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Monday, January 16, 2017

Oh Father, Dear Father – Raj Kinger



                                                                           UNIT – V

Oh Father, Dear Father – Raj Kinger

Q1. Why is the letter written?

Introduction: “Oh Father, Dear Father” by Raj Kinger is a heart-wrenching letter addressed to a father by his son. The letter writer Rahul is the class topper in his school who slips to the Second rank for losing a quarter mark. This letter is his anguished plea to his father who scolds him for losing his first rank. Rahul is against the Indian educational system which is characterized by rote learning without any practical exposure to the real world. He condemns the emphasis placed on examinations, marks and ranks.

Q2. What is the father’s advice to the writer of the letter?
Q3. Write brief note on the relationship between the letter writer and his father?
Q4. What is the letter writer’s perception of literacy?
Q5. How does the letter writer critique the education system in India? Does he make a convincing argument? Why/ Why not?

Rahul and his father are poles apart. Rahul’s father is a typical rigid-minded Indian parent who believes in high score. He leads a complicated and boring life. He earns well, believes in the importance of money and has a set of rules written for his son. He has a specific approach to life and cannot expect his son to go against his approach. He has an uncompromising attitude and has always taught his son to be moulded in the mould of his beliefs. He often asks his son to think twice before studying and before answering the papers. He scolds his son for losing his first rank.

Rahul, on the other hand, is intelligent but loves a simple and natural life. He is inspired by the life style of his grandparents. Rahul learns from his grandparents that peace of mind and happiness are the most important things in life. For Rahul, practical education matters more than theoretical examinations. In his opinion, high scores are of no use if one is unable to put his theoretical knowledge into practice. Real education is that which comes handy in our day-today life. For instance it should teach us how to protect our plants from pests, how to fix a fuse or how to make your own desk using your carpenter tools.

(Rahul’s argument against the education system in India is quite convincing. He is against the Indian educational system which is characterized by rote learning without any practical exposure to the real world. He condemns the emphasis placed on examinations, marks and ranks.)

Q6. How did the letter writer’s teacher react to his asking her a question?

Rahul has an unpleasant experience with his Biology teacher. When his Rose plant is attacked by pests, Rahul seeks advice of his teacher to save his plant. But the teacher gets irritated as she thinks it a question out of their syllabus and asks him to approach a gardener for advice. The teacher serves as a warning to all those teachers who do not show any interest or reverence towards their profession and mould the students into mere mechanical objects.

Q7. What kind of childhood does the letter writer wish he had?
Q8. What approach did the letter writer’s grandfather have towards studies?
Q9. Describe the letter writer’s grandparents and their outlooks towards studies and life.

Rahul loved the peaceful and happy childhood of his grandparents. Rahul’s grandfather used to speak of a carefree and beautiful childhood, of the days when he spent plucking mangoes and guavas from their jameen, of picnics on the banks of the river where men cooked mouth-watering food and of playing marbles and gilli danda. During his grandfather’s childhood, studies were only secondary for our survival. The major subject in their education was living and experiencing.

Rahul had always found his grandfather in the right place. He was a man who believed in simplicity in sharp contrast to Rahul’s father. Rahul asks his father whether his grandfather was a liar in order to remind him that his grandfather’s life was the one worth living and not any failure. Seventy years He refers to the 70 years age of his grandfather and questions his father if the world has turned upside down during this period. It was during these 70 years that his grandfather had acquired a load of experience which Rahul considers ideal. 

Q10. Why is the letter writer’s grandmother wise?

            Rahul’s grandmother was semi-literate while his mother was highly qualified. Yet his grandmother lived a happy and contended life and was very wise. She took delight in cooking, gardening and reading the Gita. Rahul’s mother, on the other hand, was always tensed and nervous. Rahul questions his father whether literacy has become a harbinger of restlessness, fear and frustration. 

Q11. How did the letter writer lose his first rank?
Q12. What does the letter writer fear?

Rahul expresses a fear that his rigid schooling will deprive him of the joy of learning. He tells his father that the over emphasis on his studies has taken away all his enjoyment from his childhood. He says that education does not seem to make people happy. 

Rahul condemns our educational system and explains the reason for losing his first rank. It was due to his disagreement with his teacher regarding an answer in English Grammar. Although the teacher was wrong, he was adamant that he was correct. Rahul criticizes such an education system which curbs independent thinking and encourages blind adherence to whatever the teacher teaches.

