Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Appetite for a Stroll Food for the Soul

APPETITE FOR A STROLL Food for the Soul Book Review

Here is a Review of my Book APPETITE FOR A STROLL

Appetite For A Stroll Food For The Soul

If the aroma of good food brings a smile to your face and lightens up your mood,then Vikram Karve’s Appetite for a Soul is your best bet. As the author travels through the streets of Mumbai, Pune and other cities in search of good food, he shares his invigorating experience of food hunting and learning new recipes. His explorations lead him to some of the rarest cuisines and authentic rustic preparations.

Going by the mantra “there is no love greater than the love of eating”, his writings could transform any lay man into a delightful food connoisseur. His experiments with recipes, reviews of some of the oldest restaurants and mouth-watering description of dishes would mark an everlasting image in the minds of the reader.

“Good food must be savoured delicately, slowly, attentively and respectfully, in a befitting manner, with finesse and technique, with relish and appreciation and you will experience true gustatory delight. That’s essence of the Art of Eating.”

An excerpt from book Appetite for a stroll, by Vikram Karve 

Some may feel that it’s a wrong idea to live for eating, but writer Vikram Karve has a different theory to offer. 

“Eating is not just making yourself not-hungry. It is about filling your appetite by having a soul-satisfying tasty food,” feels Karve, who follows his appetite rather than following the clock for eating.

Given his taste for rich and spicy food, Karve is often asked about the health aspects of indulging his cravings. 

So here is what Vikram Karve says: “Why neglect the soul while we do so much so for our bodies? I feel, while exercise is good for a healthy body, good and tasty food is neccesary for the soul. So we must strike a balance. I eat good food and I burn it out by walking and exercising. I don’t believe in multi-tasking when it comes to food. That is, when I eat, I just think of the food and the taste, and when I am working out, I just think of my health.”

Speaking about the book that features food joints and eateries in Pune, Vikram Karve says that the city offers a lot to food lovers. “In the 1960s food was quite well defined in Pune. While city area like Peths offered typical Mahastrian fare, the Camp and nearby areas offered Chinese and Iranian food. But now, as Pune takes a turn towards becoming a metro, the boundaries have blended and disappeared. We get the same menu everywhere. However, a few old eateries still promise that same flavour which we relished in that era,” recalls Vikram Karve.

A teacher by profession, Karve has penned many books and short stories. But the love for good food brought him to share his experience in an entertaining way and at the same time making it informative for people, who can enjoy good food. “The objective behind my writing is infotainment. So that I can not only help people locate the once-famous eateries but also help them realise the importance of good food.”

While Karve believes in having wholesome food, he at times, doesn’t mind pampering his taste buds with a bite of junk food too. “Bhel is the specialty of Pune. It could be rightly called as the signature dish of the city. While the new populace of the city goes for big restaurants, they might give it a thought to try Pune’s all time favourite bhels like – Kalpana Bhel at Saras Bagh, Canal Bhel near Prabhat Road or Kalyam Bhel,” he says.

As Karve savours every bite of food offered by eateries all over the city, he, like any other son, loves the menu from his mother’s kitchen. “I just love the aaloochi bhaji and masale bhaat that my mother prepares. And my love for good food helps me relish every grain,” says Karve.

When asked, if he enjoys cooking as much as eating, he says, “When I got married, one could see more of me, than my wife, in kitchen. But over the years, I have successfully turned my wife into a foodie and we both enjoy food together, be it simple ghar ka khana or a regional delicacy. My wife is good at cooking vegetarian food, while I feel biryani is my forte.”

After a great response for Appetite for a Stroll, Karve plans to write more on food and then perhaps also try his hand at writing on other topics. Guess, variety is the spice of life, especially for such a devoted foodie.

