It is a well known fact that our personal variables do affect the professional behavior. No matter how much one would like to negate, our family and social background has a very definite role to play in our effectiveness as a professional. This is, of course, not to say that education and/or knowledge is any less important.

India has always been a treasurer of family values. The joint family system instilled in individuals the need and the willingness to adapt and mould themselves according to the situation. The expected priority was the family and self came later. One carried the same characteristics in the organization as well. The natural ability to be sensitive to the needs of others around, led one to become more adaptable and cooperative with colleagues and others. This helped to nurture good interpersonal relationships thereby having a positive impact on the culture of the organization. The boss was more of a guarding authority rather than somebody who competes with the subordinates. The benefit of the organization came in prior to individual achievements.

The joint family structure has started to weaken considerably and there are numerous cases of the bonding getting loosened. Why? A possible explanation can be that we are becoming more self-focused and not really willing to bend down for somebody else. The children in small families are being pampered by the parents and in many cases; demands are being fulfilled even before the child really demands for it. There are few people around to adjust with and one usually gets away with one’s will.

What impact does it have on our organizations? We have more of people focusing on personal achievements, may be, at the cost of teamwork. Lack of adaptability and sensitivity is quite evident when we look at the statistics of people changing their jobs. This, again, does not mean that there are no genuine reasons for the same.

This is also reflected in the emphasis the organizations are putting on teamwork and flexibility these days. Many organizations have an aptitude test as a qualifying round, and surprisingly many candidates actually fail to clear this round. This supports the above argument. People have to now consciously inculcate these traits which came naturally to them in the earlier days.

Times have changed and are continuously changing. Likewise, the society is also changing and a sincere effort is required to identify positive traits and nurture them if we want to have a good organizational life.