Pundits persuasion
If romancing the words is your forte and creativity your genre, then copywriting is the perfect calling for you, writes Usha Albuquerque

Whether you’re asked to “taste the thunder! or take care — you’re worth it!” or that “ life is jhinga lala!” we are bombarded by messages in visual or audio form, coaxing us to buy a particular product or service. A brand of soap, a computer, the latest model of a car, or a service that transports you to exotic locations, the message always is that of persuasion.

 This is advertising, and the pundits of persuasion are Copywriters, the pencil chewing, idea freaks and creators of the enticing words that gets us to buy a packet of crunchy wafers or a special brand of paint – even when we don’t need to.

The copywriter is not, as many think, someone who write on a ‘copy’ book, but an important member of the creative department of an advertising agency. Advertising is used to persuade people to buy a particular product or service, to create a positive image of a company or organisation and to inform people or create awareness on issues of public interest and concern. The creative department in an advertising agency is responsible for conceptualising and designing advertisements in the form they appear whether in print, audio-visuals or display. This requires the working together of two disciplines

copy-writers, who handle the text (or ‘copy’ - as it is called in advertising jargon); and visualizers and graphic artists, those who work on the visual and artistic aspect of the ad.

work profile

A copywriter’s work begins when the accounts executive comes back with a brief from the client. The creative team evolves an idea for projecting the ad, keeping in mind the audience the campaign is targeted towards, the socio-economic background, where the ad will be placed and so on. This is normally discussed at several brainstorming sessions, where the copywriter sits with the accounts executive and the art director work out a strategy to promote the advertisement. It basically involves “ideating” to decide on which medium to use, whether it should be a print ad, an editorial or a television commercial.

Once that is decided the copywriter then has to write out the advertisement whether it is appropriate slogans, jingles or scripts, or any other textual matter. If it is a print ad or a television commercial, then a crisp and snazzy advertisement has to be written with a good punch line or jingle, but an editorial has to be a longish piece.

The copywriter also works along with the art director, who has to come up with visuals to go along with the advertisement. This can include dramatised sequences, still photographs, layouts, graphics, symbols, logos, etc.

A copywriter’s job is a purely creative job working with ideas and words in an environment where the dress code could be funky, everyday is different and you are expected to think out of the box. The atmosphere in most ad agencies is casual and frenetic, and some allow flexi hours work. But copywriters also work long hours with the constant pressure of deadlines.

Getting In

No particular academic requirements or subjects are necessary to become a copywriter, but you must have creative talent, strong in ideas, and written skills. Copywriting is essentially an inborn talent, and you should be fond of reading and writing and have a vibrant imagination, an ability to think out-of-the-box, team spirit, ability to withstand the high stress levels of an extremely competitive environment and ability to work under pressure. A general awareness of current affairs and social trends is also necessary for the job. Computer literacy and a command over more than one language can be an asset.

In terms of training you will need a basic graduation in any subject, which you can follow up with a postgraduate diploma course in advertising, or marketing communications. Doing a course in creative writing will also help, provided you have an in born talent with words. You can even go in for an internship during your summer vacations, or on-the-job training at an advertising agency soon after your graduation.

There are several institutes that offer a postgraduate diploma in advertising and public relations, or in media communications, or marketing communications. These include a general PG diploma or degree in mass communication, where advertising is one subject along with public relations and sometimes journalism too These include institutes such as the Indian Institute of Mass Communications, New Delhi, most of which also conduct campus placements.

Delhi University offers advertising as a vocational subject for the BA programme offered at many colleges, while Indraprastha College offers a BA in mass communication, for which admission is based on an entrance test.

Most ad agancies are happy to recruit anyone with talent and conduct a copy test to evaluate the candidate’s creativity during placements. The test evaluates your writing skills, grammar and vocabulary as well as your wit and sense of humour.

There are openings for copywriter with all advertising agencies. While large agencies have separate departments handling each of the different creative assignments, smaller ones club together several jobs handled by a small team and copywriting and visualising work could overlap. There are also openings in the advertising department of a private or public sector company, or the Advertising section of a newspaper, journal, and magazine. Work with web sites and web designing teams, studios and multi-media organization working on animation, and inter-net sites are other assignments for copywriters.