Appetite for a Stroll covers Vikram Karve’s explorations, eating and foodwalking experiences coupled with vivid photographs and features that are sure to heighten the appetite of readers. His passion and love towards food takes a new dimension that will not only create a niche for himself but also pave way for his fellow foodies.

http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm

How to Buy APPETITE FOR A STROLL

http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o


About the Author of APPETITE FOR A STROLL

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource and Training Manager by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book “Appetite for a Stroll”. Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Creative Writing Blog Vikram Karve: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com
Academic Journal Vikram Karve: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Email: vikramkarve@sify.com

Monday, September 20, 2010

A TANTALIZING BATH and A LINGERING FRAGRANCE Mysore Sandal Soap

A TANTALIZING BATH and A LINGERING FRAGRANCE
Mysore Sandal Soap
By
VIKRAM KARVE

I am feeling good. It is a sultry hot morning, yet I am feeling good. I’ve just had a bath with Mysore Sandal Soap. I feel clean, refreshed and smell nice with the lingering spicy smell of Sandalwood.

I clearly remember my first tryst with Mysore Sandal Soap. Way back in the 1960s, we used to travel twice a year from the “upcountry” to Pune for our vacations. There were no direct trains to Pune then and we had to travel via Mumbai. So we came down from the upcountry by famous trains, like the Frontier Mail, the Howrah Mail, the Calcutta Mail or the Punjab Mail, feeling all scruffy and weary, covered with coal dust, got off Dadar in the morning and went to my grand-aunt’s house in Hindu Colony nearby.

The old-style house had a huge spotlessly clean tiled bathroom and it was there that I first discovered Mysore Sandal Soap.

It was a leisurely relaxed bathing experience, the soothing lather of Mysore Sandal Soap softening my skin, and I would emerge fully refreshed exuding the tantalizing yet subtle lingering fragrance of sandalwood.

Then, after a sumptuous breakfast, we would board a bus from Dadar TT or a local from the station to South Mumbai, spend the day loafing, window shopping, browsing books, a movie and a meal and then head to CST [then known as Bombay VT] to catch the Deccan Queen to Pune.

Since then Mysore Sandal Soap is my all time favourite and I truly enjoy the luxurious bathing experience every morning, and in the evenings too. Being an “old timer” I prefer the subtle lingering natural fragrance of sandalwood rather than the overpowering synthetic scent of present day deodorants. Those days the focus was on cleanliness and hygiene rather than masking your body odour by spraying your body copiously with strong smelling deodorants.

A nice soothing bath, skin feeling soft and nourished, feeling clean, refreshed, smelling natural, gently exuding the lingering gentle comforting fresh fragrance of sandalwood…that’s what makes me feel good…rather than the present day practice of profusely deodorizing one’s body till one reeks of artificial overpowering standardized perfume all day.

If you haven’t, try it out, have a tantalizing bathing experience with Mysore Sandal Soap, especially on a hot summer day, and tell us how you liked it…

You’ll feel good…you can take my word for it.

VIKRAM KARVE       
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2010
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. 
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU and The Lawrence School Lovedale, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com  
Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile of Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve 



© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

BUSINESS ETHICS

BUSINESS ETHICS
by
VIKRAM KARVE


Can Ethics and Business co-exist?

Or are the two mutually exclusive?

Is Ethics relevant in Business Management in today’s world?

Or is "Business Ethics" an oxymoron, not relevant in today's business and corporate environment?

Do you assess Ethical Fitness of an individual before recruiting, promoting, or assigning an important post or task to an individual?

Is there such a thing as Ethical Fitness? Does such a thing exist and can it be assessed or evaluated?

When recruiting new people, or promoting or appointing persons to senior or sensitive positions, a number of attributes ( Hard Skills and Soft Skills) like Professional Competence, Managerial Proficiency, Domain-specific or Technical skills, and pertinent soft skills comprising leadership, communication, behavioural and emotional aspects, and even physical and medical fitness are assessed, evaluated and given due consideration.

But does anyone evaluate a candidate’s Ethical Fitness before recruitment or appointment?

No, I am not talking about the routine verification of antecedents or background integrity checks. I am talking of assessing Ethical Fitness.

Ethical fitness refers to ensuring that people are in proper moral shape to recognize and address ethical dilemmas.

Ensuring Ethical fitness in a proactive manner will result in preventive, rather than corrective, Ethical Management.

Before launching any inquiry pertaining to the concept of Ethical Fitness, it is necessary to explore the moral dimension.

