Gloom & Doom

Media these days is abuzz with news of the global financial crisis. Job cuts, recession, bankruptcies of banks, manufacturers & even countries, financial ‘tsunami’, credit crunch, worst performing stock market... index down by 50%, plummeting real estate prices are the most common headlines. Reading newspaper or watching news channel makes you feel dispirited & dejected.

Parallels are drawn to the Great Depression of the 1930s & the economists, who still do not know whether the worse is over yet, predict that the present situation is supposed to be worse than the former. Since none of us have experienced or know how bad the 1930 situation actually was, the gravity of the issue can not be comprehended.

On a positive note, I also learnt some heavy-duty economic-financial theories & phrases (since I come from a non-financial background) – importance of certain figures like industrial output data, consumer spending & US unemployment figures; leveraging, filing for bankruptcy, Govt bailout packages, significance of central bank injecting liquidity into the ‘system’, cut-down or freeze on ‘capex’, how the “wall-street” impacts the “main street”, Repo Rate. The list of jargons goes on & possibly they have now become common household phrases. You can hear them in the office corridors & party gatherings. Many a layman would have transformed in to econo-financial experts by now.

It is, in fact bewildering, how the loans extended by various institutions to consumers in the US (misdeeds of a single country) can push the whole world into a major financial crisis. This is a part of ‘globalisation’ & the ‘world becoming flatter’! The US was not only exporting its nuclear technology, software, fast food, coke etc but also its toxic debts. Every country (except Antartica!), every industry, every person is paying a heavy price for this today. We now look at this unregulated financial system with scorn. When the bubble is big, the crash is also steep.

Today, we are all paying a price for - somebody living miles away from us could get easy money & could not repay it back. So let us be sensible to take debts judiciously & live within our means.

Go Green – 2

Some suggestions that can make a positive difference to the environment:

The first thing I do when I pick up the morning newspaper (Gulf News) everyday is to throw away the supplementary publications – properties, freehold & classifieds section. This is a practise with many of my acquaintances. All these publications put together must be weighing at least 2kilograms. What are the contents? 95% of these publications cover property (rent, sale) & automobile (used cars for sale). If these were sold separately, for a few dirhams, I don’t think people would object. Since, if somebody is interested in buying or renting a property or buying a vehicle worth thousands of dirhams, they would not mind spending a couple of dirhams to buy these publications. Gulf News, who is taking a lead on the ‘Go Green’ campaign, could have saved a number of trees & not to forget the ink.

Another publication that could help save trees & chemicals is the annual report of the companies listed on the stock market. I am a micro-micro-micro share holder in some leading companies. Though I have only a few (<200) shares, I still get the annual report by mail every year without fail. These detailed reports are over 200-300 pages & definitely weigh a lot. It is mandatory, by the regulatory authorities that these reports be sent no matter how big or small the shareholder is, which is good. The companies/ authorities should allow the shareholder to choose between – an e-version (pdf) to be emailed or downloaded and a detailed printed version for the serious shareholder. They could even explore at a mini report (<10page) as another alternative. These actions can show allegiance to CSR.

Closed until 6pm

During the fasting hours of Ramadan, eating & drinking in public is a taboo in Dubai.

Restaurants are prohibited from serving food during fasting hours. However, they can serve food as “take-away” after getting permission from the authorities, for which there is a fee. Business in these restaurants resumes as normal after “ifthar” (breaking of fast).

Super markets operate as usual selling all kinds of food – vegetables, fruits, baked products etc throughout the day.

In certain offices pantry is closed for a month, in certain others eating & drinking should be behind the closed doors of the pantry.

But the most interesting are the convenience stores located at petrol stations. In addition to consumables like batteries, important medicines, news papers etc, these stores also sell food. The most intriguing thing, however, is that – while these stores sell from fruits to sandwiches, packaged juice to bottled water, biscuits to chocolates, during Ramadan – only on the coffee/tea machine a board is hung which says – “closed till 6pm”.

Any answers?

Go Green

Recently, there are numerous initiatives & actions, taken globally, on protecting the environment. The underlying ulterior motive, eventually, is to protect ourselves. The list of initiatives are long… from organic food to organic software!, from using bicycles to hybrid & electric vehicles, from carbon foot print to green buildings, from “think of the environment before you print” to “say no to plastic”, from biodegrable plastic to edible cutlery.

