You've heard this from me before - Indian companies dislike the way many fresh MBAs believe they are God's gift to mankind! They are flighty, avoid real work, and want 'career growth' handed to them on a platter in their very first month of employment. They are easily bored and change jobs at the slightest opportunity.
This leads me to quote from a wonderful poetic retelling by Vikram Seth of the immortal tale of The Hare and the Tortoise (Beastly Tales from Here & There, Penguin). Instead of running the race, the socialite hare is easily distracted:
"Boring, boring, life is boring.
Birdies, help me go exploring.
Let's go off the beaten track.
In a minute I'll be back -"
Off the hare went, fancy-free.
One hour pased, then two, then three.
Expectedly, the tortoise wins the race.
After the announcer's gun
Had pronounced that he had won,
And the cheering of the crowd
Died at last, the tortoise bowed,
Clasped the cup with quiet pride,
And sat down, self-satisfied.
And he though: "That silly hare!
So much for her charm and flair.
So much for her idle boast.
In her cup I'll raise a toast
To hard work and regularity.
Silly creature! Such vulgarity!
Now she'll learn that sure and slow
Is the only way to go -
That you can't rise to the top
With a skip, a jump, a hop -
That you've got to hatch your eggs,
That you've got to count your legs,
That you've got to do your duty,
Not depend on verve and beauty."
Nice words! MBA students, are you listening?
(Now there is a twist at the end of this particular version of the tale, but I'll let you read it for yourself. Smile.)
**************************************
Incidentally, while I'm reading this tiny book of poems, I'm also reading A Suitable Boy by the same author, 1500 pages and yet a page-turner. It is a tour de force. The then Stanford University President, Gerhard Casper, had recommended this epic while welcoming us to the campus as international students, but it's taken my 17 years to get to it.
Another tangential comment - while many budding poets ruin their poetry by forcing it to rhyme, I'm simply blown away by Vikram Seth's best rhymes (The Golden Gate, for example) and even more so by Pushkin's verse (Eugene Onegin) and of course Shakespeare's sonnets.
ideas, inspirations, insights for everyone. Corporate solutions Proton Indore.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Capitalizing Compulsively
Why do we Indians capitalize every other word in business documents? And why does it unsettle me?
Whenever I look at a resume, a draft proposal or a presentation, I feel like taking a red pen and crossing out all the unnecessarily capitalized words!
It is entirely appropriate to write "I hold a B.E. degree in Software Engineering and am an expert in user interface design". 'Software Engineering' was probably the exact title of the degree and so may be capitalized.
But if you write "I hold a B.E. Degree in Software Engineering and am an Expert in User Interface Design", then you are going too far. Too much unnecessary capitalization.
You may argue that 'User Interface' is a standard term (abbreviated as UI) and its design is a formal area of knowledge, hence the words may be capitalized.
But I see it as a slippery slope. The modern world is littered with many formal areas of knowledge, some here to stay and some just passing fads, some established and some controversial, some broadly popular and some niche. To capitalize them all would render documents ugly and unreadable.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
So I try to resist capitalization of mere areas of knowledge.
Therefore, I would not like to see on a general resume that the candidate is "an expert in Supply Chain". Or "an expert in Operations Management". Or "an expert in Human Resource Management" even. (And definitely not "an Expert" of any sort!)
In a few select cases, capitalization is more permissible since the words now mean something highly specific, something quite different from their general meaning. So, for example, 'I am an expert in Enterprise Resource Planning' is somewhat acceptable. Saying you are an expert 'in Supply Chain Management' or 'in Quality Assurance' is borderline tolerable.
Still I would suggest: err on the side of caution.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Capitalization is totally acceptable only where we are referring to the name of a formal department (e.g. the 'User Interface Group') or a formal job title (e.g. 'User Interface Designer') or a course (e.g. 'ME210: Heat Transfer') or a universally accepted software category (e.g. 'Customer Relationship Management software') or something similar. Otherwise it is typically best avoided.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Now, why does excessive capitalization bother me?
1. Reasons of effectiveness:
Every time you capitalize a word, you draw the reader's attention to that single word, pulling it away from an orderly perusal of the text. Is that single word where you want the reader's attention to go? Mostly not.
2. Reasons of aesthetics:
Too much capitalization strewn about the page makes the document look cluttered and ugly.
3. Reasons of presumption:
By capitalizing a general word or phrase referring to a body of knowledge, you are arrogantly proclaiming that it is a formal, well accepted area. As a reader, I may not know about it, or as an educated reader, I may not agree with the importance you are giving it. Therefore you have to be careful. E.g. a phrase such as 'Communication-Driven Decision Support' should be capitalized (if at all) only where the specific audience will certainly understand what exactly is being referred to. Normally never.
4. 'Slippery slope' reasons:
Once you start capitalizing, it's difficult to stop. Consider the following paragraph:
"In the past ten years, there has been an increasing focus on using information technology to address various supply chain areas, including supply chain management, supply chain optimization, supply chain execution and supply chain event management. Supply chain management guru Dr. XYZ says that increasingly forecasting, replenishment, and warehouse management are also coming under the scope of supply chain IT."
