Tackling Insult

“He who puts up with insult invites injury”.

Insult can be a cause of tremendous social anxiety, especially when someone in your personal environment has made it a habit to put you down repeatedly.

An insulting remark made towards you, especially in public, can evoke the twin demons, humiliation and anger, making your emotional equilibrium go to dogs! Your response might be to shrink inwards, wishing you could vanish from the face of the earth at that moment, or it could be a fit of angry incoherent stuttering! 

Whatever be your emotional reaction, you have given the insulter exactly what he wants- power! You have given him the confidence to insult you again and again.

If the insulter has the effect of causing you social anxiety, you need to do something about it as soon as possible.

Brace yourself- you’ve got some insulting to do too! Prepare some choice retorts. Nothing hits like comments on a persons personality. The more true to fact the comment is, the more effective it is.

Bullies are like dogs- they smell fear! Show your  tormentor you are not afraid. The next time your tormentor insults you, insult him back instantly, looking straight into his eyes.  Half the battle is won when your eyes lock, and you don’t look away. Walk away from the insulter as soon as you have retorted, thus leaving him no chance to carry the conversation further.

Some people insult subtly. A good way of countering a subtle insult is to rephrase the insult bluntly and ask the insulter if he meant what you thought he meant. This will put him on a back-foot and you will get some lame answer like, “Just kidding…”. You can then tell him calmly that you hope he was, because you have not liked his comment.

You might face a situation where the insulter tries to save face saying he’s sorry, he did not think you were so sensitive. Beware! It’s his way trying to emotionally overpower you by passing on the blame of your reaction on to you. Do not reply. Just walk on, and the game is over.

No one has ever escaped insult, not even very successful and confident people. The only thing is that they never accept an insult. They are either able to rise above being insulted at all or are able to nip the insult perpetrator’s audacity in the bud.

© Sujata Khanna. All rights reserved.

'Arakshan' Ban Quashed By SC

Giving the go ahead for the screening of Amitabh Bachchan starrer 'Aarakshan' in UttarPradesh, the Supreme Court on Friday quashed the ban imposed by the state, saying public discussion and dissent are necessary in a vibrant democracy. A bench of justice Mukundakam Sharma and justice A.R Dave lifted the state’s two-month ban on thefilm in UP holding that the restriction would go against the democratic value of free speech and expression.

Source: www.hindustantimes.com, 19 August, 2011

The policy of reservation of academic seats and government jobs based on caste was to be implemented for a period of ten years following the independence of India. Over sixty years have passed but the policy still continues to be implemented. ‘Arakshan’, meaning ‘reservation’, is a movie that highlights the frustration of the majority of students in the ‘general’ category.

Points to be pondered upon:

• We have seen systemic ineffectiveness in many of our government institutions. Merit, and hence performance, has taken a back seat. Is merit not being sacrificed at the altar of vote bank politics?
• It is true that certain sections of society still need support for enhancing their lives and moving upwards on the social scale. Cannot students from these sections be given economic help and training facilities in order to compete for academic seats and jobs rather than reservation?
• Since many meritorious Indian students cannot avail of seats in colleges, they are leaving the shores for higher studies elsewhere. The money that could have gone into our educational system is leaking to foreign universities. Is reservation not responsible for this monetary loss and further brain drain?

In a democracy, citizens have a right to express their views. Different people may have different opinions on the issue of reservation.The movies addresses an issue that can raise a healthy debate on the reservation policy. Politicians with vested interests cannot appoint themselves as ‘super censors’, when there is an expert panel appointed by the Indian censor board.

The Supreme Court of India, by quashing the ban on the movie, has adjudicated admirably!

© Sujata Khanna. All rights reserved.

Work Attitude

People are the life blood of any business. Getting people with the right skills and attitude keeps the company moving in the right direction. At times, it is difficult to get people with the right skills, but it is never difficult to ensure that people with the right attitude are hired.

I believe in hiring nice, pleasant people. People with the right attitude can be trained easily, and can gain skill and expertise. Also, positive people keep the office environment healthy. Employees with a wrong attitude, negligent, unmotivated employees, affect the service factor of the company and kill customer brand loyalty.

I believe that an employer must be flexible. Every company has certain objectives. Every person has certain personal objectives. It is the job of the employer to make sure that both the objectives are aligned. Understanding this, if certain allowances are made, an employee will make sure he/she reciprocates with commitment and conviction. Given the amount of time an employee spends in office, the work environment must be open and friendly.

Also, I believe in communication. Employees need to know where the company is going. They need to contribute their ideas for growth. Being heard increases an employee’s involvement. At times, tough decisions taken by the management need to be explained so that there is no mis-communication through the grapevine. 

Very rarely, there are people who misuse the company goodwill. If you have a finger on the employee pulse, it is easy to identify such people. If you turn a blind eye to or make allowances for such people, the good workers get demoralised, as they feel cheated. Hence, it is important to eliminate people with a wrong work attitude from the system.
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You may like this story that most management students would have already heard.

A turkey was chatting with a bull.

"I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy."

"Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. "T'hey're packed with nutrients."

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.

Finally after some more nights, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him off the tree.

Moral of the story : Bull shit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there long.

© Sujata Khanna. All rights reserved.