Moral development is a prerequisite to ethical behaviour; in fact, a sine qua non for Ethical Fitness.

Kohlberg offers a handy framework for delineating the stage each of us has reached with respect to personal moral development.

Stage 1. Physical consequences determine moral behaviour.
At this stage of personal moral development, the individual’s ethical behaviour is driven by the decision to avoid punishment or by deference to power. Punishment is an automatic response of physical retaliation. The immediate physical consequences of an action determine its goodness or badness. Such moral behaviour is seen in boarding schools, military training academies etc. where physical punishment techniques are prevalent with a view to inculcate the attributes of obedience and deference to power. The individual behaves in a manner akin to the Pavlovian dog.

Stage 2. Individual needs dictate moral behaviour.
At this stage, a person’s needs are the person’s primary ethical concern. The right action consists of what instrumentally satisfies your own needs. People are valued in terms of their utility. Example: “I will help him because he may help me in return – you scratch my back, I will scratch yours.”

Stage 3. Approval of others determines moral behaviour.

This stage is characterized by decision where the approval of others determines the person’s behaviour. Good behaviour is that which pleases or helps others within the group. The good person satisfies family, friends and associates. “Everybody is doing it, so it must be okay.” One earns approval by being conventionally “respectable” and “nice.” Sin is a breach of the expectations of the social order – “log kya kahenge?” is the leitmotif, and conformance with prevailing ‘stereotypes’ the order of the day.

Stage 4. Compliance with authority and upholding social order are a person’s primary ethical concerns.
“Doing one’s duty” is the primary ethical concern. Consistency and precedence must be maintained. Example: “I comply with my superior’s instructions because it is wrong to disobey my senior”. Authority is seldom questioned. “Even if I feel that something may be unethical, I will unquestioningly obey all orders and comply with everything my boss says because I believe that the boss is always right.”

Stage 5. Tolerance for rational dissent and acceptance of rule by the majority becomes the primary ethical concern.
Example: “ Although I disagree with her views. I will uphold her right to have them.” The right action tends to be defined in terms of general individual rights, and in terms of standards that have been critically examined and agreed upon by the whole society. (eg) The Constitution. The freedom of the individual should be limited by society only when it infringes upon someone else’s freedom.

Stage 6. What is right is viewed as a matter of individual conscience, free choice and personal responsibility for the consequences.
Example: “There is no external threat that can force me to make a decision that I consider morally wrong.” An individual who reaches this stage acts out of universal ethical principles.

Moral development is in no way correlated with intellectual development or your position in the hierarchy or factors like rank, seniority, status, success or earnings, salary, material wealth, age etc.

In the words of Alexander Orlov, an ex-KGB Chief, “Honesty and Loyalty may be often more deeply ingrained in the make-up of simple and humble people than in men of high position. A man who was taking bribes when he was a constable does not turn honest when he becomes the Chief of Police. The only thing that changes in the size of the bribe. Weakness of character and inability to withstand temptation remains with the man no matter how high he climbs.”

Ethical traits accompany a man to the highest rungs of his career.
In a nutshell the governing factors pertaining to six stages of Moral Development which determine Ethical Fitness may be summarized as:

FEAR – Stage 1
NEEDS – Stage 2
CONFORMANCE – Stage 3
COMPLIANCE – Stage4
CONSENSUS – Stage 5
CONSCIENCE & FREE WILL – Stage 6

Before we try to delve into exploring how to evaluate Ethical Fitness, let us briefly ponder on the concepts of Ethical Susceptibility and Ethical Vulnerability.

Ethical Susceptibility is your inability to avoid ethical dilemmas.

Ethical Susceptibility is environment dependent (on external factors) like, for example, your job, your boss, colleagues and subordinates, or the persons around you, or even the ‘prevalent organizational culture’.

Ethical Vulnerability is your inability to withstand succumbing in the given ethical dilemmas /situations.

Your Ethical Vulnerability depends on your internal stage of moral development in the given ethical situation.
Whereas being in an ethical dilemma is not in your control, to act in an ethical manner in the prevailing situation is certainly in your control.

Ethical vulnerability is a measure of the ease with which a man be ethically compromised, especially in an ethically poor climate.