Suppose you allowed the use of capitalization for 'Supply Chain Management'. There would then be a tendency to capitalize 'Supply Chain Optimization' as well. And so on. Soon, the paragraph would look like this:
"In the past ten years, there has been an increasing focus on using Information Technology to address various Supply Chain areas, including Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Optimization, Supply Chain Execution and Supply Chain Event Management. Supply Chain Management guru Dr. XYZ says that increasingly Forecasting, Replenishment, and Warehouse Management are also coming under the scope of Supply Chain IT."
You see now what I mean when I say it is a slippery slope?
5. Reasons of inconsistency:
Most people who capitalize freely are also poor at maintaining consistency. Therefore they may sometimes refer to 'Human Resource Management' and sometimes to 'Human Resource management'. This inconsistent capitalization is painful. At the same time, if you aim to be highly consistent in capitalization, you waste a lot of your time thinking about how to avoid situations like the slippery slope example in the previous point.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The way out is simple - avoid capitalization where possible. Resist.
Specifically, capitalize the names of knowledge areas only if you are referring in fact to the names of courses, departments, job titles or something similarly formal and permanent. Otherwise, think again.
Whenever I look at a resume, a draft proposal or a presentation, I feel like taking a red pen and crossing out all the unnecessarily capitalized words!
It is entirely appropriate to write "I hold a B.E. degree in Software Engineering and am an expert in user interface design". 'Software Engineering' was probably the exact title of the degree and so may be capitalized.
But if you write "I hold a B.E. Degree in Software Engineering and am an Expert in User Interface Design", then you are going too far. Too much unnecessary capitalization.
You may argue that 'User Interface' is a standard term (abbreviated as UI) and its design is a formal area of knowledge, hence the words may be capitalized.
But I see it as a slippery slope. The modern world is littered with many formal areas of knowledge, some here to stay and some just passing fads, some established and some controversial, some broadly popular and some niche. To capitalize them all would render documents ugly and unreadable.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
So I try to resist capitalization of mere areas of knowledge.
Therefore, I would not like to see on a general resume that the candidate is "an expert in Supply Chain". Or "an expert in Operations Management". Or "an expert in Human Resource Management" even. (And definitely not "an Expert" of any sort!)
In a few select cases, capitalization is more permissible since the words now mean something highly specific, something quite different from their general meaning. So, for example, 'I am an expert in Enterprise Resource Planning' is somewhat acceptable. Saying you are an expert 'in Supply Chain Management' or 'in Quality Assurance' is borderline tolerable.
Still I would suggest: err on the side of caution.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Capitalization is totally acceptable only where we are referring to the name of a formal department (e.g. the 'User Interface Group') or a formal job title (e.g. 'User Interface Designer') or a course (e.g. 'ME210: Heat Transfer') or a universally accepted software category (e.g. 'Customer Relationship Management software') or something similar. Otherwise it is typically best avoided.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Now, why does excessive capitalization bother me?
1. Reasons of effectiveness:
Every time you capitalize a word, you draw the reader's attention to that single word, pulling it away from an orderly perusal of the text. Is that single word where you want the reader's attention to go? Mostly not.
2. Reasons of aesthetics:
Too much capitalization strewn about the page makes the document look cluttered and ugly.
3. Reasons of presumption:
By capitalizing a general word or phrase referring to a body of knowledge, you are arrogantly proclaiming that it is a formal, well accepted area. As a reader, I may not know about it, or as an educated reader, I may not agree with the importance you are giving it. Therefore you have to be careful. E.g. a phrase such as 'Communication-Driven Decision Support' should be capitalized (if at all) only where the specific audience will certainly understand what exactly is being referred to. Normally never.
4. 'Slippery slope' reasons:
Once you start capitalizing, it's difficult to stop. Consider the following paragraph:
"In the past ten years, there has been an increasing focus on using information technology to address various supply chain areas, including supply chain management, supply chain optimization, supply chain execution and supply chain event management. Supply chain management guru Dr. XYZ says that increasingly forecasting, replenishment, and warehouse management are also coming under the scope of supply chain IT."
Suppose you allowed the use of capitalization for 'Supply Chain Management'. There would then be a tendency to capitalize 'Supply Chain Optimization' as well. And so on. Soon, the paragraph would look like this:
"In the past ten years, there has been an increasing focus on using Information Technology to address various Supply Chain areas, including Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Optimization, Supply Chain Execution and Supply Chain Event Management. Supply Chain Management guru Dr. XYZ says that increasingly Forecasting, Replenishment, and Warehouse Management are also coming under the scope of Supply Chain IT."
You see now what I mean when I say it is a slippery slope?
5. Reasons of inconsistency:
Most people who capitalize freely are also poor at maintaining consistency. Therefore they may sometimes refer to 'Human Resource Management' and sometimes to 'Human Resource management'. This inconsistent capitalization is painful. At the same time, if you aim to be highly consistent in capitalization, you waste a lot of your time thinking about how to avoid situations like the slippery slope example in the previous point.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The way out is simple - avoid capitalization where possible. Resist.
Specifically, capitalize the names of knowledge areas only if you are referring in fact to the names of courses, departments, job titles or something similarly formal and permanent. Otherwise, think again.
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