Some copywriters also write for magazines, or books, and many have even tried their hand at scriptwriting. Jaideep Sahni, one of Bollywood’s more successful scriptwriter/ directors, spent several years as a copywriter with a large advertising firm, before his writing talent took him to Bollywood. A career in advertising brings attractive remuneration and perquisites, which can rise fast, specially for those with talent.

Advertising is not a glamorous profession as most believe it to be. Those who join must be prepared to work long hours and under much pressure and deadlines.

But success comes early to those who show promise, and rewards in this industry are directly commensurate with the initiative displayed and results achieved. So if you are someone with whacky ideas, a good sense of humour, skilled with words and language, or a wizard with a pen and brush, then yahi hai right choice!

Dynamics of leadership

Q. I am a student of Class XII. I am very much interested in politics and want to pursue a career in this field. What are the options in politics and how to qualify for it? Also tell me something about the qualification needed to become an adviser.

— Akhil Soin

A. If you are asking me whether youth should be involved in politics, I’m all for it. But you need a lot of commitment and practical experience. No degree or college can teach you about it.

You need to be part of it to really understand the nitty-gritty’s.

As far as making a career in politics is concerned, it’s a complex and intricate process.

Does it make sense for a country as young as independent India to be governed by the oldest set of parliamentarians (in the world) when the rest of the population retires at 58?

Greedy self-serving politicians with charge sheets need to be replaced by candidates with a clean slate and a clear vision. We need doers not dodgers.

As TS Eliot said, “Last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next years words await another voice”.

Take the first step as a responsible citizen by casting your vote to elect the right candidate if you are age-wise eligible.

After that, pursue a course in Political Science or actually any other field for that matter — law, journalism, management, and economics — whatever to furnish your mind and equip you with professional competence.

To become an effective activist, your income stream should not be dependent on your political aspirations. This can become a constraint, as you need to be financially secure to venture into politics.

If you have a latent desire to facilitate change, it’s not hard to combine your political aspirations with academic demands.

Contesting college elections will give you a platform to be involved in politics as a student.

Later, explore every internship opportunity with political parties.

A first-hand insight into the working and various avenues in politics (career politician, party functionary, constituency / campaign manager, spokesperson, public relations officer, political activist, civil servant, policy analyst, etc. will give you a chance to decide whether indeed you can/ or really wish to make politics a full-time 
career option.

Moreover, you need not necessarily be involved in conventional political activities but work in sectors such as economics, micro-finance, analysing and formulating policies within the political framework.

After you are done with your academics, you could even look at MIT School of Government, Pune, a first of its kind institute in Asia for grooming dynamic leaders, empowering them with the knowledge and expertise for managing politics and social scenario.

Make your shopping skills pay 
Imagine being able to shop till you drop and getting paid for it too. Sakshi Khanna has a career option for all shopaholics 

Most people don’t need a reason to shop. It’s a beautiful indulgence that makes them feel lighter, in the spirit and on the pocket, too. Yet how many times has it happened that we end up buying something that we are uncertain about or regret owning a piece of clothing that makes us look fat?

So why not ask for assistance when needed.

How about turning to a professional shopper?

A professional shopper is different from a sales person. The job profile would not merely consist of helping one pick up random stuff and exclaim that every piece of clothing looks ‘Oh! So great on you”. The professional shopper basically helps a client judge whether the choice he/she is about to make is suitable or not. After all, isn’t some professional advice worth the moolah you spend on clothes and accessories, particularly in these recessionary times?

Vast scope

There’s plenty of scope for a professional shopper for there are endless things to shop for right from clothes to shoes to bags to accessories to jewellery and not to forget the sub-categorisation of clothes. With the retail sector opening up, there could be even more demand.

Key skills

The professional shopper should have certain personality traits like immense patience, a perceptive nature and an eye for things that stand out. Also, he/she needs to be in sync with the latest trends. An imaginative mind would be an added asset.

This may sound odd in a culture like ours where we’ve got our mothers, sisters and friends around to advise us on everything. But hiring the services of a professional shopper will give us an edge and bring out the best in us. As is the case with professional caterers, wedding planners (yes they can also help you choose your trousseau), event managers and so on.

Professional shoppers can be hired by the elite, busy executives or elderly individuals. These enthusiastic people must understand their client’s needs, desires as well as budget whether it is in clothing, food, home furnishing or appliances.

