A faux-pas at IIM Shillong
At the recent inauguration of PGP Ex Executive PG Programme at the IIM Shillong the dais welcomed everyone in the “plural.” “Welcome Shri TKA Nairs, Prof Ashoke Duttas, Dr S Shahjahans, Prof S Kakotys.” Interestingly while inviting the 35 students who would undergo the PG Program, the dignitary said, “And my dear student” (not students) as if the inauguration ceremony was attended by one student only. Other than that the inaugural was an eye opener for many. It also included a short film on the recent efforts of the World Business School Council of Sustainable Business (WBSCSB) to draw attention to the need for “sustainable management education” at the RIO 50+20 Conference. IIM Shillong one of the founder members of this Council helped in formulating the ideas for a new mantra “sustainable management education” which is a clear departure from “management for profit maximization.” The characters in the documentary – all management experts from across the globe, including Prof Sanjeeb Kakoty of IIM Shillong, called on all business schools to step back and ponder. Messages like, “Let us know the truth that economic development is based on sustainability.” “Management and business should return to their rational roots.” “Put economics and management in their proper place,” etc rent the air. The most poignant message of all was, “There is no Planet B,” which is a call to save this solitary planet earth. This indeed is a huge difference from what management institutes have created for so long – managers with no empathy for planet earth; managers who ‘manage other human beings but cannot manage themselves,’ as one of the speakers succinctly put it.
‘Casual emergency’
Space travel is unattainably expensive and so far, balancing in mid-air has just been an illusion, best done by Criss Angel and David Blaine. With the help of some faulty set-up coupled with ample support from the Secretariat staff, ‘hanging in mid-air’ became a reality when the Editor of a local vernacular daily, on Tuesday last, found himself in a rather ‘un-comforting’ situation, trapped within the four walls of the Main Secretariat (Yojana Bhavan building) lift for an astounding 15 minutes sometime in the afternoon. The reason, a ‘minor hitch’!
Losing the sense of security is the first thing that can overcome one in such a situation. One wonders what took so long on part of the staff to get this back on track. Was it some kind of an observatory, trying to research on ‘Panic attacks on entrapped men’?
Services become questionable here. Claustrophobia exists in reality and sufferers may well meet their makers. If it is not too much to ask, we might think of having proper operators to ensure proper functioning of systems and it is no big issue to have someone sitting in the lift to operate it. The creamy topping which is a bargain would be to ask the concerned staff to be involved in taking care of the lift’s functionality. At least some kind of assurance in case another ‘mix-up’ merrily occurs. What happens if the unfortunate victim happens to be the Chief Minister!
Why neglect and turn the boxed ‘lift compartments’ into ‘legal death rooms’.
All iizz well with Umkhrah/Umshyrpi?
It’s been awhile since we read the nouns Umkhrah and Umshyrpi in the news pages. So is the campaign running on steam? Or what new plans are in the offing? Or has the attention shifted elsewhere? Will someone brief the curious readers? During his visit to Shillong, Adviser to Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, Mr TKA Nair while addressing students of IIM Shillong exhorted students to follow the example of the resolute Chinese. When they set out to do something, they take it to its logical end. Meghalaya has been toying with the idea of bringing in experts from elsewhere in the country to rein in the Umkhrah and Umshyrpi. Would it be better if the whole clean-up business were outsourced to the Chinese? After all they can make things happen! And foreigners have a better chance of surviving the onslaught of naysayers. The newly launched PGPEx programme for executives, running at IIM Shillong is aimed at pushing talkers to action. Perhaps the Save Umkhrah-Umshyrpi Task Force should join the programme!