850 Management Decision-making without reading files, and depending on Oral Explanations from Assistants

This is in continuation of post No. 849, at this blog. Click here to go to previous post 849. In that post, there is a reference to an article by renowned author Shri Aakar Patel's revelation about Shri Narendra Modi's tendency of not reading files, and depending on oral explanations and summarisations by Officers presenting the files. We shall recall that quote below:--

Courtesy above article of Shri Aakar Patel, from Deccan Chronicle:

Mr Modi also revealed that he was a “good listener” and was able to absorb what was being said to him well. When I heard him say this I thought it made him vulnerable to the bureaucrats he was trusting because he is dependent and can be fed as much or as little as the officer wants him to know. In the style of working as Mr Modi describes it, a complex matter that occupies dozens and perhaps hundreds of pages in files is reduced to an oral summary. It is possible that because of lack of time or because the issue is overly complex, the oral summary is simplistic.

"... On the basis of this summary, Mr Modi takes a decision and this is then executed through the administration. This style seems to have worked well for Mr Modi because he is thought of as being a good chief minister in his 12 years in Gujarat. These days, however, I have been again thinking about Mr Modi’s style of taking input in this form when taking decisions. That is because the Supreme Court is asking critical questions about the way in which the demonetisation policy was rolled out. The court wants to know if the policy was planned properly, or a decision was taken “just like that” when Mr Modi scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8. ..."

"...Another important thing he revealed was how he actually worked. Mr Modi said he doesn’t read files. This I found to be unusual in someone who is so decisive because one needs full control over the subject if one is eager to take big decisions. But Mr Modi says he cannot govern through “academics studies (sic)” and instead asks his officers to summarise all issues for him, and brief him orally. They are expected to go through the file and tell him, as he put it, “yeh masla hai kya”. He said he had the capacity to figure out the delicate contours of these issues without actually reading about them. He said this is because “mera itna grasping tha”. ..."

ybrao-a-donkey: TOP TEN ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH ORAL EXPLANATIONS, PRESENTATIONS, SUBMISSIONS

1. Oral explanations, presentations, submissions, will not be on record. If the decision-maker also issues oral approvals / instructions / sanctions, there may not be problems for the approval-seekers and approval-makers, but the people who act on oral approvals / instructions / sanctions may end up in soup. This can happen both in Private Sector and Private Sector. This can happen not only in India, but can happen all over the world, wherever Management-decisions are taken, executed, monitored, controlled, and audited. In some organisations, there may be a practice of subordinates / peers who execute oral approval / instructions / sanctions communicating to such oral approval makers. The idea behind this post-facto communication may be, the executives who implement oral decisions may intend to save their skins. Even if the oral-instructor-sanctioner may choose to remain silent and abstain from saying categorically yes / no to the reporting executives, there may be an expectation that it will act as a sort of estoppel, with a ray of hope that instructor/approving/sanctioning authority cannot say that the matter has not come to its notice.

2. Wherever the approving / instructing / sanctioning authoritiy issues written approvals / instructions / sanctions, without reading files, on the basis of written explanations / presentations / submissions made by subordinates, in systems and sub-systems where the decision-maker is accountable to his/her bosses, it will not be a good defense for the decision-maker to take shelter of "not reading files under heavy work loads, and depending on oral explanations / presentations / submissions by subordinates".

In India, it may not be Shri Narendra Modi alone, who seems to have this tendency / compulsions of signing files without reading. As far as I can recollect, Mr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the deceased Chief Minister of United Andhra Pradesh, and who had a notoriety of earning Rs. one trillion for his son, too admitted that he signed some files without reading contents. It seems to be a common global custom.

Probable origin of this custom in India, after 1947: With the exception of Late Jawaharlal Nehru (first Prime Minister), Lal Bahadur Sastry (Second Prime Minister), Morarjee Desai (Fourth Prime Minister), to some extent Late P.V. Narasimha Rao (PM, 1991-96), other Prime Ministers and Union Cabinet Ministers, were / are likely to have this tendency / compulsion. For example, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, did not cross Senior Cambridge. Those who have the endurance / tolerance / aptitude / diligence to read long texts do not normally stop their education with Senior Cambridge or a single academic degree. Whether they pursue their higher University Education or not, reading texts will become their life-long habit. Indian Laws, and Sections of Acts, Government Notifications, Circulars, Letters tend to be long-winding, and circumlocutory. Comprehending them in a single reading, or with a cursory glance is not going to be easy.

