53.1 Cherishing the Close Ones

 53.1 Cherishing the Close Ones

 

Question:

         What is the benefit of acquiring wealth?

Answer:

To be surrounded by those dear and near to

us is the benefit of having acquired wealth.                 (Couplet – 524)

சுற்றத்தால் சுற்றப் படஒழுகல் செல்வந்தான்

பெற்றத்தால் பெற்ற பயன்.                                          (குறள் – 524)

Explanation:

Those who acquired wealth would have had help from their associates, relatives, or friends. If one who has acquired wealth with the help of others fails to recognize and reward those who helped him, he is not likely to enjoy their continued cooperation and support. So, he should share his wealth and maintain a good relationship with those who helped him for his own sake. Conversely, if one shares his wealth and is generous in giving gifts to those close to him, he will be surrounded by his associates, relatives, and friends and continue to get their support. So, being surrounded by close ones is the benefit resulting from having acquired wealth.

53.2 Cherishing the Close Ones

 53.2 Cherishing the Close Ones

Question:

What is the best way to maintain and enjoy the company of the close ones?

Answer:

There is nothing in this world like offering generous gifts and avoiding

anger to maintain and enjoy the company of the close ones.                   (Couplet – 526)

பெருங்கொடையான் பேணான் வெகுளி அவனின்

மருங்குடையார் மாநிலத்து இல்.                                                                 (குறள் – 526)

Explanation:

          Our family members, relatives, friends, coworkers, and other associates can be considered close ones because we interact with them frequently. Valluvar suggests two things that will be helpful in enjoying the company of the close ones. First, being generous in giving gifts. Second, not being angry. It is not very pleasant to be around angry people. People tend to stay away from angry people. Of course, offering generous gifts with sincere affection will definitely help to make others happy. When others are happy, they tend to associate and interact with us with great enthusiasm.

 

53.3 Cherishing the Close Ones

 53.3 Cherishing the Close Ones

Question:

Is there anything we can learn from a crow?

Answer:

Crows do not hide their prey. They invite other crows and

share their prey. So also, only those who share their

wealth will continue to prosper.                                   (Couplet- 527)

காக்கை கரவா கரைந்துண்ணும் ஆக்கமும்

அன்னநீ ரார்க்கே உள.                                               (குறள் – 527)

Explanation:

              Crows tend to caw when they see prey. Upon hearing the sound of a crow, other crows in the area come, and they all share the prey. Valluvar uses this action of the crows to remind us that we should also share our wealth with others. Although Valluvar encourages everyone to share their wealth with the deserving others through charity and philanthropy, in couplet 527, he is specifically talking about a leader and how he should reward his staff and others who help him. Often, several people contribute to someone’s success. If a king is victorious in war, that is because his advisors, generals, and soldiers helped him. Likewise, if a businessman has been successful in his ventures, he owes his success to his advisors, senior staff, and workers. To retain their loyalty and enjoy continued support, he should share his wealth with those who contributed to his success. When a crow finds food, it invites other crows to share it. Similarly, when a businessman has amassed wealth, he should share it with others. In the US, when someone starts a business and becomes successful, he shares the stocks of the business with others who have helped him and who continue to support him. For example, several employees and partners of companies like Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft have become multi-millionaires because those who founded those companies shared their stocks with others who helped them. 

53.4 Cherishing the Close Ones

 53.4 Cherishing the Close Ones

 

Question:

How to reward the people who work for us?

Answer:

A king should not treat all those who are close to him alike.

He should treat each one differently according to their merit.

 There are many who look forward to such distinctions.                       (Couplet – 528)

பொதுநோக்கான் வேந்தன் வரிசையா நோக்கின்

அதுநோக்கி வாழ்வார் பலர்.                                                 (குறள் – 528)

Explanation:

Although in couplet 528, Valluvar mentions how a king should treat those who are close to him, his advice is equally valid for a leader or a manager who has the responsibility to reward people who work for him. People differ in their performance capabilities. Those who perform outstandingly would expect above-average rewards. Failure to reward people according to their capabilities and performance leads to a loss of motivation and enthusiasm in those who exceed others. As a result, people tend to be mediocre in their performance. In many corporations in the US, a well-designed performance evaluation system is used to reward employees according to their performance and contributions. In particular, senior managers are offered bonuses and stock options commensurate with their performance to encourage them to perform their very best.

In contrast, the US federal and state government reward system is not designed to encourage performance excellence. As a result, the government employees lack the motivation to excel in their performance. The combination of a lackluster reward system and job security contributes to mediocrity in performance by the government employees. This is perhaps true in other countries also. So, as Valluvar says, people should be evaluated on their performance, and the reward and recognition should be in proportion to their performance. 

