E-learning in India

Recession in India: Carried or Created?

2008-11-20T11:31:00.028+05:30

For the global media recession appears to be the central theme. Most writings dwell on flat market statistics, often failing to highlight alternate opinions -- in particular on the fundamentals questions that naturally arise for economies like that in India.

In India, recession is yet another opportunity for journos and localized 'experts' with myopic vision to talk about -- even if their opinion is nothing but a unworthy emulation of popular opinion. Thank you Sir, I am enriched! Your objective is fulfilled.

For me, information sharing is about a quest to gather the holistic framework, to capture sensible alternate views that allude our understanding. My quest for a knowledge on the fundamentals forced me to meet Mr Vivek Kumar Sharma, Group Head - Strategic Business of the Ashok Minda Group, at Noida. No wonder for a scholar like me Mr Vivek remains a treat -- given his rare acumen to sniff what others ignore. His is an opinion that remains unhindered by the sundry voices that clutter our mental landscape. Here's the perspective that emerged from my discussion with him -- between sips of strong coffee.

RECESSION IS GOOD FOR INDIA:
Recession is a boon for India, a corrective pause that seeks to lead Indian corporate towards becoming more matured and more experienced. The recession we witness in India today is more than just mundane market economics or capital flows. Perhaps it calls for a more holistic analysis of the fundamentals. Are our economists listening? Perhaps there aren't any.

Fundamentally, recession is absolutely normal for India. For a market that reeled under absymal and unstructured growth it offers us the rare opportunity to pause for a while and assess the situation -- forcing us to recede back and revist the fundamentals. Expecting a continous and unhindered growth is perhaps naive by all standards. Any growth should ideally be enriched with pauses and that's what the recession is helping us to do. Afterall who can account for the way every Tom, Dick and Harry was minting money round the corner, doing nothing substantial. Or the unjustifiable fat pay package of a funny group of corporate professionals with limited mindsets who fancied more about their high-flying lifestyle than the professional competencies they possessed. Somewhere someone has to account for this anomaly. Perhaps recession is the savior.

Its time we ward-off the Indian tendency of getting excited about everything and anything. So far Indian corporates were behaving like the dog that walked beneath the horse-driven cart, content that it was pulling a heavy carraige, much to the surprise of the onlooker who witnessed the horse slogging it out. With the carriage down, the dog lies battered -- its ambition still aspiring. Today much to the delight of all the arm-chaired pseudo-intellectuals in Indian corporates are nowhere to be seen predicting the vision of a great future ahead. Poor souls they never got their fundamentals correct.

Even before news of a global recession seeped in Indian shores companies have begun firing people and predicting a grim future. And as employees recede into a quagmire of depression, entrepreneurs and their able management stars are digging pits to hide -- from something not so visible in the horizon. What an irony!

Only a few months back Indian companies appeared to be in the pink of their health. Today they lie limping at the other extreme. Thrilling extremeties indeed. For many India was just about to replace the United States' economy but loo the train seems to be heading towards Somalia. What a pity! A few months back airline companies offered free tickets and treated ordinary passengers like the Maharaja. Today they report losses, inspite a reduction in tax and fuel prices and treat the Indian pasenger as an unwanted street dog waiting to hop in for a cheap ride.

THE INCOMPETENT DRIVERS
Indian buisiness is surely sentiment-driven. More so are its drivers -- the shaky entrepreneur and his equally shaky teams. Imagine a corporate culture smeared with jargons, of powerpoint presentations and stolen alien concepts that do not fit the industry.

These corporate honchos have failed us. We all believed in their illogical philosophies. Little meat but too much sound. the ones who have failed us are a selective bunch of ill-equipped corporate gurus who hyped the sentiments because they benefitted. What else accounts for the countless mindless powerpoint presentations and the discomforting salary packages?

Its time we questioned the obnoxious pay package of corporate team members in India. Instead of focussing on building a matured system and human capital corporate houses have been running a rat race to hire professionals with a fat pay package. Yet their competencies have never been questioned. These professionals usually remain content being stuck in day-to-day issues rather than growth-related value-laden work.

A better way out of this mess is to contain this trend and lay more emphasis on human capital -- on working out a balanced remuneration based on identified competencies. The money saved can go for building cash reserves for sustaining critical human resources for a longer period of time during recessions.

The anomaly in the remuneration in India is noticeable. In Europe, for example, the difference between the salary of the lowest employee and the highest paid employee is about 10 to 15 times, while in India the difference is about 400 to 500 times. Let's seriously think on this if at all we want to sustain the indian economy.

