Delineate the various changes in the urban family system.

Family has always been at the base of urban society. Most of the Urban take pride in the essence of family life. However the recent changes in the socio-political and economic arena have had a significant impact on individuals and families. India is a country that truly befits the phrase” unity in diversity” with so many religions, languages, cultures, castes and yet the oneness that binds them together. Each family unit in India is influenced by his or her cultures and values. Urban joint family system was quite prevalent a few years back. However, with western influences, more and more people are now willing to stay as a nuclear family especially in urban areas. Traditional roles in family structure are now changing but even modern and educated families imbibe the intrinsic values of family life in India.

Family ties are very important to Urban. Arranged marriages within the caste system are still very much prevalent all over the country. The traditional role of a man to support the family economically and the traditional role of a woman to look after the domestic chores can be seen in rural areas. Working women which are now common in urban areas are still expected to fulfill their domestic responsibilities.

The Urban family is being exposed to fast paced lifestyles that are taxing considering the structure of family as a social institution. Urban families and their mental set up are not well prepared to confront the competitive and challenging world of today. Most young Urban face a dilemma when exposed to a new pattern of living and a different set of values as against those which were promoted by their parents and grandparents.

Most Urban families are conservative and sons are always more preferred than daughters as sons normally earn money for the family and support their parents during their old age. Urban family life has its own merits and demerits. With a family, there is emotional security, co-operation, values etc.

However individual freedom might get restrained. Sharing and caring is another important aspect that Urban joint families believe in. An Urban family typically consists of a man, his wife, their children, the man’s parents and unmarried sisters, if any. The man mostly make his parents live with him and looks after them. The family system is given a lot of importance in India and has worked more often than not.

Most Urban marriages are arranged and within the community. Normally, the parents of the prospective spouses get together either through a common relative or through a matchmaker. Most Urbans get together with their family and celebrate Urban festivals like diwali, holi, navratri etc with great joy.

The rigid Urban family system in imbibed in the culture of India and though changes are taking place, it will require a very long period of time for Urbans to change their living patterns.

What are the competencies required for a change agent? Discuss.

COMPETENCIES OF CHANGE AGENTS

Competency is an underlying characteristic of a person that results in effective and/or superior performance (Boyatzis, 1982).

After going through various roles of Change agents, it would have become clear that they have to be master of many competencies. It needs to clarify here that it is not possible for a particular Change agent to be the master of all skills / competencies, that is why, Change agents also engage other Change agents / Consultants. It is very difficult to make an exclusive list of Change agent competencies — the roles themselves indicate many of them. The competencies include knowledge, skills, attitudes, traits, value, motives and it is difficult to draw a line between theses. A skill is used for applications or working for performing a task / satisfying a role, which is a result of a number of visible and invisible competencies. In general, competencies for Change agents may be broadly classified into:

–           Cognitive Competencies;

–           Functional / Technical Competencies;

–           Personal (Effectiveness) Competencies (Self-control, attitudes, traits, values etc.); and

–           Inter-personal Competencies.

In addition, ‘Consulting’ / Problem solving competency comprising of all the above mentioned competencies is also essential for Change agents. Each of these competencies has been briefly explained as following:

1     Cognitive Competencies:

Cognitive competencies are required for perceiving and thinking and are again a combination of a number of competencies. For simple explanation, these can be divided in two types of thinking:

·      Analytical thinking; and

·      Conceptual thinking.

·       Analytical Thinking enables a person to understand a situation by breaking it apart into smaller pieces, or tracing the implications of a situation in a step-by-step causal way. It also involves organising the parts of a problem or situation in a systematic way, making systematic comparisons of different aspects or features, setting priorities on a rational basis, identifying time sequences, causal relationships or ‘If .......... then ...........’ relationships.

·       Conceptual Thinking involves understanding a situation or problem by putting the pieces together and seeing the large picture. It includes identifying patterns or connections between situations that are not obviously related and identifying key or underlying issues in a complex situation. Conceptual thinking uses creative, conceptual or inductive reasoning for applying the existing concepts of defining novel concepts. According to Spencer and Spencer (1993), there are two main dimensions of Conceptual thinking :

§  The complexity of thought processes and their originality — ranging from ‘using basic thumb rules’ to ‘creating new theories explaining complex situations’.