It is indeed interesting to observe that – first man, indulge in activities in harming the environment, without thinking, without using the intellect. Later, after causing much damage engages in remedial actions, only to realise that some of those damages that has been caused are irreversible.

It is mans action without thinking, excessive greed for wealth & his constant relentless pursuit of materialistic wants (hyperconsumerism) is the cause of the situation today, which will have a severe & detrimental effect on the future generations.

Social Responsibility

In a country (India) where media influences the masses, news is like Bollywood 'hit' songs. When one good song is released the previous song goes into oblivion. People start listening & humming the new track & the old ones, even if it was a 'super-hit' song, fades from memory. So is the case with news on TV, print or any media.

As far as my memory goes - these were the headlines that were in the limelight of the varios media - the shocking murder of Arushi & who did it? - an eye opener for parents, the plight of Gujjars & their fight, followed by the CBI's startling revealations of Arushi's murder. Then we were busy talking about the Ino-US nuclear deal, what is it, who will benefit and so on which led to the Left's threat & finally the withdrawal of support to the UPA government. Will the UPA govt survive or is it election time? No, it was the time for horse trading which eventually culminated in the survival of UPA govt & disgraceful cash-in-parliament episode.

Before the culprits of the scam could be collared, the horrific serial bomb blasts in Bangalore & Ahmedabad & the hunt for the terrorists sweeped the attaention. This took a back stage once the Amarnath land dispute erupted & the agitation that paralysed normal life to thousands of people. Then came the Singur farmers land compensation issue & the Nano-Mamta stand off in West Bengal and also the Bihar floods where over 2.5million people were affected - homeless, marooned & many dead. The rescue operations were nowhere near enough.

When a news gathers momentum- we talk about it, discuss about it, argue & debate on it... They invariably take a place in social gatherings, office corridors... Watch lengthy debates & discussion programmes on TV channels with immense interest...

But the point, is we never go to the root of these issues or problems trying to find solutions & implement them, so that they do not occur again. We follow these issue or events for a short span of time & then the trail goes cold, never finding the culprits. Adding to this is the media who is busy with latest & 'breaking news', that the old ones gather dust. So, should the media have a bigger & better social responsibility?

Have we become a callous society of extremely self centric people. As some body said the other day - a dead people walking society...

Better Customer Service

One of our passports is due for renewal & had to visit the Indian Consulate last week. We had two options to do this. One – was to complete the various application forms, take a token & wait for the electronic lady to call your token number. This could easily take a good three hours.

The second – was to go the online way – register at the consulate website, complete & submit the required application online. Once this is done, you will get an email indicating – when you should visit the consulate with a hard copy of the applicataion that was completed online, photographs etc.

Obviously we decided for the online option.

Two days later we received an email confirming receipt of the online application & a date for the appointment to visit the consulate & submit the application (hard copy). So far… so good…

So we reached the consulate on the said date with all the documents & met the person concerned. To our dismay the documents which we had printed & carried with us were not the correct one. The rules & method had changed & since it was mentioned neither on the website nor on the email, no body was aware of it. Moreover, to our surprise, the rules had changed a month back & still it was not indicated on the website.

Most of the online applicants who were there that day were in an agitated mood. They were asked to go back & resubmit the application on a later day. Some were rushing to the nearest internet café. Those who were successful were the second timers.

A visit to the Indian Consulate is an extremely difficult & gruelling task. People have to leave home very early ( 5:30 or 6am) to avoid traffic & the queue, take a day off from work, parking is a nightmare, extreme procedures & numerous applications, long waiting time & the worst of all the attitude of the staff – appalling.

So, I then wonder –

1) A very large Indian population resides in Dubai – from blue collared to white collared workers & from entrepreneurs to business tycoons. The number probably could be the highest outside India & not to forget the revenue. So why can’t they offer a better service & facilities?

2) India Shining, Brand India etc etc – At a time when India is emerging as an economic giant, is this the image we would like to portray visitors coming to India for business or pleasure?