Its time entrepreneurs critically question these people at the helm of affairs. Afterall they have taken everyone for a ride for too long. What is required is an extra flair of competence to outwit vile professionals at the senior management.They depict what Vivek Kr. Sharma says, "a seemingly strong mind embedded serious weakness."

SOME NEW PERSPECTIVES
Indian corporates do not analyze success from how things ought to be rather than whether corporate goals aligned with the personal objectives of a select few. Who cannot recall the scenario a few months back when investors from across the world were fed to the ill-conceived and smartly presented business scenarios. The common scene is most 5-star spots were that of the eager investor and the smartly dressed Indian who positioned himself as the next Bill Gates in the horizon. The gullible investor perhaps had little option but to shell out millions of bucks for projects that promised them tremendous returns.

The recession could not have come at a better time. Its definately the time and an opportunity for entrepreneurs to understand that they need to check the people they trusted and benefitted the most. They need to understand that all management members are not Ratan Tatas, Azim Premjis or Narayan Murthy.

Recession or not organizations in India are poised to loose their strengths and empty their coffers even while trying to gain ground. For instance, in the absence of a matured competency matrix in most Indian companies, corporates are likely to retrench key people for the time being. This will appear to be beneficial in the cash-strapped businesses. However, as the market will pick up there will be a crazy run for rebuilding on the organization's strength. The result: employees who were retrenched are likely to return back at twice or thrice the salary at which they were thrown out.

DIVINE INTERVENTION - FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC
For the general members of the public who are severely limited from comprehending the finer nuances or the economy and the myriad forces at play Mr Vivek Sharma offers a rather unusual argument:

As per our beliefs, "India have about 84 billions Gods and Goddesses. In a population of 1.2 billion odd Indians each Indian can stake claim to about 70 dedicated Gods and Goddesses. Market or no market there is no reason for us to worry. We will always find these Gods and Goddesses helping us out."

Perhaps our high-flying corporate honchos need such divine intervention...

Forget E-learning it’s Rotting at the Base!

2008-03-29T20:34:00.003+05:30

E-learning sounds attractive, suggesting a gigantic leap onto an era of rapid and serious learning change. The psychological comfort it offers to educationists and upmarket teachers in India enables them to use these complexities of technology to raise the level of perception towards learning and education. Today its clear that there’s no rocket science in learning – the way it is made to appear.

Look at the very core of the educational system in India -- it’s a pure mess. The basics are so intelligently sidelined through a fascinating technological garb that it confuses many a poor souls. For the Indian citizenry its a confusing realm as they try to make sense of traditional education and technology-aided. No other example can highlight this mess than the recent confusion surrounding Nursery admissions in the various schools of Delhi – India's national capital.

It was a quite a drama in Delhi. Right under the nose of the central government and with the seemingly stringent norms spelt out by the Ganguly Commission, the schools blatantly ignored rules, bent admission procedures, fiddled with processes and led to a massive confusion of sorts. Yet very few voices could be heard against this. Perhaps the Indian citizenry remained immatured to be able to see through the flimsy system.

Schools in Delhi had their own unique criteria for admission. Under the garb of the Ganguly Commission the admission formula was a mess – every school had its own unique system. Parents meanwhile remained thoroughly confused. There were ones who applied for their ward’s admission to as high as 35 schools, since they were not sure where they would get lucky. At the end of the ordeal almost all ended up in despair. They did not know what criteria were used to select students. When they demanded information they were shooed away like cattle. Information collected from several parents reveal a vicious nexus. Some suggested that it was the social status and wealth that defined the admission norm – for schools remained in the run to grab students whose parents were powerful enough to offer them indirect benefits – in cash or in kind.

Amindst this chaos there were several hundreds of low-grade schools that attempted to position themselves as an alternative – showcasing such things as the airconditioned classroom, presence of a swimming pool and other so-called “world class standards”. Most of these schools also used the word ‘International’ as a prefix or suffix to suggest their new found avatar. A closer look suggests that they were nowhere near being international – even on the cleanliness front.

The very premise in which everyone questions these schools is the fact that the land in which they were situated was handed over to them by the Government – since education is considered to be serving a noble cause. There were countless news items on the admission process in Delhi that questioned the credibility of admission and the response of the government.

