Policies and Management

I was away for the weekend and when on Monday I checked for any updates on Myself Speaking™, there was none. I do not blame either of my group members as one of them would have been busy in the cricket matches and the other in making academic progress with the Compilers course. But the readers suffering at our cost is not very nice.

While publishing a post, the time I reach the topic which I initially had in my mind, it already is late since the post has become too long to exceed for anybody to read. So, I bring a recent incident to your attention which I had wanted to publish for a sometime now.

I was in the process of filling a form for my application to an institute. For that I required the signatures of my Head of Department (HOD). So, I reached at his office with some answers ready to be blabbered regarding

1. Why I required his signatures?
2. Why anybody else could not have done the job and I had no choice but disturbing him?
3. Which department I belonged to?
4. Why should he sign when he does not even recognize me being in his department?

And so on … When I reached his office, he a in the balcony with a cup of tea in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He expressed his helplessness to sign in that position and asked me to wait a while. When he finished his above mentioned bodily needs, he quickly called me and signed with only a single question, what are you doing? I told him about the institute I am applying for and that was all.

Meanwhile another professor (prof) had com for a signature. The prof in one go started telling what the signature was all about and that it was for the project he had discussed earlier and who are the other people involved. The HOD stopped him and just asked where he had to sign. After that he revealed his philosophy that he does not mind signing on a paper which already has a faculty member’s sign.

That was inspiring. For someone like me who wants to do his MBA and become a manager, that was the first lesson. Not that you should sign on every other paper but that the screening process for signature (or for that matter any other work) should involve one’s experience and should not be prolonged to an extent that the documents become irrelevant or the people get afraid of the process which would be involved. Managers should evolve policies based on what they learn and follow them for everyone’s benefits.