TECHNOLOGY WITH A HUMAN FACE



UNIT - III
TECHNOLOGY WITH A HUMAN FACE

About the Author:
Ernst Friedrich Schumacher was an internationally influential economic thinker, statistician and economist in Britain, serving as Chief Economic Advisor for many years for Britain’s National Coal Board. He was an economist of international repute and the author of the books titled “Small is Beautiful: A study of economics as if people mattered” and “A Guide for the Perplexed”. The phrase “Small is Beautiful” is used to champion the small, appropriate technologies that are believed to empower people more, in contrast with phrases such as "bigger is better".
Q1. What prompts the writer to advocate for technology with a human face?
Ans. The essay “Technology with a Human Face” is taken from E.F. Schumacher’s book “Small is Beautiful”.
In this essay Schumacher expresses his fear and concern about the inhuman nature of modern technology which is taking the world from crisis to crisis showing visible signs of disaster and breakdown of mankind in the coming future.
Everything shaped by technology, both in the past as well as in the present, looks sick and inhuman. Hence it is high time we considered if we could have – ‘a technology with a human face’.

Q2. How, according to the writer, is technology anti-nature?
Ans. Schumacher differentiates between the principles of Nature and Technology.
Nature always follows a self-limit principle i.e. it knows where and when to stop. There is a measure in all natural things in their size, speed or violence. Hence it tends to be self-balancing, self-adjusting, self-cleansing. Technology or super-technology, on the other hand, has no self-limit principle. Hence it acts like a foreign body in Nature and is thus subjected to rejection.

Q3. What are the three crises technology has given rise to simultaneously?
Ans. The modern technology, which has shaped the modern world, has involved itself in three crises simultaneously. Firstly, humans finds the inhuman technological, organizational and political patterns to be very suffocating and debilitating and revolt against them. Secondly, due to technology, the living environment is giving signs of partial breakdown and lastly the world’s non-renewable resources especially the fossil fuels are on the verge of virtual exhaustion. Schumacher says that any one of these three crises can turn out to be deadly and eventually cause a total collapse. It is a result of materialism and limitless expansionism of technology in a finite environment.

Q4. How does the writer substantiate his view that technology causes more problems than it offers solutions?
Q5. Why does the writer say that doing work with brains and hands has become exceedingly rare, especially in rich countries?
Q6. Does the writer argue convincingly that modern technology has evolved to be more and more inhuman and has led to more problems in both rich and poor nations?
Q7. Why does the writer state that modern technology does not enrich man but empties him?

Schumacher says that growth of industrialisation during the last twenty five years has developed more problems than solutions even in the rich countries. Industrialisation has brought about only an illusionary success. Technology appears to have helped us in many ways but the two big problems of unemployment and poverty could not be solved in both developed as well as developing countries.

The primary task of technology such as various machinery and computers is to reduce the burden of man’s work so that he can enjoy life and relax. But modern technology is eliminating skilful, productive and creative work of human hands and brains and therefore  destroys work enjoyment. Modern technology is gigantic, highly complicated and needed huge capital investment. Only the rich can afford to run modern factories. These labour saving machines makes the rich richer and poor poorer and unemployment and poverty increases all over the world.

He says that a new type of technology called self-help technology is needed so that everyone including old men and children can work with their clever brain and two skilful hands with great satisfaction.

Schumacher never says that technology in itself is bad. However, he urges us to utilize the scientific techniques that help us get to the truth of the matter and increase our knowledge, to focus on technology that does not lead to giantism, speed, or violence and destruction of human-work enjoyment. What he instead asks us is to recapture simplicity in all that we do to produce a self-balancing system of nature.

Q8. How does the people’s technology that the writer proposes differ from primitive or super-technology?
Q9. How does the writer establish the claim that technology only lightens the burden of work and does not really carry any weight or prestige?
Q10. What are the strategies the writer employs in this argumentative essay to convince the readers that technology is more a bane rather than a boon, although there are certain explicit advantages of it?
Q11. Explain his concept of ‘technology with a human face’ and find out how it would tide over the crises of the super-technology of the rich.