The dramatics that unfolded and was spread over several days threw more questions than answers. It suggested how Indian education system remained eons behind global educational standards. It also forced many to question the veracity of the claims that most schools make about education – most of which was downright farcical. For scholars the situation offered a perfect ground for conducting research on education in third-world countries. Its perhaps interesting to see that why India produces very little leaders and researchers and more of salaried slaves who find solace in serving in a private or a government sector company that can guarantee them a decent lifestyle – nothing more nothing less.

Indian companies need competent HR professionals

2007-12-05T21:14:00.000+05:30

Any wonder what the acronym HR means in India --"Human Resource" or "Human Recruitment."

Any discussion on organizations and training is perhaps incomplete without looking at the HR practices and HR health of organizations today. Inspite the booming economy Indian companies appear to be grappling with rising attrition rates. People join organizations in hoardes and leave them in hoardes. Surely a concern for all.

For experts high attrition rate symbolizes a heathy economy. Enormous opportunities, they say, are driving the youth to seek fatter salary packages. Companies, on the other hand, see attrition as the organization's inability to match the industry-standard salary packages. In essence both these perspectives are flawed at the very core.

The current issues of employee-retention is a fabulous creation of shabby HR practices -- a creation of ill-bred and half-baked HR professionals, most of whom owe their knowledge to C-grade run-of-the-mill institutes strewn across India. For most HR activity relates only to "Recruitments".

Rising attrition rates is a direct reflection of the HR incompetency. HR Departments, for one, are now endowed with the skills, competency and knowledge to map individual needs and organizational goals -- a prerequisite while recruiting resources. Today very few Indian HR professionals appreciate the immense potential of on-demand training and e-learning. For them these are jargons that typically signify nothing. No wonder that HR Departments in Indian companies (barring a few well-structured companies) has now come to be seen as a very low-end and low-dignity assignment in the management spectrum.

MAP YOUR ORGANIZATION'S HR HEALTH ...
To clearly understand how the HR is setting back your organization try answering the following questions:

1. Has your HR Department ever asked you to submit your training needs?

2. Did you ever find an HR professional who has offered you matured and professional advice that we all associate with global businesses?

3. Is your HR department courageous enough to put a box soliciting annonymous letters about the issues or sought questions directly in an open house forum?

4. How many HR professionals within your organization are perceived as employee-friendly?

5. Don't you think that the HR department in your organization are seen as boot-licking spies of the senior management and cannot be trusted with any personal information.

6. Did you ever debate on issues with any HR personnel and receive a very parochial and bosterous perspective that we associate with people with a narrow outlook?

6. How many HR professionals in Indian companies have a perfect understanding of the company's line of business? Can you expect to get a satisfactory understanding of your company from them?

DUCKS, RABBITS & LEARNING

2007-12-04T20:06:00.000+05:30

I was immersed in the design of our organizational newsletter in this decrepit Advertising agency in South Delhi when I received a call on my mobile. The caller informed me about swimming ducks, a defiant pack of dogs, unruly pigeons, staring rabbits and colorful fishes. For a moment I tried to rationalize on what was more important for me – the saga of these creatures or my editing the newsletter. Surely the newsletter! But these tales too were not of lesser importance. They were from my 3 year old darling daughter who had just returned after her school trip to Bal Bhawan.

That day evening I perched comfortably with my dearie daughter and listened to her experience in Bal Bhawan – so honestly captured and relayed. All along as Pakhi stood trying to narrate me what she saw I could sense how interesting learning can become if we were to remove the artificial garb of formalism and protocol that we endeavour it to wear.

Learning about the way children learn offers us a great research opportunity. Few realize that the exact nature in which children learn, if captured and analyzed properly in the relevant cultural and socio-economic context, can be applied in various learning scenarios that are unique to India. The psychological inter-play of cognitive processing, the impact of the environment, the impact of language and the socio-cultural context is barely understood. In India, in the current format in which learning is being sold and bought, research often finds a backseat. The reasons for this abject rejection of research as foundation for the future can be seen as as an academic limitation or because such research is often considered tedious and not seen as providing overnight results.

I believe that today or tomorrow we may need to take a serious call on this callousness towards "learning research". Though institutions such as the CBSE and the NGO sector have initiated steps in this directio, a research-based analytical mindset is still a far-cry in most institutions that deal with learning. Till then, we all will continue to read about what learning research was undertaken in which part of the world with what impact. Isn't it time we stopped such blatant emulation and address learning issues as they are –- contextually?

Cheats, Drama and Survival

2007-11-24T16:35:00.000+05:30

Folks, I am back!