Many Central Ministers, Chief Ministers of States, Ministers in States, either have a landlord background or an trader/industrialist background. In both the backgrounds, there will be no need for them to "read texts", which is supposed to be a dirty work of clerks, Secretaries, Managers, Accountants, Lawyers. They bring the files, and the owners of swathes of land / Corporate glamor businesses / industrial group companies / Multi-Nationals and their Indian Joint-Venture-Subsidiaries, just add their autographs in style, to the files to smudge some grace and gloss to them. These signing ceremonies can be held even in Five Star Hotel Swimming Pools, Clubs, anywhere. We can even make wild guesses about where the files / papers may be signed. For example, in what locale / environment, Mr. Vijay Mallya, the fugitive Indian businessman taking shelter in London, might have signed his KingFisher and United Breweries files / papers? When the papers are kept on the thighs of girls, on a pleasure yacht?

3. WHAT IS THE OBJECT OF BRINGING TRUSTED BUREAUCRATS INTO KEY POSITIONS? It is a common practice not only among Politicians / Senior Bureaucrats GLOBALLY to bring their trusted persons into key positions. In the background, will be a blind belief that trusted persons are not going to breach the trust imposed in them. And this blind trust, will lead to "blind signing" of documents / orders, on the basis of oral explanations. Few years back, when Mr. Ratan Tata brought in Cyrus Mistry to lead Tata Companies, what were Mr. Tata's expectations? And by 2016, why those expectations got evaporated?

4. PARADOXES OF DELEGATING WHERE DELEGATION IS NOT NECESSARY, AND NOT DELEGATING WHERE IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. . This is a peculiar, but crucial question/ situation which many top Decision-makers, be they politicians, bureaucrats, CEOs, Chair Persons, Board Persons tend to ignore. We know, whether it is Business Administration / Management, Political Administration / Management, or some other Administration / Management, Centralisation of decision-making, makes the DECISION-MAKER an extremely powerful person in organisations / systems. But at the same time, such excessive centralisations can make the TOP DECISION MAKERS prisoners of their own gold-platinum-diamond cages. Excess Centralisation makes both the TOP DECISION MAKERS and the ORGANISATIONS / SYSTEMS vulnerable, when workloads go beyond endurance levels of single individuals. Consequently, decision-makers, develop a habit of not reading files (anyway it is a dirty task to be done by clerks, lower managers / administrators.), and asking questions like “yeh masla hai kya” and “mera itna grasping tha”.

I could cover only 4 out of 10 issues. The remaining six questions will be dealt with in the next blog post.

TAIL PIECE धूम केतु తోక చుక్క

There are FOUR anecdotes, associated with the fond inspire-er of our beloved Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The inspire-ator was Swami Vivekananda. 1) First anecdote: Swami Vivekananda is credited with eidetic-photographic memory by his staunch admirers and his cult-clan followers. Location Meerut. Year 1890. A librarian doubted Swamiji's capability to read one book per day. Swamiji was said to have answered all questions asked by the librarian and convinced him about his photographic memory.

2. 1891. Ajit Singh, Raja of Khetri, who gave Swami Vivekananda, his name "Vivekananda". Swami Vivekananda showed his photographic memory to the Ruler of Khetri.

3. Haripada Mitra, Sub-Divisional Forest Officer of Belgaum. Swami Vivekananda demonstrated his photographic memory of Pickwick Papers.

4. Year 1901. Vivekananda returned from his second trip of US and Europe. He was staying at Belur Math, resting on a couch. To Saratchandra Chakravarti (Swamiji's disciple), Swamiji demonstrated his photographic memory of reading 10 volumes of Encyclopaedia Britannica, by answering questions which Shri Chakravarti was reported to have asked.

So, is there any wonder if Mr. Narendra Modi has a 56" chest, and if he asks "mErA itnA grasp thA?" (I have so much understanding?)

To continue. सशेष. ఇంకా ఉంది.