In situations where the ethical susceptibility is high, morally strong people (ethically non-vulnerable) should be appointed and conversely, only in jobs/situations where ethical susceptibility is low should ethically vulnerable persons be permitted.
If the environment is not ethically conducive, a person can intellectually inwardly reach stage 6 but deliberately outwardly masquerade and remain morally at a lower moral stage 4 as he may find that he has to "sacrifice" too much to reach stage 6.

This can be particularly seen in most hierarchical organizations where most “smart” employees make an outward preference of being at stage 3 or 4 (Conformance and Compliance) in order to avoid jeopardizing their careers, even if internally they have achieved higher ethical states.

This Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde schizophrenic moral approach is at the heart of many ethical dilemmas people encounter in their professional lives and may result in internal stress due to ethical confusion.

Whenever two individuals at different stages of moral development interact with each other, both of them try to force or manoeuvre the other into their own appreciation of the ethical situation, thus leading to conflict.

In a formal hierarchical setup, the players in the chain may not be at similar stages of moral development thereby leading to ethical dissonance in the system.

Where the ethical susceptibility is high, morally strong people (less vulnerable) should be appointed and conversely, in only such jobs where ethical susceptibility is low should ethically weak persons be permitted.

What is your stage of personal moral development?

Be honest with yourself and recall the decisions you made in recent ethical situations.

The six stages of moral development are valuable landmarks as they tell you approximately where you are and what changes you will have to make in yourself to move to a higher level of moral development.

The ultimate goal is to engage in ethical decision making at stage 6.

However, the level that you do reach will depend on your ethical commitment, your ethical consciousness and your ethical competence.

Food for Thought

What do you do if your boss is at a lower stage of moral development than you?
Do you masquerade and make pretence of being at the “appropriate” stage of what moral development and practice situational ethics to reap maximum benefits.

This Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde schizophrenic ‘situational ethics’ approach may cause your outer masquerade to turn into inner reality.

Do you want that to happen? Think about it!

Is there a need to assess Ethical Fitness in business and managerial situations?

Or is "Business Ethics" an oxymoron, not relevant in today's business environment?

Most importantly, can Ethics and Business co-exist? Or are the two mutually exclusive?

And last but not the least, do you think it is necessary to evaluate and assess Ethical Fitness during Recruitment, Appointment and in Human Resource Management?

If so, how would you do it?

Dear Reader, what do you think? 

Please comment.

VIKRAM KARVE

© vikram karve., all rights reserved. 

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU and The Lawrence School Lovedale, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com  
Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile of Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Philosophy of Technology

PHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGY
A Reflection
By
VIKRAM KARVE



In our everyday lives most of us use a number of words which we assume have a universal, agreed-upon, and accepted meaning for all people in all contexts.

Often, the more frequently the word is used more we take for granted that our usage is the only possible usage of the term.

One word which belongs in this category is “technology.”


The vast majority of technology as machines, computers and other forms of modern hardware – the province of the scientist, engineer or specialist professional.

We have to transcend this narrow view of technology since every technology starts from a human purpose, from the intention to satisfy some human need or behaviour.

Indeed, technology is the manipulation of nature for human purpose.


But man is a part of nature by manipulating nature man is manipulates himself.

Thus, technology manipulates man, influence, even governs human behaviour, and in turn societal behaviour.

It is therefore imperative to reconceptualise the concept of technology by viewing it though the philosophical lens in order to understand the “soft” social, cultural, individual, psychological, behavioural and intellectual dimensions of technology in contrast to the “hard” technical dimension.



Language is a “soft” technology, an invented system of communication. Alvin Tofler specifically discussed “political technologies” in his description of “Third Wave” changes in our world environment. Indeed, “soft” technologies take many forms. They include the invention of social institutions – methods of organizing people for the achievement of particular ends.



Arthur Harkins defines “culture” as the metasystem or system of systems of human-invented and hereditarily transmitted technologies, and further emphasizes that human have codified technologies into what anthropologists call culture.



Even more fundamentally, or expansively, technologies are philosophies, ideologies. Ways of thinking, or world-views (Weltanschauungen). The key realization is that technologies are way of structuring and ordering the world.