Its been several months now that I had disappeared from the bloggers realm as anxious readers tried contacting me over mails, over phones and what not. Well, the past few months have been exciting, not to mention the drama that was kicked off by one of my blog posts on fradulent organizations. I had to delete the post because of the painful and unfortunate events that ensued.

My story on an institute that trains Air Hostesses was extremely honest. I had captured every small detail with the rigours of a perfect reporter. The writeup, as soon as it was posted, bought down the rankings of the institute -- putting my post much higher in rank in Google search. Almost a day later I received a call from the lady with whom I had interacted during the freelance work (amounting to Rs 25,000 that I was never paid). She informed me that she had left her job in the institute and was held almost captive in a location in South Delhi and was being threatened. She told me that unless I removed my post she would be tortured. Thereafter, I received a call from the Branding Director of the institute - suave in communication but criminal by intent. He tried to entice me with plesantries (the usual sweet talk of professionals in Delhi). When I disagreed he started using abusive language, almost sounding like a roadside goon. I kept quite. All the while he never talked of the money that his company owed me. He told me that he will ensure that he stops my blog and reduce its value. He did this by posting several annonymous vulgar messages that suits his personality perfectly.

By the end of the day too many people got involved in the drame -- 2 Vice-Presidents of the company I was working in, the top management of that air hostess training institute, a few journalists, 2 petty politicians and some friends. At my end I reached an understanding by midnight that I should pull down the blog post because the girl was begging mercy and the Vice Presidents wanted me to stay away from such petty thugs who while positioning themselves in an institute that is branded well did not have an iota of credibility.

However, I personally have drawn two conclusion from the drama that ensued. One that most of these so-called brands in Delhi have a dark and shadier side to their existence. And two, Frankfinn Air Hostess Academy is the undisputed leader in Air Hostess training. Its far better off in terms of quality that its desperate counterpart.

Freelance Frauds: Delhi tops the List

2007-06-19T21:05:00.000+05:30

Have you ever been cheated in a project where your intellectual work was simply stolen? Was there a situation where the money promised to you in a freelance writing project was simply never delivered? Well, its far too common in Delhi -- perhaps one reason for people getting less and less attracted towards freelance assignments.

Most freelance assignment in Delhi drops in through a friend with lot of sweet talk and friendly gesture, something that is intended to override your demand for a contract paper. Common dialogues that drop from the proposer of the assignment when you seek a written agreement etc are, Are Humari Aur Aapki relation alag Hai," "Aap to Mere Bhai Ho," Yeh Sale Fraud Companies Ne To Delhi Mein Sabka Naam Badnam Kar Rakha Hai."

And while you spend fuel and effort running around putting together parts of a great assignment, its often too late when you hear that the project was "shelved" for reasons unexplained or your english was simply "not upto the mark." Even programmers are not spared from this ever-rising menace of frauds.

Content writing and research frauds in Delhi is in its all-time high. Even senior professionals with several years of experience often find themselves in the receiving end of such practices. Since the relationships usually does not come through hard paper contracts, freelance workers usually do not have the power to appeal before a labour court of take legal action.

How do you identify credible companies from fradulent ones? Well, there is no single formula in which you can. Even job sites like http://www.naukri.com/ and http://www.monster.com/ carry a advertisements of several of such fradulent freelance companies.

My suggestion to all freelancers in Delhi is to undertake some research before undertaking any assignment. And the one best formula for succeeding in the game is to look at all these companies with skepticism -- that will keep you alert about where you are heading. And do not forget to sign a contract beforehand!

I will definately try to publish some amazing and true case studies of such fradulent cases in Delhi for seperating the wheat from the chalf.

Does the Ambience impact e-learning?

2007-05-31T19:40:00.000+05:30

Oft my mind pondered whether e-learning as a profession was impacted by the ambience or not. Perhaps Yes.

Unlike the regular software development work, e-learning requires a serene ambience, one that could steer the human mind to levels of utmost calm and well-being wherein it could blossom and relive the instructional designer of creative blockades.

My conversations with some instructional designers in Genpact and NIIT have helped me understand the deeper workings of the human mind to a greater extent – in the way the ambience and the surroundings impinge on performance. Many professionals who undertake onsite visits in the US and Europe have displayed significant levels of enthusiasm, that perhaps was absent when they were squeezed inside a concrete building with little scope for cognitive boosterism.