53.5 Cherishing the close Ones

 53.5 Cherishing the close Ones

Question:

How to handle people who parted ways and returned to renew their association again?

Answer:

When the one who has parted ways from a king

comes back, the king should accommodate him

but accept him only after due deliberation.                  (Couplet – 530)

          உழைப்பிரிந்து காரணத்தின் வந்தானை வேந்தன்

இழைத்திருந்து எண்ணிக் கொளல்.                              (குறள் – 530)

Explanation:

              Although Valluvar advises a king in couplet 530, that advice is equally applicable to a leader or layperson. When someone close to us stays away from us or joins a rival group and then returns to renew his association with us, we may not know the motive behind his change of heart. But that does not mean that we should refuse to be associated with him. Instead, we should be friendly to him and analyze his motive, and if his change of heart appears genuine, we should continue to cherish his friendship.  

52.1 Delegation and Control

 52.1 Delegation and Control

Question:

How to choose the right employee for a task?

 

Answer:

Be aware that there are many people who satisfy all the tests,

yet they differ in the performance of their duties. (Couplet – 514)

Work should be entrusted to men of expert knowledge and capable

of discharging the assigned tasks and not due to any other

special considerations. (Couplet – 515)

Choose only those who are loyal, knowledgeable, capable of clear thinking,

 and devoid of excessive desires. (Couplet – 513)

Assign the task to the employee who can consider the pros

and cons resulting from the different ways of performing the

task and select the beneficial option. (Couplet – 511)

Choose the one who can expand the sources of revenue, increase wealth,

analyze problems and resolve them. (Couplet – 512)

எனைவகையான் தேறியக் கண்ணும் வினைவகையான்

வேறாகும் மாந்தர் பலர். (குறள் – 514)

அறிந்தாற்றிச் செய்கிற்பாற்கு அல்லால் வினைதான்

சிறந்தானென்று ஏவற்பாற் றன்று. (குறள் – 515)

அன்பறிவு தேற்றம் அவாவின்மை இந்நான்கும்

நன்குடையான் கட்டே தெளிவு. (குறள் – 513)

நன்மையும் தீமையும் நாடி நலம்புரிந்த

தன்மையான் ஆளப் படும். (குறள் – 511)

வாரி பெருக்கி வளம்படுத்து உற்றவை

ஆராய்வான் செய்க வினை. (குறள் – 512)

 

Explanation:

It was emphasized in questions and answers 51.1, 51.2, and 51.3 that a person should be selected for employment only after rigorous tests. Although employees are hired after rigorous tests, there is no guarantee that they will perform their duties as expected. They are likely to differ in their ability to perform different tasks. So, additional attention should be paid when choosing an employee for a specific task. An employee should be assigned appropriate tasks based on his expertise and past performance in similar tasks, and there should be no other unrelated considerations. The employer should also consider the employee’s loyalty, knowledge, and clear-thinking ability when he is assigned a task. Since a greedy person will always be after money rather than performance excellence, ensuring that the employee is not greedy is necessary.

 

              Valluvar mentions two specific guidelines when assigning a task to an employee. First, he says the task should be assigned to the employee who will consider the pros and cons of the various options in the performance of the ask and select the one that will be beneficial and perhaps will not be risky. Second, it is essential that the employee can expand the sources of revenue, increase wealth, analyze problems, and resolve them.

 

              The second guideline is more applicable to senior executives. In many corporations, a Chief Executive Officer(CEO) is a person who has shown demonstrated ability to expand sources of revenue, increase wealth, analyze problems, and solve them. For this reason, CEOs often have sales, marketing, and business development background. After all, the objective of a business enterprise is to enrich the owners and shareholders.

 

எனைவகையான் தேறியக் கண்ணும் வினைவகையான்

வேறாகும் மாந்தர் பலர்.     514

 

52.2 Delegation and Control

 52.2 Delegation and Control

Question:

What are the important factors to be considered when delegating work to employees?

 

Answer:

After verifying that an employee can accomplish a task

with the identified resources, assign the task to him and

leave him alone to discharge his duties.                                           (Couplet – 517)

Once the right man has been selected for a task, assign

complete responsibility and make him own that task.                      (Couplet - 518)

இதனை இதனால் இவன்முடிக்கும் என்றாய்ந்து

அதனை அவன்கண் விடல்.                                                    (குறள் – 517)

வினைக் குரிமை நாடிய பின்றை அவனை

அதற்குரிய னாகச் செயல்.                                                     (குறள் – 518)

 

Explanation:

              Valluvar believes that before delegating work to a person, it must be carefully and thoroughly checked out whether that individual can deal with the assignment with the instruments and means at his disposal. Once the decision is made after careful consideration of all the factors, the individual selected should be fully trusted and left alone to do his job in order to bring out the very best in him. Once the responsibility for a task is delegated to an individual, he should also be given the necessary authority needed to do his job. An employee can perform his task effectively only if he has the authority along with the responsibility.

