The first time i came across Process was in relation to psychology. A Process workshop, as it is known, is a resedential program with strangers or colleagues ( depends on who pays the trainer!!) where you are forced to live in the present constantly and battle with your emotions and those around you! Its tough while you are in the process..sitting outside of the sphere and understanding human emotions is a lot more simple, as I now understand!!
Processes on their own were not brought in to slow down a system or to curb initiatives...A process in fact, if utilized well, helps you to project your ideas & initiatives in the right forum to the right person to make it known to all..Processes are not man-made, they are system driven..in the sense that, the system can twist & turn its policies to fit the system (while it should be the other way around)...Processes make life simple as long as you follow them..Processes are simply ways/ proceedures drawn out to help a layman ( an idiots guide to whatever) get his work done....As I go on, it may seem that I make process sound hierarchial..you see, thats the catch! While it is not meant to be, essentially, unless the person you seek approval from has the authority from his boss to give you the 'OK' it will stop right there..Most often, 'approvals' / 'requests' should be 'approved' by 2 people..I wont go too much into all of that now..it would get too processed..(bad joke, i know..)
I used to look at a process and use it as a means to ward off people..."Its the process you know.." or " I need the approval..without which I cant go ahead with the plan, Sorry!"..It was very convinient, and I dint feel one jot bad or guilt driven by it..Infact, it helped me...
Alls well until you get affected by the same process...No, I dint need no approvals..I had them...No, I had no requests to make...No, I dint need any money...No, I dint need no salary advance...No, I dint want leave...All i asked for, was for the plan that was made to move smoothly..All i asked for was the facilities be provided...All i asked for was not for me, but, 160 other people I take responsibilty for...All I asked for, was nobody's time be wasted...and I became prey to the system..the process..
Dont get me wrong...I am not criticising it...I am actually condemning it...If I had just one mail or just one 'Yes' or just one 'Go', my life would have been a lot more simpler today..so much adrenalin, so much anger, so much frustration, so much anxiety, so many emotions...and I have NOBODY to hold up fot it...Its not that I am looking for a scapegoat ( I do handle myself pretty well, but, in such situations, you normally have someone who screwed it up for you...)
Here, i refer to a system, not just in a company mind you, even the goddamned government..Why cant we just live in a legalised economy where we all use white money instead of black? Why cant we just have quotations on a proper letterhead instead of any white piece of paper (somtimes, when i ask a receipt from an ice-cream man, i feel stupid, and even more so, when he writes on a white ununsed piece of paer, "Ice-Cream - Rs.20". Thank god I guess, he dint add tax to it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
O well...What I've gone through today, i hear, many around me have too...my question is, "Why?"
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4 comments:
when u walk in a minefield.... its always better to follow someone else, cos u never know if u r stepping on a mine....
processes add that dimension of simplicity as many people who've 'bin there, done tht' define n refine how things can be best done...
sometimes processes outgrow itself & then instead of simplifying things, it just becomes a spanner in the wheel... i do not say that all processes are good n necessary.... its good as long as it makes life simple... but at the end of the day, processes r only as good as the people who implement it....
if they have their head n heart at the right place, life is so much simple for people around them... processes are guidelines n not commandments....
many people understand the process but fail to understand the purpose of the system n the purpose behind the process... that is when the very people for whom the process n the system exists become victims....
they say the system is more powerful than any individual... yeah, sometimes the greatest strengths hide the greatest weaknesses....
*gulp*
that was for the loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong comment Musafir...
@ Aparna- Try reading Dilbert-helps you to look at the lighter side..
On a serious note though, don't lose heart..you will learn to find the burst points soon enough :-)
Shain
hey shain..i dont particularly like dilbert..but, wil read it if u've recommended..i prefer calvin neday!
its not abt taking things lightly..i was pissed at a system, which essentially isnt alive, and hence nothing can be done! am ok now tho!
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