Whatever be the conditional theories of the human mind and the feelings therein, I feel the following pictures will surely transfer instructional designers to an ethereal realm of calmness. These are the pictures from Austria and the Alps mountain range…

Hey! Is the E-learning Boom Round the Corner?

2007-05-18T18:56:00.000+05:30

Its interesting to see how the Indian mainstream media occasionally dabbles with features on e-learning. Surprisingly, for more than a decade now reporters continue to file the same generic stories on e-learning over and over again. A common theme in most of these stories is about the e-learning boom that's just "round the corner." Such themes were interesting a decade back. Now they sound monotonous and give the impression that e-learning as a profession has made no stride. Perhaps this has more to do with the poor breed of technology journalists in India whose sense of journalism is to COPY PASTE stories from old sources and give them a slight twist.

The latest article is filed by The Tribune and even in TOI's Ascent that dwells on the same stale theme. And as if that was not sufficient senior industry professionals too have jumped in the fray with their bit of stale soothsaying.

Its time we spare the media channels! Its time we allowed e-learning to speak for itself. Isn't it in poor taste to use rhetoric, cathy phrases and soothsaying to promote the field of e-learning? The time for such frills are passe and its time that journalists and industry professionals stop singing the same stale song over and over again. Let the newcomers in e-learning not be awed with such features and interviews that do little service by way of informing readers. At best these shoddy writeups just fill newspaper space and generate hype for e-learning companies eager to earn the tag of a "leader."

Train Journey through Pristine Nature

2007-05-10T21:45:00.000+05:30

Only yesterday I browsed through my collection of pictures. In a forlorn folder inside my computer I found some pictures of the train route between Silchar and Lumding (in Assam). The train route was constructed around 1900 by the Bristishers, although the Indian government is trying to convert this meter gauge into broad gauge.

The train journey between Lumding and Silchar is one of its kind largely because it has not been commercialized and hyped. Enroute lies Jatinga, a village famous for the mystery of birds committing suicide in hordes -- a phenomenon yet to be explained. Ornithologists have been flocking to this place to study the phenomenon. The area is rich in a variety of orchids & plants species such as Blue Vandas (a lovely sky blue orchid) -- the only one of its kinds in the world.

A friend had sent me these pictures. And I learn that this is the train route on which Sharukh Khan shot his famous Chaiya Chaiya song for the film Dil Se.

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View from Halflong circuit house

2007-05-10T20:31:00.000+05:30

Curvy Railway bridge near Halflong

In Delhi, it’s the Dead End for E-Learning

2007-05-04T16:51:00.000+05:30

Delhi, India’s capital, never ceases to baffle me. For the sheer amount of grandeur and ostentation the city has emerged to offer a delusive contentment for professionals -– the latest in e-learning. The industry that once trumpeted a revolution or sorts is now beset with myriad issues – skeptic clients, dwindling market-space, and disenchanted resources. Professionals with several years of experience can be seen running from pillar to post -- trying to locate that honest employer, the workplace of their dreams.

E-learning companies in Delhi and NCR have hit a dead end, or so it appears. Jobs that were once clamoring for attention have suddenly disappeared forcing professionals to get stuck in the rut of their current assignments, in companies that once promised them the world. Amidst stories of disenchantment and dream-shattered there are many who are now seriously pensive about continuing a career in e-learning. Websites like www.naukri.com and www.jobsahead.com now carry ads of small e-learning players positioned in disheveled locales offering paltry remuneration packages. While many smart clients have backed off from outsourcing e-learning projects to North-Indian observers believe many more will follow suit. Amidst this shaky situation some players continue to function with an unusual calm -– the lull before the storm!

Strangely for a city of its size a slight shrugging-off and the impact can be seen everywhere. Towards mid-2006 Brainvisa, a Pune-based e-learning company suddenly called off its development center in Noida. This resulted in a sudden overflow of Instructional Designers all over the region. Like a flock of aliens they crowded other e-learning companies only to be despised, or worse, employed at a lower salary than what they were drawing at Brainvisa. For many it was lesson learnt hard – they should have resisted the allurement of the fat package offered by Brainvisa. Quick come quick go.

Given the shape of e-learning in Delhi and the NCR region one cannot help but wonder whether we have over-sung the outsourcing song. Its time we learnt a few lessons. A better idea for e-learning professionals is to hone their skills beyond e-learning -– in technical writing, journalism and related areas. And if you are employed in Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad it makes tremendous sense to ward-off offers from e-learning companies in the North. Its time we prepared for the worst!