              Very often, managers tend to interfere with employees and micromanage them. Micromanaging an employee destroys his motivation and productivity. A well-known example of a micromanager is  Steve Jobs, who was the Chief Executive Officer of Apple, Inc. Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, was an example of a micromanager extraordinaire who was reformed into a successful executive. His first attempt at Apple was not very successful. When he was let go from Apple, he started the company NeXT Computer. At NeXT, Steve Jobs micromanaged just about everything. The failure of NeXT is attributed to Steve job’s management style. When he started Pixar company, he did not make the mistake of micromanaging. He gave complete authority and responsibility to his managers. Pixar was very successful. He continued the same style of management when he returned to Apple and turned it to be one of the most valuable companies in the world. Valluvar is in favor of delegation and avoiding micromanaging.

 

 

52.3 Delegation and Control

 52.3 Delegation and Control

Question:

What should a king do to ensure that everything is alright in his country?

Answer:

If the employees perform correctly, nothing will go wrong in the country.

Therefore, the king should regularly exercise control and ensure that

his employees perform as they should.                                  (Couplet – 520)

நாடோ றும் நாடுக மன்னன் வினைசெய்வான்

கோடாமை கோடா துலகு.                                                     (குறள் – 520)

Explanation:

         Valluvar says that a king should regularly exercise control over his subordinates and ensure that they perform as expected. It is an accepted principle in management that a manager should supervise the performance of his staff. Therefore, what Valluvar says about a king and a country is applicable to a Chief Executive Officer of a corporation and his corporation. Although employees are selected after rigorous tests and assigned suitable responsibilities and authorities, there is no guarantee that all of them will perform as they should. Therefore, every executive of a corporation should monitor the performance of the employees in his department.

 

 

51.1 Testing and Trusting

 51.1 Testing and Trusting

Question:

          What are the criteria for selecting a person for employment?

Answer:

A person must be trusted after being tested on his

strength with regard to virtue, wealth, love, and

his fear of death.                                               (Couplet – 501)

A man of good family background, who shun

faults and is sensitive to public censure,

is the right man to be chosen.                           (Couplet – 202)

Even great scholars who are free from faults

are not totally free from ignorance.                    (Couplet – 503)

 

அறம்பொருள் இன்பம் உயிரச்சம் நான்கின்

திறந்தெரிந்து தேறப் படும்.                                (குறள் – 501)

குடிப்பிறந்து குற்றத்தின் நீங்கி வடுப்பரியும்

நாணுடையான் சுட்டே தெளிவு.                         (குறள் – 502)

அரியகற்று ஆசற்றார் கண்ணும் தெரியுங்கால்

இன்மை அரிதே வெளிறு.                                  (குறள் – 503)

 

Explanation:

Before hiring someone, first and foremost, it is crucial to test whether he is honest, reliable, and has moral character. It is also essential to ascertain his attitude towards wealth. It is true that most of us are interested in accruing wealth. Accruing wealth by righteous means is perfectly acceptable behavior. But some people are so greedy that they seek to gain wealth by unscrupulous means. Valluvar warns against hiring evil people like that.   In addition to testing one’s moral character and attitude towards wealth, it is also essential to ascertain his attitude concerning his love for women. The enemy can easily seduce people who have a weakness for sexual relationships. Finally, one who is not afraid of death should not be trusted because they might go to any extent to accomplish their objective.

 

51.2 Testing and Trusting

 51.2 Testing and Trusting

 

Question:

What are some of the mistakes and consequences of hiring the

wrong kind of people?

Answer:

Do not hire men who have no attachments and relatives,

for they will not be ashamed of disgrace.                                                  (Couplet – 506)

Choosing ignorant men out of affection is the height of folly.               (Couplet – 507)

Choosing strangers without testing them will bring endless

troubles even to one’s progeny.                                                                   (Couplet – 508)

Do not hire anyone without testing. Once an individual is hired,

do not hesitate to assign appropriate duties to him.                             (Couplet – 509)

Trusting someone without testing and suspecting those

already tested will cause endless troubles.                                               (Couplet – 510)

அற்றாரைத் தேறுதல் ஓம்புக மற்றவர்

பற்றிலர் நாணார் பழி.                                                           (குறள் – 506)

காதன்மை கந்தா அறிவறியார்த் தேறுதல்

பேதைமை எல்லாந் தரும்.                                                      (குறள் – 507)

தேரான் பிறனைத் தெளிந்தான் வழிமுறை

தீரா இடும்பை தரும்.                                                             (குறள் – 508)

தேறற்க யாரையும் தேராது தேர்ந்தபின்

தேறுக தேறும் பொருள்.                                                        (குறள் – 509)

தேரான் தெளிவும் தெளிந்தான்கண் ஐயுறவும்

தீரா இடும்பை தரும்.                                                             (குறள் – 510

Explanation:

Valluvar believes that since people who have no attachments and relatives will not be ashamed of disgrace they should not be hired.  Also, according to Valluvar, people should be hired only on the basis of their merits and expertise and not on other considerations such as personal likes and favoritism. He is strongly in favor of testing before trusting anyone for a position. He warns that hiring people without testing them will lead to endless troubles.

