Saturday, July 21, 2012

Marks In APAR And Interview Depends Not On How You Perform BUT How Your Assessors Perceive You


*Ashok, a fresh computer graduate from a world-class University, goes for an interview in a software company.**

**The interviewer is Sunder, a grubby old man. And the first question he asks Ashok is, `Are you good at logic?'**

**`Of course,' replies Ashok.**

**`Let me test you,' replies Sunder. `Two men come down a chimney. One comes with a clean face and the other comes out with a dirty face.
Which one would wash his face?'**

**Ashok stares at Sunder. `Is that a test in Logic?' Sunder nods.**

**`The one with the dirty face washes his face', Ashok answers wearily.**

**`Wrong. The one with the clean face washes his face. Examine the simple logic. The one with the dirty face looks at the one with the clean face and thinks his face is clean. The one with the clean face looks at the one with the dirty face and thinks his face is dirty. So, the one with the clean face washes his face.'**

**`Hmm. I never thought of that," says Ashok. `Give me another test.'**

**Sunder holds up two fingers, `Two men come down a chimney. One comes out with a clean face and the other comes out with a dirty face.
Which one washes his face?'**

**`We have already established that. The one with the clean face washes his face.'**

**`Wrong. Each one washes one's face. Examine the simple logic. The one with the dirty face looks at the one with the clean face and thinks his face is clean. The one with the clean face looks at the one with the dirty face and thinks his face is dirty. So, the one with the clean face washes his face. When the one with the dirty face sees the one with the clean face washing his face, he also washes his face. So each one washes one's face.'**

**`I didn't think of that!' says Ashok. `It's shocking to me that I could make an error in logic. Test me again!'**

**Sunder holds up two fingers, `Two men come down a chimney. One comes out with a clean face and the other comes out with a dirty face.
Which one washes his face?'**

**`Each one washes his face.'**

**`Wrong. Neither one washes his face. Examine the simple logic. The one with the dirty face looks at the one with the clean face and thinks his face is clean. The one with the clean face looks at the one with the dirty face and thinks his face is dirty. But when the one with clean face sees that the one with the dirty face doesn't wash his face, he also doesn't wash his face. So neither one washes his face.'**

_**Ashok is desperate. `I am qualified for this job. Please give me one more test!'**

**He groans when Sunder lifts his two fingers, `Two men come down a chimney. One comes out with a clean face and the other comes out with
a dirty face. Which one washes his face?'**

**`Neither one washes his face', Ashok replies, `I have learnt this logic.'**

**`Wrong, again. Do you now see, Ashok, why programming knowledge is insufficient for this job? Tell me, how is it possible for two men to come down the same chimney, and for one to come out with a clean face and the other with a dirty face? Don't you see the flaw in the
premise?'"***

2 comments:

parimaganesh said...

God alone, if it exists, can save the people who are going to attend
the interview tomorrow and and day after tomorrow. How the management
changed so drastically?

Danendra Jain said...

Copied from Facebook conversation appeared today ( names have been removed)

Facebook member 1. : IS IT NECESSARY FOR OUR BANK TO GOFOR APPRAISAL UNDER PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, BECASUE IN A YEAR 3 TIMES, SUBMISSION, APPRAISE AND REVIEW. IT IS DIFFICULT. IT IS BEST, IF WE CONTINUE OLD ONE AND END OF THE YEAR WE KNOW OUR MARKS AND REMARKS.
Facebook Member 2 : Mr. 1, what you suggested is pragmatic but is possible in ideal conditions when an ideal Regional Head is heading the region and when the HR departments of the region is handled by sane HR officers with impartial attitude and decide about manpower placement on need based requirement. But this is not happening in practice.

I can quote a small example which has happened and also happening in various branches even now. Our SSI Branch, Hyderabad was a continuous loss making branch for 5 years till 2004. In 2004, one specialist Technical Officer was transferred to this branch from a different zone to take charge as a branch head - since no other officer in the region was willing to head the branch because of its bad reputation as a loss making branch with more than 40% advances being hard core NPAs. The incumbent branch manager was without PA no and without general banking experience - since he was a Tech. Officer and in those days TOs were not taking any PA number because normally they were confined mainly to administrative offices and attached to credit department.

The staff strength was BM + 1 accountant+1 cashier cum clerk + 1 daftary.The Union affiliations were AIBOC+Congress+BEFI+AIBEA respectively.The Branch was in the second floor with bar in the ground floor, dance bar in the first floor and gym in one portion of second floor with our branch there. There was no lift, no parking space for customers. You can imagine the pecuniary benefits that the Regional Head / premises section of the bank might have received for approving such premises for a branch. Whenever DDs were signed, one signatory used to be with PA number and the other without PA number - the BM was without PA number. They used to receive calls from various outstations where the DDs were presented since one of the signatures used to be without PA number. When the branch wrote a letter to the RO, the callous reply of RM was that since it was a loss making branch, the losses will increase further, if additional man power is given. Whenever the accountant used to take a day or two CL, the BM used to request RO to send an officer on deputation for the period, but the RO never used to send.

The Branch became CBS in November 2004, even then they used to say manage

Somehow by taking pass word of the accountant - which is illegal. The basic question that comes when something untoward happens is that when accountant is on leave, how his password is used? Well knowing fully well RO used to encourage such things. When the Branch became a profit making branch of more than 1.27 crores within a span of 2.5 years, this BM was shifted to another troublesome SSI branch by the local management under the so called exigency clause - though the transfer was, I should say illegal since the RO do not have powers without the concurrence of Central Office.

Like adding salt to the wound, RO gave 2 additional officers to SSI Hyderabad only after shifting the previous BM to another troubled branch. This is the standards of some of our top executives and HR department.