Shedding off that spurious Flab

2007-04-11T16:16:00.000+05:30

The shameful ouster of the Indian cricket team from the world cup has the entire nation running for cover – a classic case of Indians and Indianness. Die-hard fans now satiate themselves with shoddy family soaps, the wayward discussions in pan shops are irrelevant, and advertisers have disappeared in a whiff. And just when I thought the euphoria was over, I found myself inundated in superficial and irritating media bickering -- allegations and counter-allegations, cricketers’ analysis, Chappell versus Tendulkar. Add to it the audacity of the BCCI and hoards of publicity-hungry ex-cricketers who spared no efforts in analyzing this and that. Indians just won’t give up. Today the enigma applies to almost all fields of Indians' endeavour.

A similar rut thrives in e-learning, the Indian software industry and almost all Indian ventures. Forget the generous picture of a resurgent India (as portrayed by the media and soothsayers). A closer look and most Indian IT and e-learning companies appear to be wading through a virtual ocean of issues – mismanagement, lack of employee welfare, unethical claims – some true some false – and the over-zealous media that faces a severe dearth of intellectual food. For a global Indian (thanks to the Internet), the dramatics is far too boring and I find fail to consume it with a sense of extreme optimism.

India’s much-hyped teamwork — like our infamous cricket team – has always been shaky and questionable by all standards. Stories of differences are far too common than stories of concerted accomplishments, of teamwork — Infosys' are an exception while Reliances' are the norm. Our value system and traits, it appears, is being carried over in far too many areas. Consider the facts that cry for attention. Barring the few top leaders most Indian companies have an attrition rates ranging from 40% to 75%, although they claim otherwise. In places like Delhi small groups of unsuccessful professionals have got together in decrepit South Delhi locations claiming to be the next big leaders in e-learning. All the while the government machinery, the infrastructure, the police, the law and order, and the social system remain entangled in the quagmire of deficiency. Yet we proclaim ourselves as emerging power in the world — our inflated egos overriding our shabby performance. Rationality and logic are words that we Indians can do without.

Our exit from the world cup carries symbolic connotations for the larger issues that confront us today. So while the Sehwags and Yuvrajs have been forced by circumstances to shed off their now infamous and intolerable boisterous flab, the Indian software industry should follow suit. Its time the offshoring and outsourcing industry wake up and arrest its unprofessional flab — the unethical promises, the shady under-table deals, the overstatements, and the dubious commitments that are announced before international clients. For now Indian cricket appears to be a dead animal or so — as it appears. And its pretty much possible that the 'overhyped' outsourcing industry too face a similar shameful exit from the global IT arena. And once it happens we naive Indians can help little but witness another bout of ‘Indian’ dramatics featuring allegations, counter-allegations and opprobrium. Isn't it time we shed our infamous “Indianness” — traits that have done us no good so far.

Of Project Managers and Staged Shows

2007-02-14T15:25:00.000+05:30

Days back I received an email from an acquaintance based in Mumbai. He informed me that he has joined as a PM in an e-learning company. To quote him verbatim, “I am having a gala time as a PM. The only thing I need to do here is to squeeze timelines so that we get the most out of these silly IDs and graphic designers.”

That didn’t surprise to me, largely because I had sensed this trend about a year back. The issue of squeezed timelines is not usually done by the outsourcing client but by the Project Managers within. The logic is simple – squeezing the timeline reduces development costs for the company and adds a feather in the PM’s cap that can be converted to a higher annual increment.

Consider the statistics (lent by a senior ID from Genpact). About 2 years back the average number of frames that IDs were required to churn out daily was 12-15. This number has now shot to 20-25 even while the salaries have not seen an increment by that rate. So even while clients throw a deadline of say 15 days, the project manager reduces this to 7 days even while the client is billed on the actual effort of 15 days, and maybe more.

Project Managers are also instructed by the management to escalate fictitious issues for IDs and GDs so that the conditions become conducive for them to leave the company. With an annual increment of an average of 25% companies discover that certain resources are a liability and their replacements can come at a lower remuneration package. However, for individuals who redefine themselves and are capable of shouldering higher responsibilities are not axed.

Even as you see those flashy growth figures of Indian e-learning companies, the underlying politics weigh far too heavily on the employee’s careers. For some rational and far-sighted ones e-learning today has come to be a makeshift arrangement, a platform, to launch their actual careers. Perhaps they see the e-learning as closely resembling the BPOs where numbers matter more than the grey matter. Is it this coldness that makes software professionals giggle at ‘e-learning?’ Who knows – the answer is best left unanswered.

