Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: shortage

Showing posts with label shortage. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

STORY OF A BOY WHO WANTED TO APPEAR TO BE A NAVAL OFFICER - A CAREER IN THE DEFENCE SERVICES (Army Navy Air Force) Part 2 - ATTITUDE MATTERS MORE THAN APTITUDE

A CAREER IN THE DEFENCE SERVICES (Army Navy Air Force) Part 2

Story of a Boy who wanted to appear to be a Naval Officer

VIKRAM KARVE

Continued from Part 1 :

http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2013/11/a-career-in-defence-services-army-navy.html

ATTITUDE MATTERS MORE THAN APTITUDE

There is a saying:

“The Navy is not a job. The Navy is a way of life”

(I feel the same holds true for the Army and Air Force as well).

A career in the defence services or armed forces like the Army Navy and Air Force is different from most other civilian careers.

The unique attributes of a military career entail a distinctive “way of life” that makes a career in the armed forces totally different as compared to a career in the civilian world.

Many young persons join the defence services without fully understanding the unique aspects of a military career and then they feel out of place, mismatched, frustrated and regretful.

During my naval career I have seen so many officers who realised that they were misfits in the navy and wasted many frustrated years of their lives in misery trying to get out of the navy.

Please do not let that happen to you.

Do join the army, navy and air force - but do so with due diligence, with your eyes open and with full awareness.

It may prove foolhardy to join the armed forces on a sudden impulse or in a wave of jingoism.

You must be realistic about it because your career is probably the most important part of your life.

As I said before, many young persons join the defence services without fully understanding the unique aspects of a military career and then they feel out of place, mismatched, frustrated and regretful.

During my naval career I have seen so many officers who realised that they were misfits in the navy and wasted many frustrated years of their lives in misery trying to get out of the navy.

You must ask yourself:

DO YOU WANT TO BE A TRUE MILITARY OFFICER?

DO WANT TO APPEAR TO BE LIKE A MILITARY OFFICER?

Yes, there is a difference between being a “fauji” and to appear to be a “fauji”.

Here is the story of one such officer who wanted to “appear to be a naval officer” rather than “be a true naval officer”.

THE STORY OF A BOY WHO WANTED TO APPEAR TO BE A NAVAL OFFICER

Long back, around 20 years ago, a young boy, accompanied by his parents came to see me at my home in Pune where I was spending my annual leave.

The boy, 15, studying in 11^th Class, wanted to join the Navy.

His parents, who lived nearby, were from a business background.

I talked to the boy, and his parents, for some time.

Then, from what I had learnt the hard way from my own experience, I advised the boy not to join the navy.

His parents were angry: “Why are you saying so? Our son is so good – look at his personality, his physical fitness, his intelligence, his smartness. Don’t you feel our son has the aptitude to be selected for the navy?”

“Of course he has the aptitude,” I commented, “but does he have the right attitude?”

At first the boy and his parents seemed confused at what I had said.

Then they looked at me angrily and it seemed that they were getting upset.

Before the parents could react, I said, “Well, I feel that your son does not have the appropriate attitude for the navy.”

I saw that the furious parents now thought that I was demeaning their son.

They were in no mood to listen to any further explanations, so I kept quiet.

Their ego was hurt and I could see that now the boy was even more determined than ever to join the navy and prove me wrong as if it were a prestige issue.

The boy cleared the UPSC Exam and sailed through the SSB (of course, in the Services Selection Boards they assess “aptitude” but I wonder if they evaluate “attitude”).

In due course the smart young boy joined the academy as a cadet for basic training.

10 years later, the same boy, looking smart in his spotless white uniform of a Naval Lieutenant, was sitting in my office in Mumbai.

He had come to ask me a favour.

He desperately wanted to get out of the navy and was wondering if I could help him out.

“But why do you want to quit the navy?” I asked with surprise, “you are just beginning your career in the navy and you have such a bright future ahead.”

“I just don’t like it over here – I just can’t tolerate my life being controlled all the time – the bloody rules, regulations, and all the bullshit – I can’t stand it anymore,” he complained bitterly.

“So you don’t like the regimentation, the naval way of life?” I asked.

“Yes. I remember what you said ten years ago when we had come over to your place in Pune. You said that I didn’t have the right attitude for the navy. You were right. I should have listened to you,” he said, quite contrite.

Of course, then he went on to list many reasons why he wanted to quit – family pressures (his father was not keeping well and wanted him to look after their family business), a matrimonial alliance (the girl did not want to marry a defence officer) and so many other reasons.

But the crux was the attitudinal mismatch problem.

I frankly told him that it would be very difficult for him to leave the navy since he was a permanent commission cadet entry officer.

