In conversation with Muhammad Ali

In govt sector, organisational tasks are carried out at a slower pace

Muhammad Ali is serving as the incumbent Director General Punjab Land Record Authority (PLRA) Lahore.

Do you find any difference between working for a government and private institution across Punjab?

Yes. There is a huge difference between the mode of rendering services in both the public and private sector institutions all over Punjab, and in fact, if I include the whole of Pakistan under the same clause it would not be wrong. There has always been and still is a big gap between how the organisational tasks are executed in government and private sector institutions. In the government sector, the organisational tasks are carried out on a slower pace. Furthermore, the fear of losing a job for not working with efficiency almost does not exist in government employees. The public servants, preferring to move with the same flow of government institutional systematic chains, never thrive to modify it, ensuring its future sustainability or prosperity. Contrary to this, in private sector organisations, employees are held responsible for their performance and are allocated w resources, based on their working efficiency, credibility and ethic. Moreover, the private institutions work under controlled environments targeting a specific segment of the socio-economic class. The government institutions carry a broad spectrum of real-life public problems on a relatively wider scale. The public offices have to cater to demands of numerous public elements including diversity of norms, cultural-notions, ethnicity and socio-economic dynamics that in societies living all across the provinces nationwide.

Do you think that overall, culture of Punjab influences the mode of working in the government sector?

Keeping in view the Punjabi culture and its values, it obviously holds an impact on how people, deal with each other to fulfill organisational goals at the end of the day.  People expect us to be warm, kind, humble and welcoming towards their facilitation. Following the Punjabi culture, they like to give and take favours to get their tasks done, which at times becomes difficult to deal with, but that’s a reality and I feel one should not deny it. People here, promote the age-old traditions, and resist change in terms of how the government institutions have been functioning dating back to history.

How do these key values affect the way organisations function?

Without actually going far from reality, I would definitely admit the fact that they actually do affect the organisational functioning. See, the organisations function at the best of their credibility when public and organisational teams become successful, filling the gaps between demand and supply cycles. If there is an imbalance or any certain gap on either side, the system simply cannot deliver, the consumer needs sustainably. So, I believe the values that assist the organisation fulfilling the demanded goals must be made permanent part of the procedures, regardless of the fact they are primitive, cultural or ethnic.

Which of these affect the working culture among employees?

When any of the values create a gap between the demand and supply equation,  that primarily needs to be fixed. Otherwise, we fully embrace and own public-friendly cultures.

How far do you think the mode of leadership influences team work?

To a very great extent I must say. My team sees me as its mentor.  Whatever that I prefer, they prefer, whatever that I practice, they practice and whatever I feel is good, they make sure they, too, feel it the same way. So, it is primarily a pattern set by the leader of the team who works to ensure every team member follows it and remains on one page so that the required organisational goals are fulfilled at the end of the day.

What roles do the leaders have to play in conflict/resolutions?

The real qualities of a leader are highlighted in the circumstances of conflict resolutions. I think a leader can play a pivotal role in either resolving the conflict, or adding fuel to the already burning fire of an organisational crisis.

Tell us about your observations regarding tolerating the occurrence of error among employees and team leads in the government sector?

Yes, the team leads do tolerate it, and hence the teammates keep working with efficiency to meet the organisational goals.

Do you think organisations can function with an absolute absence of error-occurrence?

Absolutely not, perfection is an ill-illusion!

Do you find any relationship between tolerating error and learning behavior among employees in your organisation?

Yes, of course. I believe employees, who see other team mate’s errors do not come up with a problem or the committed mistake/error, but its solution as well. It adds a lot to their creativity and innovation in terms of solving problems, and organisational errors.

How far do you think error management culture is significant in the way organisations work?

Very significant as far as the meeting of desired goals is concerned.

What impact do you think error management culture can create among employees of a team in terms of boosting/decreasing their performance?

It adds to their performance, in terms of boosting their confidence on their in-hand tasks and duties.

What are the advantages of tolerating the occurrence of error in employees of a team?

It adds confidence in teams. Working with unity towards one goal without actually having any ill feeling towards fellow team members.

What are disadvantages of tolerating the occurrence of error in employees of a team?

Well, it depends on the organisational circumstance. If the teams are not working with efficiency, which, of course also denotes the lack of leader’s credibility, it will lead teams towards failure to meeting the organisational goals, deadlines and future schedules. It will create an organisational menace, devastating the flow of day-to-day institutional activities and pushing it into an inescapable systemic crisis.

Would you like to add something that you think is important and was missed out?

Yes. I would like to quote what one of my mentors had told me in the very beginning of my dream career. I hope it does not go futile for you too. He said no human, ever born on this planet Earth, is error-free. Things are simply prone to change, and so are humans. Remember, humans are a universe in their own, nothing that they ever carry out, is an error at all. It is a piece of art. It is knowledge, which is associated with a circumstance, one or another scenario. It might not seem useful for the time being at one instance, maybe, but believe me. It is a lesson in a handful of other situations. People are bigger than their errors. So, I still remember it, and his smile that would appear on his face every time he would advise me of the treasury of million dollar life-lessons.