3) A visit to a private sector organisation, for example a bank, can prove what customer service is all about. So why can’t the government service improve? Is it lack of accountability & decision making?

4) India has plenty of world renowned IT companies who are developing software for various organisations locally & globally, but our consulate can not have a good & proper system in place. Why?

Outlandish Predictions

Financial/ economic predictions are quite interesting.

When the crude oil prices started its rally, it was predicted that it will touch 150$, 175$ and even 200$. Reason was supply-demand theory – booming economies like China & India, supply disruptions (Iran, Nigeria, Cyclones), US inventory etc.

But nobody predicted its steep fall of 20% with in 4 weeks of touching its all-time high of 147$ in mid-July. If the price increase was based on supply-demand theory - demand has not fallen by 20 % in 4 weeks. Supply disruptions have suddenly vanished! Now when it has started tumbling, new figures like 100$ & even $75 have started coming out.

So is the case with other commodities like gold & even the recovery of US$.

For every rise & fall, there is an analysis & a plausible explanation. The ‘how’ of it. But there is no explanation on ‘why’ & prediction of ‘when’ these will happen.

If the steep price increase was due to excess demand, demand can not drop by 20% in 4 weeks. Where has the supply fears disappeared? Then aren’t all these explanations baseless & these rise & fall mere speculations.

Another classic example is the US sub-prime crisis. With thousands of experts working with world renowned financial behemoths, they could not predict this crisis which started in the US & has become a full blown financial crisis with repercussions globally.

An Attitude of Gratitude

There was a nice article titled “Being Thankful” in the weekend magazine. It was written by a career expert Daniel Ough, who had also taken some points from R.T. Kendall.

A lot of people fail to see the wood for the tree, when it comes to their jobs. They conveniently forget about the benefits & instead choose to moan about their problems like work pressure, unreasonable boss, irritating colleagues, work too hard & paid too little, office politics etc etc.

There are thousands of people out there who do not have a job and would like to have one… Then there are scores of people whose working conditions & environments are worse than what one can imagine… So think of all the good & positive aspects & this will help us to like our jobs & perform better.

While as children, we are taught to be polite & say “please” & “thank you” on the appropriate occasion, we are not specifically taught to be thankful, thankful to life. The key is to develop a sense of gratitude towards life, to be thankful to life for giving whatever it has given each of us…

Have an “attitude of gratitude” in life.

Hanging 'Meals' & Life’s toil…

Some time back I had to visit a construction site coming up at the ‘Downtown Dubai’. ‘Downtown Dubai’ is a concept similar to that of ‘downtown’ New York or London. In a period of 2~3 years it will become the central business hub of Dubai. The visit was a part of my job to resolve certain technical snags. The project is a huge apartment complex with over 600 apartments & other modern amenities.

During the visit, I happened to pass by a makeshift wooden stand, on which some polythene bags were hanging. This was in the in the basement parking area & the palce was already in a mess, strewn with construction waste, equipments, material etc. Since these bags were of different colours it attracted my attention from far. It made me inquisitive & on closer look, I realised that these were the food parcelled & brought by the workers on site. This sight made me really heavy-hearted. Reason…

The working conditions of these workers are terrible. They work in the scorching heat, where temperature in summer hover around 50-55’C & with high humidity. They are poorly paid ($250p.m) & rarely on time. They have long working hours & very few holidays. They also work on holidays so as to earn ‘OT’.

Adding to this poor plight is their living conditions. They live in dormitories or more popularly called as ‘labour-camps’ located out side the city limits. These labour-camps are crowded & cramped with little ventillation. The trasnsport, to & fro from the site would be on buses with no air conditioning. There families, if they have, would be back home in their native countries.

Now let me move away from this dismal state of affairs. Each of these apartments that were being constructed were being sold at very heavy prices ($400,000 ++) & even higher in the secondary market. Rentals on these apartments were also quite high compared to market standards & were expected to fetch around $40,000 +p.a. To my surprise most of the apartments were ‘sold-out’. At the time of writing this, the above figures, from a Dubai perspective are exorbitantly high. So who are buying these? Indeed Dubai is a place for the rich & famous.

By the time people start living in these apartments enjoying the comfort & luxuries of life, people who built them would have moved on to yet another project continuing a life of hardship.