I advised him that now that he had joined the navy, it was best for him to continue serving in the navy as he had a bright career ahead.

But I saw that the young Lieutenant sitting in front of me was in no mood to listen to my platitudinous advice.

He had not listened to my advice when I told him not to join the navy.

Now, again, the he did not listen to me when I told him to continue serving in the navy.

The young Lieutenant was adamant on quitting the navy.

He kept putting up his resignation again and again giving different pretexts and made his own life miserable and everyone else’s too.

Later, I learnt that his perseverance to quit the navy had paid off.

He had finally managed to get out of the navy after a struggle of nearly three years, relentlessly pushing his papers, pulling strings, using connections, begging and pleading his case.

13 years of his productive life were wasted, to him and to the navy – and finally he left the navy with a feeling of bitterness.

MORAL OF THE STORY

During my naval career I have seen many such cases of officers who realised that they were misfits in the navy and wasted many frustrated years of their lives in misery trying to get out of the navy.

That is why, before you join the navy, or the army or air force, make sure you have the right attitude suitable for a career in the navy.

To be continued...

VIKRAM KARVE

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this book review.

Disclaimer:

All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

NB:

No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.

Did you like this article?

I am sure you will like the 27 short stories from my recently published anthology of Short Fiction COCKTAIL
To order your COCKTAIL please click any of the links below:
http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme
http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm
http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/short-stories/cocktail-by-vikram-karve.html

COCKTAIL ebook

If you prefer reading ebooks on Kindle or your ebook reader, please order Cocktail E-book by clicking the links below:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925

Foodie Book: Appetite for a Stroll
If your are a Foodie you will like my book of Food Adventures APPETITE FOR A STROLL. Do order a copy from FLIPKART:
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramkarve@hotmail.com

Twitter: @vikramkarve

Sunday, October 20, 2013

THE ARMY “BRAT” DOES NOT WANT TO BECOME AN ARMY OFFICER ANYMORE - Why are Children of Armed Forces Officers Reluctant to take up a Career in the Armed Forces?

ARMY “BRATS” DO NOT WANT TO JOIN THE ARMY ANYMORE

Why are Children of Armed Forces Officers Reluctant to take up a Career in the Armed Forces?

Ramblings of a Retired Mind

VIKRAM KARVE

(This story is a work of fiction. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental)

Why are Children of Armed Forces Officers Reluctant to take up a Career in the Armed Forces?

THE ARMY “BRAT” DOES NOT WANT TO BECOME AN ARMY OFFICER ANYMORE

A few days ago there was an impromptu gathering of veteran officers of the army navy and air force officers.

While talking, we realized that all of us were from defence background.

Yes, the father of each and everyone of us had served in the armed forces – army, navy or air force.

In many cases, not only the father, but even the grandfather had been in the armed forces.

We talked about our children.

Most children had migrated abroad, mainly to the USA, and settled down there.

Of those working in India, the majority were Engineers, mainly “Techies” in the IT Sector, many were MBA’s and worked in the financial sector, some had taken up other civilian professions like medicine and law or joined the hospitality industry, others had become entrepreneurs.

But no one had joined the armed forces.

Yes, not even one child had joined his father’s profession and become a naval officer.

Neither had anyone had joined the sister defence services, to become an army or air force officer.

None of our children had taken up our profession of arms.

We discussed and talked about many our course-mates and batch-mates in the defence services and their children.

It was the same story.

Nobody’s children had joined the armed forces.

The changing trend of career choice was evident.

When we were young, most children of defence officers opted for a career in the defence services.

Today, children of defence officers prefer a career in the civilian world.

Children of defence officers do not want to join the defence services.

This recent phenomenon is quite strange.

Most children like to follow the profession of their parents, especially if they like the job their parents do.

Yes, in many cases children take up the same profession as their parents.

This can be seen among Doctors, Lawyers, Businessmen, Entrepreneurs, Industrialists, Agriculturists, Chartered Accountants, Engineers, Builders, Civil Services (IAS, IPS etc), Educationists, Actors, Mariners, and, this trend of children following the profession of their parents, is particularly visible among Politicians.

Earlier, this trend was prevalent among the defence services as well.

In earlier generations, including mine, most children of armed forces officers were motivated to join the army, navy and air force.

Generation after generation joined the armed forces - mostly the same service as their fathers, and, in the army, the same regiment as well.

Now, all this had changed, and children of defence officers no longer want to follow the footsteps of their parents.

They do not prefer to opt for a career in the defence services.

To put it in a nutshell:

Army “brats” do not want to join the army anymore

I wonder why?

VIKRAM KARVE

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this book review.

