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Yes, I should start this blog with a 'wow' to our BSNL (The biggest Indian Telecom provided). Just like every other Indian national, I do carry the same notion about our Telecom provider in this country. Perhaps, that would have came from my own real personal experience. Having said that, with a very recent sealed envelop that came all the way from our local BSNL office - that too with a check for Rs. 112/-. How cool is it? Read on.
It was roughly 2 years ago when I wanted to take up a new telephone and internet connection for my family in India (during this period I was in the US of A), I was asked to provide a deposit of Rs.100/-. I simply showed Rs.100 bill across the counted and waited for nearly 2hrs to get the receipt of the same. Finally, I got it (just the reciept). Then the real story unfolds..
After a couple of days, with no sign of new connection, I inquired at the same office and got a reply that "your home is in a remote place (village), and there are no nearby telephone posts / poles we probably will not be able to provide a new connection". This is weird right? when every government, even the central government initiates / aims at every development projects to promote villages / remote places, why not a new connection can be provided? - I asked this question to myself and just the place.
It was just 2 days ago, when I got this envelope with a check for Rs.112 in it, I realized what a wonderful organization.. which made me wowed for this act.
Yes, this blog has come all the way from Coimbatore - India, and that too after a long pause - which I should have avoided or rather, I shall avoid in the future. In this blog, to narrate the real challenges that I encounter after coming back to the home town - after spending nearly 4 years, yes its just 4 years out of India.
Things are changed in my OLD (Now very new) office. Almost all are provided with the laptops, centralized HR team, centralized payroll system, centralized time office management, centralized billing pattern, computation of billing recovery etc., etc., The filing (client records) procedures are different than that of what I have seen / done 4 years ago. Almost everything is system driven. There is a minimum fees criteria for every assignment.The T & E system also system based and policies are different. More imporatantly, the pay scale is different. Barring a few, almost all staff members were new.
Having said that, I notice some of the unchanged (rather will never change easily) in the SAME office. Yes, the attitude, friendliness and mechanisms. The culture of calling people at all levels with the prefix of "SIR" - in my humble personal opinion which impliedly generates some sort of gap between the persons / team mates. This is typical Indian office culture, that I want to strip out. And, if I don't use the term "SIR" and call them with their names (yes, its their own names only), there starts the problem of disrespect to the other person. But, I understand from my little experience, what the people believe in the western / other asian countries (corporates), is calling with their names increase bondage of the persons. For e.g. I used to call the US Finance Controller and Asia AMET Finance Controllers with their names - no matter how old are they!
I'm just wondering, if I never got a chance to go abroad, I would also be in the same league. Therefore, I'm facing bit difficulties RIGHT NOW.. Hope things changes.
Just a while ago, I was thinking to know the differences between 2G and 3G network after reading the unveiling of 3G Network in Coimbatore. I just googled out in the net and here is the write up that I got from wiki answers:
First 1G service was based on a TDM voice infrastructure -- built around class x switches and 64 kbps slots. It had data, but circuit switched over a 64Kpbs voice bearer.
Second, 2G service had the same switched TDM backbone, but added a true Data Bearer and a digital voice bearer. Data rates were still limited to the max 64kbps of a single time slot.
2.5G added a packet bearer to the mix, still limited to 64kbps slots.
Third generation (3G) changed the backbone slightly to allow a full T1 or E1 or J1 to be consumed by a data sub-scriber, but is still based on an ISDN style backbone. Sure you have packet switched data, but its carried over a traditional TDM backbone. There still a circuit voice backbone and while the data rates are high enough for VoIP, the latency of the data service is to great to base all of the "bearer services" on it, so you still have circuit voice, circuit data and packet data bearers.
Finally, 4G systems will utilize a packet infrastructure rather than a traditional telephone architecture. Services will be horizontally layered on top of a proper low latency, QoS enabled packet switch (read IP) infrastructure. Gone will be the circuit voice and circuit data bearers.
So "G" has more to do with the infra-structure and less to do with the data rates. The data rates over the air are driven by the organization of the infrastructure and other than that have little to do with what generation they are.
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Literally, to me, it is evident that with a 3G network you could make video calls and in case of 2G you could make only voice calls. At my level (not a techie) this is the basic thing that I could conceive in my mind. Lot more "G"s down the road queued up :)
Q: Why have you changed 10 jobs in 14 years?
