Advanced Analytical Skills in

Communication Theme Paper

How Playtime ruined the world

Bobbys family moves to NYC

Bobby is a regular 10 year old whose family has just recently moved to the Big Apple. His father
has just secured a job in one of Wall Streets prestigious Investment bank. His mother is well
educated, an outgoing personality and she loses no time in socializing with the neighbors and
other acquaintances in New York. She had done her research properly to ensure that little Bobby
gets admitted to one of the best schools in the city.
At the beginning of his academic term, Bobby joins his new school. Like any other kid his age,
Bobby was anxious of going to his new school. Things were going great on his first day. The
teachers were all nice to him and they made sure he was well settled on his first day itself. It was
all going great for Bobby, till playtime. When he went to the playground, he could see many of the
children from his class and went over to them. He was bullied by the other boys and made fun of.
Now, Bobby couldnt understand why everyone had suddenly become his enemy. They ridiculed
him and by the end of the hour, Bobby was miserable and overwhelmed.
That day he told his mother what had happened at school. Seeing her childs condition, the mother
was furious. Like any sane mother, she decided to do something about it and swore she wouldnt
allow her son to be unhappy. She knew the families of a few of his classmates and called up the
mom of one of the boys whose name Bobby had mentioned. She told Mrs. Sparrow about the
incident and requested her to look into the same. She was hoping that Mrs. Sparrow would
understand the situation and by scolding / reprimanding her son, things would get better at school
for Bobby. Similarly, she called up 2 other kids mothers and did the same. By the end of the 3rd
phone call, she was feeling quite content with their attitude and was confident she had dealt with
the problem thoroughly. Indeed, Bobby had a much better time for the next few days. The others
allowed him to play and didnt torment him on every opportunity. But, he was still excluded on
many occasions. The other kids used to go on the park with their parents on some weekends and
Bobby wasnt invited to these outings, ever. Whenever some kid got something special from home,
sometimes Bobby would be given a look and sometimes he wouldnt. Basically, the affirmative
action through Bobbys mom was of not much use in practice.

Slowly, things started worsening for Bobby, again. The other kids werent mean to him always but
he felt excluded from the group and felt worried, sad due to it. Once again, he complained to his
mother about the same. His mother was caught offgaurd because she had no clue. Once again,
she decided to talk to Mrs. Sparrow and settle things once and for all. However, Mrs. Sparrow was
less accommodating this time. She told Bobbys mom that it wasnt possible to control their kids
life like this. She also explained to her that was how kids are and how they play, fight and make
friends. She told Bobbys mom to tell him that if he was always crying over injustices; he would
end up becoming a loser throughout his life.

Mrs. Turner The Ideal wife

Now, we look at the story of the Turner household. Mr. Turner is a hardworking man who does a
good job of providing for his family. He sometimes works long hours and often comes home late
at night. He expected his wife to be awake when he came, regardless of the time. He also expected
her to warm his food and serve it to him. Mrs. Turner being the dutiful wife that she was, didnt
mind. She also didnt mind when Mr. Turner wanted to make love. Mr. Turner could get her to put
out whenever he wanted, which was almost every night. His wife dutifully agreed to his whims and
fancies and did all she could to satisfy her husband.

The UN Preserving harmony in the world

The United Nations Organization was created in 1945. Its biggest mandate was to ensure that a
3rd world war doesnt break out. At its inception, it had 51 member countries and the count today
stands at more than 190. Its objectives include maintaining international peace, promoting human
rights, fostering social and economic development among other things.
Underneath all the glamour and goodwill, there is a lot of politics involved in this organization. 5
of the founding members have veto powers in the UN. They are Russia, China, France, the UK and
the US. Any major resolution has to be approved by all 5 members. Any of these 5 nations has the
power to stop any major resolution from passing the United Nations. This is regardless of
international support for the cause. It gives them huge leverage within the UN and consequently,
among other nations. All other nations know that they cannot afford to offend any of the Big 5 (as