Disclaimer:

All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

NB:

Did you like this article?

COCKTAIL ebook

Twitter: @vikramkarve

Monday, June 24, 2013

PROMOTION BY PREFERENCE - Musings on PROMOTION SYSTEMS IN THE NAVY (and MILITARY)

PROMOTION BY PREFERENCE

MUSINGS ON PROMOTION SYSTEMS IN THE NAVY

VIKRAM KARVE

Let me begin with a quote by Admiral Burke on the importance of a good promotion system in the Navy:

“ Officers must have confidence in the promotion system or discipline will be jeopardized.

Unless the best officers are promoted, faith of other officers and enlisted men in the integrity of the system will be shaken.

It is essential that officers be promoted who will be best qualified to lead in battle.

They must have other qualifications, such as good administrative and technical ability and a wide array of knowledge also, but the rest of the Navy must have absolute confidence in those selected.

Should the less qualified personnel be selected, there will come a time in battle in which the Navy will fail because of its leadership.

Like begets like (e.g., ducks pick ducks), and inadequate personnel, once they have moved up sufficiently to be on a selection board, will themselves be apt to select other inadequate personnel. ”

Admiral Arleigh A. Burke

Chief of Naval Operations

Musings on PROMOTION SYSTEMS IN THE NAVY

VIKRAM KARVE

Part 1

DOES THE NAVY PROMOTION SYSTEM PROMOTE CRONY LEADERSHIP ?

If you look around you, you will observe that there are two types of “Leaders”:

1. GENUINE LEADERS

and

2. YES-MEN MASQUERADING AS LEADERS

There are tomes written on the subject of genuine leadership.

So let me say a few words on the second type of leadership where yes-men masquerade as leaders.

Let us call this Crony Leadership.

Many Human Resource (HR) Management Systems are designed to breed yes-men.

These Promotion Systems ensure that yes-men are catapulted to the highest rungs of the hierarchy.

Promotion Systems may be classified into two broad categories:

1. Promotion by Seniority

2. Promotion by Merit

PROMOTION BY SENIORITY

Promotion by Seniority is the most transparent promotion system.

Seniority is like Maternity.

There is no scope for ambiguity here. When a child is born there is no doubt as to who the mother is, since the baby is delivered directly from the mother’s womb.

Likewise there is no scope for ambiguity about your seniority.

Rules and Regulations on how to determine seniority are clearly specified in every organization.

In most cases it is the date you join an organization or the date you are promoted to higher rank.

Many organizations publish clear cut seniority lists from time to time so that every employee knows where he (or she) stands and if anyone has any doubts they can get things clarified and rectified, if necessary.

Promotion by seniority is the most fair, transparent and stress-free system as far as employees are concerned.

You patiently wait in the queue knowing that your time will come.

Promotion may be by “time-scale” and you will be promoted after completing the requisite number of years of service.

Or promotion may be vacancy based and you patiently wait your turn hoping that a vacancy will arise in due course or at least before you retire.

Even if a vacancy does not arise for a long time and you have to “stagnate” in the same rank or post, there is always one big consolation that your junior can never “jump the queue” and “leap frog” over you.

You will always serve under your seniors.

You will never have to suffer the humiliation of having to serve under someone who was once your junior (as can happen in organizations where promotion is by “merit”)

Organizations where promotion is purely by seniority will have harmony in the workplace because of the high degree of contentment in among employees.

In the Navy, and also the Army and Air Force, this concept of promotion by seniority is followed for the first 20 years of your service as an officer.

Earlier time scale promotion based on years of service was followed till about 15 years of service when your first selection board for the rank of Commander (Lt Col / Wg Cdr) used to take place.

But since 2006 (after the AVS Cadre Review) promotion to Commander is also by time scale after 13 years of service and you will have your first selection board for the rank of Captain (Colonel / Group Captain) in about 20 years of service.

For civilian government employees, their career prospects are even better as they are assured of time scale promotion based on seniority to the highest ranks under the Assured Career Progression (ACP) scheme which has been denied to the Defence Services.

Frankly, this extension of time scale seniority based promotion is a good thing as the naval officer of today can get on with his job in a sincere and dispassionate manner without having to worry too much about pleasing his boss, at least till the rank of Commander, because it is only after that does promotion by merit come into play.

PROMOTION BY MERIT

Merit is like Paternity.

In the case of paternity, there is scope for ambiguity.

There can always be a doubt as to who the real father of the baby is.

Sometimes, if she has been promiscuous, even the mother may not be sure who is really the father of her baby!

“Merit” is a highly subjective term, especially in the context of performance appraisal.

How is merit evaluated?

You may say that there are objective ways of determining merit.

