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Book on Global Issues & Governance
Citation preview
PoliticallyPoliticallyIncorrectIncorrect
Abhinav Tyagi
“Today's problems cannot be solved if we still think the way we thought when we created them”
- Albert Einstein -
Preface
Being obsessive compulsive can be good or bad. In my case, hopefully, it has yielded a positive outcome. Born to an economist father and a historian mother, I was brought up with the values of social justice and idealism. It was not as much about my parents’ educational backgrounds but about their value systems that I have witnessed till date. They have never ever preached anything but I have mostly seen them do the right things. It is only when I started living alone and traveled to a few places that I began to have issues with my own internal beliefs. I was not able to reconcile how my parents lived their lives, with how a lot of other people did. Till the day I lived with my parents, I (naively) thought that everyone else leads his/her life the same way. I was about to rise to a rude awakening. As I interacted with people from various walks of life, such as, business owners, corporate managers, farmers, doctors, engineers, scientists, marines, policemen, traders, artists, motivational speakers, event planners, restaurateurs, entrepreneurs, academicians, policy makers, students, office clerks, socialites, car mechanics, housemaids, investment bankers, financial advisors, Wall street thought leaders, ministers (religious), software programmers, authors, sports persons, cab drivers, postmen, vegetable vendors, air stewardess, radio jockeys and lawyers, I started becoming aware of the realities of life. This interaction provided me a 360-degree view of our society and the world, at large. Even though, at times, the tone of this book may seem politically incorrect (and even idealistic), it may be noted that I have not discounted my interactions with a variety of folks in all kinds of places. The idea is to accurately communicate the ground problems and offer solutions without biases and adulterations. This book caters primarily to young students in colleges (and universities) and hopes to inspire a sense of awareness of and responsibility towards the world we live in. It does not cater to any special interest groups, organizations or institutions.
I sincerely hope and believe that this book will also strike cords with folks from different walks of life who through their life experiences have developed certain value systems, and this book should provide structure and a voice to their thoughts. Neither am I an expert on the topics discussed in the book nor
do I claim to be one, but the book tries to develop a holistic understanding of our world, its people and its institutions, and also tries to explore out-of-the-box solutions to some of the global issues we face today. This book was not authored in a library of an Ivy League school or a cozy corporate office or even a political leader's mansion. The meat for this book, instead, is derived by interacting with people from different cultures, nationalities, professions, age groups, social & economic strata and societal groups (activists, military etc). The book has made a sincere effort to reflect the feelings, thoughts and ideas of the above mentioned people and of course, the author.
Those who have a restless energy in them that keeps nudging them to speak their hearts out, to make this world a better place, should find a great outlet to their thoughts and feelings through this book. If this book is able to reinforce, in even one individual, an obsession for social justice and an inspiration for building a more peaceful and progressive world, I would consider this book a success. I also hope to reach out to the wealthy and the powerful, to encourage them to pro actively involve themselves with making this world a better place.
Throughout the book, I have tried to be as objective and concise as possible and avoided any real world examples that would invite any unnecessary controversies. This book is not a diatribe or a preaching manual (I am myself a work-in-progress) but a sincere effort has been made to cut to the chase and put things in black and white without worrying about political correctness.
I hope that this book can resonate with you and help you develop a more holistic perspective of our world, its people and its institutions. The book does not claim to offer any earth-shattering information but is a humble effort to inspire, provoke and rally change in your perspective, on our world and on your role in it. You (the reader) are the most important entity and I hope you will find this book thoughtful. Thanks in advance for reading.
With warm regards,
Abhinav Tyagi
Acknowledgements
Inspiration for this book came from the two years spent on the idyllic University of Maine campus and the terrific people I met there. That environment helped me to assimilate my experiences during the years of my under and un employment. My parents and sister also helped me with the necessary encouragement and stood by me during those difficult years. Genuine appreciation and valuable guidance accorded by Honbl. Nicholas P. Heymann, an alumnus of my school (and a very well respected Wall Street Analyst), during my years at the University of Maine, was also instrumental in making this venture possible. Last but not the least, this book is also very much a result of the free spirit of self expression that is the essence of United States of America, and which leaves no one with an open mind, untouched.
CONTENTS
1. Creators, Operators, Mediators and Talkers
2. Duality in human existence
3. Water is the new Oil
4. Energy: Elixir of Economy
5. Healthcare
6. Education
7. Microfinance: The quiet revolution that is about to take off
8. Decentralized development: An engine for equitable growth
9. The Fiber of Prosperity
10. Global Youth: Opportunity or Threat?
11. If the environment is screwed nothing else really matters
12. Don't do charity
13. Specialize for Peace
14. Re inventing the Government Administrative machinery
15. Re Branding the Government
16. Measuring Government Performance
17. Its all about Political Will
18. Accountability, Accountability, Accountability
19. The Right Cabinet
20. Building Value Systems Top Down
21. The concept of Nations, Democracy & Power
22. Credits where they are due
23. Bare your soul
24. What is Success?
25. Integrity is Integrated
26. Lets do it Now!
Quick Brush up on the Chapters
The book is not at all meant as a preaching guidebook or a diatribe. We have lot of such stuff out there and no one wants to read another piece. It simply tries to put together some of the ground realities and issues that we face, globally, and hopefully will inspire you to think about these issues more holistically. The findings presented in the book are derived from my numerous interactions with a variety of people, my readings of a variety of subjects, and my own thought system developed as a result of my experiences (both failed and successful) over the last 11 years. The book emphasizes the role & importance of Government(s) in tackling some of these issues.
I begin by categorization of people based on their key skills & professions. The second chapter talks about the widening split between the 'haves' and 'have-nots'. The following six chapters deal with the issues of water, energy, healthcare, education, micro credit and decentralized development. Ninth chapter emphasizes the critical role an optical fiber network can play, as a facilitating infrastructure for other initiatives. The following chapter discusses the role of youth in shaping our tomorrow.
Eleventh chapter reminds us of the importance of environment as the most precious asset of our planet. The next chapter denounces 'charity' – both the usage of the word as well as the moral hazard it brings with it. The following chapter makes a case for specialization of countries in achieving world peace.
The next seven chapters talk about deficiencies in governance systems, measurement of government performance, ways to re engineer and re brand the governance, and most crucially the importance of having suitably qualified people in top political posts, the need for political will, the need for accountability at every level of government and the need to lead by example (demonstrating value systems at the highest level in political leadership). These chapters are followed by a chapter on the evolving concept of nations, democracy and power.
The twenty-second chapter is a tribute to those people who work behind the scenes and who, in reality, are the real heroes of society. The chapter is followed by a call to all corporate folks to begin to contribute to the society that has given them so much. The next two chapters try to define success and integrity.
The final chapter is a request for all readers to begin to think about, contribute to, or facilitate the endeavors talked elsewhere in the book. Even an acknowledgement of the issues faced by our world is a great step in this direction.
Style of communication used in this book is simple, concise (to the point) and non-diplomatic. I hope you enjoy reading this book!!
1Creators, Operators,
Mediators and Talkers“All things will be produced in superior quantity and quality,
and with greater ease, when each man works at a single occupation, in accordance with his natural gifts, and at the
right moment, without meddling with anything else”
Plato
Greek philosopher & mathematician
Before we try to understand the world, its people and
institutions, it is a useful exercise to try and categorize
people on the basis of their professions/skills. I have
classified people as:
• Creators
• Operators
• Mediators
• Talkers
Creators create. Farmers provide us food; Soldiers and cops
create sense of security; scientists create intellectual
property; entrepreneurs create business systems; engineers
design softwares, structures, machines and equipments; leaders
build and transform teams, organizations and societies; authors
write books, stories and plays; good teachers instill a sense of
enthusiasm among the students, for lifelong learning; musicians
compose music; movie makers conceive screenplays; Visionaries
create and disseminate a vision.
Operators operate and execute Creators' plans and designs. Blue
and white collar workers enable operation of services and
manufacturing units; CEOs and divisional managers help to run
organizations and divisions; doctors help to live us longer and
healthier lives; administrators help to administer policies,
programs and workflow (e.g. civil servants, bureaucrats).
Mediators mediate transactions. Traders mediate buying and
selling of commodities (physical and soft), contracts, financial
instruments; Investment bankers mediate deals between investors
and company owners; Real Estate agents mediate buying and
selling of houses; Recruiters help to match employers with
employees; Diplomats mediate peace processes and treaties;
Judges deliver justice; retailers and wholesalers mediate
distribution of goods; political brokers mediate seat sharing in
legislature and exchange of favors between businessmen and
politicians; Journalists mediate delivery of events & news to
the consumers of those news; teachers facilitate transfer of
education & knowledge to students.
Talkers talk. Yes, that’s precisely what they do. Majority of
politicians are talkers. They are able to convince their
electorate to vote for them in elections, through their
impressive speeches. They leverage imperfect information,
ignorance and sometimes, indifference of people (towards
politics) in their electorate, to win elections. However, there
also exist (albeit few) Political “leaders” who have a vision
and are passionate about the welfare and development of their
electorate. These political “leaders” can be categorized as
Creators because they help to build societies.
2Duality in Human existence
"The outstanding faults of the economic society in which we live are its failure to provide for full employment and its arbitrary
and inequitable distribution of wealth and incomes."
John Maynard Keynes
British Economist; Father of Keynesian economics
Sharp contrast in how the rich (and the powerful) live versus
the existence of the poorest, brings to fore the biggest duality
in our human existence. While the rich have got richer, a
significant % of the world population still lives on less than
$2 a day (refer the World poverty distribution maps provided at
the end of the chapter). The following photos can illustrate
this duality better than words.
There are regions in our world where even today there is no
electricity and clean drinking water. Forget telephone and TV.
There are regions where people are forced to eat rats for dinner
even though they are vegetarian by religion (not that a non-
vegetarian would savor rat meat). There are places where
maternal deaths during delivery due to lack of adequate
healthcare facility are a norm. There are places where people
are not aware that they have AIDS, even though the area has a
high incidence of this deadly disease. There are regions with no
hope for a better future, where there are no employment
opportunities, no women rights and no education infrastructure.
The “Ten-Ten” formula
In my opinion, if top 10% of the richest, voluntarily part with
just 10% of their income, the world can change for the better.
The money could:
1) feed all the poor of the earth
2) bring electricity to every home on the planet
3) bring clean drinking water to the entire humanity
4) build schools in all the remote areas of the world
5) provide healthcare to everyone on the planet
Such large-scale voluntary contribution exercise can happen only
if there is a deep sense of responsibility, not only among the
wealthy but people at large, towards the less fortunate. As
Hellen Keller has aptly remarked: “Until the great mass of the
people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each
other's welfare, social justice can never be attained.”
It is important to note, however, that the issues discussed
above cannot simply be tackled by pouring in money. Apart from
offering monetary support (in form of aid, charity), it is
important that the wealthy also contribute their talents and
skills to develop the poverty ridden regions. This is the only
way to sustainable poverty alleviation because unless we seal
the bottom of the bucket, no amount of water can fill it.
Development efforts must include building of schools, skilling
of the poor and creation of employment opportunities. These
efforts have to be in co operation with the local governments.
If one looks at the big picture, ultimately this development
would trickle into demand for products/services and would
benefit the businesses in the area (and hence the overall
economy of the nation & the world).
While creation of wealth is crucial to human progress and
prosperity, and must be encouraged, it has to be accompanied
with creation of opportunities for the poor, so as to bring more
inclusiveness in our world. It is a matter of shame for the
entire humanity that while we take pride in all the infinite
advancements in science, technology and commerce, and are
planning to take commercial flights to other planets, we haven't
yet been able to achieve basic social equity on our planet.
3Water is the new Oil
“Water is life's mater and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water.”
Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
Hungarian Biochemist; 1937 Nobel Prize for Medicine
Water is the foundation of life on our planet. It is difficult
to overstate the importance of water for health, economic
development, environmental integrity and social cohesion. As the
United Nations (UN) Millennium Report in 2000 concludes: ‘No
single measure would do more to reduce disease and save lives in
the developing world than bringing safe water and adequate
sanitation to all.’ It is also difficult to overstate the scope
and consequences of the current global water crisis, one that
leaves more than 1 billion people without access to safe
drinking water. Pictures below depict the serious situation of
water crises.
Water is the driving force of all nature. It is essential for
the workings of our ecological systems. It is essential for our
health and the health of our communities. It features
prominently in our spiritual life. It binds us together through
shared waterways and shared water sources. It shapes our
relationship with nature, politics and economies.
Competition for water is heating up everywhere. Continuing
population growth and urbanization, shifting dietary habits
towards more water-intensive foods, spiraling demand for
alternate fuel crops and growth in water-intensive industries,
are all contributing to ever-growing demand for water.
At the same time, water pollution, degraded ecosystems and
global warming endanger local water recharge, quality and
sustainable supply around the world. Two in every five people in
the world today live in international water basins, and more
than fifty countries on five continents have been identified as
hotbeds for potential future conflicts over water. Water
‘grabs’, the irresponsible appropriation or diversion of water
without consideration for other users, abetted by corruption,
may translate tension into open conflict. It is high time that
public policy makers, businessmen and activists begin seeing
water as a “public good” in the real sense and join hands to
develop technologies, solutions and policies that would promote
a more efficient and equitable use of water. Research and
commercialization of sea water desalination using energy
efficient methods must be made a top priority and a multi
national research team may be instituted to work on that.