According to Schumacher, the modern world, shaped by technology, continues to look sick. We wonder that technology has helped us in many ways, yet the underlying factors of alleviation of poverty and unemployment have not been solved by technology at all. In that case, we have to consider whether it is possible better – a technology with human face. It very strange to say the laws and principles of technology, the product of man, are generally very different from those of human nature of living nature. There is measure in all natural things in their size, speed of violence. The system of nature, which man is a part of it, tends to be self-balancing, self-adjusting, self-clearing. However, it is not so with technology. It recognizes no self-limit principle in terms of its size, speed, or violence. It does not possess the virtues of being self-balanced, self-adjusting, self-cleansing. Somehow, man is dominated by technology and specialization. The modern technology acts like a foreign body and it has become inhuman in the subtle system of nature.
In his opinion, the modern technology was involved in three crises simultaneously. First, human nature revolts against suffocating and debilitating inhuman technological patterns. Second, the living environment is partially breakdown.  In addition, the third, it is clear that the inroads of the world’s non-renewable resources have become serious bottlenecks and virtual exhaustion loom ahead in the future. It is the result of materialism and limitless expansionism in a finite environment. It is a big question whether we could develop technology, which can solve all our problems, a technology with a human face.
Schumacher says, “The primary task of technology, it would seem, is to lighten the burden of work man has to carry in order to stay alive and develop his potential”. Technology that lightens our burden would help give us had better time to relax and do what we would like, increase our creativity, work things with our hands that give us joy as defined by Thomas Aquinas. Schumacher explains it is not the actual production of ‘total social time’ spent roughly one-fifth of one-third of one half, that is 3.5 percent and the rest 96.5 percent of ‘total social time’ is directly product less.  It pales into insignificance, that it carries no real weight, but alone prestige. Hence, virtually all-real production has been turned into an inhuman chore which does not enrich a man but empties him. Taking stock of our goals, everybody would take it a privilege to work usefully, creatively with his own hands and brains can actually produce things and would benefit the society.
The modern industrial society is not romantic and certainly not utopian. It is in deep trouble and holds no promise of survival. We must have the courage to dream if we want to survive and give our children a chance to survive. We must develop a new lifestyle, which is compatible with the real needs of human nature and living nature around us. In order to avoid the dire consequences, both by rich and poor countries, we need a different kind of technology, a technology more productive with a human face.

Q12. What compels the writer to formulate his first law of economics: ‘The amount of real leisure a society enjoys tends to be in inverse proportion to the amount of labour saving machinery it employs’?
 We have so far, possessed a vast accumulation of new knowledge which include splendid scientific techniques to increase this knowledge further and immense practical experience in its application. This is called truthful knowledge. But so far, we have made an unwise and destructive use of our technology because we never get enjoyment in our work. Therefore Schumacher suggests an idea that the productive time of 3.5% of total social time to be increased to 20% of total social time. If this wonderful idea is put into practice, even children and old people would be able to do creative, productive and useful work and they can enjoy doing it with their clever brain and two skilful hands. The therapeutic and educational value of such enjoyable and useful work will be blessing for all people in the world. Then no one wants to raise the school leaving age or to lower the retirement age. Everybody would welcome the opportunity of working usefully, creatively with his own hands and brains in his own time at his own pace and with excellent tools. People who work in this way do not know the difference between work and leisure because the work itself is full of pleasure and enjoyment!
 Schumacher is a great admirer of Mahatma Gandhi and tries to follow his teaching in the scientific ideas about the new life-style he has visualised in this essay.
 Gandhiji said that the poor of the world cannot be helped by mass production, only by production by the mass. According to Schumacher, a new technology with a human face should be introduced. The present inhuman technology is based on mass production with highly capital investment and high energy input where workers are mere slaves of work and the rich owner makes huge profit. This system should be changed and a new technology with a human face should be introduced. Instead of mass production, the new system is based on production by the masses. All people, young and old can work with their skilful hands and clever brains with first class tools in their own time and speed and then work would be great pleasure for them.
 Concluding his essay, Schumacher says that the technology of production by the masses is called “the intermediate technology” because this technology is far superior to the primitive technology of old days, but at the same time much simpler, cheaper and freer than the super technology of the rich. The intermediate technology can also be called ‘self- help technology or democratic or people’s technology. This technology is making use of the best of modern knowledge and experience, suitable for the laws of ecology, gentle in its use of natural resources and designed to serve human being instead of making him the servant of machine.