they are popularly called) Further, even among the Big 5, there are 2 diverse and powerful groups.
They are the US and its friends, allies (UK, France) and Russia with its friends and allies (China). The
entire cold war period was fraught with hostilities between the US and Russia and these nations
have always opposed each others policies and ideals.
All of the above leads to a complicated foreign policy for other countries, India included. For long,
India has been trying to get a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. To be successful, India
would have to ensure that they appease to all the Big 5 powers and get a favorable vote from 2/3rd
of the other members. India already has the backing of the member states but the permanent seat
nations are a different matter. To gain the acceptance of all 5 veto powers, India has been treading
a very tight rope. Outright support for one nation might displease some other powerful member
and would be detrimental to their cause. At the same time, taking decisions which are morally
questionable would surely be equally bad. A very recent example is the incident of annexation of
Crimea by Russia. While most nations publically condemned Russia for the unprovoked attack,
India didnt. Even so, India was able to save face when they managed to extradite Indian citizens
from Crimea and ensured the safety of its foreign nationals. Another recent example was the issue
of Palestine vs Israel. That border has always been a cause of conflict with small skirmishes being
commonplace, but recently there was outright attacks by both nations on each other. The issue
was put to vote in the United Nations and India abstained from voting. It was quite obvious that
the reason was to refrain from displeasing USA which is a staunch supporter of Israel. These
examples show the kind of acceptable band that India has to adhere to in International dealings.
Obviously, this was just one of many examples regarding the same.

The Amalgamation
When we last saw Bobby, his mother had advised him to suck it up and remain tough and
persevere. And thats exactly what he did. Eventually, he was a full fledged part of the playground
group. He also took active part in the torture / exclusion of the new kids who joined their class
after him. With such a philosophy and attitude, what kind of person do we expect Bobby would
have turned out to be when he grew up. It is none other than Mr. Turner. Yes, it is Bobby Turner
who eventually married and then expected his wife to go to extremes for him. It was evident in

every facet of Bobby Turners personality. He didnt feel that he was doing something wrong when
he asks his wife to wake up and cook in the middle of the night; or when she puts out for him
whenever he feels like it. Bobby had become an entitled prick expecting almost his entire world
to bow down to him and run as per his whims and fancies. This facet of his personality is seen
everywhere; in his ideals, his thoughts about religion, caste, profession, social status, eating habits.
Now, Bobby Turner is just one individual. What do you think would happen if there was a country
full of such entitled pricks? The nation would think it was its right to subjugate others, to bend
them to their wishes, to act like they were better than everyone else. They would want more and
more for themselves and probably not care for society in general. Their morality and ideals would
be a matter of concern for the rest of the world. The closest real world example of such a nation
would be the United States. The US is the largest consumer of natural resources, they feel they
are entitled to live in luxury and comfort, even if the rest of the world suffers or is impoverished.
It is quite evident in their internal policies and their dealings within the United Nations where they
misuse their veto powers without fear of retribution. Their decisions and support for matters in
the UN are openly skewed towards furthering national interests primarily. The actual mandate of
the UN is of secondary importance, if at all. It is leading to what can be called as a toxic workplace
/ world'

Managerial Parallels
1. Paternity leave is a recent policy in most Indian multinationals. It was part of the affirmative
action for work-life balance, a much talked about corporate phenomenon. While the actual
policy seems in favour of employees, most fathers are actually afraid of taking the
sanctioned leave. When someone does take paternal leave for long periods (example
even a month), colleagues and bosses tend to see it as being less committed to work. The
usual arguments made are What is your use of staying home with your wife and kid? Your
major work has already been done, hasnt it?
Subsequently, employees future promotions and benefits may be affected due to the
negative perceptions built at this time.

2. MBA graduates at IBD roles have a tough time. Even during the initial stint, they are
expected to dedicate their life and soul to the company. They work unbelievable long
hours; sometimes stretching for more than a day at times. Their personal life becomes
secondary and they are expected to work on most weekends. Such practices have led to
even deaths of employees at IBD banks. Sadly, the expression worked to death comes
true for these people.
3. MBA interns in India face a situation where they are expected to work long hours and give
proper facetime at the office. Over the years, it has become commonplace. On
questioning, most interns would probably say their work was done for the day but since
everyone else was still sitting at office, it seemed the practical thing to do to not lose out.
It is believed that such standards were set by a certain college in the west of India, which
was followed by another famous college in South of India. Our college, in the east of India
has to follow suit, post which another famous but not so affluent college of East India
joined the club. Eventually, interns from almost all colleges could be seen following suit.

Conclusion
In summary, the point tried to be made throughout this document is that systems with ineffective
monitors and laws, where affirmative action is of little practical use will eventually foster
dangerous liaisons. These associations when left unchecked can grow in scale and severity very
rapidly; to the extent that entire personalities and that of society in general gets permeated with
it. It infiltrates all spheres of society and its effects can be felt in every facet of an individuals life.
Even something as innocent as playtime in a schoolyard can eventually ruin the world.