Job rotation: vital

 

Abstraction, root of all evil

     The word abstraction conjures up so much complexities that many people do not want to use it in their vocabulary. This was particularly highlighted recently when a write-up was made to my superior. The written content was then edited over a long time to ensure that the remains of this word does not exist. So much pain was taken to ensure this. It was assumed that somehow the next reader would know that this word was used in the first draft. The resultant content was so much watered down that I could not stand near that content even for a micro second. Now, what happened here? What happened was that my writing was further abstracted without the superior understanding it. He did not reduce the abstraction but increased it. This is the un-becoming of many of the organizations today. 

     This applies particularly to traditional organizations who have made it to the present age based on the money amassed during their prime. Organizations should facilitate whistle blowing and suggestion system and incorporate them into the main fabric of the organization. This will remove the levels of abstraction between the lowest execution levels and the highest vision level. This will in turn bring out the shortcomings at both the levels and all the other levels between. 

    The entire world works on abstraction at the highest level. People feel comfortable at the highest level of abstraction. Truth comprehended by humans is already abstracted. As it flows down the communication chain, it is further abstracted. Once it reaches the target human, the target human again adds a level of abstraction based on his capabilities/influences and will try to influence others with this level of abstraction so on and so forth. The human language is made for this level of abstraction. In fact one of the most important programming paradigm the Object Oriented Programming has abstraction at its core. This paradigm is simply the human ability and least resistance path approach to understand any aspect in the most easiest way a human can understand, which in turn leaks out a major portion of the reality. People always tell they want the "real" information, the truth. This is far from what any human wants. 

All humans want an abstracted view which will make them comfortable or un-comfortable in the most comfortable way. There are many occasions wherein a certain group of people with a certain ideology wanting to prove that their idea is the best one. To do this what is the need of killing people who are no way connected to this level of abstraction and are abstracted in a much different way. Why cant this be told in the best possible abstraction, that is human language. Why should certain unrelated people die to get your point across. Why? Tell what you want to tell straight. Keep on telling it. When somebody wants to tell a strong point, it is always better to be at the lowest level of abstraction. 

    The governments take the opposite approach. They undermine the capability of understanding of its people and present the facts at the highest level of abstraction. The amount of effort required to peel of these layers of abstraction requires huge resources. This will be done by only a few. If these are identified and re-programmed then whatever data available to the common public is the one presented to them at the highest level of abstraction which is very easy to digest. 

    The assimilation of highly abstracted and 0 level abstracted data requires the same level of effort and is the absolute minimal. Humans should never forget the art of questioning/prodding/peeling off levels of abstraction and search for the absolute truth. Ideologies requiring abstraction requiring laying down of human lives are cowardly and would require further abstractions to stay in vogue and in this race, the resultant situation would at some point go out of control leading to chaos. It is not that chaos is bad, but to reach that many lives might be lost.

Work from home is the need of the hour

The present pandemic in the world has bought to the fore a prime mistake in the industry. The mentality of the present industry is a carry over from the industrial revolution. The entire work force has to be brought into a walled fortress and hold them for a minimum number of hours under a different setup and set of laws different from the societal setup. The precursor to the industrial revolution was the cottage industry. Every society had its equilibrium by specialists doing what they do best and continue to do so for centuries. Majority of the cottage industry were highly skilled and carefully guarded secrets. Very rarely did finished goods cross the local society. Every society had its dress code based on the raw material and the ability of the tailor in the locality. Majority of the procedures were available in the house of the creator.

Now it is all about nationwide/global markets. Highly skilled jobs have been broken down to easily assimilated steps which can be done by anybody. There are not much crafts which can be called a secret in the present scenario. All the goods created so were physical in nature. It made sense to create the most economical process flow to minimize the costs. This industry also gave birth to the service industry which are truly global. But still there are mom and dad service centers who cater to the last mile.

The one industry which blindly followed the strategies of the physical industry is the software industry. The work content are poles apart. The software industry does not need to collect all the contributors under one concrete building. The industry works on collaboration and there have been many tools available for collaboration through the public network. The industry also employs a considerable number of people and the earnings are also supposed to be good. This industry contributes most to the usage of roads/vehicles since this industry works three shifts. There are not many physical industries which can run all the three shifts with the same efficiency. Code written at home or at desk are no different. In fact, the disturbances of the open office or the cramping of the closed ones dont augur well for the motivation of the contributors.

It is now high time the industry and the government wakes up and stops this movement of the work force. The software and the call center/remote service industry have to start working from home. This will reduce the load on the roads and the infrastructure can be utilized for other purposes. This would also result in stabilizing the real estate prices. This would also stop investment in projects like we-work. This can be utilized in improving the public network backbone. This sort of work culture can employ well deserving remote employees who cant come down to the cities for a job. This would in turn provide opportunity for remote workers in villages to do an evening/night job combined with agriculture and other familial activities. This is perfect for the female staff to take care of their kids and their education. There are many occasions where high earning couples are not having time to contribute for their kids. Just a mere presence of the parents in the house can mean a lot for the kids. This gives an opportunity for real flexi hours based on the commitment of the parents like sending the kid for school and then collecting him back.

Motivational theories are to be re-written, Managerial roles are to be re-configured and definitely will create jobs for people to maintain the public network infrastructure. Improvements should always be welcome and learning should be continuous and inclusive. I request all the software companies to completely shift to remote working and give opportunities to the most remote locations and identify and support capable people wherever they are. The pandemic demands minimum amount of people available in the out. Make the world a better place.