A professional shopper can give personal attention and help make a decision in accordance with the customer’s lifestyle, personality and taste. He/she needs to establish a relationship with the customer based on trust that whatever choice is made will be right for them and give them the confidence that what they end up buying will get them attention. A professional shopper working for a company may have selecting gifts for clients as his/her main task. Those employed with huge events need to secure the best vendors and prices and also need to have good negotiation skills.

So are you game for becoming a professional shopper?

Choose Chinese

Proficiency in a foreign language makes one more eligible to venture into certain fields. To stand in competition, a business has to deal with worldwide clients of varied cultures. Employees need to communicate in languages other than their own. The importance of foreign language study can be best realised by studying one. The accomplishing feeling you get by learning a foreign language, the enrichment that the language brings, can be felt only by experience. 

Learning the language of another country helps one understand its culture. Language becomes a peephole to look at the nation’s culture, its traditions and its history. A multilingual person can act as a bridge between two distinct cultures and actually represent various activities, be it social or professional. This is also a close result of globalisation that has made learning at least one foreign language a necessity especially in the business world.

Many fields such as the travel industry, communications, advertising, education and engineering have sectors dealing with foreign language study. Having better employment opportunities and greater chances of excelling in business suggest the importance of studying a foreign language.

India, being the second largest generator of manpower in the world, requires equipping workforce across all sectors of the economy. Providing knowledge on business strategies is not the only focus for various management disciplines but learning about appropriate psychology of a particular business partner is also very important.

With the globalisation of Indian economy, multinationals coming to India and more and more companies going for joint ventures abroad, the job scenario for those proficient in foreign languages have opened up. The ever-increasing amount of scientific, technological and cultural information promises a growing need for those who are able to facilitate international communications. Academic qualifications in foreign languages help in pursuing careers in the area of management.

Better job prospects

Today, it is the need for the employable Indian population to be proficient in a couple of foreign languages as the country is emerging as a significant economic player on the international stage. Since developed countries are taking interest in doing business with India, companies whether in IT or non-IT sectors are now seeking multilingual or bilingual professionals who can cater to international non-English speaking clients. There are many markets that may still be explored but where communication presents a barrier due to the absence of people who can speak both in the local language as well as English.

Major software companies sub-contract or outsource their localisation and testing to small firms for cost saving. These companies in particular seek multi-lingual public relation officers and human resource managers to facilitate better corporate communication in the context of a motley work culture. There are many Indian companies whose sole service is to cater to foreign language experts across the globe.

Starting from government-related work to entertainment, they provide language solutions to their clients. Proficiency in English is an added advantage for Indians who may teach foreign languages in other nations. Since it is a global communication tool, it is also observed that in most countries where people are still learning English, translation from their native language to English is a skill that serves as a propitious economic avenue.

Surveys and analysis have led education think-tanks and intellectuals to espouse the inclusion of foreign languages in the management school syllabus. On the premise that intelligence and knowledge rule today’s world, foreign languages can play a seminal role in the qualitative improvement of the work force.

Other career options in the education sector that call for foreign language proficiency are teaching, translation and interpretation. Loads of research work, journals and documents need immediate translation into English to facilitate knowledge liquidity in the Indian market.

A good choice

Apart from other foreign languages like Russian, French etc. Chinese has become the language of choice and it is not only being taught in high school and college, but online as well.

Its popularity shouldn’t be too surprising, however. More than 1 billion people speak the Chinese language. Being able to learn Chinese is not only fun, but it’s also becoming an essential skill for business people and world travelers alike. Due to China’s flourishing global economy rate, professionals of various domains are looking for training in Chinese. China is the third largest economy in the world after the US and Japan with a nominal GDP of US$ 4.4 trillion (2008) when measured in exchange rate terms.

Apart from learning business strategies of China, learning Chinese language is taken as a priority at different levels.

In the Indian perspective China is the closest competitor as well as business partner. Hence in near future to develop business relationship with China would require better communication with the country.

Due to expanding trade relations with China more and more companies are looking forward to hire professionals who at least understand the jargon of the language (Chinese).

So proficiency in Chinese will not only enrich communication at the international level but will also make the exchange result-oriented and effective.

(The writer is the Director General of JK Business School , Gurgaon) 

Where to go for your MBA?
J.D Singh

In today's society practically every young man or woman dreams of becoming a management professional and wants to join a good institute to groom him/her up for that purpose. With hundreds of institutions offering MBA or PGDM progammes, one often finds oneself in a state of confusion in deciding where to go. This becomes quite evident from the number of calls one receives, close to the admission time, from prospective entrants and/or from their guardians, seeking guidance in the matter of making choice of an institution.