§  The breadth or the size of the problem analysed.

2     Functional/Technical Competencies

These are the skills required to perform effectively in a particular discipline, functional or technical area such as — Heat Treatment, Corrosion, Investment analysis, Designing a wage and salary administration system, Organization Development, Structural Design etc.

The Change agent, who is working for identifying or resolving problems, must have the necessary knowledge particularly as Problem identifier or/and Solution provider. Technical / professional competencies include mastery on a body or field of Job related Knowledge and skills and also the motivation to enhance, use and disseminate work-related knowledge/skills to others. According to Spencer and Spencer, there are four main dimensions to Functional / Technical/ Professional competencies:

i)                    Depth of Knowledge and Skills

ii)                  Breadth of Knowledge and Skills

iii)                Expertise Acquisition Motive

iv)                Distribution / Dissemination of Expertise

Change agents / Consultants are engaged for solving problems, and all problems apparently will emerge in one or more of functions/departments/ processes of the organizations. Functional / technical knowledge provides a perspective to perceive in a holistic manner and also quite essential for interacting with and convincing the client. It adds to the confidence and credibility of the Change agent.

1.        Personal (Effectiveness) / Self Management Competencies

These competencies help a person to be effective in achieving his goals, actions even amidst environmental difficulties and pressures. For effectiveness of Change agents / Consultants, the following personal / self management skills are quite essential.

§   Self Control

§   Self Confidence

§   Flexibility

§   Organizational Commitment

§   Initiative

2.        Inter-Personal Competencies

These competencies are essential for dealing with other people effectively. Inter-personal competencies are a bunch of different skills largely overlapping with each other. It is very difficult to clearly enumerate all such slots.

However, some of the inter-personal skills may be enumerated as :

§   Inter-personal relations;

§   Helping a person; and

§   Developing and maintaining smooth, co-operative working relationships with colleagues, superiors, customers, clients etc.

3.        Consulting Competency

Although Change agents are also considered to be Consultants, however, in this section, this is being taken as a specific competency of Change agents. These are needed to complete the various phases of a change project and adapting the consulting role as needed for a variety of situations.

§   General Skills These skills are necessary for selecting and expediting different roles as a consultant.

§   Contracting Skills It is the skill needed for building a verbal agreement with a client

§   Sensing and Diagnosing Skills Helping the client to discover and clearly understand the problem

§   Problem Solving and Decision-Making Skills Involving others in problem solving and goal setting.

§   Implementing Skills These skills are essential for successfully carrying out a project of planned change.

§   Evaluating Skills For determining the success or failure of a change initiative / project, evaluating skills are necessary.

§   Maintenance Skills Creating a sense of responsibility, passion for the new system, procedures etc., after change.

§   Educating

§   Diagnosing

§   Consulting

§   Linking

What are the objectives of Market Development Assistance (MDA)? Describe various components of MDA.

The Market Development Assistance Scheme has been introduced by the Coir Board w.e.f. 2000-2001 in lieu of the Rebate Scheme that was in operation in the Coir Sector till 1999-2000. The MDA is linked with the sales performance of the concerned beneficiary organization and aims at providing incentives for better performance.

The Objectives of the Scheme are:

i)To promote the sale of coir and coir products manufactured by the Co- operatives and Public Sector Enterprises committed to payment of  minimum wages and other obligatory benefits to the coir workers and thereby encouraging sustained production and better  employment opportunities.

ii)  To provide financial support on a continuing basis rounded the year to the Co-operatives and Public Sector Enterprises who undertake market development programme in Coir.

MDA components are made up of information allowing an application developer to master a particular usage context, and provide user documentation and technical documentation allowing their extension or use. MDA components also contain information concerning their version and the services they provide, as well as the different components they use. This information is used in their assembly. Like software components, MDA components are autonomous elements, which can be deployed in the UML Modeler tool.