Capability v/s Attributes

Jul25
2009 6 Comments Written by Prasad

Today I was talking to one of my classmates after aeons. Sagar was my classmate from engineering, both of us got selected as Software developers in IRIS. From then onwards, our career paths took different turns. I went on to do a PGDM from IIM-I, he went on to pick up technical expertise as an Application Developer in Oracle. Over the years, he worked on transaction life-cycle management, real time data, ETL and more importantly in the financial domain.

7 years after graduation, Sagar wants to go into Product Management field. He has the capabilities at one level, he knows the financial domain, he knows how to handle releases, he can plan a roadmap. Now although he knows he can function as a Product Manager, most of the companies insist upon a BE + MBA combination before the interview stage itself.

Why is the industry oriented around attributes instead of capabilities?

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  • http://maxmayur.wordpress.com Mayur

    Only an engineer who has also gone ahead and studied management understands that it adds no value to ‘the engineer in you’ per say. However this is a part of the filtering process. The CV is hardly a representation of one’s abilities. But of course, having an additional degree in one’s attributes is good enough to edge out a more talented but less qualified rival candidate even before the actual battle begins.

    After all why do you think we needed to pass HSSC whereas we could have easily appeared for the competitive exams like AIEEE and qualify directly for the engineering?

  • http://www.guyofthe90s.com donny

    kida bhai…i think its all to do with probability. The P(S) is higher when the sample set is BE + MBA. Like mayur said, the same goes for everything. Why do you think iim grads are paid more and sought after ? Not coz they are the most capable, but the P(S) of a iim grad if chosen vs a random mba is higher. Ofcourse, you can take the effort of “capabilities” approach, but the cost incurred in evaluation is very high, as the sample base gets much larger!

  • http://kidakaka.com/blog kidakaka

    @Mayur – Tht’s the problem na! Education in India is useless at its best. It does inculcate a certain taste of getting more marks in exams and being afraid of examinations.

    @Don – Nicely put!! I like the P(S) angle to the entire thing. The bitch is when the event doesnt happen and the sample set falls down flat on their faces, in such cases, attributes should not be considered. Waise, do you really believe in the P(S) of an IIM grad being higher than a random MBA :-)

  • http://crazybum.rediffblogs.com LightNinG CraShes

    Hi Kida,

    If there was ever a measure of capabilities without the game of tags that we play, like an entrance for every level, through a mix of practice and theory, it would be far too interesting an analysis.

    But the price for such a thing is fairly high and companies know of a short cut solution.

    • http://www.kidakaka.com kidakaka

      Hi LC!! Very well pointed out, that’s the exact reason why companies like Infosys and TCS will never change their recruiting habits. But a start-up like Zimbra where each resource counts might use the system. What say??

  • http://crazybum.rediffblogs.com LightNinG CraShes

    Large companies are so capable of pulling this sort of a thing off, but matters of investment often go through the grind of being pushed under the bed.

    I hope to see large companies see this as an effective means of attracting the most suitable brains. But for now, I am happy to see there are a few who have chosen the path less travelled. At least the first steps have been taken by someone.