Performance Paranoia

If there is one buzz word that makes its rounds in corporate houses and business centers and management schools, it is achievement. Everything in these centers is geared towards what is better known as 'performance'; naturally a better performance leads to a better achievement. Everyone today is judged on the basis of performance or achievement. While those who perform badly are given a walk-out call, while those who perform well are encouraged to do even better. It is true that in business or in academic circles one does not wish to see the performance graph turn towards the bottom; it has to keep shooting upwards, until it touches the roof. But the magic of the so-called ceiling of these performance will never take place, because of the simple reason that we live in a world where the ceiling is illusive, or to use a computer word, it is virtual. That is why the present day world has created so many burnt-out cases; and each of us wish that we don't land up in that category!

It is pity that there is very little consideration to those who cannot perform well, or cannot produce a brilliant achievement record; they are the losers in the rat-race of the market forces. Often people are reduced to mere machines that can perform without ever getting tired. In fact one of the tragedies of our times is, we are called to perform like machines, without a heart and conscience. If there is corporate gain at the expense of personal loss, that can be considered a viable option. Unfortunately if there are more unhappy people today, it is thanks to the kind of yardstick we have made for ourselves on the basis of performance, achievement.

Everyone in our society is after those who can do well, who can excel; if there are one hundred schools and institutions promoting the causes of the intelligent, brilliant wizards, there may be one or two schools for the losers in the battle. The best brains of the nation are those who would get through the National Eligibility Test or those who get easily through the numerous competitive examinations, and those who will walk through the portals of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM). This is the creamy layer, as they are labeled these days. There are all sorts of scholarships awarded to these to excel and strengthen the nation's economy.

Some days ago, I had attended a meeting where the state minister for Minority affairs came to speak about the numerous schemes and scholarships available to the Christians. The basic requirement to avail most of the scholarship is to secure at least 50 per cent marks in the preceding class. But having lived for 4 years in the rural Bengal in the recent past, I know that for most of the rural students without any chance for tuition, securing 50 per cent marks in the school is an impossible situation. In such a situation, I can hardly think of any one in the rural Bengal availing these scholarship. When I raised this issue, the representatives of the ministry said that they cannot do anything about it!

Can anything be done to remedy this situation - when those who perform well are given a boost to climb high in the ladder, while the losers are left for ever to languish in misery. There is a way out: if we can consider not only performance, but also the competence of the students and evaluate them accordingly. If a child is capable of securing 50 per cent marks and secures 45 per cent, that is much better than another child capable of securing 80 per cent but gets only 60 per cent. That means we need to devise means of measuring the capability, competence of the students; and the same thing can also be applied to companies, though that may bring down the quality of production, but we can be sure that we do justice to humanity. I am aware there may not be many takers for this proposal, but even if some people are inspired to look at young hearts not as participants in performance rat-race, but as participants in race to save their sanity and humanity!