Charles Townley in his write up titled ‘The innovation challenge: Transformational leadership in technological university libraries’ paraphrases Kouzes and Posner as follows. Experimentation is the bedrock of challenging the process. It involves three essential processes, creating incremental steps and small victories, learning from mistakes, and promoting psychological hardiness. Having the confidence to change is a key requirement for experimentation. By breaking change into small steps that build on each other, changes that look impossible can be accomplished over time. And as success builds on success, staff confidence grows and the probability of success increases. (Townley, 2009)
Thus challenging the process is more about finding new opportunities and extending the horizon of what was previously perceived to be limited or impossible in an organizational environment bringing more possibilities of growth. This concept is in dire need for implementation in the review of our local perspectives. We usually tend to hear ‘I don’t know. It has been this way for a long time’ a lot. But saying this does not solve the underlining problem at hand and if we do not implement the process of challenging the status quo it will always remain the same.
Let us take the corruption culture here in Nepal. It is everywhere you go these days, it seems like no work can be achieved without a little cash under the table and yet it feels like a taboo to even talk about it in public. A weekly local newspaper article informs “That question is asked by all in the Himalayan nation—everyone from international visitors, who have to deal with bribe-taking officials right at Kathmandu’s international airport, to the helpless citizens of this country of approximately 30 million. (Republica, 2010)” The article further goes on to report, “In July 2009, Nepal’s anti-graft body, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), came up with a smart idea to discourage staff at Kathmandu’s international airport from taking bribes. CIAA suggested top officials at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) make “pocketless” pants mandatory for all staff.” Even with small challenges to the process it still has not been able to stop it.
Madhusudan Sharma Subedi, a lecturer on contract in at the Central Department of Sociology/ Anthropology, Kirtipur, in his article titled ‘Corruption In Nepal: An Anthropological Inquiry’ writes, “For at least a decade and more obtrusively in recent years, the problem of corruption has been at the center of the political agenda in Nepal. It is recognized as one of the chief causes of Nepal’s underdevelopment. (Subedi, 2006)” Corruption has weakened this country and it is can be found in all sectors from governmental to private to non-governmental organizations. With everything being accessible with money these days why would it not? Would you reject bribery if your family was in need of it? Why is your family’s need less than others? Some hard questions to answer before moving on to the philosophical side of the topic.
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “If you want to change the world, start with yourself.” It is you that has to be starting point of change. Saying and doing are two very different things. Have you noticed it is very difficult to get a good job these days without a little support from someone in the inside? Or better yet any work in the government office will take you a serious amount of time as your application moves from one table to another with scrutiny written all over their faces. To quote Prithivi Narayan Shah, “Both received and giver of bribe is an enemy to the state” and so it is true. The question is can we take that door of ethical righteousness even if it hampers our and our family’s way of life.
I personally have fought shady transaction in my organization time and again facing the informal scrutiny of being the black sheep from a few. Financial guidelines of collecting tender and quotation has been set to curb unwanted behaviours that harm the company. I have stood fast in defending this aspect. But things that have been rooted deep and for a long time cannot be changed within a day and the work is tiresome. But this is a value I hold strongly. It is easy to challenge the process once you have your values straight and other know about it. But it is also impossible to be done alone. The best we can do is to challenge the process and show others that it can be done. “Remember, you can’t do it alone! You need to model Challenge the Process, and you need to create a climate where others can do the same. (Kouzes & Posner, 2003)”
References
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2003). Model the Way. In b. P. Jim Kouzes, THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENG Workbook (p. 75). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Republica. (2010, March Sunday). Is corruption part of Nepali culture? myRepublica , p. 1.
Subedi, M. S. (2006). Corruption In Nepal: An Anthropological Inquiry. Semantic Scholar , p. 1.