The 8 hour shift that never is

2007-02-12T14:08:00.000+05:30

There's more to the 8-hour stumper, the number of hours an e-learning professional spends in office. For most Indian companies the 8-hour mantra remains a pleasing jargon -- to be uttered by sweet-mouthed and 'cute' HR executives (the bait). And it just cannot be practiced. After all 'we are a family'. Surely they are!

Cleverly hidden inside this practice of extended work hours lies a hidden agenda, a vile lucidity that transcends beyond mere rhetorics. For most Indians in the e-learning industry the salary they earn is not for an 8-hour job, 5 days a week, its for delivering more. After all such long and extended hours of work deliver nothing except gimmicks in the form of shabby food and the pride to travel in a so-called cab.

Time-centric employee politics has some to be the mainstay of most Indian e-learning companies in India today. Its not uncommon to witness IDs and graphic designers spending sleepless nights over courses, endlessly. They hope that after this one project, this last effort they will be able to return home on time. And even as such hope remain chained within the deepest realms of cognition, e-learning professionals register a whole range of health related issues.

Perhaps its too early for the industry and too early for us to witness strong non-nonsense e-learning professionals who are qualitative and assertive to the core. Perhaps it the clients to be blamed who ride on an ill-conceived value of outsourcing -- cost. Till then IDs and Graphic Designers have to carry on with that 12-14 hour shift. What they loose in the process is a decent human life, a desire to give quality time for themselves and their families, and live a life of contentment. Are e-learning employees humans?

Global players in as Indian institutes sleep

2007-02-02T13:52:00.000+05:30

Even as India's desi Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) gets crowded with more and more so-called intellectuals, the wider needs of the Indian student community will now be met by Cambridge College. With a strategically located center in Mumbai Cambridge College spell that their mission is to "to provide academically excellent, time-efficient and cost-effective higher education for a diverse population of working adults for whom those opportunities may have been limited or denied."

The college also has plans to open a school in Delhi, and eventually an entire campus in India. The method by which students will earn their degrees is an adaptive blended learning model. The system was developed by Nishikant Sonwalkar, currently the Vice-President of the Center for Adaptive Learning and Programs at Cambridge College. Sonwalkar researched on the model at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he had been the principal Educational architect.

Amidst such moves one cannot help but wonder what value does institutions like IGNOU bring for the student commnuity. Consider the fact that most course material of IGNOU stand outdated and useless. The only one service that the institution has done till date is to serve as a platform for Indian scholars who have got a wide area to tread and satiate their urge of self-promotion.

Shape up with Rapid E-learning!

2007-01-29T17:15:00.000+05:30

Recall the number of encounters you have had with an uncouth and obnoxious Indian government employee –- in railway stations, airports, banks, government offices etc. Were you ever left feeling dejected and cheated? Were you showered with expletives and attitude? Given the current standards, YES!

Most government workers in India today, inspite their tasting the fruits of globalization, remain localized –- unprofessional in every sense of the word. For example, in India's national capital 2 out of three citizens I meet report of harrasment, racism, inhuman treatment and unprofessionalism meted out by a govt. employee -- postman, policeman, bank clerk, municipality counseller, booking clerk, and worst, peons. And they have nowhere to go. As tales of some of the most horrendous racial discrimination makes inroads into the public realm, one cannot help but remain concerned about the lop-sided development. The rut appears to be eating out our senses.

With claims of being one of the world’s ancient civilizations, our government officials exemplify otherwise. Clearly no evolution is visible in sight and action. Even with the noted Right to Information (RTI) Act the difference in workplace attitude and approach is a mirage. As one Indian citizen recently noted "I feel India is fast receding into a chaotic nation with public work culture and attitude registering the lowest performance in the world. The government machinery just does not seem to work."

Perhaps e-learning has a solution here largely because training a mammoth government work-force with basic workplace skills through traditional instructor-led training would require tremendous effort -- something that the government cannot afford. Ideally, the government should firm-up mandatory training laws for all departments, and better still, map training to the appraisal system. E-learning can help inject order in government servants. Its time Indians inward-feed some of those e-learning courses that they develop for a global clientele. And the Indian government should be the first customers -- if they aren't they surely are determined to take the nation back in time to devastation.

Are e-learning employees getting a raw deal?