Demand Side Water management
Globally, about 69% of fresh water is used for irrigation while
industrial and household usage is about 15% each.
Water may be used more efficiently in Irrigation by
• encouraging use of sprinkler systems (providing sprinkler
systems on subsidized prices; regulations mandating use of
sprinkler systems)
• monitoring irrigation water usage using digital systems.
This digital information may be recorded in a database
Others: 1%
Irrigation: 69%
Household: 15%
Industrial: 15%
• placing a cap on irrigation water usage and removing
subsidies on diesel and electricity (used to pump water) if
the consumption exceeds the cap
Water may be used more efficiently in households (esp. urban
homes) by creating a tiered system of water rates, wherein, the
rates go up dramatically, as the consumption of water in a
household goes beyond a certain level (say, average consumption
per person, for the region). Tiered water pricing must be
supplemented with Water awareness programs. Tax incentives may
also be provided. Privatization may also aid in more efficient
usage of water.
Industrial usage of water can be made efficient through use of
policy measures (tax incentives) and technology.
Supply-Side Water management
Governments need to encourage private sector participation in
building Water treatment plants and distribution systems, by
ensuring a transparent and corruption free system, a reasonable
rate of return for the equity provider, and by ensuring that the
long term purchase contracts (in Public-Private partnership
projects) are honored 100% of the time.
Desalination of sea water must also be encouraged and such
systems may be powered by the tidal or wind power systems
integrated with the desalination system.
Contamination of rivers must be checked by pre-treating
municipal wastes.
It is imperative to appreciate that Water is a scarce resource
and if steps are not taken aggressively, to preserve it, danger
may be posed to nations' integrity (and internal peace) – with
one state flexing its muscle over the other, to have access to
water. Tensions could also arise between industry groups and
farmers, over the usage of water. This is of course, besides the
fact that we literally need water for survival.
4Energy: Elixir of economy
“It is evident that the fortunes of the world's human population, for better or for worse, are inextricably
interrelated with the use that is made of energy resources.”
M. King Hubbert
Geologist known for his Hubbert Peak Theory
It is rightly argued that Energy is at the heart of all human
and economic activity. Food, water, medicines, transportation
systems, clothes, electronic gadgets, entertainment and
everything else needs energy to be produced. There are no two
opinions on the importance of energy in our lives. However, the
way we produce energy is being debated due to environmental
concerns.
While a consensus is building up on the increased use of solar
power, wind power, geothermal power, bio fuels (bio ethanol,
jathropha) and tidal power, the economics of generating energy
from these alternate sources is still hampering large scale
adoption. Solar power is one area where lot of research is being
done and new technologies, such as, nanosolar, are being
developed and tested, as I write this. If nanosolar becomes a
commercial success, we could see a significant increase in solar
power generation across the world, because this technology makes
construction of large scale solar farms cheaper than other
solar technologies.
Wi n d far m
Ja t r o p h a (biof u e l) pl a n t a t i o n
Nuclear energy is being revived as a solution to the problem of
energy security and environmental degradation. However, it does
have issues, namely, long time to commission a nuclear power
plant, high initial capital costs (making the electricity
produced, more expensive) and most importantly, nuclear waste
disposal.
The Energy Tri-Challenge
The challenge we face is three-fold. Firstly, we need to ensure
energy security i.e. adequate future supply of energy for the
ever increasing world population. In the words of Tony Blair (ex
Prime Minister of UK): "In the future, energy security will be
almost as important as defense". Secondly, we have to improve
the reach of energy, especially electricity, which is a must for
decentralized development (discussed later). The power
infrastructure needed to facilitate reach in a particular
country is illustrated in the figure below. Finally, we have to
ensure that the environmental security is not compromised due to
increased demand for energy. Interestingly, all three of these
issues can be tackled by gradually increasing the % of
alternative energy in the energy- source portfolio. For example,
a decentralized solar generator provides energy security, is
environment friendly and enables reach of energy to the remotest
parts.
Measures promoting energy security and environmental protection
are provided below:
Low High
Low
High
No. of remote areas w/o
Transmission losses
Grid based + distributed power generation
Distributed power generation + some
Grid based
Grid based (centralized) power
generation
Distributed power generation
Power infrastructure
1) Increasing dependence on Solar and wind
We should try to tap solar and wind energy, followed by
geothermal, bio fuels and nuclear power, in that order. Even
though solar power can only be generated while the sun is there,
it would significantly reduce dependence on coal or oil based
power. Likewise wind energy has a huge potential to replace
fossil-fuel based energy generation.
2) Mass transportation systems
All key cities around the world must have mass transportation
systems. Such systems may be developed as group initiatives,
wherein the G20 or another similar group of countries, must come
together to assist other countries in planning, funding and
transferring technology.
Apart from mass transportation systems, car pool may be
encouraged by governments.
3) Transmission losses & theft must be checked
Automated metering, replacement of faulty transmission equipment
and privatization of electricity transmission and distribution
are some of the ways to check transmission losses and theft of
electricity. In most developing countries, as much as 50% of
electricity is lost during transmission due to thefts and poorly
maintained transmission & distribution infrastructure.
Therefore, curtailing such losses & thefts can significantly
help to alleviate the energy crises in such countries.
4) Mandatory usage of biofuels with regular fossil fuels
Use of biofuels in conjunction with fossil fuels must be
mandated in all nations. Ethanol and Jatropha oil can be the key
biofuel additives.
A healthy body (and a healthy mind) is the basic foundation for
all other forms of human, economic and social development. To
that end, importance of healthcare infrastructure can hardly be
overstated. Having said that, healthcare reforms are long
overdue in almost every nation of the world. There are several
elements to the healthcare puzzle, most important of them being:
a) Health education to the last mile
The basic building block of any healthcare system is health
education. Apart from health clinics, such education could be
imparted through pan-country distribution networks, such as,
Post Office or a pan national bank. Health education could also
be delivered via Satellite systems (in conjunction with
education – discussed in next chapter).
Women health, child health and elderly health must be
emphasized, along with preventive health. Menace of AIDS, TB and
the newly prevalent H1N1/H5N1 viruses can only be tackled by
educating people throughout the world. Companies like Microsoft
and Google who are already at the forefront of Healthcare can
play an even bigger role in this area by digitally connecting
the remotest parts of the world.
b) Health services to the last mile
Health education has to be supplemented with easy access to good
quality healthcare in all parts of the world. Healthcare
delivery infrastructure may comprise of fixed health clinics,
mobile health clinics and Telemedicine. Telemedicine is a system
where diagnosis of health can be done remotely by means of a
communication link (internet/satellite) and a specialized
software which interfaces with sensors that can guage the body
temperature, pulse rate, heart beats and transmit images of
symptomatic body parts.
The choice of the Healthcare delivery medium depends upon the
country's doctor density as well as the number of remote
locations that need to be served. Interplay of these two
variables and the corresponding healthcare delivery model has
been provided below.
c) Application of IT to facilitate healthcare initiatives
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) have always been
a great enabler of reach, efficiency and quality. In healthcare
sector, ICT can enable:
Low High
Low
High
Country’s doctor density
No. of remote locations
New clinic/dispensary establishments in remote
areas
Set up Health centers serving a group of
remote areas;Telemedicine
Transportation of doctors once a week (mobile);
TelemedicineTelemedicine
Healthcare Solutions
• Healthcare education delivery
• Health diagnostic services
• Healthcare audit
• Healthcare intelligence development
Healthcare education delivery and diagnostic services have been
discussed earlier. Healthcare audit and intelligence are
discussed next.
Healthcare audit is a way to guage the performance of a
healthcare system at every delivery point. Various performance
metrics, such as, number of physicians, number of nurses, number
of people served in a month/week, case outcomes (resolved,
referred, unsuccessful cases) can be fed in real-time into an
online system, from every delivery point. Such a real-time audit
system is a great way to make the healthcare system agile in
terms of identifying outbreak of epidemics and in terms of
quickly identifying any bottlenecks in the healthcare delivery
system.
“Healthcare intelligence” is the knowledge derived from
accumulation of data on medical cases, their treatment and the
final outcome. This knowledge can be used to observe trends in
diseases, and can also help in guiding treatment of certain
diseases with certain symptoms in certain category of people
(either racial category or disease category). Such treatment
guidance system is especially beneficial in areas where there is
shortage of quality physicians and medical specialists. In such
areas, the doctors may seek assistance from a “Healthcare
intelligence” system in determining atleast an initial course of
action (especially in emergency situations).
d) Population control
Last but not the least, population control must be made an
intrinsic part of any healthcare policy. High population levels
put stress on the natural resources and environment, and the
economy, in general. Unabated growth in population shall lead to
food shortages, and ultimately affect the nutrition level and
overall health of individuals adversely, leading to a greater
need for healthcare. In words of Hellen Keller, "Once it was
necessary that the people should multiply and be fruitful if the
race was to survive. But now to preserve the race it is
necessary that people hold back the power of propagation."
While the above suggested measures seem like common sense things
to do, healthcare systems in most countries (especially
developing ones) leave a lot to be desired. In countries where
healthcare is provided as a government service, lack of
political will and corruption in healthcare administration &
delivery (and not the lack of technology and finances) is the
reason for inefficient and deficient healthcare systems. In
countries where healthcare is mostly privatized, the healthcare
providers are gouging enormous price from their customers,
making healthcare unaffordable for a vast majority of people. In
either case, the end consumer (of healthcare) is suffering.
6Education
“What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the human soul.”
Joseph Addison
English essayist, poet and politician
Education is at the core of economic development of any country.
Without appropriate education infrastructure, no country can
progress. The current format, content, delivery mechanism and
institutional framework of education, in most countries, leaves
much to be desired and must be revamped. For some countries, the
re engineering of education sector is not even a matter of
choice. Case in point is an Asian country that boasts of having
the largest number of youth population in the world in the next
10 years. While on one hand this implies potential availability
of enormous manpower that can propel the country's economic
growth, on the other hand it necessitates a massive revamp of
the country's education sector. And the window of opportunity to
achieve this is very small. Very soon a huge chunk of youth
population will attain the age where they would be eligible for
college education and an equally massive population would begin
their schooling. The country has to therefore prepare its
education infrastructure within this short time span, otherwise,
the same potential human resource could turn into millions of
uneducated & unemployed youth.
Recommendations for Re engineering of the education sector
(involving re designing the format, content, delivery mechanism
and institutional framework) are provided below:
Format
Currently most schools have primarily one-way communication
(teacher to pupil) in a classroom setting. There is a need to
introduce Group Discussions and public speaking in the classroom
setting. Books should be complemented with online lessons, class
presentations and external speakers. Educational games and
interactive exercises may also be part of the curriculum. If
possible, there should be educational visits. Case studies may
be used in classes to teach subjects.
Content
Apart from conventional subjects, there should be subjects
dealing with:
• Personal financial management
• Global issues – environmental, political, business, social
• Career options available to students after school (in
certain countries school students believe that there are no
other professions besides engineering and medicine)
• Information systems – How they have impacted various
industries and professions (to prepare students for future
work and social environments)
• Ethics in business and society
• Concepts should be integrated through case studies.
Delivery mechanism
In addition to lecture oriented delivery inside classrooms,
newer mechanisms should be adopted. These may include:
• Satellite based real time interactions with students from
schools in other countries and regions within the same
country.
• Powerpoint/Multimedia presentations in the class
• Online lessons through PCs
• Speaker series
Institutional framework
• Public-Private partnerships must be used to set up new
schools in remote/less developed regions.
• Management of existing government schools may be
privatized. In this model, the government would pay for the
schools operations and private sector will manage the
administration of schools.
• 1 to 2 year teaching assignments at government sponsored
schools may be made a mandatory part of National Service.
• Teaching at government schools for a year or two, may be
made a pre-qualification for applying to a government job.
• Bureaucrats must be made in charge of the schools in their
respective regions/districts. For example, in countries
where District collector is incharge of a district, he/she
should be made the Chief Education Administrator for the
district.
• Parameters may be laid down to assess the efficiency of
schools, performance of students and clear accountabilities
must be set. These accountabilities may be published online
(in public domain).
• Education content must be audited every 2 years and updated
to reflect the current affairs.
Education being the most important social goal of any country,
it must be prioritized. There should be no lax on the
accountabilities and performance metrics.
The remaining chapter discusses ideas and ways to enhance the
effectiveness and reach of academic and corporate education.
Specifically, following topics are covered:
• Global education
• Corporate training and re skilling
• Quality education to the last mile
• Human Resource Development
Global University for a globalized world
In our ever changing, globalized world, the education too should
reflect globalization in true sense. An online global university
(refer figure on next page) may be formed which can deliver top
quality education across the globe. Here, professors from some
of the best universities around the world, can come together
through an online platform and deliver classes via the Internet,
to an equally diverse set of students from a variety of cultures
and regions of the world. Such an online program will be highly
flexible because the curriculum can be adapted quickly to the
contemporary issues. Moreover, it will promote a more holistic
understanding of key issues facing the world, such as Global
financial systems, Environmental safety, Terrorism,
Unemployment, Poverty, Social injustice, Healthcare and
Education.
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Corporate training & re-skilling via “A la carte” online system
An online e-Learning platform should be developed to train and
re skill corporate managers, workers and executives. The supply
of content could be from an individual industry expert or a
university or an industry association.