This philosophical reconceptualisation of technology entails a border image wherein technologies are viewed not merely as physical or technical apparatuses but as inseparably interconnected with the fabric of social policy, values and desires and are in fact complex constellations of devices, processes, beliefs and mechanisms which are perceived as a system of interrelated innovations comprising a coherent nexus pertaining to the systematic manipulation of nature.

Technologies reconceptualised from the philosophical viewpoint are mutually supportive and harmonically attuned process and philosophies for synergistically aiding the individual or society to reach specific, hopefully preferred, future states; they are instruments for attaining and integrating the proposal future with the perceived present.

Since technology is essentially invented rather than discovered, such a reconceptualisation would help to introduce a premium for creativity and divergent thought into the academic world alongside the traditional emphasis on scholarly research and the quest for truth and would encourage cross-fertilization across disciplinary boundaries.



It may be apt to conclude with a comment by RM Pirsig, who states that: “The way to solve the conflict between human values and technological needs is not to run away from technology. That’s impossible. The way to resolve the conflict is to break down the barriers of dualistic thought that prevent a real understanding of what technology is… not an exploitation of nature, but a fusion of nature and the human spirit into a new kind of creation that transcends both”.

VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2010
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU and The Lawrence School Lovedale, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog - http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/
Academic Journal Vikram Karve – http://karvediat.blogspot.com/
Professional Profile of Vikram Karve - http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Email: vikramkarve@sify.com
Foodie Book: Appetite for a Stroll http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Monday, July 19, 2010

IPO - Incompetence Process Outsourcing

THE PETER PRESCRIPTION
Prescriptions on How To Remain Creative and Competent
Book Review
By
VIKRAM KARVE
Title: The Peter Prescription
Author: Dr. Laurence J. Peter
Published: 1972 (William Morrow)
The hot weather in Pune gives me the golden opportunity to dust off my favourite books from my bookshelves, sit in cool comfort and re-read these lovely books sipping chilled ice-cool lemonade.
I have realized that re-reading good books gives me even greater pleasure.

So that’s what I’m going to do for the next few days – browse my bookshelves, re-read some of my favourite books, and tell you about them.
During my college days, in the 1970’s, I read three non-fiction books which had a lasting impact on me.

The first was Parkinson’s Law (written in 1958) based on the author’s study of the British Civil Service and Admiralty.

The other two books were written by Dr. Laurence J. Peter – The Peter Principle (1969) and The Peter Prescription (1972).

These three Management Classics are a must for the bookshelves of every manager.
Written with incisive wit, Parkinson’s Law is a seminal book on the workings of bureaucracy which is essential reading for any student of Management. It is consummate management classic, a masterpiece, which is a “must read” for every manager and management student.
The Peter Principle, a delightful read, provides a superb insight and intriguing study of hierarchiology.

If The Peter Principle is Dr. Peter’s seminal pioneering work, then The Peter Prescription is his definitive book, a wondeful all-time management classic.
If you have not read ‘The Peter Principle’, do read my review of the book, the previous post in my weblog right here.
Understanding ‘The Peter Principle’ is sine qua non, essential prerequisite reading, before you embark upon ‘The Peter Prescription’.
Whereas both Parkinson’s Law and The Peter Principle formulate and substantiate their respective theories, The Peter Prescription is a philosophical self-help treatise on how to achieve happiness in all aspects of life.

Written in his same hilarious inimitable style, Dr. Peter exhorts us to be creative, confident and competent by replacing mindless escalation with life-quality improvement. The message of the book is in congruence with eastern philosophies which focus on inward enhancement rather than outward escalation.
In his introduction Dr. Peter states: “Many authors offer answers before they understand the questions…….. I understand the operation of the Peter Principle, and the remedies offered are the product of years of research……… prescriptions will lead to great personal fulfillment and joy of real accomplishment.”
The book, interspersed liberally with quotations and case studies, comprises three parts.

The first, titled Incompetence Treadmill explores why conventional solutions not only fail to alleviate the effects of the Peter Principle but may actually serve to escalate the problems.