2007-01-09T16:21:00.000+05:30

There's little doubt that e-learning has made great strides over the years. India today boasts of a sizeable number of e-learning companies with clients of all sizes and shapes -- from small to Fortune 500 companies. And Indian companies appear to be scoring high on quality issues.

But the flipside of the whole game is ironical. While all e-learning companies boasts of a competent workforce, most do not price their resources. Today as the industry stands in the threshold of a revolution in the software and e-learning sector, e-learning professionals are getting far too less than they actually deserve. And that explains the huge exodus of e-learning professionals from one company to another and even to the IT sector.

Most e-learning companies do not have an employee insurance scheme. This means that if employees meet with a fatal accident, they are left on their own -- with nowhere to go. Their family members are left to strive on their own. The company simply dashes off a condolence message to one and all through e-mail and loo all are back to work. As one e-learning professional working with one of India's largest e-learning company in New Delhi recently observed, "They kiss you like a buddy when they need you and dump you like a fly when you are in distress."

In the US, e-learning employees are covered through a comprehensive health and life insurance. Surprisingly, in India, while most e-learning companies emulate the US model they simply ignore things when it comes to employee welfare. This trend should change, if at all Indian e-learning companies are serious about registering global success stories.

Understandably the demand for a regulator of the e-learning industry, that has been doing the rounds of informal corridors in India, has been more from employees than from e-learning employers because of the simple reason that a regulator is more likely to tighten the noose around e-learning companies than the code of conduct laid down for the professionals.

There are good reasons to beleive why the e-learning sector is looked down upon by IT professionals in software companies. Most IT professionals believe that in an era of scare resources its foolish to hang around in a sector that offers challenges sans simple employee benefits like health insurance and accidental insurance. While these benefits come natural to software professionals in IT companies e-learning companies continue crying over "petty" profits that they claim to make. While the fact remains that most e-learning companies are raking in profits amounting to millions of dollars.

Perhaps this explains the huge exodus of e-learning professionals from one company to another without showcasing a wee bit of attachment to companies. And they are right when they do so. Afterall who the heck is concerned about e-learning companies when these companies have done almost nothing to win the heart and confidence of its resources. And its also justified when I hear tales of e-learning professionals demanding hefty remuneration packages and annual increments forcing employers to concede. Perhaps these companies deserve it!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007

2007-01-01T15:39:00.000+05:30

Hi Buddies!

It takes a true leader to appreciate E-learning

2006-12-26T13:59:00.000+05:30

President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, one of the finest examples of Indian leadership, has vouched for e-learning. His recognition of e-learning is not just timely but a trendsetter of sorts given the fact that the Indian government has been extremely slow in accepting e-learning as a way to solve the issues of literacy in India.

What Kalam states makes perfect sense to educationists and researchers. The mammoth task of educating a ever-increasing mass of illiterates can only be realized through Internet technologies and applications. Its time government in Indian states look beyond the parochial five-year politics and plan education for a much longer time-frame. The education ministers in each state should undergo a complete training workshop under our brilliant President so that they are able to appreciate the wider benefits technologies like the Internet. If these education ministers cannot ready themselves for a change then its best for them to forego their charge from the ministry.

Free Online University: Another revolution round the corner!!

2006-12-19T14:59:00.000+05:30

Having given a run for their money to dubious content sellers Wikipedia is readying to launch another power-laced product -- a Free Online University. True to its democratic nature Wikipedia University will enable anyone and everyone to host e-learning courses or collaboratively develop learning materials. Currently the University is seeking assistance from netizens for a host of areas and its worth being a part of this great initiative.

Though the reaction to this initiative from the global e-learning industry is not apparently noticeable, its definately sending jitters down the spine of most e-learning companies in India -- ones that are surviving on the edge. While its obviously a thing to rejoice for the global community as education sheds its boundaries and reaches out to the underpriviledged, its definately a death kneel for the e-learning service industry.

E-learning to replace teachers?

2006-12-13T17:30:00.000+05:30

Redefining e-learning rules appears interesting. What it actually achieves is perhaps a different story. In Vietnam the National University has announced that it is going to arrest the paucity of teachers through e-learning. The vice director of National University believes that e-learning can enable the university educationh system in the country to produce 20,000 doctors and 1.8 million graduates.

E-learning surely will help Vietam meet its paucity of teachers and facilities but what concerns me is the way e-learning will replace the need of teachers for medical education. As far as my knowledge goes you cannot replace medical teachers with e-learning. If it were possible we would have witnessed a new breed of medics around the world -- e-doctors.