Factory Made?!

To the Left: Genetically Engineered Capsicum, To the Right: Farm Fresh Capsicum

The Jaunty Albatross

Do you like Traveling and reading Travelogues? If yes, then you must visit The Jaunty Albatross

Yes, you guessed right! The Jaunty Albatross is the other side to me - my travelogue. I like to travel, though I haven't managed to do much so far. I am trying to explore planet earth!

Take a peek....

The IRCTC Website

What with the world wide web enabling e-commerce, we'd love to book tickets and plan our travel at the comfort of our homes but invariably the Indian Railways website(IRCTC) is always down. The IRCTC site is meant to be of convienence to the public while it acts otherwise, more often than not. Patience(an understatement) and perseverance are the keys to using this site. There is no denying that I have used the site umpteen times to plan my travel yet often feel that travelling physically to the ticket booking counter will produce a faster result than using the railway website.

Why can't we use this boon(the internet) to it's optimum with better planning and no resource crunches?

Stain Glass Painting

I am rather thrilled with my first attempt at glass painting though it is not so special yet for someone like me who does not possess drawing skills at all, it is an achievement(though small) of sorts. I am known to leave stuff incomplete. :P :)

Satyam, History and Me

This is not about how, when, where, who, why and what led to the IT industry's biggest scam(Satyam) ever. Just a desire specific to my job and team. I may sound insane, when I say that I have been hoping and waitng to be laid off. Infact, I want the entire unit(rather small) to be scrapped(Sadist that I am. Can't and won't resign unless I am either asked to or have got another offer on hand).I have no clue as to what next, given the current economic scenario, I seem to head no where, unless the lord shows mercy! LOL but still I have no regrets(I need a break).

All said and done, it feels good to be a part of history! :) It will be an experience by itself to be handed the Pink Slip(Undoubtedly my ego will be hurt like any other, if and when that happens for a certain time period). While I am open to the idea and am awaiting the same, the news just broke that 10K associates(bench, non-billable, support units, etc) will not be retrenched but will fall under what is christined the Virtual Pool(for a period of 4-6months, Provident Fund, Basic Salary and Medical Allowances is all that will be provided).

I have no financial commitments as yet but am I already feeling the pinch or what?!

But alas, this will also pass!

The Essence of being a TamBram(Iyer/Iyengar)

- Is tamil/tanglish the language of your house?

- Do you meet other iyers and iyengar, only to find that you're related through your cousin's father-in-law's brother's nephew?

- Is your dad's first name your last name?

- Do you have an americanized version of your name?

- Is thayir saatham with narthanga urga part of your staple diet?

- Does your mom yell at you "etcchal pannathae"?

- Do you go to family reunions and all the men are wearing veshtis or to the temple and everyone is wearing panchagachham?

- Is "koushalya supraja....." on your family's regular playlist, and does it wake you up better than ANY alarm clock?

- Are your parents' idols Rajini and Kamal (second only to Sivaji and MGR)?

- Everytime you meet another Iyer/iyengar of the opposite sex, are your parents thinking "what a cultured boy/girl...marriage potential?"

- Does your last name exceed the spaces allotted for standardized tests?

- Does your family attach the words "di" or "da" to the end of every sentence for the added emphasis?

- Do you know your gothram offhand?

- Did you learn to sing or play carnatic music or bharthanatyam before you were 5?

- Does your family rant and rave about aviyal?

- Did your parents emphasize the importance of "Maths" every time you did your homework?

- Does your name have some deep-seated religious connotation?

- Have you phoned Uma on Pepsi Ungal Choice?

- Does your family have a crush on Uma from Pepsi Ungal Choice?

- Do you drink horlicks out of a tumbler?

- Do you HAVE to "apply" thengaai yennai to your hair on "velli kazhamais?"

- Do you and your family sit around and watch Super Vivek Comedies?

Note: I could not resist sharing the above content that I found on a group called "The Iyer - Iyengar Network" on Face Book. How apt! I couldn't agree more. :)

Corporate Citizen’s Voice - Communication and Knowledge Sharing in Global Organizations

Introduction: Organizational dynamics and management thinking are rapidly changing in the globalized environment. Large globally distributed teams are fast becoming the norm and communication patterns have to change to accommodate this trend. Human capital or employee knowledge is becoming one of the greatest organizational assets. The global and mobile knowledge professional requires multiple channels of expression. Studies indicate that learning, innovation and a growth oriented environment are amongst the highest motivators. Open communication where ideas and not position matter are perceived as performance enablers. It is therefore important to understand what motivates people to share knowledge? Which technologies act as enablers? How best to harness these technologies? This paper discusses some of the people, process and technology related issues that need to be considered while planning a communication and knowledge sharing strategy.