Benefits of such an online corporate training platform include:
• Flexibility in customizing the curriculum to meet the
training needs of a firm (Companies can provide the outline
of the training to which the consultants and universities
can submit their proposals)
• Employees can train at their chosen place and time (and
even pace)
• A la Carte system implies that the companies can pick and
choose what modules they wish to train their individual
employees in
• Such a re-skilling or training programme could act as a
confidence & morale booster for the employees
Quality education to the last mile
This can be achieved by using Satellites for delivering world
class education to the remotest parts of the world. LCD Mega
screens may be installed in the remotest parts of planet earth,
and educational lessons, current affairs programmes, speaker
series (in local languages) and programmes on various countries,
may be delivered via satellite. Such an infrastructure is an
absolute must to remove the misery and hopelessness in certain
places of the world. It would also help people to better
understand the world that they live in and are part of. Most of
all, it would excite these people towards personal upliftment
and upward mobility in society.
Speaker series may include people from different walks of life:
• Authors
• Economists
• Historians
• Musicians
• Scientists
• Industry gurus
• Scholars & Academicians
• Sports figures
• Corporate managers
• Engineers
• Doctors
• Geologists
• Entrepreneurs
The idea is to sow a seed of curiosity among the students even
in the remotest parts of the world.
Human Resource Development
Ultimate objective of good education infrastructure in any
country is Human Resource Development (HRD). To that end,
education infrastructure is just one element of HRD.
The HRD model proposed here includes 4 elements:
• Education
Education content should be redesigned to include contemporary
topics discussed above, apart from the conventional subjects.
• Personality development (sports, communication skills,
English language skill)
In today's globalized world where work and information flows
seamlessly around the globe, it is critical to make Personality
development an intrinsic part of education system. Participation
in sports and development of English language skills must be
emphasized throughout K-12 and beyond.
• Vocational training
Given the increasing specialization in the nature of work,
globally, it is imperative that vocational training be imparted
to all college graduates in their areas of interest/abilities.
Vocational training may be seen as a polishing exercise where
raw talent is moulded into Human resource that can be utilized
productively by the employing organization.
• Employment opportunities
Without adequate employment opportunities (qualitatively and
quantitatively), education and vocational training are not of
much benefit to either an individual or the nation, as a whole.
For complete Human Resource Development it is critical that the
governments and the private sector work collaboratively to
create job opportunities. While this is a challenge in
developing countries with large populations, I believe it is
also an opportunity for these nations to create industries that
could absorb large number of people. For example, by creating
mega solar farms in the Thar Desert of India and the Sahara, the
Kalahari, and the Namib of Africa, entire new industries can be
created. A solar farm would need solar panels (and thus the need
for solar manufacturing units), panel installation specialists
and solar farm maintenance workers, at the very least.
Human Resource Development =
Education (including contemporary content)
+ Personality development (sports, communication skills,
English language skill)
+ Vocational training
+ Employment opportunities
It is worth noting that all the elements of Human Resource
Development (especially Education, vocational training and
employment opportunities) are needed in tandem, to have a
positive impact on the society. Any missing or imbalanced
element can, in fact, be counterproductive for the country
(society).
Analysis of the interplay between the education level and
vocational training in terms of its impact on the productivity
of workforce and their re skilling potential is provided in the
matrix below. As can be observed, lack of either proper
education level or vocational training or both, does not yield
the most desired results. Emphasizing formal education without
any avenues for vocational training produces a workforce that is
not highly productive. On the other hand, if vocational training
is emphasized without adequate emphasis on formal education, the
workforce may be productive at the task they are trained for but
their ability to grow professionally through re skilling, may be
significantly hampered.
Low High
Low
High
Formal education
Vocational training
Pool of educated but unskilled people;Less productive but potential for skilling
Most productive; most flexible in terms of re skilling; Greatest chances of integrating with the new economy
Exclusion from the new economy
Career options limited; Productive but less potential for re skilling & integrating with new economy
Impact of education level & vocational training on productivity
Likewise, if promotion of education (and subsequent high
education penetration) is not supplemented with adequate
employment opportunities, this may lead to frustration among the
educated due to under and un-employment, and may also lead to
brain-drain (through emigration). On the contrary, if the
employment opportunities are available but educated/skilled
people required for such positions are not available, this may
lead to immigration of talent (which is good for economic
development) leading to societal tensions between the immigrants
and the natives. This has been observed in some of the most
developed countries in form of “glass ceilings” and
discriminatory pay. The following matrix illustrates this
dynamics between education and employment opportunities.
Low High
Low
High
Education Penetration
(%)
Employment opportunities
Frustration due to un/under
employment; emigration
Progressive, hopeful society
Hopelessness in society; hotbed for
terrorism
Immigrants/expat dominated society;
potential bed for protectionism
Impact of Education penetration & Employment opportunities on Society
7Microfinance: The quiet
revolution that is about to take off
"Microfinance is an idea whose time has come."
Kofi Annan
7th Secretary-General of the UN; Nobel Peace Prize winner
I call microfinance - the financial “Drip irrigation”. There are
more similarities between Microfinance and Drip irrigation, than
differences. Both are provided in small amounts and offered
right at the area of need, and both help to provide maximum
return to both the provider and consumer. Currently worldwide
microfinance loan portfolio stands at $25B and experts believe
that $250B more is needed to reach all the poor of the world.
Microfinance loans defy the key finance principal of Risk and
Reward. A Microfinance loan offers very high rates of return and
has one of the lowest default rates. In other words it is a high
reward – low risk game. This should be reason enough for
financial institutions to develop their Microfinance asset
portfolio and reach out to the poorest of the poor in the
remotest parts of the world. A good indicator of the success and
lucrativeness of the microfinance model is the flow of smart
money (Mutual funds, Venture Capitalists and Private Equity)
towards microfinance in recent years.
A phenomenon that was started by Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh in
1976 is about to take the world by storm. Financial pundits have
taken serious note of this financial asset in recent years and I
am confident that in next 10 years we will witness exponential
growth in this domain.
I believe that for microfinance to yield its full benefit, the
recipients of these microloans need to be equipped with
education and awareness about the opportunities that exist. Till
now, microfinance has mainly been used to facilitate very small
ventures & to meet incidental expenses, such as:
• purchasing cattle, sheep or chicken
• starting a tailoring or a barber shop
• starting a handicraft making unit
• cost of burials, sickness
• crop failure
• healthcare costs (medicines, treatment, surgery)
• purchase of farm equipment (irrigation, transportation,
seeds)
• purchasing of bikes, radios, boats
• construction of wells
• home renovation
• microenterprise working capital
In the next phase, we should see creation of ventures that are
higher in the value chain, such as, food processing;
manufacturing handicrafts, glassware and brassware for exports;
retail shop for clothing, electronics, cycles; cyber cafes; taxi
service.
The only constraint to the microfinance model is that by its
nature, it cannot support financing of high investment ventures
– which are essential for creation of new wealth. For example,
mass manufacturing that can leverage economies of scale and
provide consistency in product quality is essential to creating
low cost, high quality products that can be exported to other
areas, regions or countries. To that end, currently,
microfinance is essentially a wealth transfer tool within a
small area. However, that does not take away its importance in
terms of creating livelihoods in the poorest and the remotest
parts of the world.
Given the huge number of people in poverty in several parts of
the world, microfinance can be a great trigger for economic
development in those areas.
Microfinance: Grass root banking
Microfinance: Venture capital for a home based business
Commercial banks, private equity shops and Asset Managers should
make Microfinance an integral part of the portfolio. Next
generation portfolio should read: Equities, Bonds, Cash,
Commodities and Microfinance loans. The day when mutual funds
will start to put money in microfinance, like they do in stocks,
our world would have become a step closer to removing poverty.
Likewise, a specialty bond called 'Microfinance bond' may be
introduced. Such bonds would be a great win-win for global
investors and the millions of microfinance recipients.
'Microfinance bond' will provide high yield with low risk and
has the potential to raise billions of dollars for microfinance
institutions.
8Decentralized development:
An engine for equitable growth
"As a rule of thumb, involve everyone in everything."
Tom Peters
American management guru
Decentralized development is the key to equitable growth in any
country. Besides promoting equitable growth, it helps to
discourage the migration of people to a few key cities, which
has positive effects in terms of reduced pressure on the
infrastructure, easier management of homeland security, and
reduced stress on environment around the key cities.
Having a metropolitan city for every 5 million people in the
country can serve as a rough benchmark, for the number of
metropolitan cities that may be developed in a nation. Of
course, in case of developing countries, a key impediment to
such decentralized development is financial resources. With the
lack of full fledged capital markets in developing economies, it
is difficult for governments to raise enough capital to develop
pan-nation metro cities. This has led some developing nations to
chose the path of promoting development of Special Economic
Zones (SEZ) in partnership with private companies. Private
corporations have been encouraged through incentives, to
develop, mega Special Economic Zones, that would be like a city
by themselves (with their own power supply, water supply,
sanitation). The success of such schemes has not been completely
problem-free as well. Arbitrary allotment of land for industrial
purposes (causing the fertile farm land to be siphoned away for
industrial activity) and land acquisition problems due to
inadequate compensation to farmers (marred by delayed payments
and political middlemen and corrupt bureaucrats receiving a cut
of such payments ) have been the key hurdles to SEZ development.
According to World Bank estimates, as of 2007 there were more
than 3,000 projects taking place in SEZs in 120 countries
worldwide. A variety of institutional structures ranging from
fully public (government operator, government developer,
government regulator) to 'fully' private (private operator,
private developer, public regulator) have been utilized.
For such a decentralized development to be truly successful,
there must be a network of highways, railways, airports that
connects these cities.
The local economies of these cities may be supported by
developing industries that reflect the skills and resources
available in the region, and/or by building a services base
(that can serve either the local economy or national economy or
even international markets).
Given the population of the major developing countries, such
pan-national metro cities can thrive simply by serving the local
population.
Apart from the essential elements of a decentralized
development, such as:
• Healthcare facilities
• Banking facilities
• Postal facilities
• Public transportation
• Power & Water infrastructure
• Roads
• Houses
• Airports, Railway Stations, Airports
• Commercial district
a very important element of decentralized development is
development of recreational facilities & avenues, which helps
people to socialize, have fun together or with their families
and get a sense of joy & relaxation.
A less expensive way to promote decentralized development is
through creation of small scale industries spread across the
country. A lot of developing countries have successfully used
this model and I believe it can be fruitfully utilized in the
undeveloped countries, as well. Some of the small and mid-sized
businesses that can help to kick start local economies are
listed below:
• Handicrafts
• Brassware
• Bricks made from agricultural waste and ash
• Fish farms
• Horticulture – flowers, perfume
• Auto parts manufacturing
• Manufacturing of FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods)
• Manufacturing of textiles
• Glassware
• Plasticware
Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) Markets
Discussion of decentralized development cannot be complete
without emphasizing the importance of such development to the
private sector.
There was a time when the Multi National Corporations omitted
the poorer and less developed (Bottom of the Pyramid) regions of
a developing country from their marketing plans. But it has now
been realized and understood that these less developed regions
(especially those where development has been started) are the
key to future growth of the MNCs. Even though the per capita
purchasing power in these less developed regions may be low, the
population of these regions is large enough to contribute to the
bottom line of the MNCs, provided the companies customize their
product and service offerings to this new BOP market. Product
sizing, packaging, pricing and delivering is now being altered
to meet the requirements of these BOP markets and to make the
venture profitable for the companies. As an example, an FMCG
conglomerate started selling its shampoos in ultra-low priced
sachets* in a BOP market, and discovered that their strategy was
a hit. Due to the sheer volume of sachets sold, this venture
became a highly lucrative business for the conglomerate.
Decentralized development helps to build the economic capacity
of the previously undeveloped region, thereby increasing the
purchasing power of the people therein. This increase in
purchasing power has the potential to trickle down to the bottom
line of a corporation, provided the corporation has customized
its business model and marketing strategy to this new market.
I will close by saying that decentralized development is good
for the government, the private sector and most importantly for
the people.
*A sachet is a small disposable bag, often used to contain single-use quantities of consumer goods, such as ketchup or shampoo.
9The fiber of prosperity
“The Internet lives where anyone can access it”
Vinton Cerf
Computer scientist; Father of the Internet
Optical fiber is the most revolutionary technology that can
significantly make a difference to our world. By connecting the
remotest region of the world with high speed optical fiber
network, we can literally connect billions of people living in
the dark fringes of misery, with the rest of the world.
A high speed information network:
• can facilitate communication between the remotest regions
and the rest of the world
• can act as a medium for dissemination of literacy and
education, and removal of ignorance
• can be used to facilitate remote healthcare
• can be used to disseminate information on weather, disease
outbreak, natural calamities
• can be used to discover prices for commodities (including
crops)
• can be used to facilitate matching of micro credit donors
with seekers (kiva.org is a case in point)
• can be used for facilitating interactions between
government and its citizens, and making it easier, quicker
and less expensive, both for government and the citizens.
These interactions may include payment of taxes & levies,
payment of utility bills, voting, application for licenses,
subsidies & loans, determination of crop prices, purchase
of insurance, purchase of fertilizers, search for
employment in government and application for admission to
schools & colleges
• can be used to bring entertainment to the remotest parts
In my humble opinion, an optical fiber network has the potential
to improve the lives of billions of poor people, around the
world. Investment in building a country wide information highway
(fiber optic network) is the most prudent investment any
government can make.