A majority of such callers are found to be generally aware of the many survey reports on rating/ranking management institutes. Yet the dilemma remains as the survey reports seemingly confound the choice-making process of an individual aspirant even further. This happens because survey agencies use certain attributes to rate/rank a school, and it invariably comes out that some schools are better in one attribute while some others are better in another. So much so, all of the attributes considered in different surveys are not necessarily useful for making a right choice. Take, for example, intellectual capital. Most aspirants are either unable to interpret this or are relatively much less concerned about it. Factors considered, and/or weightage assigned to these for choice making by individuals, are not quite the same as those used by the rating/ranking agencies. Simultaneously, it is also true that concept of a “good institute” is quite fuzzy in the aspirants’ minds. With all these, any choice-making exercise seems to be faced with a “black box”.

Seeking many opinions also does not help often as perspectives differ from person to person. Despite such differing perspectives, placement typically assumes considerable importance, given the socio-economic conditions of our people. However, assessing that is not easy either, as phrases like 100 per cent placement mean very little.

Information that is of help includes: job profiles and the nature of companies where the students are getting placed. But these details are not easily available. That being the case, how to go about remains a puzzle because “good placement” is not about money alone.

More important factors for long-term growth are: job contents and opportunities available to make a meaningful contribution.

How to make sure that education provided at your MBA institute prepares you for those kinds of jobs.

One way to go about it is to look into the structure of the programme and examine the details of the delivery process.

Management as a discipline builds substantially on the experiential component.

Secondly, contextual interpretation of things is far more important than churn of generalised theories. Therefore, good education in management would mean a delivery process that is able to effectively and pragmatically combine theory and practice, so as to ensure rigor as well as relevance.

Additionally, for the students to become useful to their employing organisations, three important attributes become necessary. These are: positive attitude, team spirit, and the ability to constantly adapt to change. Ability of any institute to develop these in its students is another important factor to look for.

However, to be able to purposefully examine the above one must adopt a somewhat different mindset by recognising that management education is not about earning another degree or a diploma. It is about broadening the scope of thinking to identify possible challenges and deepening the understanding of various issues surrounding any given situation. Formation of a managerial mind, as opposed to having exposure to various management tools and techniques should be the goal.

Having noted the above, let us come back to the basic question, “What should you look for in specific terms before you make your choice of the Institute?”

Answer may comprise many things, but make sure to definitely examine the following.

l Relevant infrastructure — Beautiful buildings, gardens or fountains do not mean much. What matters is, a congenial academic environment so that the programme of study could be pursued in healthy and inspirational settings. Of particular relevance are: library and computing resources, and other knowledge infrastructures. Therefore, examine these with priority.

l Classroom delivery — For many courses, the textbooks followed may be the same across a number of institutions. Yet, what make substantial differences are the discourses inside the classrooms. “Whether the classroom discourses are able to raise and address various managerial issues involved, or are engaged in routine delivery of the textual contents?” is a question whose answer needs to be found out. In management, there is nothing like pious theories neither does one size fit all. The ability to think contextually is what matters the most. Check if these get built through the delivery process one undergoes.

l External involvement — To what extent the faculty members of the institute are involved in managerial problem solving by engaging themselves in action research, consulting, etc. and/or are dealing with live problems on a continuous basis. This is important because only those exposed to reality can expose others to it.

l Skill development orientation — Where is the focus? More on passing critical judgements or is tilted towards associative and interpretive analysis?

A question may yet arise, “how to figure out the above?” Difficult no doubt, but it can be deciphered, at least to some extent, through interaction with people in the institutions — both faculty and students.

Therefore, an aspirant does that rather than asking for opinions of friends, friend’s friends or uncle, even if some of these people are perceived to be experts. With so many institutions around, hardly anyone would be aware of what goes on where. Therefore, collecting first-hand information becomes important, especially because MBA, in majority of the cases, happens to be the terminal degree in a candidate’s career. Any inappropriate choice can bring more pains than gains. Hence, it is advisable to do things the right way as that will facilitate your doing the right thing.