The evolution of the internet and web2.0 technologies has facilitated open communication channels and knowledge sharing. These technologies if used well can create transparent flow of information and globalized communities of interest. The corporate world has started utilizing some of these technologies behind the firewall and is meeting with varying degrees of success. The intranet often houses discussion boards, knowledge portals, weblogs etc. It is important to understand internet sharing behaviors in order to build effective organizational processes.

What Drives People to Contribute Content in the Corporate Space? According to a recent McKinsey research study conducted in Germany the top reasons people contribute to intranet forums are:
- Hunger for fame and identity
- Desire to have fun
- Desire to share experiences with friends
- Compensation for contributing(people studied weren't paid for contributions)

The study also found that a few users posted the most popular content - 5 to 10 percent of the users added 75 percent of the content. These findings suggest that executives pursuing such projects should start by identifying and nurturing the small percentage of users who post quality content. At one Cable Company studied, for example, more than half of the installers who contributed to an internal wiki said that social factors such as reputation building, team spirit and community identification were the main factors motivating them to contribute. Only 20 percent cited the possibility of a financial bonus as their main driver. To encourage well-connected employees to post ideas to the wiki, managers at the company examined its internal e-mail system to identify key staffers with wide social networks. They then encouraged these employees to post suggestions about improving the company's processes. Identifying thought leaders and promoting their participation boosted the number of contributions and improved the quality of the postings. Other companies strive to make collaboration fun: at Google, for instance, employees place online bets on the likelihood that particular ideas will be adopted. Intuit uses a rotation program that invites selected staffers to contribute to the company's internal online dialogues. Managers should also consider taking a page from video sites by tapping the power of tools that let users share relevant content easily. Likewise, companies should make sure that their employees can access collaborative tools with a minimum of bureaucratic hassle. These intranet based tools also work as glue that binds a geographically distributed team.

What processes can the organization use to enable effective use of knowledge sharing technologies? Corporate wikis and content sites (such as Wikipedia) gain popularity when new visitors discover and contribute high-quality content, which in turn makes the sites worthwhile for other newcomers. In order to improve the quality of internal wikis, organizations could follow quality assurance practices of open-source coding projects and appoint quality auditors. Organizations should also create transparent and enforceable guidelines to prohibit unethical or illegal behavior, such as the posting of copyrighted material or proprietary secrets. They can learn from the examples of YouTube (which attempts to review content for obscenity before posting) or Wikipedia (which has committees that review entries for quality) and adopt similar review procedures for their corporate content.Incentivizing contributions and usage is another important aspect to success. Organizations need to tap the right incentives to encourage sharing behaviors. As demonstrated by the Mckinsey study financial incentives are not the greatest motivators. Peer recognition, status and learning should also be built into the incentive program.

What are the technologies available today?
There are several methods to encourage and gather the voice of employees, while providing them with an incentive. The employees of an organization form a “society’. The growth of web.20 technology enables this “society” to express, share, agree, disagree, and suggest using web based mediums such as:

- Discussion Boards on MS SharePoint
- Blogs(web logs), Wikis
- KM libraries
- Online learning systems
- An online forum to contribute ideas that will help the organization benefit and in turn reward the employee with a prize as an incentive and recognition
- Podcasts, Video-sharing sites
- Corporate Social Networks (CSN) on the lines of Facebook, Myspace behind the corporate firewall.

While all of the above listed Web2.0 tools have their set of advantages in bringing people together, they have their disadvantages as well.

For instance a CSN like Facebook may help reveal basic information about employees of an organization while at the same time not many employees will be open to revealing a lot of their personal data on a professional network (CSN). This will lead to a dry interaction and thus limited knowledge sharing. According to a recent McKinsey research study, organizations are planning to invest 37% in CSN.
Unilever was exploring the idea of setting up a CSN in October, 2007 alongside their existing people directory.

On the other hand the discussion board on a MS Sharepoint site. Since MicroSoft Applications are built in a manner that enables them to interact with each other the MS Sharepoint discussion board can be set to alert an user by email in his/her MSOutlook inbox. This will let the user know that a certain action has taken place on the discussion board, which will then enable the user to take the necessary action.

Weblogs: are personal journals published on the world wide web or an intranet. Every post is assigned an individual URL that can be archived. Each post can contain text and images. Weblogs can be used as a knowledge journal, personal knowledge inventory, collaborative sharing forum that sparks off a discussion which is searchable. They are written by specifically identified members of the organization - senior management or employees with large social networks and can be used to generate interest and institutionalize the process. According to a recent McKinsey research study, organizations are planning to invest 32% in weblogs.

Wiki: refer to collaborative knowledge sharing platforms. They can be used to create and share knowledge. They are a very effective way to bring new members in as members can contribute to a topic. Important to have a reviewing committee that approves contributions and checks for validity of information posted. According to a recent McKinsey research study, organizations are planning to invest 33% in wikis.

A McKinsey research study on corporate investments in web2.0 indicates that the interest in India towards investment in Web2.0 technologies across various verticals like Retail, High Tech, Telecommunications, Financial Services and Pharmaceuticals over the next three years is high.