10Global Youth: Opportunity
or Threat?
“Employment is nature's physician, and is essential to human
happiness”
Claudius Galenus
Roman physician and philosopher of Greek origin
Demographics of a nation directly impacts its stability and
development. There are some interesting things happening on the
demographic front, globally. While the growth rate of world
population is declining, the number of people added each year is
stable at almost 76 million (over 200,000 people every day).
Median age of the population is rising (it was 28 in 2005) yet
every year there are more people below the age of 30. While the
policy makers in the industrialized world ponder over falling
birth rates, their counterparts in developing and undeveloped
countries are getting alarmed by the rapidly rising population
in those countries.
In 2006, there were over 6.5 billion of us. UN projections
indicate we will be almost 9 billion by 2050 – thats almost an
addition of 40% more people in a span of just 44 years. “Law of
compounding” sucks when it comes to the subject of population.
Apart from the rising global population, the age structure
dynamics is also something that we must pay attention to. The
age composition of any country can be categorized as either
Favorable or Adverse.
When a country's age structure is favorable, its government and
institutions are relatively easily able to provide social
welfare to the country's people and solve economic and political
problems. When a country's age structure is adverse, it is more
difficult to meet these challenges, resulting in lost
opportunities and sometimes state failures.
Favorable age structures are observed in countries with sound
economic prospects and which have a large proportion of the
population comprised of working-age adults, with smaller
proportions and slower growth among dependent children and older
adults. A favorable age structure provides a sufficient tax base
for government services and a social safety net for the more
dependent age groups. Adverse age structures, in contrast, often
develop in countries with weaker economic prospects and where
there is a rise in the proportion of young and/or dependent age
groups. Countries with adverse age structures (especially due to
higher proportion of younger population) are breeding grounds
for potential social conflicts and tensions, due to high degree
of unemployment. The following matrix depicts these age
structures.
Low High
Low
High
Dependent population
Economic strength of a country
Adverse age structureHigh degree of unemployment;potential hotbed for social tension; government cannot take care of dependent population adequately
Neutral age structureHigh degree of employment among working-age adults; savings rates may be low; high govt. taxes may be seen
Neutral age structureDue to lesser employment opportunities at home, lot of adults may work abroad; lesser dependent population makes it easier for working adults to emigrate abroad
Favorable age structureLot of working-age adults employed in the economy and can support the dependents easily
Age Structures
Low degree of dependent population = Smaller proportions and slower growth among dependent children and older adults
Past data has shown a significant correlation of Adverse age
structures (resulting from high proportion of young population)
with Civic conflict and weak democracy. According to a report by
Population Action International, between 1970 to 1999, 80% of
all outbreaks of civil conflict that resulted in atleast 25
deaths and in which the government was an actor, occurred in
countries in which 60% or more of the population was under age
30. Likewise, nearly 90% of countries with very young structures
had an autocratic or weakly democratic government at the end of
the 20th century, while more than 80% of countries with mature
structures were fully democratic.
While a high proportion of young population may pose grave
challenges to the environmental sustainability, peace/security
and democracy, this same challenge can become an opportunity, if
the youth can be trained/skilled and absorbed into the economy
in a manner that enhances the productivity and the output of the
economy. Some of the measures that may be adopted by young
countries (population wise) especially developing ones, are
provided below:
• Retirement age of government employees must be reduced by 5
years from the current retirement age. It is a no-brainer
that youth being more productive can enhance the overall
productivity of the economy. And of course, such reduction
in retirement age will bring millions of youth into
workforce.
• Government jobs must adopt corporate-style performance
model wherein non-performers are made redundant after
certain levels of repeated non performance. This would help
to free a lot of jobs currently occupied by grossly
inefficient government employees, many of whom join the
government for the very stability of such jobs.
• Governments in developing and undeveloped countries must
undertake massive infrastructure development and
reconstruction programs, that would create millions of jobs
for both the rural and urban youth. Such projects may be
funded through government bonds tapping into domestic
markets or funds raised in foreign markets. Sovereign
wealth funds also have the potential to fund such
infrastructure creation. Countries like UAE, Norway, China,
Japan & Singapore have huge piles of foreign reserves that
can be diverted to creating productive assets in the
developing and undeveloped world. In the long run, such
investments are a win-win because they help to create
employment in developing countries thereby also creating
huge markets for the products/services of firms based in
the industrialized countries. Last but not the least, such
undertaking helps to uplift the quality of life of millions
of people around the world.
• Attracting black money (dirty money) for infrastructure
development can also be a viable strategy. Governments may
allow use of such money for purchase of infrastructure
bonds. Bonds with such facility may pay a lower interest
than identical bonds purchased with white money. This is
again a win-win. The government can unlock a huge reserve
of unaccounted money and can obtain such capital at a lower
cost. At the same time, the entity/person hoarding black
money can convert it into white money (by paying a nominal
capital gains tax or interest income tax) while also
receiving a return.
These developing countries with a vast pool of youth population
have a small window of opportunity that must be seized by their
governments. First the governments will have to ramp up the
primary, secondary and tertiary education infrastructure and
then skill the graduates. This ramp up will have to be in tandem
with enhanced healthcare and nutrition. At the same time, the
government will have to ramp up the physical infrastructure and
even expand the manufacturing base so as to absorb the millions
of educated and skilled youth, produced each year. A match
between the number of youth entering the workforce and the
number of jobs is an absolute must to ensure peace and harmony
in these developing countries, and the world at large. Pyramid
below depicts the equality in importance of education, health
and employment opportunities, in tapping the potential of
millions of youth, and hence creating a peaceful and
economically productive society.
11If the environment is
screwed nothing else really matters
“We won't have a society if we destroy the environment”
Margaret Mead
American cultural anthropologist
Economic and social progress is of least value if it comes at
the expense of our environment. I cannot imagine living in a
world where one has to walk around wearing oxygen masks for
breathing, where floods and droughts become seasons, and where
trees, plants and animals are only to be seen in text books.
What I have just said is so banal (and repetitive) that I
actually thought twice whether I should even write this note.
But the fact is that the threat to environment is real and
imminent. It needs our immediate attention and we need to
prioritize environmental protection.
While transitioning from the pre-industrial to industrial
phases, we, as human beings were in awe of industrial
discoveries and inventions. Productivity increased; agriculture
was replaced by manufacturing; focus then started shifting onto
services. At the same time, a lot of countries in Asia & Africa
were gaining independence from their colonists. These countries
which were earlier busy with their freedom struggles were facing
humanitarian crises post-independence. There were large scale
migrations (due to partitions), food & grain shortages and the
exploitation of these nations by their colonists would leave
them dilapidated for several decades following the independence.
During these periods – industrialization of the west and
recuperation of the East – environment was accorded the least
priority. By the time the West woke up from their party and the
East had just started to resurrect, it was too late. Ozone had
started to deplete, sea levels had started to rise, there was a
marked increase in earth's temperature and ice caps had started
shrinking. Flora and Fauna in various regions of the world was
classified as endangered.
Arctic is melting
Some scientists have recently stated that we have less than a
decade to reverse the adverse environmental changes. This should
ring an alarm bell for us. All corporations, governments and
people must rise above all other differences, to unite in their
efforts to save our planet.
While a lot of attention has been given to environment in recent
years, and a variety of measures, programs and initiatives
started, a lot still remains to be done to save our planet.
Some of the ways we could check environmental degradation,
includes:
• Using public (mass) transportation instead of individual
vehicles
• Promoting use of electric cars
• Using recyclable stuff
• Switching off electrical gadgets when not using them
• Using technologies that automatically cut energy
consumption based on some control parameters
• Switching to alternate fuels/energy (solar, wind, tidal)
instead of coal
• Retrofitting all emission sources/points across the world
with new technology
• Discouraging travel and utilizing IT as a communication
enabler
• Ensuring rapid curtailment of forest fires
• Strictly implementing ban on poaching/killing of endangered
animals
While all of these ways are being currently implemented, there
is a need for widespread/global education campaign to increase
awareness among people about the threat to environment.
Last but not the least, population control is also needed for
checking environmental degradation. However, this is not as easy
to implement given the political dynamics involved. In most
developing countries, the most populous section of the society,
is also the most influential in determining the fate of
politicians and political parties simply because of their
numbers and the their higher than average voter turnout. No
party wants to bell the cat. Any party that tries to mandate
population control on such populous groups may face voters'
wrath in the elections. Educating these groups on population
control has not yielded very promising results because of their
low education levels and the argument that more kids in the
family mean more bodies to earn money. However, the good news is
that, of late, such groups are beginning to understand the long
term benefits of smaller families, and its role in bringing
upward mobility to such families.
12Don't do charity
“Charity is injurious unless it helps the recipient to become
independent of it”
John D. Rockefeller
American industrialist & philanthropist
Firstly, the word 'Charity' is belittling because it implies
inability of the recipient to fend for themselves. While that
may theoretically be true but the core reason for that situation
is an ineffective governance (due to greed and inefficiency) and
insensitivity of business and political leaders. It is the
responsibility of any government to enable each of its citizens
to be able to earn livelihood and lead a dignified life.
Secondly, instead of providing free food or money or clothes,
the poor must be provided education, they must be trained to
enter the workforce and they must be assisted in career guidance
& job search. Give them fish, they will enjoy the dinner
tonight; teach them how to fish and they will enjoy dinner
every night.
13Specialize for Peace
“A durable and equitable peace system requires equal development
opportunities for all nations”
Willy Brandt
German politician; Noble Peace Prize winner
It seems imperative that for all countries to live peacefully
with one another and have peace within their societies, they
will need to have a competitive edge in one or the other
economic area. Not only would this enable the respective
countries to create wealth for themselves but it will also make
them a stakeholder in the progress of the entire world. It is
also important to understand that the developed countries will
have to help the underdeveloped countries to become competitive
in their areas of specialty. This may be achieved by introducing
new (latest) technologies in the region (as against the previous
approach of exporting older technology to the underdeveloped
markets); introducing newer managerial techniques and tools; and
also helping the underdeveloped countries to build their
education and health care infrastructure. Unless we have such a
model of global inclusiveness, there will always be soft spots
and regions which will support and breed terrorists and other
disruptive forces.
Having said that, it is not sustainable for our world to to have
a few highly developed countries ('haves') and a large number of
underdeveloped ones. Initially, the 'have nots' may witness
social unrest within their boundaries but sooner or later the
undeveloped regions shall become a breeding ground for exporting
terror, maritime piracy (Gulf of Aden is a hotbed of such
activity), promoting international drug trafficking, money
laundering, illegal arms sales and in the worse case scenario,
an agent for illegal nuclear trade. Not that all this is not
currently happening, but if proactive measures are not adopted
by the developed world to build an “inclusive” model, these
problems would only worsen with time.
Each country – whether developed or developing – should assess
its strengths and areas of opportunities. These could be:
• Vast pool of educated youth
• Service oriented culture
• Natural resources – fertile soil, coal, oil, metals etc
• Wastage of agricultural produce
• Scenic beauty
• Marine productivity
• Land pattern – deserts, mountains, plains
• Weather – winds, rains, heat
• Creativity in society
• Abundance of a particular vegetation or crop
• Location
Every nation should leverage their natural strength to the
maximum. Not only will this create prosperity for the country
but it will also benefit the entire world (through efficient
resource utilization). Nations that have leveraged their natural
strengths have made a mark for themselves in those specialist
areas.
Industries that have (or can be) developed on the basis of
natural strengths of a country:
Vast pool of educated youth
• Business Process Outsourcing
• IT services industry
• Engineering services
Service oriented culture
• Business Process Outsourcing (airlines, hospitality credit
card services, financial services)
• International summits, conferences & workshops
Natural resources – fertile soil, coal, oil, metals, gems, river
systems etc
• Production of crops, fruits & vegetables
• Exports of commodities
• Refining of commodities to value-added products
• Power generation (large and small scale hydro power
projects)
Wastage of agricultural produce
• Food processing industry (domestic & export markets)
• Cold Chain development (Pre-harvest processing, Storage,
transportation, retail)
Scenic beauty
• Tourism (including Eco Tourism) – Resorts, Safaris, Tourist
spots
• International business summits, conferences
Land pattern – deserts, mountains, plains, coastline
• Deserts may be used for setting up solar farms
• Desert sands may be used to develop optical fibers (used in
telecommunications)
• Mountains may be used for hydel power
• Access to seas (Coastlines) may be utilized to develop
aquaculture (fisheries, marine life) for food, medicines
Weather – winds, rains, heat, cold
• Windy countries/regions may develop wind farms to generate
power
• Rainy areas – Groundwater (for domestic use & even export
of water)
• High solar intensity regions may emphasize solar power
generation
• Colder regions may develop cold storage facilities for
domestic as well as foreign markets
Creativity in society
• Entertainment industry
• Publishing industry
Abundance of a particular vegetation or crop
• Biofuel
• Food processing
Location
• Refining base for oil
• Shipping industry
• Ports industry (rent seeking)
• Tourism industry
• Economic & financial capital for multilateral organizations
14Re inventing the Government
Administrative machinery“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To
change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete”
Buckminster Fuller
Philospher, futurist and global thinker
Governments worldwide need to give a serious thought to re
inventing how they administer. With the rapid adoption of the
internet and related technologies, evolution of new markets
(e.g. online services), the opening and subsequent emergence of
previously closed economies, and increased incidences of
terrorism (extremism), the governments cannot administer
effectively using archaic assumptions, work flows and control
systems.