NEWS WATCH
Manifest at IIM-Lucknow

IIM Lucknow, in association with Citi announced the launch of its Annual International Business Conclave — Manfest 2010 — with the opening of the Manfest 2010 website – www.iimlmanfest.com. This edition of Manfest is centered around the theme “India: Expect, Explore, Experience” and intends to firmly put the focus on India. Manfest 2010 aims to celebrate India’s success in weathering the recent economic crisis and draw inspiration from the strong fundamentals of our economy to move forward. Manfest 2010 will be held from January 22-24, at the IIM Lucknow campus

The Launch of Manfest was followed by the launch of ‘The Next CEO’ – a flagship event that is a big draw amongst the best B-school students in the country for the high stakes that it offers. ‘The Next CEO’ at Manfest 2010 boasts of PPI offers for the winners along with cash prizes worth Rs 1 lakh. The event has always had the reputation of being a gruelling test of business acumen, but with a difference. Innovative stages such as the Manfest ‘live’ round test participants in a non- traditional way, pulling them out of their comfort zones, putting them into the deep end of the pool and evaluating how they cope. Where last year the ‘live’ round featured participants selling vegetables at a Lucknow subzi mandi, this year it promises to throw new challenges. Says Deepak Venkatramani, Manfest core-committee member, “The Next CEO is recognised across campus as one of the most innovative and challenging competitions and we are confident of living up to that expectation.”

IIM Lucknow’s Manfest 2010 has also launched ‘Treatise: The International Thought Challenge’. Treatise is an International debate challenge, which is conducted online. This innovative format allows participating teams to contest from the comfort of their homes! A flagship event, Treatise has seen International participation from the likes of Stanford and University of Michigan. The event carries prize money of Rs. 75,000. This is the fourth edition of Treatise and first round entries can be submitted at treatise.iimlmanfest.com till December 25.

Manfest 2010 also launched ‘Prerna – The Social Entrepreneurship Awards’. It is a CSR initiative aimed at recognizing social entrepreneurs who have successfully led transformational social change. The focus is on self-sustaining businesses that are doing social good at its core.

More events are slated to be launched in the coming days. Manfest is particularly known for its innovative and thought inspiring conclaves. Industry leaders and renowned business minds capture the attention of packed audiences on contemporary topics. One of the conclaves this year will focus on the Gaming and Animation industry, a fast growing sector.

Other than that Manfest 2010 will feature Hell Raiser, the rock fest, Professional night, a Lucknow city run to raise AIDS awareness, online games, informals and much more.

For further details visit www.iimlmanfest.com —TNS

Delay can derail your career
Stay motivated to be on top, writes D.C. Sharma

The habit of leaving things incomplete is hazardous. It curbs one’s confidence. An internal pattern of never finishing things is set in the psyche of the procrastinator. The longer it persists, the more difficult it is to curb it. A procrastinator is often propelled by the internal pattern to give up a job before the finishing line. That results in sheer wastage of time, money and energy.

Some procrastinators get inspired a lot to start a new work. But that inspiration evaporates soon. Such a procrastinator has a tendency to find reasons that the job in hand is not productive.

Most of the procrastinators lack the zest to initiate a job. This flaw is often found among the potential workers. Such a person is basically afraid to initiate work for the fear of failure. Aristotle was not that serious when he said, “Well begun is half done”. A work well begun may boost the morale of the worker but it is never half done. What Aristotle actually meant to say was that the first step in any job or career is often the most important.

Robert F. Kennedy confirms, “those who dare to fall greatly achieve greatly”. Why fear of failing? Even a worker with a rare potential is not free from fear. He who does something may rise or fall. But the one who does things with utmost accuracy and efficiency is sure to rise to the top. Franklin D. Roosevelt opines that the only limit to our realisation of tomorrow is our doubt of today. Having a doubt in our psyche we often drop the job in hand. Some even start a new job or career every now and then but reach nowhere as their efforts are never consistent in any direction. Such workers could cut no ice at all.

Disappointment comes to life of every worker how so ever top class he may be. But the really hardworking ones who start a work with real zest never get discouraged. They know that disappointment may come and go but discouragement is their own choice. So they rarely get discouraged whatever the circumstances may be.

Procrastinators are often afraid of seeing the whole staircase of the job in hand at one and the same time. What they don’t recognise is the fact that one step should be seen at a time. Every work begins with a first step. Once the first step is accurate and perfect, there should be no looking back. For them every new step is the first step. They go on with every new step with perfect confidence.