His analysis of ‘marital incompetence’ is hilarious. A bachelor is a man who looks before he leaps – and then does not leaphe concludes.

With the flattening of hierarchies, I wonder whether, in today's world, there still exist any Professional Processionary Puppets
– the organization-men.

It would be worthwhile to look dispassionately, from a distance, into your own organization for similarities to prototypes adorning bureaucracies of yesteryear in order to ascertain whether your own organisation is a modern state-of-the-art progressive one or a rigid hierarchy bound archaic organization heading for decay.
The meat of the book is in Part Two, titled ‘Protect your Competence’ which elucidate a total of 25 “prescriptions” on how to remain creative and competent throughout your working and personal life.

There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and after that to enjoy it
.

The prescriptions, which are condensed wisdom of the ages, guide us on how to achieve this cardinal aim of life.

“The greatest happiness you can have is knowing that you do not necessarily require happiness”
Dr. Peter quotes with elan in this delightful book.
Competence is a system-governed factor – your competence is as viewed by your bosses (like beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, your competence lies in the eyes of your boss!) and thus the yardsticks of competence are governed by the HR policies in your organization.
Why is everyone around you so competitive...?

Do the HR policies in your organization encourage competition, rat race and reward escalationary behaviour, and if so, what can you do about it...?

Maybe you can find some answers by exploring the prescriptions.
Let’s have a look at Peter Prescription 3 – The Peter Panorama – which I have used to great effect, which comprises listing your satisfying activities, joyful experiences, pleasant reminiscences, and after introspection make a second list of those which are feasible to do regularly and then make sure you do them whenever feasible.

Enjoyable events begin to crowd out the unpleasant and you feel happy. And, in the extreme, there are prescriptions like utter irrelevance – hilariously effective.
Do read, experiment, and try to imbibe the prescriptions in your professional and personal life, and experience the results for yourself.

Introspect, evolve a philosophy of life, fine tune the art of living, concentrate your efforts within your area of competence, and have an improved quality of life consisting of abiding competence and contentment.

If you cannot be happy here and now, you can never be happy.
Part Three of the book is written from the management perspective giving 42 “prescriptions” to Managers to contain and mitigate the effects of The Peter Principle in their domains and manage for competence.
It views The Peter Principle from a manager’s point of view, and assuming the manager himself is not a victim of the Peter Principle, offers valuable tips in the HR Management, particularly recruitment, promotion and selection.
Obviously, outsourcing wasn’t that prevalent way back then in the sixties and seventies, otherwise organizations may even have ‘outsourced’ incompetence.
Isn’t it a brilliant idea to outsource incompetence...?
In the outsourcing jargon, let's call it IPO - Incompetence Process Outsourcing...!!!
Maybe some are doing it already...!
As stated in the introduction, the purpose of The Peter Prescription is to help you explore how you yourself can mitigate the effects of The Peter Principle by avoiding the final placement syndrome, and as a manager, it tells you how to keep your employees at their appropriate competence levels so that they remain happy and productive and help achieve mutual optimal benefit.
First read and understand The Peter Principle.

And then apply to your own life The Peter Prescription and experience genuine personal fulfillment and joy of real accomplishment.

Book Review of The Peter Prescription
by
VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2010
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this Book Review.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

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http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

UNFINISHED LETTER

UNFINISHED LETTER

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ART OF TIPPING

ART OF TIPPING

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COGNITIVE BIAS and PARADIGM SHIFT - Two Mulla Nasrudin Stories

COGNITIVE BIAS and PARADIGM SHIFT - Two Mulla Nasrudin Stories

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COGNITIVE BIAS and PARADIGM SHIFT - Two Mulla Nasrudin Stories

COGNITIVE BIAS and PARADIGM SHIFT - Two Mulla Nasrudin Stories

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COGNITIVE BIAS and PARADIGM SHIFT - Two Mulla Nasrudin Stories

COGNITIVE BIAS and PARADIGM SHIFT - Two Mulla Nasrudin Stories

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COGNITIVE BIAS and PARADIGM SHIFT - Two Mulla Nasrudin Stories

COGNITIVE BIAS and PARADIGM SHIFT - Two Mulla Nasrudin Stories

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