A: To get financially sound and stable before getting laid off the second time.
Q: So you knew you would be laid off in the year 2009?
A: Well I was laid off first in the year 2002 due to the first global economic slowdown. I had not got a full-time job before January 2003 when the economy started looking up; so I had struggled for almost a year without job and with compromises.
Q: Which number of job was that?
A: That was my third job.
Q: So from Jan 2003 to Jan 2009, in 6 years, you have changed 8 jobs to make the count as 10 jobs in 14 years?
A: I had no other option. In my first 8 years of professional life, I had worked only for 2 organizations thinking that jobs are deserved after lot of hard work and one should stay with an employer company to justify the saying ˜employer loyalty™. But I was an idiot.
Q: Why do you say so?
A: My salary in the first 8 years went up only marginally. I could not save enough and also, I had thought that I had a ˜permanent™ job, so I need not worry about ˜what will I do if I lose my job™. I could never imagine losing a job because of economic slowdown and not because of my performance. That was January 2002.
Q: Can you brief on what happened between January 2003 and 2009.
A: Well, I had learnt my lessons of being ˜company loyal™ and not ˜money earning and saving loyal™. But then you can save enough only when you earn enough. So I shifted my loyalty towards money making and saving “ I changed 8 jobs in 6 years assuring all my interviewers about my stability.
Q: So you lied to your interviewers; you had already planned to change the job for which you were being interviewed on a particular day?
A: Yes, you can change jobs only when the market is up and companies are hiring. You tell me “ can I get a job now because of the slowdown? No. So one should change jobs for higher salaries only when the market is up because that is the only time when companies hire and can afford the expected salaries.
Q: What have you gained by doing such things?
A: That's the question I was waiting for. In Jan 2003, I had a fixed salary (without variables) of say Rs. X p.a. In January 2009, my salary was 8X. So assuming my salary was Rs.3 lakh p.a. in Jan 2003, my last drawn salary in Jan 2009 was Rs.24 lakh p.a. (without variable). I never bothered about variable as I had no intention to stay for 1 year and go through the appraisal process to wait for the company to give me a hike.
Q: So you decided on your own hike?
A: Yes, in 2003, I could see the slowdown coming again in future like it had happened in 2001-02. Though I was not sure by when the next slowdown would come, I was pretty sure I wanted a ˜debt-free™ life before being laid off again. So I planned my hike targets on a yearly basis without waiting for the year to complete.
Q: So are you debt-free now?
A: Yes, I earned so much by virtue of job changes for money and spent so little that today I have a loan free 2 BR flat (1200 sq.. feet) plus a loan free big car without bothering about any EMIs. I am laid off too but I do not complain at all. If I have laid off companies for money, it is OK if a company lays me off because of lack of money.
Q: Who is complaining?
A: All those guys who are not getting a job to pay their EMIs off are complaining. They had made fun of me saying I am a job hopper and do not have any company loyalty. Now I ask them what they gained by their company loyalty; they too are laid off like me and pass comments to me “ why will you bother about us, you are already debt-free. They were still in the bracket of 12-14 lakh p.a. when they were laid off.
Q: What is your advice to professionals?
A: Like Narayan Murthy had said “ love your job and not your company because you never know when your company will stop loving you. In the same lines, love yourself and your family needs more than the company's needs. Companies can keep coming and going; family will always remain the same. Make money for yourself first and simultaneously make money for the company, not the other way around.
Q: What is your biggest pain point with companies?
A: When a company does well, its CEO will address the entire company saying, ˜well done guys, it is YOUR company, keep up the hard work, I am with you. But when the slowdown happens and the company does not do so well, the same CEO will say, It is MY company and to save the company, I have to take tough decisions including asking people to go. So think about your financial stability first; when you get laid off, your kids will complain to you and not your boss.
Last year (2008) I terribly missed the Christmas at America as I was supposed to leave well ahead of Christmas. Therefore, I just missed 2008 white Christmas at Green Bay. But, this year (2009) god created that chance with my wife. Here in Singapore, celebration of Christmas started well in advance - much before indeed. Streets were decorated and sparkling lights everywhere - especially at Orchard Road. I was just stunned to see those - that too a National govt. spending like heck.
