Suresh Mathew reports on the Leadership, Ethics and Governance Programme held in Panchgani from January 5 - 9, 2009

A unique initiative taken by the Karnataka Government was the nomination of 12 senior officers from the Administration for a program on Leadership Ethics at Asia Plateau, Panchgani. This included a Managing Director, Municipal Commissioners, & Project Directors of Public Sector undertakings.

There were 14 participants from BESCOM (Bangalore Electricity Supply Corporation) which had a Chief Engineer, Executive Engineers and Superintending Engineers.

Dr. Amit Mukherjee an Orthopedic Surgeon and Administrator of the Tata Tin Plate Hospital was the Course Director. The Venue was the beautiful campus of Initiatives of Change in Panchgani.

The Key note address was given by Folker Mittag from Germany. He was the International Controller of Varta a Multinational manufacturer of batteries with 21 subsidiaries around the world. They have a number of products with a range of applications covering vehicles, pacemakers and submarines.

He exhorted the participants to achieve a balance between work and family life, to find space for reflection and to be receptive.

The Course Director Dr. Amit Mukherjee from Jamshedpur said that the program is not a panacea for redressing insolvable issues. There would be no ‘lectures’ or ‘experts’. It is he emphasized an “ashram atmosphere“ a time to share experiences, a learning process where deeper understanding can be enhanced, bringing in awareness and varying perspectives.

Answers to fundamental questions can be sought “Exploring reasons for coming into the world, “It may be listening to the whisperings of our deep intuitive self” (still small voice).

TP Mukherjee Consultant Corporate Trainer spoke on creative effectiveness. He encouraged the participants to find the purpose for their lives “have an open mind “& to be “bold to look into the future”.

Values he said are formed from principles. They are a pointer to what a person deeply cherishes.

John Carlisle, Chairman of Cooperation Works Ltd. has done remarkable work with the Department of Health and Inland Security in UK. His core competencies are in collaborative and Negotiation techniques. He spoke on “Practical morality “and on the usage of BVPI (Best Value Performance Indicator).

The customer he emphasized is “king“. Sometimes objectives can be seen to have been achieved by distorting data and skewering the system.

He brought in fresh perspectives of good practices with examples of customer satisfaction and reliable service/product delivery.

Pratap Narayan is a senior Bureaucrat with wide experience, having held senior positions in Public Sector undertakings. He was Joint Director in the Railway Board and Director General of the Fertilizer Coordination Board.

RTI (Right to Information Act) he affirmed is a unique legislation.

• Empowering people to ensure Transparency and Accountability

• Overrides all other laws including Official secrets Act

• Appeals barred from lower Courts.

• Writs jurisdiction of Supreme Court and High Court remain unaffected.

The Genesis of the law he continued was the Consumer Protection Act which was implemented in 1980. The coming into effect of RTI has made corrupt practices difficult and high risk.

The power of Ethical Leadership he said is where one is not led by diktat but by Trust. There is understanding, transparency and accountability.

Prof. R Rajagopalan, a former IIT Professor covered the global and national environmental crisis. He raised and answered questions such as the following:

• How did we end up with such a huge crisis in environment and natural resources?

• How did some ordinary people, including a few IAS officers, contribute to environmental conservation through their extraordinary deeds?

• What can each one of us do to heal the planet?

We are he said consuming resources at a rapid rate, leaving no time for natural regeneration “. “We are pushing pollution of the environment to its outer limit “, “imposing heavy pressure on the ecosystem “.

Consumption of resources has gone beyond the present optimum level.

At the present rate of usage he continued we may need two “Earths” by 2030 to meet our requirements.

He called for a serious process of Inner exploration to mitigate the circumstances.

Sudhir Gogate is the Executive Director of Keihin Fie Pvt Ltd.

They are the largest manufacturers of Carburetors with 70% market share in India

Globalization as a phenomenon he said has come to stay with large multinational companies scripting its acceleration and progress.

Giving this a historical perspective he said that it started ever since humans wanted to know what lay beyond the horizon.

Around 1492 seafarers began opening trade routes, bringing in flavors of exotic cultures and merchandise from far off places.

Exponential growth has moved rapidly with the coming in of Internet, Jet travel and Video conferencing - bringing in a process of cross border flow of goods, money, people, information and technology.

Lines in class differentiation have become increasingly blurred. Input from various backgrounds/ sources have had a salubrious effect in the formulations of policies. There is he said increasing transparency seeping in with the legislative measures brought in by RTI.

The marked paradox of Globalization brings in some startling facts

• Taller buildings shorter tempers

• Wide expressways narrow viewpoints

• Bigger homes smaller families

• More conveniences less time

• More medicines less wellness

• Goes up to the moon & back can’t meet neighbor

• Conquers outer space No inner space

Amit Mukherjee taking the Inner Governance session said the basic requirement for the efficacy of an individual in this fast paced scenario is to find space for reflection - ‘to be aware of the “ chatterbox “, to learn to ‘ listen more & be sensitive to the whisperings from within “.

This he said can point to fresh directions and new paradigms.

R. D. Mathur founder Trustee of Initiatives of Change (India) said that the context of change at the individual level can have far reaching ramifications when transposed to National issues.

With moving eloquence he spoke of the reparations made by Japan at the end of the 2nd World war when delegations sent in by the Government to Philippines spoke in various forums acknowledging their mistakes, paving the way for reconciliation and a fresh approach to their future destines.