For example, you can have an independent written examination and draw up an order of merit based on performance in the examination and promote from the top of the list appropriately (on the lines of the process for admission to IITs and IIMs via the IIT JEE and CAT Management Entrance Examinations)

While this may work fine at the recruitment stage and for junior level employees, I don’t think any organization uses such objective methods of determining merit for promotions at the higher levels of the hierarchy.

The way in which the navy promotion system operates, “merit” means “preference”.

And, consequently, promotion by merit means promotion by preference.

“Merit” is like “Beauty”.

It is said that:

“Beauty” lies in the eye of the Beholder.

Likewise:

“Merit” lies in the eyes of your Boss.

Who evaluates your merit for promotion?

It is your immediate superior, or the person higher up in the hierarchy who can influence your promotion.

In the Navy there is a system of Annual Confidential Reports (ACR) for “performance appraisal”.

At the end of every year your boss writes your Annual Confidential Report or ACR.

The key word here is “confidential”.

You do not know what your boss has written about you, specifically you never know how many numerical points he has awarded you.

This is a very subjective performance appraisal system.

Your entire performance for the past one year is evaluated in one go.

Your boss is free to appraise you as he wants as per his whims and fancies.

And you are kept in the dark, quite clueless, about how your performance has been appraised.

Earlier there was a system where the appraiser had to show the ACR to the appraisee and also give him a written extract of the “pen picture” part of appraisal report (called “flimsy”).

This was a good system of feedback for the appraisee who knew where he stood in the eyes of the boss and in which areas he needed to improve his performance.

Also this system of discussing the ACR imparted a sense of healthy transparency to the performance appraisal process.

Surprisingly this excellent system was discontinued and now everything is kept “confidential”.

In fact, the entire promotion process is done in such a “cloak and dagger” manner and this generates an atmosphere of suspense, anxiety and intrigue.

Promotion is a great cause of stress amongst senior naval officers, since in the navy your rank determines everything.

I think the situation is quite similar in many organizations, where promotion by merit actually boils down to promotion by preference.

Your career prospects depend on the likes and dislikes of your boss.

So you must be “tactful” and ensure that you are always be on the right side of the boss, or better still, you must become the “blue-eyed boy” and “right hand man” of the boss.

Yes, if you want to succeed in your career, the key quality you must have is “Tact”.

“Tact” is a euphemism for “Moral Pliability”.

It is tact which will help you to be a “smooth operator” and facilitate you to effortlessly indulge in sycophancy and please your boss.

It is tact which will enable you to become an “yes man” and rise to great heights in your career.

Your bosses may change and it is the quality of “Tact” that will enable you to change your colours like a chameleon depending on the “requirements” of your bosses.

Your “morals” too must be flexible and your “ethics” must change to suit the “ethics” of your boss.

Yes, being an “ethical chameleon” is the sine qua non for becoming a “yes-man”.

Thus, we see that in many organizations, in the implementation of HR Management Systems, “merit” actually becomes “pseudo merit” and the promotion system, though ostensibly based on “promotion by merit” degenerates into “promotion by preference”.

This results in an atmosphere of favouritism which breeds cronyism and sycophancy and throws up yes-men to leadership positions.

And when yes-men become leaders, what we get is crony leadership.

As Admiral Burke said:

“Like begets like (e.g., ducks pick ducks), and inadequate personnel, once they have moved up sufficiently to be on a selection board, will themselves be apt to select other inadequate personnel”.

Thus, yes-men will pick yes-men, and they in turn will pick more “like minded” yes-men.

And this “yesmanship” driven promotion process will proliferate till the top brass is flooded with yes-men and we have an overwhelming crony leadership.

Is crony leadership good for the Navy?

Well, that topic I will discuss subsequently in a forthcoming post on my blog.

VIKRAM KARVE

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this book review.

Disclaimer:

All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

STORY OF A BOY WHO WANTED TO APPEAR TO BE A NAVAL OFFICER - A CAREER IN THE DEFENCE SERVICES (Army Navy Air Force) Part 2 - ATTITUDE MATTERS MORE THAN APTITUDE

Sunday, October 20, 2013

THE ARMY “BRAT” DOES NOT WANT TO BECOME AN ARMY OFFICER ANYMORE - Why are Children of Armed Forces Officers Reluctant to take up a Career in the Armed Forces?

Monday, June 24, 2013

PROMOTION BY PREFERENCE - Musings on PROMOTION SYSTEMS IN THE NAVY (and MILITARY)

Blog Adda

COPYRIGHT

Vikram Karve Linkedin Profile

Total Pageviews

Indiblogger Creative Writing

WriteUpCafe

BlogCatalog