Some of the areas that must be looked into, include:
1) Digitization of all the government records: This would
promote quick retrieval of information, increase transparency
and trust (between citizens and the government) and the stored
data can be used to develop “Administrative Intelligence” which
can be used to guide the Administrators.
2) Digitization of work processes: By making the internal and
public interface processes available online (intranet, extranet
and internet), not only would the costs involved in executing
the processes, come down, but it would increase the transparency
(and hence accountability) as well. Use of technology shall make
the administrative machinery leaner (in terms of staff,
consumption of paper and other operational costs) and help to
reduce the time spent on internal approvals and in delivering
public services. Incidences of error related with manual
processing may be eliminated, as well. While, federal and state
governments are beginning to implement IT in their
administrative systems, the governments need to set aggressive
time lines for digitization of entire administrative system, and
ensure that the state systems and federal systems are integrated
(to avoid redundancy in data and processes).
3) Public Access to government funding information
Timeline for all the public programs initiated by the
governments (both federal and state) along with the
administrators responsible for the implementation of those
projects must be made available on the internet. Budgets
allocated and the details of spending must be provided, too.
4) Public Access to government processes
Every time a citizen engages with the government, the status of
the engagement should be made available online. The system
should be similar to the online application process to various
colleges and universities. Unless public can see in real time
how their taxes are being spent and the status of their
interactions with the government, they will not trust the
governments and will continue to be cynical of them. For
example, if I apply for a new phone connection, I should be able
to track in real time, the status of my application, online.
While in the short term, use of technology would be resisted by
some because their vested interests may be affected but if the
Governments are sincere about social equality, democratization
and development-of-the-last-mile they would go ahead with
implementing technology throughout their administrative setup.
In the long run, this would significantly boost the Government's
image among the citizens and even foreign nations, and of
course, will improve the efficiency of the entire administrative
machinery. Benefits are summarized below:
• Efficient utilization of tax money
• Improved public delivery services – cost, time, quality,
transparency
• Increased trust between the Government and its citizens
• Increased foreign investment – which further leads to
economic development
5) Sharing of data base and work processes among government
departments
Sharing of data and work processes among various government
departments can significantly increase the efficiency of all the
departments (by speeding the inter-department approval
processes) as well as reduce the wastages due to un-coordinated
public works projects. For example, real-time data on projects
could be shared between the Transportation, Railways, Sewage
disposal, telephone, electricity and the local public works
department (responsible for roads, lighting). This would ensure
that all necessary approvals are obtained quickly and that there
is no rework. Reworks are a major issue (and drain on resources)
in public works. Very often, due to lack of co-ordination among
the road and sewage disposal departments, the sewage pipes are
changed after the road has been re constructed. This
necessitates a fresh series of patchwork on the roads. Not only
does the rework make the road less usable for a longer time
period, it also costs the government more.
Revitalizing state owned firms
Even though the state owned firms are not directly a part of
government's administrative machinery, re-vitalizing such
organizations is an important part of reinventing the government
set up. Some of the ways of achieving this are listed below:
• Reduce fixed pay and add performance based pay
• Introduce labor reforms that allow for flexibility in
shedding non-performers and hiring as per the needs of the
organizations, through simple process. Currently, in most
countries, it is next to impossible to lay off a government
employee even if he is a non-performer. This breeds an
unhealthy sense of security among government employees and
translates to a lackadaisical attitude towards the job.
• Introduce regulation that bans strikes by government
departments especially in areas of essential services. I
know first hand how it feels when the electricity of entire
city is cut off or the broadband service is disrupted due
to a strike by the electricity & the telecommunications
departments, respectively. Such service disruptions do not
just affect ordinary consumers but they affect the
functioning of critical infrastructure such as airports and
hospitals. This also has a severe negative impact on a
country's image.
• Cross leverage firms in the public sector to improve asset
utilization, remove redundancies, increase work variety
(and hence motivation of employees) and ultimately improve
the return on government's equity (ROGE). Cross leveraging
is discussed in detail later.
• Shift all work flow processes to IT systems – for quick,
error-free, paper less work
• All project accountabilities may be made public by
publishing project details on the Internet
• Upgrade skills of employees every year through mandatory
corporate training courses
State owned organizations that can be revitalized using the
above measures, include:
• Post Office
• Railways
• Non Banking Financial Institutions (NBFIs)
• Hospitals
• Police
• Government Schools
• Government Colleges
• Vocational training Centers
• Scientific research organizations
• Industrial & Agricultural Equipment Manufacturer
• Food processors
Cross Leveraging
Government organizations such as public sector banks, Non
banking financial institutions (insurance companies, pension
funds), post office, railways, government hospitals, police,
government schools/colleges, scientific research organizations
and vocational training colleges should be cross leveraged, by
utilizing each other's distribution network/reach, co-branding
and allowing transfer of employees across organizations.
Cross leveraging by firms may include:
• utilizing the network of other organizations for
distribution of products/services and for communicating
with potential customers. For example, a Post Office
network could be used to sell/distribute insurance or other
financial products.
• allowing personnel skills, knowledge and experience in one
firm to be transferred to another through deputations and
transfers
• having access to a common marketing database (client
database). For example, the electricity, water and phone
departments could use a common (shared) customer database
and integrate their billing and CRM processes. This would
lower their costs of operation as well as benefit the
customers by reducing the number of interaction points.
• collaborating on projects (and using technology as an
enabler). For example, government's telecommunications and
power related organizations could jointly develop
technology to transmit data and electricity cheaply, over
the power lines.
As an example, the Post Office can
• distribute Financial products of public sector banks and
NBFCs (insurance, auto loans, equipment loans,
microfinance)
• market FMCG (Fast Moving consumer Goods)
• distribute and collect enrollment forms for schools,
colleges and vocational training colleges
• provide intelligence to local police
• administer market research surveys
• disseminate information on epidemic in other parts of the
country
• disseminate information on preventive healthcare
• disseminate adult literacy kits
State owned NBFIs could:
• manage financial assets for other government organizations
• provide venture capital for government's research
organizations
Railways could be used for:
• Food balancing: Railways can help to transport food to
shortage areas by receiving real time information. This can
significantly reduce storage costs and wastages.
• Mobile healthcare: Railways can be used to provide mobile
healthcare in the remotest parts of the country. This helps
to avoid setting up a namesake health center in a remote
part which is merely a cost center for the government and
is exploited by the officers in charge of funding the
health center.
Government Colleges and Vocational colleges may have arrangement
with Public Sector organizations for internships of their
students.
15Re Branding the Government
“Customers must recognize that you stand for something.”
Howard Schultz
Founder, Starbucks
Reforming a government set up and its governance style must be
supplemented with a conscious, proactive re branding of the
image of the government and its governance. This is especially
crucial in developing countries where years of inefficiencies in
governance have (rightfully) made citizens and foreigners
cynical of such governments.
Initiatives for re-branding a country's governance must include:
• Communicating through various media the changes that have
been brought in the governance. Specific examples and facts
must be provided. The message should be clear, succinct and
uniform across the country.
• Increasing interaction between the publicly elected
representatives and the public through town hall style
meetings and Internet blogs.
• Re-touching all the points of contact of the Government.
Governments interface with the citizens & foreigners
through public relation offices, embassies, utility offices
(water, phone, electricity, post office), airports, railway
stations, bus stations, police stations, fire stations,
traffic police, passport offices, offices for registration
of firms, offices for driving license, food distribution
program offices, government health centres/hospitals,
consumer forums, websites. All these offices/interface
points must be remodeled/re touched.
Re-touching may include:
• Modernizing the offices in terms of aesthetics and
functionality
• Emphasizing presentability, proactiveness, poise,
intelligence, personability and efficiency in the people
hired for front-office (public interfacing) jobs.
Compensation provided to such folks should be competitive
and if possible, better than the market (for similar jobs
in the private sector).
• Re designing all the government website interfaces
(webpages). The websites should be as aesthetic and easy to
use, as a Fortune 500 company website.
16Measuring Government
Performance“Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees; and both the trust and the trustees are created for
the benefit of the people”
Henry Clay
American statesman and orator
While macro indicators such as GDP growth, inflation trends,
Industrial production growth, trends in the production of
capital goods, unemployment rate and foreign exchange reserves
are important parameters for assessing government performance,
there is a need for more holistic framework for evaluation of
government performance at various levels – federal, state, town,
district. Every such political unit must at least be evaluated
on the following parameters to assess the efficacy of the
government in-charge of the concerned unit.
• Number of poverty related suicides
• Number of deaths due to inadequate emergency healthcare
• Trends in Air pollution levels across the country
• Trends in electricity outages
• Trends in water supply disruption
• Trends in condition of roads
• Number of schools with enrollment and pass rates.
• Trends in the employment numbers
• Number of communal, racial incidents
• Number of public representatives with criminal records
• Productivity of public representatives (discussed below)
I propose a more exhaustive (holistic) framework for assessing
governance. The elements of this framework are discussed next.
• People
• Healthcare
• Education
• Housing
• Economic Standard of living
• Safety
• Urban built environment
• Rural-urban disparities
• Community strength and spirit
• Civil & political rights
• Natural Environment
People
• General sense of satisfaction with quality of life,
immigration/emigration trends
Healthcare
• Life expectancy
• Infant mortality
• Communicable Diseases
• No. of general physicians/practitioners per 100,000
population
• Barriers to accessing a general practitioner.
• Mental health and emotional wellbeing (Suicide rates +
rates of hospitalisation for attempted suicide)
• Recreation and leisure (key free time activities; people’s
satisfaction with leisure time)
Education
Number of schools per 100,000 students; Cost of education;
Access to education by people from all stratas of economy;
quality of education in both private and subsidized schools.
Housing
Housing is a fundamental component of quality of life. Without
appropriate shelter, people cannot meet their basic needs and
participate adequately in society. Housing issues can have flow-
on effects for health, education and community wellbeing.
Percentage of private dwellings owned and rented
• Percentage of population within each ethnic group who own
their own home
• Number of people living in temporary private dwellings.
• Housing costs and affordability
• The cost of purchasing a home relative to incomes.
• Rental costs vs. income trends
• Home mortgage vs. rents
Household crowding
• Proportion of the population living in crowded households.
(crowded households are defined as those in which two or
more additional bedrooms are required)
• No. of applicants to new government housing as % of housing
available
Economic Standard of Living
• Home ownership, energy, health care and education costs in
relation to overall rate of inflation.
• The cost of food as compared to overall inflation.
• Rental housing costs and clothing costs
• % below poverty line
• % of wealth owned by the richest 10%
Safety
Child safety
• Rate of substantiated child abuse and neglect per 1,000
• Residents’ rating of safety of local neighbourhoods for
children to play in while unsupervised
• Rate of hospitalisations for unintentional injury per
100,000 children aged 14 years and under.
Road Safety
• Rate of serious and fatal road injuries per 100,000
population
• Length of stay in hospital due to road crash injuries
• Social cost of accidents (includes loss of life estimates)
Workplace safety
• Incidences per 100,000 employees
Crime Levels
• Total offence rate per 100,000 population
• Number and rate of recorded burglary offences per 100,000
population
• Number and rate of recorded violence offences per 100,000
population
• Number and rate or recorded sexual offences per 100,000
population
• Number and rate of total car offences per 100,000
population
• Total drug and anti-social offences per 100,000 population.
Urban built environment
Look & Feel of the city
• Sense of pride
• Graffiti
• Vandalism
• Litter
• Noise pollution
Land Use
• Green space per 1000 people
• Access to green open spaces
Traffic & Transport
• Motor vehicle ownership
• Means of travel to work
• Distances travelled by mode of transport
• Population travelling outside their city to work per
100,000
Public Transport
• % population using public transport
• Affordability of public transport
• Safety of public transport
• Convenience of public transport
• Ease of access to public transport facilities
Rural-urban disparities
• Are there any visible disparities in access to public
services/amenities between rural and urban areas?
Community Strength & spirit
• Types of social networks
• Location of social networks
• Sense of community
• Community resilience
• Contact with neighbours
• Number of people engaged in Unpaid work
• Trust
• Social isolation
• Personal support
Civil & political rights
• Community involvement in council decision making
• % of city residents having an understanding of how their
council makes decisions.
• % of city residents believing that the public has influence
on the decisions that their council makes.
• Voter Turnout (federal, state and local council elections)
• Representation on local decision making bodies
• % of Women in federal & state assemblies and local councils
• Does the ethnic composition of assemblies reflect the
ethnic diversity of the political units?
Natural Environment
Waste management and recycling
• Access to kerbside recycling
• Trend in volume of landfill
Energy Use
• No. of Energy efficiency projects underway
• Is energy efficiency promoted through schools, TV and
newspaper?
• % of transmission losses (theft related, faulty/old
equipment & power lines)
• No. of electricity outage incidences (how do these vary
across regions, cities and towns)
Air Quality
• Air pollution levels in relation to those prescribed by
Health agencies?