SharePoint: an online collaborative tool that is used mainly as a repository and for collaborative document creation. It has discussion boards that are searchable but not as effective as a wiki or a weblog, as it is designed like a repository and does not provide a personal feel.

Video blogs: messages could be posted once a fortnight or once a month featuring an employee of the month (some one who has contributed value or has an idea to share). This is a powerful tool for employee voice but will require huge infrastructure and processes which could be different from the other forums.

Conclusion: Thus choosing a Web2.0 technology tool to enable employee voice will depend on several factors, such as: People, Process, the ROI, Value Add, Need, Incentive and Motive, that will vary from business to business.

References:

Martin Roll. Distributed KM – Improving Knowledge Workers’ Productivity and Organization Knowledge Sharing with Weblog-based Personal Publishing

A McKinsey Global Survey: How businesses are using Web2.0

Jacques R. Bughin, Mckinsey Research, 2007

ROI of face book – Toby Ward, intranet global forum

Note: This was an assignment that I worked on as a part of an interview process in February 2008 and hence data provided may be obsolete. I intended to get it published but got too lazy(to update the data and to persue publishers) and hence decided if not anywhere else, at least my blog.

Dhriti Bhatia - The Wonder Kid

I don't usually spend a lot of time in front of the idiot box but try not to miss Jai Shri Krishna on Colors not for the story of lord Krishna but purely to watch the child star Dhriti Bhatia. This toddler is not just cute, adorable and a bundle of joy but a splendid actress at the age of three(she started acting when she was 2yrs and 10months old).

I do hope the kid is not over worked and has enough time to play and be her normal self. Watch the small wonder in action on YouTube. Here she is all set for the shoot!

My First Meme

I have seen the concept of a 'Meme' do the rounds on the blogosphere and hope that I have got it right. I copied this meme from Terra Shield's blog, who in turn found it on Sunday Stealing.

So, here I go....

1. How did you come up with your blog title OR what does it mean?
I blog about almost everything and anything under the sun in this
blog and also welcome comments from my readers. Thus I felt 'Chit
Chat', would be the apt title for my blog.

2. What are your general goals for blogging?
Helps vent, express my opinions, understand and learn others views on
various subjects.

3. Do people “in your real life” know that you blog and do they
comment on your blog OR is it largely anonymous? How often do
you post (x per week)?
Yes, people in my real life know that I blog and do comment as well.
Infact, I pain them till they leave a comment, most often. :P

I used to blog often in the past but not anymore. Anywhere between
1-5 posts a month is all I manage now. Once a week is a little too often,
don't manage to maintain such frequency any more.

4. How often do you read other blogs (x per week)?
Almost everytime they update it as the same reflects on my blogroll
unless offcourse I am pressed for time or if the blog post is lenghty.

5. How do you select blogs to read (do you prefer blogs that focus on certain topics or do you choose by tone or…?)
I go by the content, tone, style, look and feel of the blog.

6. Do you have any plans to copy your blog entries in any other format, 0r do you think that one day, you’ll just delete it all?
I do wonder at times if I should move my blog to a different application
but I don't think I will do so. I do change the template from time to
time and have hidden my blog but will never delete my blog.

7. What are the things you like best about blogging?
Freedom of expression with no constraints or rules.

8. What are the things you don’t like about blogging?
Nothing that I can think of at present.

9. How do you handle comments?
I try respond to most comments, though not always and try not get personal.

10. Do you have any burning thoughts to share on blog etiquette?
Avoid usage of the blogger's real name and preferably use the blogger name while posting comments.

11. Any desired blog features?
Umm... thinking.

12. Have you suffered blog addiction?
Absolutely, when I first started out. I thourughly enjoyed blogging and still do (though many people think I can't write for nuts). The number of blogposts would prove my blog addiction but they are not visible anymore as I thought many of them deserved to be archived.

Self

Are we humans selfish? In a sense 'yes' and in a sense 'no', is how I see it. We constantly think of what we want. Work, career and thus money that leads to material comforts. We shop, eat for ourselves and feel good. In the process we satisfy ourselves, so we are selfish? At the same time we tie ourselves down by society and relatives. We live for parents, spouse, children and extended family, making sacrifices and doing things we don't like. Are we compelled to or do we give in? Some of us do return to the society, from time to time in our own small way.Do I still label ourselves as selfish?

What is wrong if one says one wants to go 'incognito'? To be in disguise or a false identity does not sound right or nice but what if one wants to be away from all those who one knows and is tuned to be responsible and answerable to? It is not about escapism. As for right and wrong, there is no such thing, it is all grey and again it is society(us humans) that decides and defines the 'right' and the 'wrong'.

Why can't we think beyond the self and yet do things for the self the way one wants to without being bound by ties and society?

At this point, I can only quote Robert Frost:
“The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”