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Friday, May 16, 2008

Transitions

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I started writing something on Literature and finally, I ended up with transition experience. Most of the people are not aware of the transition and on-site difference. Incase of transition, the business is acquired from the off-shore in the project for which the Knowledge Transfer (KT) is done. The Analysts or the people with the specific skill sets are sent on-shore to understand the entire projects and procedures. They are known as KT team members. They are required to Document the knowledge gained in the MS Word format & Simpro (Simulation Production – It is an System Application developed by IBM). This Desk-Top Procedures DTP’s (Documents) are later signed-off by the Managers of both the parties and the Trainers and Trainees. Once, they are back to home town, they have to set-up the entire system by cascade the knowledge gained among other team members. The analysts are practically required to lead by example with the demonstration of the process. In this entire procedure of cascading the information, there are chances of knowledge gap which would be later filled up with the Conference calls or Net meetings. Few of the procedures or minor processes would not have been downloaded to the KT team which is termed as Knowledge Gap.

General Hindrances of successful KT –

Certain Project Managerial Hindrances,

Project planning with out adequate knowledge of the Cost Project,
Inadequate Project Appraisal Analysis ,
Lack of vision to minute details of the project (at the processing level) on part of Project Manager or Business Service Manager,
Inadequate analysis of the required man-power during KT and after KT (Ramp-up team),
Inadequate Transition experience of the Assistant Manager (AM) &/or Operations Manager (OM),
Lack of Project Management and People Management skills on part of AM’s & OM’s,
Wrong selection of KT members in terms of Competency mapping with project profile,
Lack of Technical knowledge (System Applications or ERP) and the Project Conceptual & Fundamental of Principles (Accounts, Finance, Banking, Coding, Testing etc.)
Lack of Delegations of Authority among AM’s and OM’s / Too much interference on day to day activities,
Lack of System Developmental skills and Data-Ware housing skills (Shared Network System for Data storage).

Other hindrances including post-go live,

Knowledge gap in terms of knowledge download to the KT members at the time of Transition,
Lack of knowledge on inter-department Communications on different modules within same project. (Communication between AR/AP/GL etc in Finance & Accounts)
Lack of motivation to KT members during busy hectic schedules or Go-Live
Inadequate or improper review and analysis of the KT Documentation,
Lack of proper communication to KT members on Do’s and Don’ts at the time of transitions,
Lack of team-spirit among the KT – Ramp-up team and also the Trainer-Trainee Mapping,
Un-timely or too much of Reporting structure (Multiple Data Updations at processing level)
Lack of awareness of meaning of Escalation, Channels of communication, Sense of Responsibility and Ownership in case of Fresher,
Ineffective Cost Cutting plan which would affect the Quality and Accuracy of day to day activities. (Six Sigma is trade between Cost & Accuracy/Quality.)

But incase of On-Site, the project is completed by sending a team of Analysts at the client’s Business place. This is mainly due to lack of availability of the required skill sets. These on-sites are mainly for long-term durations like 8 months to 2 years or more. In this case, the employees are supposed to sign Bond with their Companies. The employees may or may not be allowed to take their family members during On-site period (Transition happens for shorter durations like 6 to 16 weeks and so the company does not reimburse the travel expenditure of the family members)

The last case is of On-site Transitions (A combination of On-site & Transitions)

I was talking to one of my online friend who had used perfect terms to portray the meaning of H1 Visa for onsite jobs. misued by IT companies to ship cheap labour to US, body shoppers. These two terms were more than sufficient for me to reject one such onsite offer. I always used to wonder why Dad was against people going US for Jobs. He always used to tell me, India has got freedom but still Indians wants to be laborers. The lucrative part of on-site is traveling and greater exposure to different Cultures and Lifestyles but at the cost of? Life is only one but the decision must be judicious in all terms.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

My Doting Memories at FIC

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Wanted to write my transition experience but last week, I got call from one of my colleague, friend who was working together with me at FIC. He was inviting me for his marriage. I was discussing it with Padma online and she suddenly remembered about the prank which we played on him. I met few of the FICians when they were here at ITPL mall and Mahesh also reminded me of the same prank. They made it fresh memory on my mind and I felt like publishing it.