Beach and stream/lake water quality
• Water quality levels
Water Consumption
• Trends in the depth of ground water table across cities.
Productivity of Public Representatives
Apart from assessing the performance of a government body or
unit, there should also be evaluation of the productivity of
public representatives. A Benefit-Cost Analysis model to assess
the productivity of public representatives is presented below.
Benefit to the government = Tangible benefits + Intangible
benefits
Tangible benefits = Government Revenues from a project (by
monitoring a project for swift/efficient execution) + No. of
jobs created (Salaries) + Net Profit for the suppliers, farmers,
factory owners (through contracts/subcontracts)
Intangible benefits = Benefits due to increased healthcare
access, education, drinking water, electricity, access to
highways/roads, improved banking, improved telecommunications
(mobile, internet, satellite), improved sanitation, online price
discovery esp. for agricultural commodities, improved access to
local and export markets, opportunity for vocational training,
opportunity for learning English, maintenance of social cohesion
and harmony, improved safety for women & children, social
security, improved image of the country.
Cost to the government = Tangible Costs + Intangible Costs
Tangible costs = Salary + Perks (House rents at market rates,
Transportation, Foreign Travel + Stay, Private Parties)
Intangible costs = Cost due to delay in approvals/disapprovals +
Cost due to wrong decision making/judgement (new project,
privatization etc) + Cost due to personal agendas (leading to
social unrest, corruption etc) + Cost due to
graft/bribery/kickbacks
Net Value Added (NVA) of a Publicly elected leader = Tangible
NVA + Intangible NVA
Tangible NVA = Tangible Benefits to the govt. - Tangible cost to
the govt.
Intangible NVA = Intangible Benefits to the govt. - Intangible
cost to the govt.
From the above, it is a no-brainer that calculation of
intangible costs to the government shall be the most difficult
to evaluate and the most controversial, too. To that end, at
least the tangible NVA for public representatives should be
positive.
Productivity of government employees
Tangible NVA for a government employee is easy to determine.
However, it is more challenging to quantify the intangible
benefits & costs. Tools must be developed to evaluate the Net
Value Add of a government employee.
I believe that an unbiased measurement of government performance
and those of its members (publicly elected and bureaucrats) is a
critical step to reforming the government machinery. Such
measurement shall enhance accountability. Currently, due to lack
of either performance measurement systems or the integrity of
such measurement systems, and due to unavailability of such
information in the public domain, most governments & bureaucrats
are operating scot free. As an example, consider a developing
country where it is a well known fact that only 10%-20% of
developmental money assigned to a project/program reaches the
project. Rest is all wasted away in form of graft and
inefficiency. In such systems, an honest and detailed
performance measurement system is an absolute necessity to
ensure that tax revenues are not misappropriated.
Comprehension & appreciation of the measures and scenarios
discussed in this book is important for efficient governance,
improved environmental safety, equitable growth and building
progressive societies. However, that is only one part of the
puzzle. Bureaucrats have always had a good understanding of
these issues and there has never been a lack of ideas either,
put forward by the civil society (businessmen & academics). But
to make things happen, there is a need for POLITICAL WILL among
the politicians even if that means making tough decisions in the
short run and even perhaps hurting their vote banks. In other
words, comprehension of issues together with Political Will, are
the basic ingredients of societal transformation.
Without a sustained political will to implement the measures
discussed in earlier chapters, those measures are not worth
much. Yes, they do provide for an inspirational reading but to
affect changes in reality, the public representatives must have
a desire and determination to act on them. I have no doubt that
within a few years of sincerely pursuing changes in the
governance, people will start to understand the benefits of
those changes, and this would significantly help the public
representatives to win people's hearts, and of course, the
votes.
In most countries (especially developing and undeveloped),
“Political Will” takes backseat to personal GREED and other
Conflicts of Interest among politicians and political parties.
Unless this is changed, we will not see any “real” societal
transformation in these countries. The following matrix provides
various scenarios resulting due to interplay of Political will
and self-promotion by politicians.
As an example, let us consider a developing country in Asia with
over 600 administrative units and almost that many parliamentary
seats (people representatives). Each year close to $0.5M is
provided as development funds to these representatives. No
prizes for guessing how much of those funds goes to the bank
Low HighLow
High
Political Will
Self promotion by leaders
Idealistic scenario; possible in States ruled by
kings/dynastic leaders
Things get done; seen in most developed
countries and developing countries
Rare; almost zero possibility of such
scenario
Corruption, inefficiency; seen in undeveloped
countries
Political Will – Self promotion Matrix
account of the representative. One would do good by visiting any
district at random and asking people if there were any new roads
built or if there were any new schools, libraries or health
clinics established in last 3 years. More often than not, you
will hear that no one even bothered to visit the district or
that there has been no new development in the area. Point I am
trying to make is this. If a representative genuinely wanted to
develop his area, he could easily have done that within a year.
In developing countries with cheap labor and raw materials, a
lot can be done with US$0.5M, of course, if one has the
intentions to do so.
In my humble opinion, “Political Will” is a must to bring any
kind of changes in the governance or in other areas. Even in the
absence of intellectual capacity, a political leader can make a
significant difference to the society and the world, if he has
the will to pursue progressive policies. Figure below describes
the interplay between “Political Will” and “Intellectual
Capacity” ans underscores the importance of “Political Will”
over “Intellectual capacity”.
Low HighLow
High
Political Will
Intellectual capacity of key leaders
Progress possible by bringing
intellectuals/specialists into politics
Things get done; seen in most developed
countries
No progress possible; most undeveloped
countries are a result of this
Seen in countries having caste and region-based vote banks; leaders avoid tough
decisions
Political Will – Intellectual Capacity Matrix
18Accountability, Accountability, Accountability
"Accountability breeds response-ability"
Stephen R. Covey
Management Guru
The issue of lack of political will brings us to the mostly-
absent element in governance - “Accountability”. Accountability
is necessary to establish trust between a government and its
citizens.
Information technology can be used to promote accountability.
For example, one way to check the misuse of government funds is
through implementation of Information Technology systems that
provide real-time information on:
• funds dispersed and the purpose/project for which the funds
are allocated
• proposed time line of the project
• progress of the project
• and the representative accountable for the project
Such a system should be implemented at every point of funds
dispersal and at every level of public representation. The
information must be accessible by the general public, over the
internet. However, development and use of such a system will
only be possible if the political leaders are sincere about
their accountability to the public, or in other words have the
political will to create an accountable system of governance.
The topic of accountability is incomplete without a discussion
on Corruption – which is a direct outcome of lack of
accountability. A framework for categorizing various forms of
corruption is provided below. I call it “The Corruption Pyramid”
(refer to figure on the following page) which puts into
perspective the magnitude of the various forms of corruption.
While we hear, read and see stories of graft and corruption
among business entities and between business and the public,
through various media on almost a daily basis, these constitute
a very small fraction of the overall “corruption pie”. The
“Real” corruption that extracts a high monetary and social cost
from a country almost always involves the government (and its
machinery) and is too sophisticated to be understood by majority
of people.
The Corruption Pyramid
G -
P
G -
B
B -
B
B -
P
P - P
Government-Government corruption: Personal greed of political leaders, funding of
foreign governments for domestic political gains and sometimes, for larger
national interests.
Government-Business corruption: To seek government tenders & licenses, to obtain
access to public/national resources at highly discounted rates, to lobby for
preferential Trade regulations, Preferential treatment of files, inside
information of the tendering process, Resolution of operational hurdles, evasion
of customs/import duties
Business-Business corruption: Falsified audit, inflated IPO pricing, favorable
Credit Ratings, Price collusion, M&A advisory, Restructuring advisory, Business
espionage, Rigged Bidding
Not
e: G
over
nmen
t her
e im
plie
s pu
blic
ly e
lect
ed re
pres
enta
tives
Business-Public: Preferential treatment, inside information, Resolution of
operational hurdles, obtaining procurement contracts
Public-Public: Preferential treatment, inside information
G -
G
Government-Public: Misuse and misappropriation of public money (tax revenues,
funds allocated to Social service programmes) by bureaucrats and politicians for
personal gains and/or for funding of political party operations (elections; day
to day running of parties); graft by politicians and govt. employees; evasion of
taxes/duties/fines by public
It is also interesting to observe the levels of various types of
corruption across various types of economies. The chart below
provides a qualitative assessment of the various types of
corruption in the developed, developing and undeveloped
countries.
The various forms of corruption are discussed next.
• Public - Public (P-P)
• Business - Public (B-P)
• Business - Business (B-B)
• Government - Business (G-B)
• Government - Government (G-G)
Govt-Public
Govt-Govt
Govt-Business
Business-Business
Business-Public
Public-Public
0
5
10
Levels of various types of corruption in various economies
Developed Developing Undeveloped
• Government - Public (G-G)
Public - Public (P-P)
Motivation: Such corruption germinates from trying to seek
preferential treatment in daily life or inside information (e.g.
trying to know the status of a file or a case).
Prevalence: This type of grass-roots corruption is mainly seen
in undeveloped countries and in developing countries (slightly
lesser). Developed countries exhibit minimal levels of
corruption of this kind.
Business - Public (B-P)
Motivation: Preferential treatment, Inside information (e.g.
seeking information from an employee of a competing firm),
Resolution of operational hurdles (clearing of land), Obtaining
procurement contracts by bribing the “Buying manager”
Prevalence: Undeveloped countries exhibit highest levels of this
form of corruption, followed by the developing countries.
Developed countries also exhibit this form of corruption, but in
lesser magnitude than the developing countries.
Business - Business (B-B)
Motivation: Audit (e.g. an independent auditor colludes with the
client to secure future work with the client), Initial Public
Offering (e.g. a company planning an IPO may offer graft to an
investment banking firm in return for the bank overstating the
strengths/quality of the firm and overpricing the offering),
Credit Ratings (e.g. a company wishing to keep its bond ratings
overrated may bribe the credit ratings firm), Price collusion
(e.g. businesses may keep the prices of their goods/services
artificially high by working in tandem), M&A advisory (e.g. a
business promoter wanting to get rid of a company against the
wishes of its employees/managers may bribe an M&A advisory firm
to propose selling off the firm), Restructuring advisory (e.g. a
business wanting to layoff employees may bring in an external
consultant to recommend the same), Business espionage (e.g. one
business trying to stealthily know the pricing strategy or
future plans of another firm by paying bribe to a consultant who
may be offering his consulting services to both the clients),
Rigged Bidding (e.g. a firm colluding with another firm while
bidding for a business or contract)
Prevalence: Interestingly, this form of corruption is more
prevalent in developing economies and the developed economies
than the undeveloped countries. This is due to the fact that
this form of corruption is more sophisticated and pertains to
the high end of services. Most undeveloped countries do not have
the institutional frameworks where such corruption may be
observed.
Government - Business (G-B)
Motivation: Government tenders & licenses, public works, Trade
regulations (Lobbying for Tax credits, subsidies & other
incentives), Cheap access to (or use of) public resources.
In undeveloped countries and countries with closed or tightly
regulated economies this form of corruption is seen as a natural
way of doing business. In countries where the economies have
been recently opened (in last 20-25 years), this form of
corruption is commonplace, as well, partially due to the “pre
free-market” mindset of the government participants (public
representatives and bureaucrats) and promoters.
In the developed world, this form of corruption has been
primarily restricted to lobbying by companies and special
interest groups. However, by no means, lobbying is small in
magnitude. It has been seen across a range of industries, from
the pharmaceutical industry to telecommunications to restaurants
to fertilizers to food processing.
Prevalence: This form of corruption is found in all types of
economies. However, undeveloped economies have higher incidences
than the developing ones, which in turn have higher incidences
than the developed economies.
Government - Government (G-G)
Motivation: Funding of political parties (elections; day to day
running of parties); funding of foreign governments for domestic
political gains and sometimes, for larger national interests;
personal greed of political leaders, funds for oiling the system
for political party gains
This form of corruption may be seen in a variety of transactions
and interactions between the governments. Specifically, it may
be observed in defense procurement, Peace treaties, Cease Fires,
Protection treaties, Technology transfer, Trade regulations, Oil
purchase and Reconstruction, to name a few. Kickbacks and
commissions fee are the primary methods of graft. Defense
procurement and oil purchase are the more obvious transactions,
smelling of such graft. However, transactions such as,
initiating peace treaties, starting/stopping cease fires,
protection agreements (wherein a nation seeks military help from
another), transfer of critical technologies and trade
regulations (for e.g. country A bribing country B to impose
trade sanctions on country C's imports into country B) are other
more subtle ways by which Governments indulge in graft.
Prevalence: This form of corruption is also found in all types
of countries/economies, and is perhaps the oldest and most
prevalent form of corruption. All countries, developed,
developing and undeveloped, display an almost similar magnitude
of this form of corruption. While this form of corruption is the
least visible, it is among the biggest types of corruption, in
terms of monetary value. While an argument can be made that such
form of graft is a means by which by political parties
(incumbent government) raise funds for elections and for running
their parties, it is worth noting that a significant portion of
such graft is diverted towards individual political leaders and
towards oiling the system for individual and party gains.
Government - Public (G-P)
Motivation: Misuse and misappropriation of public money (tax
revenues, funds allocated to Social service programmes) by
bureaucrats and politicians for personal gains and/or for
funding of political party operations (elections; day to day
running of parties); graft by government employees; evasion of
taxes/duties/fines by public; influencing a civil or a criminal
case.
