On Hierarchy in Society and Organizations; The God in You and the God in Me

The natural instinct

Human beings have the natural instinct of craving to be superior and being towards the top of the Hierarchy. And they have exhibited this historically. And in the modern day society and in organizations (which is a mini-society) we witness it regularly.

 

It can be the show of affluence by super-rich, show of power by political leaders and big fancy titles in organizations. Even exotic designer robes of religious leaders are means to the same hunger of showing one superior, different, and apart.

Indicator of authoritarian Hierarchy

Geert Hofstede, the influential Dutch researcher in the fields of organizational studies, created a framework for measuring it called the Power Distance Index (PDI).

The PDI index seeks to demonstrate the extent to which subordinates submit to authority. This index figure is lower in countries or organizations in which authority figures work closely with those not in authority, and is higher in countries or organizations with a more authoritarian hierarchy.  Refer the interactive world map.

So e.g.

• China and Saudi Arabia and most of Middle East are on higher side at 80 (Arab Spring will be justified because of this)
• US on the lower side at 40,
• Most of Europe at lower side, Germany and UK at 35, Switzerland at 34, Norway and Sweden at 31
• France (unlike most of Europe) is on the higher side at 68 (The socially accepted values of Grandeur and love for monarchy and power might be the reasons)

In Society vs. Organizations

This Hierarchy in large societies is difficult to be challenged, as its key drivers are money and power which rest with the ones at the top. Greed for more power and money brings corruption and those at the top of the Hierarchy get more powerful, increasing the social divide.  And although we don’t have many monarchies left, where this was the norm; even in democracies the once elected humble servants of public, get the lust of it.

In Organizations, being at the top is getting difficult

And coming to organizations this is posing a problem for our Hierarchy lovers who want to be at top eternally and command power.  It’s not easy to command respect and be at the top when you cannot perform and cannot prove by numbers.

In the current Economic scenario it’s not uncommon to see the CXO’s getting changed faster than season. And especially in modern organizations with white collar jobs, which is the “Knowledge Industry”, this is still more difficult.

Flat organizations are not really flat

There was this misnomer created called Flat Organizations few years back in the IT industry to boost productivity, but it was never really flat.

Well it cannot be flat as there are decisions which can be taken only at top, because they have the right skills, have access to confidential information, and it’s their mandate to steer the organization towards the goals.

So what are the key drivers which decide where on the level of Hierarchy you deserve to belong in an organization? Let’s try to list them…

They are the following and depending on your current level, you need a right mix of the below to reach a level above.

1. Awareness
2. Intention
3. Knowledge and Skills
4. Experience
5. Motivation , Passion and Drive
6. Leadership and People skills
7. Influence and Networking

If you have the above in the right mix, and you are ready to be aware and learn more, you will deserve being the God of your organization, with your subordinates happy under your leadership.

The God in You and the God in Me

There is no God outside us, God is in you and me. Like Buddha who was the "awakened one" or "the enlightened one".

The desire to seek knowledge and eventually all the knowledge is within us. We have to be aware of what we need, work towards it and discover it.

The self motivated heroes, who have followed their dreams and have worked hard, have exhibited perseverance and have eventually excelled.

Modern entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg are all at the top due to this. Their subordinates know that they deserve being at the top, and they are glad working under them.

And not just in Organizations even in Societies such heroes are respected. Take the example of non-entrepreneurs as well like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, and Aung San Suu Kyi.

So eventually it’s the level of God in You and the God in Me. This level of God in you and me will decide what you and I deserve. And if there is a mismatch, the natural forces will automatically push towards the change.
The good part is our destiny is in our hands, and we can change it, if we want…

Mahtab Syed

12 May 2012

Paris

Le Jardin d’Acclimatation

Official website
It is 01 May 2012 today. It’s supposed to be a summer feeling in Paris now. But it’s much colder than expected. May be this is another aspect of Global Warming !

