Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Is new prosperity creating raw deals for some working women?



Rukmini was a girl who grew up under fond encouragement of her parents. She grew up with a dream in her eyes – to be financially independent and to work and make use of her eduction. She saw her dream come true when she got a partner after marriage who allowed her to pursue her career. She cherished her first salary which she donated in total to an old-age home. Within a few years, her businessman husband got it all coming in his ways and achieved a grand success. His business thrived on a web based business model and the influx of high earning young population. And then, he asked his wife to quit her job and “look after the children”.

Rukmini had to quit her job. She had a Hobson’s choice between her family and her job.

This story is a quite real; it is happening behind the walls of 3/4BHK flats in high-rise Indian Metros. And the factor responsible for this trend is: high economic growth and the tremendous opportunities created by it.

I wonder if India’s high GDP growth and the new economic successes are creating raw deals for some women. Just a decade earlier, it was thought that both husband-wife working was a necessity to survive. With salaries for highly educated professionals and profits of successful new-age entrepreneurs going beyond the roof, this is not true anymore. And when it comes to re-prioritizing, it is mostly women who are asked to stay back at home and raise the children.

Indeed, this trend is one flip side to India’s growth story…

- Rahul

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Article Published: 10 Reasons Why Airline Industry Is Unique


My article titled “10 Reasons Why Airline Industry Is Unique” is now published on MBASkool.com. Here is the link:


In this article, I have tried to analyze how the airline industry is so unique, covering the business model, government interventions, profitability, safety concerns and a host of other factors. The inspiration for the analysis and report was a quote from Richard Branson. When asked how to become a Millionaire, Richard Branson said, “You start off as a Billionaire and then open an Airline.” I found this funny, but at the same time it was so true!

Read this article to know more…

Regards,
Rahul

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Role of Expression in Parent Child Relationship



Have you seen your parents cry?

I guess you may not have seen it many times. But how would be the feeling? I guess that would take the world out of you…

Does it happen the same way when parents see their children cry?

Do they get a sinking feeling when they see their children cry? Do they see the world collapse in front of their stoned eyes; do they feel something as if bursting out in their hearts? I guess we would answer in the negation. They must not feel so deeply every time they see their children cry. After all, they are grownups. They are mature, have seen life and are not easily shaken. But even then there should be times and situations when no matter how much they have seen life, all would seem trivial; when no matter how grownup they are they would feel helpless in front of the situation. I hope you would agree with me. In those situations, what do you think - would their pain and grief be graver than ours? I think it is difficult to answer, though the pointer would be tilted towards “yes”.

I think we take expression too seriously. If we love someone, we are taught that we should express so. If we like someone, we should tell him or her how much they are for us. After some time, we tend to think “seriously” that expression is a necessary indication of what goes inside our heart. It may not always be so! And this is where I find connect with my example of parent-child pain situation.

If parents start expressing all their pains, problems and objections, I think our life would become very depressed. On the other hand, though we would always love to see them express their happiness, pleasure and applause, this knowledge can also make us over confident, relaxed and uncaring in extreme situations. Therefore, I think “trust” is an immensely important ingredient in a parent-child relationship. Though it is important in all other relationships too, it plays a very critical role in parent-child relationship because when children grow up and become laden with responsibilities while parents become old and non-contributing in worldly matters, the dynamics of relationship changes. A “trust” between them makes them perceive, imagine, empathize and feel more than simply react according to the expressions of the other.

I think expression is important, but not always necessary. It is good, but its absence is not always bad. A trustful relationship based on mutual empathy would turn the silence into another language of expression…

- Rahul