Prevalence: Developed world has far fewer instances of this form
of corruption than the developing and undeveloped countries.
Yet, this form of corruption extracts the most price from the
global society, and is most damaging to the world, at large.
This form of corruption is the root cause for lack of adequate
infrastructure (clean drinking water, electricity, education,
healthcare, low cost homes), malnutrition (& chronic hunger),
unemployability, unemployment and all the related ills such as
poverty, drug abuse, child labor, HIV AIDS, chronic disease,
homelessness, urban crime, environmental degradation and
hopelessness among the marginalized sections of the society.
The most ironical aspect of democracy in developing and
undeveloped countries is that the political leaders, by engaging
in this form of corruption, crush the right to a dignified life
of the very people who voted them to power. The weakest sections
of the society accept their wretched lives as their fate written
in stone. The middle class feels a sense of hopelessness and
ultimately becomes indifferent to the plight of their fellow
countrymen and this form of corruption. The immense social cost
that is extracted by such corruption, dwarfs any tangible cost
associated with it. In my humble opinion, if politicians and
bureaucrats take a vow to change their ways and put an end to
this form of corruption, we would have solved most of the
problems.
The various forms of corruption discussed above, make our world
collectively poorer, unhappier, less peaceful and a more unsafe
place. We may be able to justify all our acts of corruption but
there is no way we can hide from ourselves & our conscience. The
duality of human existence (discussed in Chapter 2) is a direct
result of corruption – a product of human greed & apathy towards
the poor. In Adam Smith's words: "The disposition to admire, and
almost to worship, the rich and the powerful, and to despise,
or, at least, to neglect persons of poor and mean condition is
the great and most universal cause of the corruption of our
moral sentiments." The duality of human existence (discussed in
an earlier chapter) is, in my humble opinion, the single biggest
threat to world peace. Millions of people living on the fringes
of society are potential inductees to local and international
terrorist groups, mafias and other groups trying to destroy the
fabric of society. While we endlessly debate on how to eradicate
terrorism, local uprisings and increasing incidences of
violence, we almost always do not pay attention to the root
cause of such activities - corruption and apathy towards the
poor. Let us try to spend just one month in the kind of wretched
conditions in which millions live and I am sure that most of us
(especially those who are disconnected from the realities of
life due to their wealth or power) will forget preaching peace
and harmony in boardrooms, living rooms, classrooms, award
functions, and on TV channels.
In summary, the day we would begin to respect another human
being's right to a dignified existence, we would have solved
most of the world problems.
19The Right Cabinet
“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep
from meddling with them while they do it.”
Theodore Roosevelt
26th President of the United States
Like in the corporate sector, the key to improving government
efficiency and innovation is to attract and retain the brightest
and the best. And it has to start with fielding the right
candidates. To that end, Electoral reforms are a must in most
nations around the world. There are 2 elements to electoral
reforms:
• Promotion of a truly independent & powerful Election
Administration body (known as Election Commission in many
countries)
• Screening of electoral candidates
Promotion of a truly independent, powerful Election Commission
Election Commissions in most nations are not believed to be
powerful enough to raise voice against key politicians, who
disobey election rules. While the commission does raise concerns
over the misconduct of politicians during elections, it is more
of a talk than action. We need to enact a law in the legislative
houses that gives the Election Commission, the authority to act
fearlessly against any politician who is not abiding by the
rules/standards set out by the commission.
Appointments to the Election Commission board may be based
purely on the merit of the commission's officers, and
politicians should not be legally allowed to influence any
appointments. Lateral appointments to the commission should be
avoided at all levels within the commission, and a conscious
effort must be made to promote all officers from within the
commission (based on merit and a 360-degree feedback).
Apart from giving the Election Commission greater autonomy, the
Election Officers may be provided adequate security to ensure
that these officers can conduct their tasks fearlessly.
Last but not the least, the pay scales of the Election
Commission may be set at higher levels than other government
bodies, to discourage any incidences of graft.
Screening of electoral candidates
I believe that there needs to be a stringent process to screen
political candidates. Quality of politicians is crucial for
proper development of any country. If the screening processes
for employment with the public sector and private sector jobs
are demanding then why should there be any laxity with regards
to selection of political candidates? At the very least, any
aspirant to a public office that represents people (Member of
Parliament (federal level) and Member of Legislative Assembly
(state level)) should have been involved in national service for
atleast 3 years, be a graduate at the minimum, have no criminal
history/record and should not be a narcissist or psychotic
individual (as determined through personality tests and the past
of the individual). The public representatives should also be
physically healthy, especially if they are aspiring for a key
political position (such as Cabinet minister). Political
positions being executive in nature require both experience as
well as energy and enthusiasm. With due regards, it must be
stated that very often we see politicians who can barely walk,
handling important political positions. Therefore, certain
minimum health requirements must be laid down before a person
can fight an election. If we can successfully implement above
measures, I am confident we will be able to filter out
incompetent and corrupt politicians from entering the political
race. This would increase the level of trust among the public,
on politicians and the political system.
After putting in place a good screening system for election
contestants, the next step would be to pick and choose the best
minds for cabinet positions or for “Consultant-to-the minister”
positions.
A good Cabinet of Ministers for a country (especially for a
developing country) should ideally look like this:
• Health Minister: Healthcare specialist, Practitioner,
Healthcare Administrator
• Education Minister: Retired Professor, Dean of College,
Well recognized scholar
• Power Minister: Engineer or Technocrat with experience in
private sector power utility
• Agriculture Minister: Agricultural scientist or field
engineer who is aware of real issues and problems
• Commerce Minister: CEO of a major corporation, industry
analyst, strategy consultant or a successful entrepreneur
• Rural development Minister: Someone who has worked with an
NGO or a rural development organization; retired bureaucrat
from Agriculture ministry
• Science & Technology Minister: A professor in science, a
scientist with a vision or a technologist
• Finance Minister: Ex CFO, senior finance professional, CEO
of a state-owned bank, or an Economist
• External Affairs Minister: Former ambassador, Well known
expert in international affairs
• Defense Minister: Ex Defense officer, Defense strategist,
Retd. bureaucrat from defense ministry
All these Cabinet Ministers should be permitted to hire/bring in
world class experts & consultants in the respective fields, on
multi year contracts. As can be noted above, an ideal cabinet
should comprise a mix of free-market corporate executives and
socialist mindset professionals (scholars, academicians,
activists and ex-bureaucrats). While the ex-corporate execs help
to introduce efficiency & innovation in government functioning
along with bringing contemporary outlook to country's policies,
the socialist mindset folks can ensure that the economic growth
of a country is inclusive and takes care of all the
stakeholders.
While one could argue that the strength of a “Democratic system”
is its ability to empower the people to decide who should
represent them, I believe that the vast majority of people who
influence election results (especially in the developing and
undeveloped countries), actually do not understand who is really
good for them and who is not. If the demographic profile of
voters across nations were to be created, it would be observed
that in most nations, the people who influence the selection of
majority of representatives, have lower education and incomes
than than the average education and income levels for that
nation. Essentially these people vote for the 'perception' of a
politician and not the 'real' abilities and the 'real' person in
the politician.
The reason for this phenomenon is that in most developing and
undeveloped countries, the educated people abstain from
exercising their voting rights, as a way of disapproving of the
inept political leadership. Indifference and laziness is also
responsible for such abstinence from the voting process. On the
other hand, the less educated and marginalized sections feel
important at the time of elections because that is the only time
when political leaders are rallying around them for their votes.
These people are also lured by petty gifts during the election.
The result is a large turnout of voters in the marginalized
sections while a significantly smaller turnout amongst the
educated (middle and upper class) voters.
Not surprisingly, then, the biggest irony of democracy is that
the vast majority of people elect representatives who lack the
vision, drive and intellectual capacity to facilitate progress
of the vast majority who brought them to public offices. There
are a couple of ways to tackle this systemic problem. Firstly,
the civic societies and the Election administrator (commission)
should lobby the political parties for a gradual increase in the
proportion of those candidates (in elections) who either have
had successful careers in the corporate sector or in social
sector (as bureaucrats, scholars, scientists, activists, social
workers, public sector ex-employees). A lot of developed
countries do follow such a system, and in fact, adoption of such
a system has been responsible for the growth and economic
success of such countries. However, here it is also worth
mentioning that intellectual capacity, if it is accompanied with
self-promotion is even more harmful than self promotion among
leaders without intellectual capacity (refer figure below).
Therefore it is important for the Election commission to conduct
due diligence on the integrity of the successful professionals
being nominated by the parties. As some people say “Intellect is
important but Integrity is even more important”.
Secondly, an internet-based online system for voting should be
introduced alongside the conventional voting. Given the high
internet usage rates and a low voter turnout among the educated,
the voter turnout would increase significantly as a result of
online voting. Voters who didnt vote simply out of laziness or
lack of time or not being in their constituency, at the time of
voting, would turn to online voting in huge numbers. Even those
who do not vote, out of disapproval for the key political
parties, may actually cast their votes. This would benefit the
Low HighLow
High
Self-Promotion
Intellectual capacity of key leaders
Common in undeveloped countries
Corruption at the highest level; both in
developed and developing countries
Rare
Idealistic scenario; Some countries have transformed
from undeveloped to a developed country in a
short time span due to this
Intellectual Capacity - Self Promotion Matrix
independent candidates and in the long term the nation's
democratic process would be strengthened.
Apart from the issues of screening of candidates and voter
turnout, there are other roadblocks to a healthy democracy.
Firstly, it is a very common occurrence that multiple members
of the same family stand in elections representing different
parties. While it can be argued that in democracy, every person
has the right to choose a political ideology per his/her wish,
however, we all know that contesting from different parties is a
way of “political hedging” used by such families. In simple
words, such an arrangement increases the chances of the family
being politically relevant and continue to reap the perks,
therein. Electoral screening process may be used to check such
misuse of public representation.
Secondly, some publicly elected representatives switch sides
after elections, as a way to seek favor or a political position.
This is a blatant betrayal of the trust imposed by the public in
such representatives. For example, if a candidate seeks votes
from the public as a representative of party A and wins, and
later joins party B, he is essentially betraying the people who
voted for him as party A's representative. The only way to curb
this malpractice is by enacting a law that prohibits any
switching of parties (after being elected) until the next
elections when the representative must fight elections
representing the new party where he wishes to go.
Both these issues are indicative of greed for power and self-
promotion, and must be tackled firmly.
I will close this chapter by noting that people, world wide,
belonging to any social strata or religion, do not want to be
manipulated (divided) on the basis of caste, sex, religion or
region. They want good governance (corruption free and
efficient) and opportunities for upward mobility. That's it. To
that end, the first step to a healthy democracy is to promote
nomination and selection of public representatives who have
integrity, and are intellectually capable, progressive, non self
promoting and non divisive. This seems like an unachievable wish
list but unless we have such high standards in our polities, we
cannot get rid of other evils of our society.
20Building Value Systems
Top Down“It is not fair to ask of others what you are unwilling to do
yourself”
Eleanor Roosevelt
Wife of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Economic progress has to be matched with social progress.
Economic progress is a function of increased worker
productivity, use of technology, innovation, natural resources
and financial resources. On the other hand, social progress is a
function of social cohesion in the society, value systems in the
society and a sense of pride among individuals in the society.
Of these, value systems are the most important. It is often said
that a “strong” country is economically sound while a “great”
country is not only economically sound but has great value
systems, as well.
A value system that flows from the top, and encourages
professional & personal integrity, social equity
(inclusiveness), empathy for less fortunate, generosity,
humility and a sense of camaraderie in daily life, is the key to
building a progressive society (refer table on next page for
classification of societies) and a progressive nation, in true
sense.
Political leaders (and those in public service) worldwide should
take the lead and set examples for above mentioned values.
However, it is easier said than done, and requires personal
commitment on part of top brass of various political parties to
make sure that they promote those in the party who exhibit these
good values. That in turn implies that the top brass themselves
have to be prepared to change their own ways, if needed. Because
if they cannot lead by example, they cannot expect their
subordinates to respect these value systems.
Classification of Societies
Parameter Progressive Less progressive
De generative
Women rights & freedom High Medium to low Low/No
Social justice HighMedium (Glass
doors & ceilings)
No
Quality of political leadership (w.r.t. Integrity, education)
Above average Average Poor
Spirit of camaraderie/Social cohesiveness
HighMedium
(triggered by events)
No
Power distance* Low to medium Medium Very high
Corruption levels Low to Medium Medium Very high
Spirit of charity among the elite
High MediumNone (self-promotion)
Journalistic integrity Medium to High Low to medium None
Value of education High Medium Low
Distribution of wealthLeast
inequitableModerately inequitable
Most inequitable
Nature of politics Progressive DivisiveAuthoritarian /Dictatorship
* Power distance is the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.
Apart from leading by example, there needs to be a change in the
incentive structure of governments. For example, Ministers in
the federal and state governments should be paid handsome
salaries. However, this alone is not enough. There are several
instances of political leaders wherein their greed for power and
money never ends. They use their contacts and influence to set
up businesses, broker business and political deals, award
multi-billion dollar government contracts & licenses to favored
parties, sell-of government assets at massive discounts to their
friends & family, channel tax payer's money to sham projects,
and so on. Therefore, a change in the incentive structure has to
be complemented with a fundamental shift in a political party's
organization. The party must field candidates from corporate and
social sector, who are successful in their domains, have
integrity and are either already well off (financially) or are
known for their intellectual capacity. In summary, leading by
example, incentivization and political party re-organization are
the key mantras for building value systems in the political
system and hence in the society.