Satya Nadella’s Email to His Employees on his First Day as CEO of Microsoft



UNIT – II

Satya Nadella’s Email to His Employees on his First Day as CEO of Microsoft

About Satya Nadella:

            Satya Narayana Nadella was born in 1967 in Hyderabad and was educated in the Hyderabad Public School. He pursued BE in electronic engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal. He then moved to the US to study MS (Computer Science) from the University of Wisconsin. His career took off when he became a member of the technology staff in Sun Microsystems and then got a job offer from Microsoft where he worked his way up the ranks and on 4 February 2014, he was appointed CEO of Microsoft.

Introduction: After taking over as the new CEO, Nadella sent an email to the Microsoft employees. The email is a warm and friendly one in which he introduces himself  to the employees and also reveals his passion and dedication. It is an inspirational call to his co-workers to do the best they can. Nadella talks about the company's vision and the direction it envisages to move in.

Q1. What are the three factors that Nadella lists as his formative influences?
Q2. What inspires Nadella?

Ans.   In the letter introducing himself to the employees, Nadella says that he is 46 and has been married for 22 years. He has 3 kids and his ideology and thoughts have been shaped by his family and his overall life experiences. His acquaintances say that he is defined by his curiosity and thirst for learning. He buys more books than he could read and regularly signs up for several online courses to keep himself updated. He strongly believes that if we are not learning new things, we stop doing great and useful things. Hence family, curiosity and thirst  for knowledge  are the three factors that made Satya Nadella what he was.

Q3. Why did Nadella choose to work at Microsoft?
Q4. Why did Nadella believe that Microsoft was the best company in the world?
Ans.  Nadella says that he, like most people, joined Microsoft to change the world through technology that empowers people to do amazing things. The Microsoft team proved it in the past and is continuing to do the same. He says that talent, resources and perseverance are the foundation on which a company attains great heights, and concludes by saying that Microsoft has all of this in plenty.

Nadella believes that Microsoft is uniquely situated to achieve its goal of being a tech leader in the coming decades as well, because it can harness the power of software as well as hardware, through its acquisition of Nokia.

Microsoft is the only company with the history and continued focus in building platforms and ecosystems that create broad opportunity.
MM
Q5. What did Nadella predict for the future of technology?
Q6. In which direction is technology evolving, according to Nadella?
Q7. How will evolving technology make an impact on the lives of common people? How can Microsoft contribute to this?
Q8. What are the unique selling points of Microsoft, according to Nadella?

Ans.   Nadella forecasts cloud computing, machine learning, insights from big data and increasingly ubiquitous technology with connected devices as the future, and says that Microsoft will have to evolve to keep pace with these emerging technologies and trends.

Microsoft’s goal in its early years was to have a PC in every home and on every desk. This goal has largely been achieved in the developed world. Today, the world has more or less moved away from PCs and instead favors Mobile and Clouds-Computing devices.

Nadella believes that going forward, Microsoft must focus on innovations which empower people to do more and improve their lives.

Nadella believes that Microsoft is uniquely situated to achieve its goal of being a tech leader in the coming decades as well, because it can harness the power of software as well as hardware, through its acquisition of Nokia.

Q9. How does Nadella try to motivate his employees in his letter?
Q10. What will help employees find meaning in their work?

Ans. Nadella believes that Microsoft is a great place to work in because it believes in empowering its employees to innovate.

Nadella says that employees commonly underestimate their role in a company, and overestimate the role of others. He says that each employee must work towards innovating technology which will make people’s lives better and easier, and this way, they can also find meaning and joy in their work.

Q11. What is Nadella’s strategy for Microsoft as it steps into the new decade?
Q12. Briefly describe Nadella’s thoughts on innovation and its importance.
Q13. What philosophy is at the heart of Nadella’s vision for Microsoft?

Ans.  This is a critical time for the industry and for Microsoft.  Nadella wants Microsoft to gear up for the increasing competition and prove itself as a strong rival to its competitors like it was a decade back. 

Nadella emphasises on the need to priorotise innovation  that helps to empower users and organisations to ‘do more’. This starts with clarity of purpose and sense of mission that lead to imagine the impossible and deliver it. All the employees need to do their best work, lead and help drive cultural change. Each of the employees should find meaning in his work.

The Microsoft team proved it in the past and must continue to do the same. He says that talent, resources and perseverance are the foundation on which a company attains great heights, and concludes by saying that Microsoft has all of this in plenty.

Nadella emphasises that with every new device or new service launch in the future, Microsoft should bring about more and more innovation. He envisions a bright future for Microsoft.