The schools were off for 2 weeks and we had plans to go out. But its been drizzling and raining from last 2 weeks. It has been grey and gloomy with kids getting frustrated locked indoors venting their frustration on parents, and spouse in turn venting on each other. :-)

But today is different. It’s sunny and less cold. And I got a call from my friend and in few mins we planned to go out with kids to “Le Jardin d’Acclimatation” in Paris. Its just 2 metro stops away from my home.

It’s a 20-hectare (49-acre) children's amusement park. Its 150 yrs old park which was opened in 1860 by Napoleon III. And they have the Japanese festival going on now.

Although it was sunny we were not sure to leave jackets and umbrella, as in past 2-3 weeks we witnessed sudden clouds and rains. Never the less we risked and went out in light jackets, no umbrella, packed with snacks, cameras and bubbly kids, who got the hint that its fun time !

When we ventured out the streets were almost deserted. It was Tue 01 May and a national holiday. All the shops were closed and people who had taken off on Mon had a 4 days break and were probably out of Paris in their parents and relatives place or on vacation to warmer places.

But when we got out at the Metro station and walked towards "Le Jardin d’Acclimatation" we saw the real crowd. The road was already with a traffic jam and most pedestrians with load of kids were all walking towards the same destination. It's not just us but most families with kids had chosen the only destination, and wanted to utilize the most of a bright sunny day after many weeks of dull gray weather.

There was a big queue to enter. Kids were getting excited and some babies were crying. And there was no shortcut or priority for kids as almost all parents were with more than one kid. Luckily we had got the entrance ticket online and we could avoid the long queue(which was for people who had to buy tickets) and went in directly. 

It was nice to be walking in Tshirts. The sun was bright and the entrance was colorful with counter with posters and Japanese art on display. There were counters serving Japanese food and my first instinct was to queue up for Chicken Teriyaki. The smoke from the grill was announcing its presence far enough. :-)

There were Japanese Pogo Stick walkers(Stilt walkers) in traditional costumes. Small girls dressed in Kimono. And various art on sale ranging from chop sticks to paintings.

Inside the park there was a small zoo with farm animals and colorful birds. The sheep barn had most kids visitors. The kids were queuing up to feed sheep and goat and touch their soft coat. And the sheep were also enjoying all the attention and were happily munching the cookies offered.

This was followed by a small fruits and vegetation farm with a small vineyard and kitchen greens like mint, basil etc.

And finally the activities area with rides, merry-go-round(carousel), bike and car for kids etc etc. There was few toys shop which were doing a really brisk business. It was impossible for parents to stop kids from picking whatever they fancied. :-)

After all the fun we decided to return back. It was close to 6:10 pm and we had the last attraction to take. It is the "Le Petit Train" i.e. the small train. This is an open toy train which goes slowly from the part via a green jungle to the metro station Porte Maillot. We had the tickets already but we were not the only ones who had decided to take it. :-) There was a big queue and the there was the train at a frequency of 20 mins with the last being at 7 pm.

The day had been wonderful but towards the end it was like a movie climax. Will be able to get the last train before 7 pm ? Well we realized about this after being in the queue for 40 mins. If we had known this earlier we could have skipped the train and instead opted for the regular metro route. But after a long wait with kids already half asleep in pram, this looked like a movie climax.

We got one train at 6:20 pm and it was full soon and left. We were still some 20-30 people behind and we got the next train after 20 mins at 6:40 pm. And as the climax is expected the train filled while we were 6-8 people behind and now it was the wait for probably the last train. A guard appeared at the scene and apologized to us that its already close to 7 and the last train is gone. The next train coming may not go back. :-( The announcement was in French and we are not expert enough to negotiate in French. :-)

Lucking we had some smart people who apparently negotiated well. The guard nodded slightly(which we wanted to be affirmative). He called the driver of the approaching train on his walkie-talkie and whatever was the discussion it was affirmative. The train came and we boarded as excited as kids. :-) Our kids who were deep asleep got up in the train, trying to understand when and how they landed in an open toy train from the park. Good they missed all the wait and apprehension.

And for us the movie was a happy ending one. Each minute of the day was fun, and the toy train was the cherry on the pie !

Mahtab Syed
Paris, 01 May 2012