’ started to panic and gradually these ‘assets’ became ‘toxic’. This led to the collapse of giants such as Fannie Maye and Freddie Mac.
Banks stopped lending and as a result all sources of finance and funding dried out. Interset rates were constantly brought down but to no help. This sent the economy into a tizzy. The mental frame of people in the US became even more negative and everybody started to save at the same time-consumer spending slowed down. This really put the brakes on the US economy.
To come out of this mess it should take a while. Especially for the people to make a habit of spending again. We in India are affected because US is one of our biggest customers and banking institutions are affected by the low liquidity in the world markets. The unwillingness of banks to lend even in India is causing the Indian economy to slow down. Economic progress is directly related to the free circluation of funds and the returns generated on these funds by innovative entrepreneurs. The slowdown in flow of funds is leading to the slowdown in the indian economy and not lack of demand as such. That explains why the decline in Indian growth is not as drastic as the US.
Booms and busts are the way the economic cycles run. Only thing is this is a deep well that we are into and it may take a while before we can come out of the water to breathe fersh air again!
Comments are welcome!
Tags: crisis, downturn, economy, funding, india, recession,slowdown
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March 21st, 2009 by Sanjeev SharmaMarch 21, 2009
Today India won her first test match of the ongoing test series in New Zealand. The win is the first since 1976. It is a cornerstone win in Indian cricket. For long the Indian team has lived with the fear and fact that they could not win abroad. Off late this is changing. We have a dynamic thinking captain in Dhoni and a beautiful mix of youthful energy and experience. The win is entirely deserved and can be attributed completely to the strengths that this team has consistently displayed. The win is all the more heartening and lovely because Sachin played a huge part in achieving it.
For nearly two decades now Sachin has been an integral part of almost everyone’s life in India. We have come to expect a lot from him. Like any human he is not faultless and has had his share of bad times. The Indian public however doesn’t forgive its heroes during their bad times. If we look at the way the careers of our earlier heroes have ended esp Azharuddin, Ganguly and Kapil Dev, it does give a lot of pain. After these instances of roiled fullstops to the carriers of these stalwarts one fears how Sachin’s career would end. It is really pertinent that we give him a joyful and proud farewell whenever the time comes. After Sachin’s score of 150 in New Zealand one does feel elation but I feel a sense of relief as well. For with this innings, not only has he has earned India a win that is precious beyond words, but also proven beyond doubt that he is still has mettle and is the people’s hero. However I really wish that the end of his career is as beautiful as has been the golden era of cricket that he has bestowed upon this nation.
Now this is not as easy as it sounds. Sachin loves the game and is doing very well at the moment. He may have some plans for his retirement but his love for the game and the fact that he still good at the game will make the decision very tough for him. But what he must realize that a timely decision on his retirement would go great lengths in etching his memories in the nation’s soul forever. Often a bitter end to the careers like in the case of Ganguly or Azharuddin lingers in the public memory and the greater days of glory seem a little less shinier. I would not want the same to happen to one of India’s greatest and the most loved heroes. We as the public must remember that we can never repay him for the moments of exhilaration and joy that he has given us. The least we can do is be gracious when he is near the end of his reign. But most importantly Sachin should call it a day when he feels that the nation still needs him and longs to see him bat and not when his reflexes have faded further and the public focus is on his non-performance. I am sure if Sachin is able to time his retirement in this manner he would have maximized the love he gets from the nation and his own personal satisfaction with his career.
Tags: cricket, hundred, india, new zealand, retire, sachin, test match
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January 18th, 2009 by Sanjeev SharmaI used to be my english teacher’s favourite pupil. Partly because I was a cute little kid and also because I wrote not that badly. That encouraged me to make even more effort in polishing my skills. But just as I was thinking of building my writing skills I collided headlong into the competitive frenzy of intermediate pre-grad classes seeking admission into engineering colleges. Everything other than pure classical physics and calculus took a backseat. Even through college there was hardly any time left after barely touching all the credits. As an engineer in the professional world, writing as a habit was something that I left far behind. But after five years into engineering structures around India I feel I miss something. There have been things I always wanted to do but never got to. And now that the wave of life has moved along the timeline and settled into a more consistent amplitude from an interference of high and low frequency beats, I am focussing on things that were always dear to me. Playing tennis is one, learning how to play the guitar is another and writing is what has brought to me this blogsite. I hope writing on this blog will -one, help me explore myself and how i interact with this world; two, let me share my experiences with everyone who is interested and three, give me a creative satisfaction that I believe only writing can. So ..