The selection process for employing someone should be done systematically, following all the necessary procedures. Once selected after all the tests, the individual should be entrusted with the work for which he was selected. After being tested and selected and a suitable position is assigned, the employee should be trusted to perform his duties. Doubting an employee’s ability to perform the assigned duties will cause endless troubles. The endless troubles mentioned by Valluvar could include the employee losing his confidence and motivation to do his job. When an employee fails to do his task, other associated tasks will be delayed or will not be done. So, when an employee fails to complete his task, it could affect the overall performance of the enterprise. 

It is interesting to see that Valluvar has thought extensively about human resource issues. His ideas about the hiring process are still valid. When a corporation hires an executive, it is customary to check his academic and professional background and his past performance. In many corporations, they conduct personality assessment tests like the Briggs-Myers test and other psychological evaluations to determine the suitability of a candidate for high-level positions. The US government conducts additional tests for candidates seeking employment in the defense and law enforcement sectors.                           

 

51.3 Testing and Trusting

 51.3 Testing and Trusting

Question:

          How should an employee be evaluated?

Answer:

When judging a person, look at his good qualities and

 faults, assess which of the two predominates and

evaluate him accordingly.                                                      (Couplet – 504)

A man's deeds are the touchstone of his greatness

 and littleness.                                                                      (Couplet – 505)

குணம்நாடிக் குற்றமும் நாடி அவற்றுள்

மிகைநாடி மிக்க கொளல்.                                                      (குறள் - 504)

பெருமைக்கும் ஏனைச் சிறுமைக்கும் தத்தம்

கருமமே கட்டளைக் கல்.                                                       (குறள் – 505)

Explanation:

              Valluvar advises that when evaluating a person, both his strengths (good qualities) and faults (qualities that are not considered good) should be considered. A person's deeds constitute the real yardstick by which a person should be judged. This is a very practical suggestion for evaluating the employees.

50.1 Consideration of Location

 50.1 Consideration of Location

Question:

Is it essential to consider the location before starting a venture?

Answer:

The crocodile will win over other animals in deep water.

But on land, other animals will kill the crocodile.                    (Couplet – 495)

As ships cannot sail on land, the strong-wheeled chariot

cannot run on the sea.                                                          (Couplet – 496)

A fierce elephant  that has faced warriors with spears

can be killed by a fox if it is stuck in a marshy ground.           (Couplet – 500)

நெடும்புனலுள் வெல்லும் முதலை அடும்புனலின்

நீங்கின் அதனைப் பிற.                                                         (குறள் – 495)

கடலோடா கால்வல் நெடுந்தேர் கடலோடும்

நாவாயும் ஓடா நிலத்து.                                                         (குறள் – 496)

காலாழ் களரில் நரியடும் கண்ணஞ்சா

வேலாள் முகத்த களிறு.                                                         (குறள் – 500)

Explanation:

              In Couplet 675, Valluvar mentions that when one is planning a project, the five things he should consider are: resources, equipment, time, task, and location. When a king prepares for war, he would consider the ideal location to fight the enemy. He would choose a location that is favorable to him and disadvantageous to his opponent. When an industrialist wants to build a manufacturing plant, he would consider the location where the raw materials are available, where the labor is not too expansive, and perhaps where the local government may give some tax concessions. When a businessman plans to launch a new product in the market, he will select a suitable location for test marketing. Marketing professionals say that “product, price, promotion, and place” are the 4Ps of marketing that should be considered when a product is introduced in the market. When people want to build a house, they consider factors like the neighborhood, schools, property tax, shopping facilities, etc. So, Valluvar is correct when he emphasizes the importance of location for a venture.

              Valluvar mentions that a crocodile is more powerful in water than on the land, a ship can sail in the water, and a fox is more powerful than an elephant on marshy ground. On the other hand, a crocodile is weak on land, a chariot is incapable of sailing in water, and an elephant is vulnerable on marshy ground. So, there are locations that are favorable and suitable under certain conditions. Therefore, to be successful, one must find a suitable location for his venture.