474. Sundar's Style of Management

After Kasilingam's sudden demise, the mantle of managing his firm fell on his only son Sundar.

Sundar had just completed his bachelor's degree. He was considered a bright and intelligent student by his teachers and classmates in the school and the college he had studied. His command over the English language was also good. Therefore, Sundar felt confident of managing his father's business efficiently.

Before Sundar had assumed charge, his mother Gowri told him, "Sundar! The employees of the firm have been loyal to your father. They have good experience. Make the best use of them."

Soon after Sundar had taken over as the Proprietor of the firm, Sundar realized that the employees of the firm were not well educated and were not very brilliant, either.

Sundar summoned Gunasekaran, the Manager of the firm, to his cabin.

"Mr. Gunasekaran! Our employees are no good. None of them is proficient in English. They are unable to draft even a simple letter. I don't know how my father was running the firm, with this kind of people" said Sundar.

"Sundar! Don't mistake me for saying this..."

Sundar intercepted Gunasekaran, saying, "Mr. Gunasekaran! I am your proprietor. Call me 'sir.'" 

"Sorry, sir! People working here are well-versed in their jobs. They know what to do. They will execute the tasks given to them flawlessly. Please don't consider their inadequacy in the use of English language as a handicap. English proficiency is not so important in our business."

"If we send letters written in poor English, won't our customers, suppliers and others laugh at us?"

"Ok, sir. If you want, you can appoint a person well-versed in English as the Correspondence Clerk."

"Will it not be an additional expenditure? No need for it. You are the one who signs the letters. Send the letters to me before signing. I will correct them. You can get them typed again and then sign them" said Sundar.

Suppressing the question, 'What kind of a management it is, where, the proprietor of the firm. who should be focusing on the overall management of the firm and on business growth, spends his time in correcting the grammar mistakes in the routine letters that are sent by the firm, as a part of the day to day activities of the firm?' that arose in his mind, Gunasekaran said, "Yes, sir."

Several months after Sundar had assumed the responsibility of running the firm, Gowri asked him, "How is the business going?"

"It is going on well" said Sundar.

"Don't try to hide the truth from me, Sundar. Some of the employees came to our house a couple of times and talked to me about the state of the affairs of the firm."

"Why should they come to our house and talk to you?" asked Sundar, angrily.

"Your father had been treating his employees as his family members. So, they are also interested in the firm's success and growth. Because of your inappropriate treatment of the customers, some of our longstanding customers have left us. This has resulted in our sales going down. This naturally made the employees worried about the future of the firm and their own future. So, they came to me and apprised me of how the business was being run by you. Since you won't even give them a hearing, they were forced to come to me. You have not been treating your employees with dignity. As a result of this, a couple of senior employees have left our firm. This being the state of affairs of the firm, you are telling me that the firm is doing well!" Said Gowri.

"Mom! Daddy might have been running the business in a particular way. I have been following a different approach. Therefore, there will be some glitches at the beginning. Wait for two years. Our firm would have reached new heights at that time."

"Going by what has happened so far, it appears that in two years' time, you will make our firm go out of existence. You are new to this business. You should have learnt everything about the business from people who have been involved in this business for the past several years and then thought of ways to improve the business, Just because you studied in a college and got a degree, you think you know everything. You have been unable to get along with people, whether they are employees or customers. Enough of your managing the firm! Take up a job in some other firm. You can think about managing our firm, after gaining some experience by working in other firms."

"So, Mr. Gunasekaran will manage the firm till that time!" said Sundar, mockingly.

"He can manage the firm. After all, he has been managing it for several years, under your father's guidance and supervision. But, the firm belongs to our family. So, we should also assume some responsibility. So, I will be managing the firm for the next two or three years" said Gowri.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 48
Knowing One's Strength

Verse 474 (in Tamil):

amaindhu Angu ozhugAn aLavu aRiyAn thannai
viyandhAn viraindhu kedum.

Meaning:

The world doesn’t accept what it can’t approve. Therefore, make proper assessment and act in such a way that you are not ridiculed.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'sundharin nirvAgam' the same author.)

Verse 475
Verse 473