Selection Decisions - in Politics and in Business

I still remember my Professor of HR stating in a HR Management class in 1976, "Selection in India is purely based in sufferance, preference, reference and deference" and while being witness to all the sordid stories of how people cling to power ( a la the CM of a famous South Indian State ) or stubbornly refuse to exit their jobs even when they are mired in controversies ( a la the CVC or the ex-Telecom Minister) makes me wonder whether what my Professor uttered in 1976 still holds good as pearls of wisdom. The Times Of India dated Dec 14, 2010 also reveals further tapes of Radiia of how key important portfolios were filled in the current cabinet resulting in a lot of Red faces all around for Congress Parliamentarians who did not think of the consequences of their remarks in a public domain.

Lest this is seen to be prevalent in Politics only, I was witness to how Managers "click their heels and salute their bosses" in Organizations until recently.... And this is seen to be being "aligned with the boss".....or being smart enough to "manage your boss" ( as the last Corporate Dossier pull out of the same Times Of India calls it ). I have been witness to very senior Regional HR Directors stationed in countries in Asia to be singularly focussed on a one point agenda - what their US HR Bosses would like ( or not like ) - and to scramble to get what they "like" fulfilled.

I have also heard that when different Business Units are about to split or spin off, even VPs of HR jump across like Circus Trapeze Artists to "catch their places" in Organizations of their choice, never mind even if there is a freeze for the rest of the technical folks in the Organization....and so the show goes on - both in political and business arenas - while students of HR - diligently study how to deploy people based on Competency frameworks established by Organizations and how to "fit the right person for the right job".......no wonder we say that the graduates of today's PG Classes from various B-Schools are not "ready for the industry yet" and they have to go to schools and institutions to "finish" what they learn in B-Schools and what Organizations practice in reality.

A big gap indeed !!