The Hindu Business Line : <I>Be a `learning' manager, not just `learned' </I>

Learning is a verb, and it makes sense only in the present continuous sense." That's not something you don't know. Yet, when S. Ramachander explains `the context of learning' in `Manager at Work,' from Penguin Portfolio (www.penguinbooksindia.com) , the statement makes eminent sense. Because, "You don't work from a book of solution lists... What matters in dealing with people - which is the heart and soul of the business as well as its art and skill - is that you keep looking, listening, and learning all the time."

Building and nurturing people and relationships, both within and outside the organisation, is the first of the two `fundamental pillars of managing'. The other is about `building and nurturing reputations, which are consumer perceptions,' says the author. Section two of the book is devoted to the consumer, who provides businesses with innumerable contexts for innovation.

Disappointingly, however, till not long ago, "innovation originating in India was almost non-existent," as Ramachander rues. Not a learned manager, but a `learning' one, is who you need, emphasises the author, in the `people development' section. The latter can create his own learning, by focusing on `the frames of reference that underlie the theories and tools rather than the tools themselves'. Ramachander advocates `the learning method' for managing, which calls for `good facilitators'.

Section four, on `developing the organisation', presents a case for Indian theory-building in the area of company culture. The author urges `perceptive and wise HR managers and CEOs' to "take a leaf from the advertising professional's book and study the ethnography of the Indian white-collar and blue-collar middle classes, across regions."

"In a world of shorter career spans, greater job insecurity and yet steadily increasing human longevity, the model of a workaholic manager wedded to one company for 35 years is rapidly becoming obsolete," reads another alert. What is the antidote for those in peril? "Self-initiated, continuing self-education and acquiring a wider perspective on life is an ideal way of preparing oneself for the inevitable years of uncertainty ahead."

A book that managers can usefully read at work.

http://BookPeek.blogspot.com

D. Murali

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