I still remember that I was working seriously on Cash Apps and Hemanth ran towards me with a cell phone. It was new cell phone acquired by one of our team member. He told me to talk to him like an Anglo-Indian with sweet voice & style. I don’t remember my NRI name. They had already fooled him with sms. He was impressed with it and called up on that number directly from ITPL mall during lunch hour. He never disclosed his affair to anyone and had always been hiding it while reading or replying those sms. FIC gang found me to be the best person to handle this prank. I told him that I was impressed by him and that I love him. I also fixed a date with him with some fake address. He was very happy and excited over the phone. Some how I made up the call and he believed me blindly for the Date. It was so funny and I couldn’t control my laugh after the call. I guess he would have visited the place or….I don’t know but yup he never discussed anything with FICians. After that particular meeting Date, we told him about the prank. He was embarrassed though he was pretending as if he never believed that Anglo-Indian girl. This was one such prank that no one can forget coz the entire team was included.

There was one more incident which I can never forget. It was a cool morning. Mamatha’s work-station was changed. She was supposed to return back her drawer’s key to Facility Department. But due to some reason, it wasn’t done. One of my team members had left his cell phone on the table and went cafeteria for break-fast. I took up that cell phone and hid it in that drawer without switching it off. I locked the drawer. Mamatha was reluctant to keep keys with her as she didn’t want to be part of it. When that guy realized about his cell phone, he hurried towards his bay and started searching it everywhere. Since, I had played pranks on him often; he felt that the cell phone would have been switched off. He went on asking everyone about it if they had taken the cell phone. Later, on advice of the then Team Leader, he gave missed call from the TL’s cell. He heard the ring and both of them started searching under the table, near the processor and behind the desktop. I kept enjoying the entire scenario. I kept on observing both of them for almost 2 hours searching for the cell phone. Atlast, he realized that the cell phone was in the drawer and they asked for the key. We told them that the keys were returned back. He went to the Facilities and got a duplicate key and also the register to show us the name of the person who was still processing the drawer keys.

Am sure, FICians can guess who these two guys are on whom the pranks were played.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Influence of FOUNTAINHEAD by Ayn Rand

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This is my first blog and my apologies readers for any mistake. I was going through a network on connecting people. I came across few Individuals’ profiles out of curiosity to study them, their habits, their likings, life styles etc. I want to introduce a girl by name Sonia whom I came across on the same network. She is charming, sexy and a beautiful girl. She had her schooling in local language. She studied hard and went ahead with her Engineering in English Medium. She did wonders in her studies and joined a transnational company.

Here, she met handsome, dashing & a sexy guy, who was almost 6 years old to her. They had become best of buddies and this guy fell in love with her. Sonia wasn’t aware of this. One fine day, she informed him about her engagement being finalized by her parents. Rakesh is more of a simple person with strong background on Indian culture, though working in US. Both of them are working for the same company but for different clients. By luck, they made love.

Soon, Sonia moved Australia and Rakesh moved US. Sonia is more of a materialistic person and enjoyed her loneliness, her friends visiting often, sight seeing, sky diving, mountaineering….she was on the top of everything, enjoying each and every pulses and there Rakesh felt that the life was pathetic to him. He was missing her every minute and any sight seeing he went with his friends. He was feeling loneliness within inside.

Before they drifted away, Sonia was supposed to meet Rakesh’s mother to bid her farewell and convey message that she wanted a year’s time to be Rakesh’s life partner. She wasn’t able to…and Rakesh had convinced his mother about it.

Day’s passed and Sonia hardly remembered Rakesh. A year’s time got over and finally, Rakesh’s mother pestered him as she had the same from social network. He tried to contact her and mailed her. Sonia did not reply to his mails and was not in touch with him. Things were getting worse as Rakesh was not aware of what’s going on. Sonia was no more working as she had settled down alone (leaving all her people) in out-skirts of one of a small hill-station to follow her dreams – Photography, Trekking, Reading and dreaming that one day a man would come to him like FOUNTAINHEAD by Ayn Rand.

There is another girl who is in Love with Rakesh about which he is much aware of it. But Rakesh had gone through the good and bad times….No one knows the end as it is still an on-going story. Let me see for some days and I would update it later. In the meantime, let me write-down my entire transition experience.