Charles Townley in his write up titled ‘The innovation challenge: Transformational leadership in technological university libraries’ paraphrases Kouzes and Posner as follows. Experimentation is the bedrock of challenging the process. It involves three essential processes, creating incremental steps and small victories, learning from mistakes, and promoting psychological hardiness. Having the confidence to change is a key requirement for experimentation. By breaking change into small steps that build on each other, changes that look impossible can be accomplished over time. And as success builds on success, staff confidence grows and the probability of success increases. (Townley, 2009)
Thus challenging the process is more about finding new opportunities and extending the horizon of what was previously perceived to be limited or impossible in an organizational environment bringing more possibilities of growth. This concept is in dire need for implementation in the review of our local perspectives. We usually tend to hear ‘I don’t know. It has been this way for a long time’ a lot. But saying this does not solve the underlining problem at hand and if we do not implement the process of challenging the status quo it will always remain the same.
Let us take the corruption culture here in Nepal. It is everywhere you go these days, it seems like no work can be achieved without a little cash under the table and yet it feels like a taboo to even talk about it in public. A weekly local newspaper article informs “That question is asked by all in the Himalayan nation—everyone from international visitors, who have to deal with bribe-taking officials right at Kathmandu’s international airport, to the helpless citizens of this country of approximately 30 million. (Republica, 2010)” The article further goes on to report, “In July 2009, Nepal’s anti-graft body, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), came up with a smart idea to discourage staff at Kathmandu’s international airport from taking bribes. CIAA suggested top officials at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) make “pocketless” pants mandatory for all staff.” Even with small challenges to the process it still has not been able to stop it.
Madhusudan Sharma Subedi, a lecturer on contract in at the Central Department of Sociology/ Anthropology, Kirtipur, in his article titled ‘Corruption In Nepal: An Anthropological Inquiry’ writes, “For at least a decade and more obtrusively in recent years, the problem of corruption has been at the center of the political agenda in Nepal. It is recognized as one of the chief causes of Nepal’s underdevelopment. (Subedi, 2006)” Corruption has weakened this country and it is can be found in all sectors from governmental to private to non-governmental organizations. With everything being accessible with money these days why would it not? Would you reject bribery if your family was in need of it? Why is your family’s need less than others? Some hard questions to answer before moving on to the philosophical side of the topic.
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “If you want to change the world, start with yourself.” It is you that has to be starting point of change. Saying and doing are two very different things. Have you noticed it is very difficult to get a good job these days without a little support from someone in the inside? Or better yet any work in the government office will take you a serious amount of time as your application moves from one table to another with scrutiny written all over their faces. To quote Prithivi Narayan Shah, “Both received and giver of bribe is an enemy to the state” and so it is true. The question is can we take that door of ethical righteousness even if it hampers our and our family’s way of life.
I personally have fought shady transaction in my organization time and again facing the informal scrutiny of being the black sheep from a few. Financial guidelines of collecting tender and quotation has been set to curb unwanted behaviours that harm the company. I have stood fast in defending this aspect. But things that have been rooted deep and for a long time cannot be changed within a day and the work is tiresome. But this is a value I hold strongly. It is easy to challenge the process once you have your values straight and other know about it. But it is also impossible to be done alone. The best we can do is to challenge the process and show others that it can be done. “Remember, you can’t do it alone! You need to model Challenge the Process, and you need to create a climate where others can do the same. (Kouzes & Posner, 2003)”
References
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2003). Model the Way. In b. P. Jim Kouzes, THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENG Workbook (p. 75). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Republica. (2010, March Sunday). Is corruption part of Nepali culture? myRepublica , p. 1.
Subedi, M. S. (2006). Corruption In Nepal: An Anthropological Inquiry. Semantic Scholar , p. 1.
Townley, C. (2009, June). The Innovation Challenge: Transformational Leadership in Technological University Libraries. Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences , 4. West Lafayette, Indiana, US: Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences. Retrieved from https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/do/search/?q=Charles%20T.%20Townley%20New%20Mexico%20State%20University%2C%20U.S.A.%20&start=0&context=119483&facet=