21The concept of Nations,
Democracy & Power“If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to
be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost”
Aristotle
Greek philospher
Understanding of the world, its institutions and its people can
not be complete without an understanding of the concept of
Nations, Democracy & Power.
The evolving concept of Nations (National boundaries) requires
an understanding of two phenomena: migration and globalization.
Wandering in search for food, water and shelter dates back to
the stone age. Last few centuries have seen international
migration, both voluntary and forced. Economic opportunities,
quality of life, social injustice, communal disharmony &
genocide have been the key driving forces behind migration
between nations. Impact of Economic opportunities and overall
quality of life on international migration is illustrated in the
figure below.
Low HighLow
High
Economicopportunities
Overall quality of life
Those who value quality of life will migrate
Very little migration;Migration mainly due to non economic reasons – weather, relatives, leisure, travel
Migration of masses assured
Migration is limited; short term relocation to foreign countries
Inter national migration
More recently, we have witnessed the phenomenon of
globalization. This phenomenon has significantly diluted the
concept of political boundaries of Nations. With increased
globalization the perception of a national boundary has altered.
People, especially who are able to participate in the
globalization are beginning to see themselves as the citizens of
the world. An Indian born in Singapore and settled in US and
making trips to UK for work is not mentally tied to a nation.
Instead his concept of society is his work place, his home, the
countries he visits and his social circle (which is mainly
developed through Facebook or MySpace). This guy knows people
from over 50 countries, he can speak atleast 3 languages and is
more up to date on an international sports event than on an
event in his country of birth or country of residence.
While such internationally mobile global citizens may be few in
number, there are millions of people globally whose mindsets are
being transformed right in their home countries in a manner that
is melting the national political boundaries.
This social transformation is being driven by the popularity of
Social networks, TV and overseas education. Social networks such
as Facebook are enabling people with similar interests to
interact with one another, leading to development of groups and
subgroups of people who are tied by a cause or a sport or a
genre of music. Like wise, TV is getting more globalized with
thousands of channels from just about every country on the
planet, and is moulding the mindset of youth, right in their
living rooms. Increase in the number of students preferring to
go overseas for study is also playing an important role in
shaping multinational mindsets.
Globalization of mindsets has been further accelerated by
economic globalization (arrival of global brands). An interplay
of these two phenomena is illustrated in the figure below. It
can be observed that simultaneous presence of both economic and
mindset globalization is beneficial for the society. Such a
society is truly multicultural, promotes creativity and is
progressive. People in such societies dont have national
(political) boundaries even in their sub conscience when they
are interacting with one another or with people from external
societies.
Low High
Low
High
Globalized mindsetof local people
Level of economic globalization
Great interest in imported stuff; Foreign travel by citizens;Increase in emigrants;Copying of ideas & systems
Truly multicultural society; creativity; scientific & artistic progress is maximum
“Cut off” societyLeast scientific & artistic progress
Slower adoption of foreign goods, ideas;Not truly multicultural society
Mindset vs. Economic globalization
Apart from the globalization of the mindset and the economies,
lack of economic opportunities in certain regions and countries
has also encouraged mass emigration (and migration).
Therefore, given these developments, political boundaries of
nations have become redundant for most people (especially the
middle and the upper class) and are of relevance only to the
politicians. Even a commoner is beginning to understand the
reason why politicians are always keen on bringing up the issues
of protectionism, and do not want to resolve long standing
issues pertaining to political boundaries. By keeping such
issues alive, politicians are able to justify their relevance
disproportionate to their actual contribution to a society.
It is also interesting to note that redundancy in political
boundaries has not affected the attachment of emigrants and non-
resident citizens (particularly the youth) to their home
countries. Through my interactions with people living away from
their home countries, I discovered that such people felt a
stronger sense of affection for their home country while living
abroad. And many of these people rightfully argue that they can
better contribute to their home country by being outside than
being in it. I also agree with this notion. In my opinion, I
would do more disservice to my home country if I were to work in
my country and evade taxes or work unproductively in a job which
doesn't interest me, than if I was living abroad and leveraged
my talents to the fullest. Quite obviously, in the latter
scenario I would be able to do more for myself and hence
contribute more effectively to my country, as well.
Next, I wish to discuss the concept of Democracy. Health &
efficacy of a democracy depends on two factors more than
anything else. These are:
a) Ease of forming a political party & contesting elections
Nations where it is easier and affordable to run elections are
capable of displaying true democracy – where every individual
can have a say in the governance of a country.
b) Number of key political parties
Large number of key political parties imply a broader
representation base and helps to check any misuse of power by
any individual party.
A “True” democracy is one which houses several key political
parties and where the barriers to entry (in politics) are low.
Though such a setup is conducive to developing a progressive
society, “True” democracy is more difficult to achieve in
practicality.
Countries with multiple key political parties but where barriers
to entering politics are huge, are Pseudo Democratic. While a
breadth of ideologies may have a voice in such a country,
bringing “Real changes” is very difficult. As an example,let us
consider a country with multiple political parties of national
stature. All these parties try to get votes by positioning
themselves differently on issues that are not relevant to the
people anymore. And it is almost impossible for an individual
without huge amount of money or muscle power to form a
Low HighLow
High
Ease of forming a party & contesting elections by any
citizen
No. of key political parties
Democracy based on broad issues/political
views
True democracy
Informal Power sharing system;
Undemocratic set up
Pseudo democracy
Analyzing Democracy
formidable party that can take up the real issues facing the
people. Therefore, even though theoretically its a democratic
setup but in reality common people have no say in influencing
relevant issues. Citizens of such nations may become indifferent
to the causes of their country and lose their sense of belonging
to that place.
In nations where its easy to enter politics and where there are
just one or two key political parties, an individual can
exercise some influence over the issues of concern to him/her.
He/she can do so by either joining one of the bigger political
parties or seeking support to his/her causes from those parties.
Finally, nations where entering into politics (by an individual
who lacks money or muscle power) is impossible, and where the
key parties are just 1 or 2 in number, democracy is only for
namesake. However, some nations with similar setup use
Referendums as a way of enabling public participation. In such
countries, the vision, intellectual capacity and political will
of the political leaders defines the future of the nation. A lot
of countries with similar set up have shown remarkable progress
– much faster than in other kinds of democratic setups.
We have talked about Nations and we have talked about Democracy.
A more sensitive topic that naturally follows any discussion on
these subjects is that of “Power”. Without delving into the
categorization of power (which can be had from any book on
Organizational Development), I will state that the strongest
form of power is one which is accompanied with love and respect.
If people like you and respect you, you have “real” power. Power
that is derived only by virtue of a position or ability to do
favors, vanishes as soon as the position or the ability to do
favors, vanishes.
In context of politics, the most powerful political leaders are
those who live in the hearts of people. It is an indisputable
fact that almost no one in politics is absolutely clean (you
know what I mean), and it would be naïve for anyone to think
that the public doesnt know this. The public, even in a
democratic setup, is not institutionally equipped to sanitize
the political representatives. Therefore civic society has no
choice but to overlook the deficiencies in the character (lack
of integrity or intellectual capacity) of the political
representatives and judge them by their developmental work and
how they treat people, in general. Hence, despite deficiencies
in personal character and lack of intellectual capacity, the
political representative who is able to deliver on his promises
(made to the public) is able to win the hearts of people. Such
political leaders gain popularity among the people and do not
need any formal positions (such as ministerial berths etc) to
make themselves politically relevant. They wield enormous
influence even without holding any formal position of power, and
can shake entire governments or administrative systems.
22Credits where they are due
“Civilization is a method of living, an attitude of equal respect for all men”
Jane Addams
American activist; Nobel Peace Prize winner
They are beautiful. They are charming. They entertain us. Yes, I
am talking of celebrity actors, athletes, sport stars and TV
personalities. Undoubtedly, entertainment is and has always been
an important and integral part of human happiness. Not
surprisingly, then, the entertainers have always got more than
their fair share of attention. However, there is more to this
than what meets the eye. Media companies are content dependent
and thrive upon sensationalism and therefore, are highly vested
in the above mentioned folks. To that end, a major part of the
attention given to these people is media fabricated. Given the
power of media in creating perceptions and in shaping the public
opinion especially among the younger generation, it plays a key
role in influencing any society's value systems and its power-
distance*. As an example when we routinely see the news of a
celebrity's illness or his new possession on the first page of
a national daily and on the other hand find the news of bravery
of security forces or of skillfulness of a doctor in
successfully completing a complicated operation, buried either
in the sidebar of the front page or the sixth or seventh page of
a newspaper, it is quite natural for most of us to start valuing
a celebrity's existence and status in society to be higher than
that of an engineer, doctor or a soldier. Over time, we start to
believe that a celebrity is larger than the society and the
nation, as a whole, and a power-distance is created. The
reality, however, is that those of us who do routine tasks day
after day without any yearning for fame, power or quick riches,
are the “real” heroes and the real strength of any society. They
choose to live for pride of honor, satisfaction and contribution
instead of living for pride of Power, riches or fame. These are
the people who keep us safe from enemies, they toil for us in
scorching heat so that we can enjoy exquisite delicacies, they
design innovative products and systems to make our lives more
productive, they find ways to cure us of deadly diseases, they
help us rehabilitate and recuperate from illnesses and they
encourage us to learn. They are the fundamental blocks of our
society who help us to relax, enjoy, learn, be healthy and
ultimately progress in life.
It is high time we give credits where it is due. Let us all
salute our “real” heroes – the soldiers, policemen, farmers,
factory workers, scientists, engineers, teachers and doctors.
Lets put the food where the mouth is.
23Bare your soul
“Most people say that is it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.”
Albert Einstein
Having interacted with numerous corporate managers, investment
bankers and consultants from strategy and audit firms, I am in
awe of their (at least majority of them) intellectual prowess.
However, a lot of these folks are also some of the most self-
centered, success hungry folks I have known. For them, the world
revolves around them (atleast thats what they like to believe).
It gives them a great ego boost to be part of the largest IPO
deal of the year or the most talked about restructuring or the
highest ever increase in net profits.
A lot of these folks hide behind their expensive business
degrees or the “killing” they made for their employer. They seem
to be able to justify everything (their interactions with
others; their insensitivity to the world around them) by their
professional success.
I sincerely hope that this book can change heart of atleast one
such banker or a consultant or a manager to be more sensitive to
the world around them; to appreciate that they were born on the
same planet as others and to develop a sense of responsibility
towards the society.
We cannot always blame political leaders for the state of our
societies. We also have the duty to change ourselves and
contribute in whatever little measure we can, to make this world
a fairer, more sensitive and more equitable place. To that end,
investment bankers, business consultants and corporate managers
are amongst the most influential bunch of people who have the
My definition of success has altered significantly over the
years due to my experiences (both, good and not so good). I used
to measure success as an individualistic achievement that serves
to set us apart from the rest – in form of receiving awards,
making money, obtaining promotions and possessing material
things. Theoretically this model for qualifying success looks
sound but it rests entirely on external inputs. I have realized
through my own personal experience that to me success was really
about being liked and respected by people around me and a sense
of satisfaction that I received by helping others. These are
both intangible metrics, but are the most important ingredients
of success, in my opinion. If everyone used this yardstick to
measure success, we would have solved major world problems.
In sum, Success is the ability to win hearts.
25Integrity is Integrated
“One man cannot do right in one department of life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong in any other department. Life is one
indivisible whole”
Mahatma Gandhi
I am never able to understand how a 'good' businessman who
cheats in his personal relationship be a 'good' businessman.
What is the guarantee that he cannot cheat his suppliers,
customers, stockholders and employees?
Likewise, how can a consultant with a top strategy firm or an
audit firm or with an investment bank – who doesn't have any
empathy for ordinary people - solve complex business problems –
most of which have a direct or indirect link to people, whether
it is an operations issue, a sales issue, productivity issue or
winning customers.
A 'good' businessman (or consultant) is also a 'good' family man
and a 'good' citizen. A person who is devoid of latter two
qualifications can at most be a good businessman, and not a
'good' businessman.
Being 'good' is about having Integrity and EQ. Anyone with high
IQ, determination and hunger can be good but only those who also
possess EQ and conscience, can claim to be 'good'. To that end,
Mr. Ratan Tata, Mr. Anand Mahindra and Mr. Nicholas Heymann are
some examples of 'good' business leaders, while Mr. Sachin
Tendulkar is an example of a 'good' sportsman.
What are we waiting for? If we have the wealth and the
influence, lets start working together now. Lets tackle the
water crises, the energy crises, terrorism, healthcare issues,
education, unemployment, poverty and exploitation NOW! Let us
lobby for these causes in Congress, boardrooms and on factory
floors; let us contribute some of our wealth to building
schools, hospitals; let us fund research of alternative energy
fuels and technologies;let us create new employment
opportunities in areas with no source of employment; lets push
for transparency in government processes.
We just cant wait forever. Lets be the role model for a new
world order where equality is a norm and transparency a way of
doing things; where we care for our environment the way we care
for ourselves; and where we unite not divide.