Moral of the story: The high price paid by the end-user does not percolate down into the system to reach the needy & improve their quality of life.

Vivid Memories

When I go down my memory lane, reminiscencing, a few things have left a lasting impression in my mind. One of them is my days at MIT, Manipal- where I did my bachelors in engineering. It was one of those few good things that happen in life. It was definitely a wonderful experience, which I revere & is full of memories to cherish with.

It was August 1989, the college reopened for the new academic year amid light rain. During the initial days at MIT, I had a mixed feeling. On one side there was a sense of feeling good. I was going to be an engineer soon. New milieu, new friends and distanced from parents. On the other hand the prospect of ‘ragging’ loomed large from day one. It could happen any time and anywhere and this caused fear & uncertainty. You never knew what was in store. I certainly believe that ragging makes you a tougher person as long as there are certain limits. What are the limits & who sets them? Is this act of servitude unwarranted? This can be debated, may be some other time...

Taking a leap into the last few days at MIT- it was busy with project work, graffiti days, farewell parties and pondering about the future. Finally, in June 1993 the exams were over & I said good-bye to MIT. As I boarded the early morning 'Day Express' train back home with a pang of nostalgia, I never knew what the future had in store for me.

Highways or Parking lots ?

Traffic congestion has become a perennial problem in Dubai & Sharjah and has become a topic of conversation with all. The traffic snarls on the Sharjah – Dubai road is the worst, may be diabolical. In a city where car is a compulsion, highways look like long parking lots. Business appointments are no longer at 9:30 or 11. We will meet between 9 & 9:30 !

Just to illustrate the gravity of the problem for those who have not experienced this extreme traffic congestion – it can take over two hours to travel a distance of 15km. Normally it should take only 25min. People spend around 4 to 5 hours commuting to office & back every day. It is a grief that is gripping every individual who is living in Sharjah & working in Dubai.

Traffic congestion causes delays & waste of time. This has an impact on the business & personal life. It is estimated that the loss due to traffic congestion for the business sector is around AED4.6billion, as per the figures from the authorities. On the personal front it causes stress, ill health & less time with the family & for social life. These, however, cannot be quantified.

So what are the causes of this extreme traffic woe? There are many- lack of infrastructure (road networks), unprecedented economic activity and exponential growth in the floating population, lack of public transport, improper town planning, ‘bottle-necks’ on the road, road works, improper driving & accidents.

Just to give some figures (2006) :
Population in Dubai – 1.3m
Number of cars registered – 650,000
Cars per 1000 residents – 541
Estimated economic loss – AED4.6b ($1.25b)

Traffic congestion is a fact of life in modern & busy cities. But an interesting phenomenon in Dubai is the unpredictability of the traffic congestion. Generally in modern cities there is traffic congestion during the peak time, when people go to office or leave office. But in Dubai, often peak time can be the whole day.

People are increasingly becoming despondent & so is there a respite in the near future? The answer is negative! But the good news is that the authorities are making a conscious effort to reduce traffic congestion. Huge investments (25b AED) have been made to improve the road network & also the construction of metro project. The first phase of the metro system is expected to be complete by end of 2009. Until then let patience be a virtue in us all...

A Thank You from the heart…

Thank you, congratulations, good luck, all the best, take care, happy birthday…

We all use these words & phrases, and many more, very often on different contexts. But the point is – are we saying these genuinely, from our heart in its true spirits?

With a multitude of people or most of the times, I believe, it is not. It has become purely mechanical, a mere ritual to utter them. Over a course of time it has evolved as an instinct in us. Or it could be just me.

When you meet an acquaintance & the person tells you that he has an exam on that day, you immediately & automatically say ‘best of luck’ – a classic example of the ‘response to stimuli’ principle. From this stems the following points that need to be pondered.

a) Are we saying this genuinely or consciously ?
b) Even if we do so, will it create an impact ?

Nevertheless since it is not innocuous and might help pep up the person, why not continue until we find the answers.

Random Thoughts

I wanted to give some expressions to my thoughts & freeze them in time. So decided to dabble into blogging. Hence opened an account & named it 'Random Thoughts'.