Internal motivation is the basic thing that every type of a procrastinator must try to inculcate. He must first create the need to achieve. The initiative automatically comes with full force pushing the worker to delay no more.

R.L.Stenvenson has rightly advised: “Don’t judge each day with the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.” Just plant the need in your psyche. It will motivate you to initiate at the right moment.

Thus it is clear that we get feelings to procrastinate the job in hand when we attach a sense of unpleasantness with it. But by making it interesting we are sure to do it well to perfection. Planning and visualisation also help us do the job perfectly well and that allows us to make the full use of our physical, mental and emotional energies to bring about our grand success..

No place for loyalty
Paul Casciato

Almost half the financial sector workers in London and New York say they would take sensitive company information with them if they were fired, according to a new transatlantic survey. The poll of 600 office workers in Canary Wharf in London and Wall Street in New York by management specialists Cyber-Ark revealed that 41 per cent of respondents had taken sensitive data with them to their new position. A third also said they would pass on company information if it proved useful in getting friends or family a job. Nearly 50 per cent said if they were fired tomorrow they would take company information with them, and 39 per cent would download company/competitive information if they got wind that their job was at risk. And a quarter of workers said that the recession has meant that they feel less loyal towards their employer.

“While we are seeing glimmers of hope in the UK and US economy, clearly employee confidence has been rocked," UK Director of Cyber-Ark Mark Fullbrook said in a statement.

“This survey shows that many workers are willing to do practically anything to ensure job security or make themselves more marketable — including committing a crime.”Top of the hit list for data thieves was customer and contact details at 29 per cent, followed by plans and proposals at 18 per cent and product information at 11 per cent. Thirteen per cent who said they would pilfer data would also take password codes to continue getting into the network after they’ve left the company.

More than 30 per cent said they would take a peek at the redundancy list to find out if their name was on it, choosing to bribe a mate in the HR department first. The survey also showed that 85 per cent of respondents admitted they knew it is illegal to download corporate information from their employer. More than half said it has become a lot easier to take sensitive information from under their bosses noses this year, up from 29 per cent last year.

The survey also highlighted differences between British and US workers in the recession. Just over a quarter of British employees said they were prepared to work 80 hours a week to keep their jobs, while only 12 per cent of U.S. workers suggested they would work that much harder to keep their jobs. The poll also showed that only 20 per cent of British respondents were prepared to take a salary cut to keep their jobs compared to 50 per cent of US workers. — Reuters

Happiness work
Don’t leave a job unfinished
Gems of ancient wisdom

If something can go wrong, it will. In order to avoid seeing your job on the firing line, don’t leave before the last run is scored.Australian cricketer Michael Bevan was famed as a finisher. He took his team home after many top-order collapses so that Australia could continue to be the invincibles.

When Karna didn’t heed the advice of his charioteer Salya to aim at Arjuna’s heart, Salya left the battlefield in protest. Alone and with his chariot caught in the mire, Karna was an easy prey for Arjuna’s arrows.

Chanakya, Prime Minister of the Mauryan Empire, was not one who would leave a job incomplete. Emperor Chandragupta even saw his guru completely destroy the grass that made him fall. Chanakya not only spared no efforts to crown Chandragupta Emperor, but also did not rest till all his remaining enemies were neutralized.

“Arjuna, if you walk away from the battlefield, you will be defamed,” warned Krishna (Gita 2.33).

To keep morale high and team spirit thriving, every team-game’s mantra is ‘come together, leave together’.

— Sai R. Vaidyanathan,The writer can be contacted at svaidyanathan@tribunemail.com 

Vicious circle of blame game

A new study has shown that the habit of blaming someone in an organisation, even if he or she is innocent, greatly increases the odds that the practice of blaming others will spread with the tenacity of the H1N1 flu. The blame game spreads quickly because it triggers the perception that one’s self-image is under assault and must be protected.

Study’s lead author Nathanael J. Fast, assistant professor of management at the University of Southern California (USC) and Larissa Tiedens, professor of organisational behaviour at Stanford, conducted four different experiments and found that publicly blaming others dramatically increases the likelihood that the practice will become viral.The study is the first to examine whether shifting blame to others is socially contagious.

”Blaming becomes common when people are worried about their safety in an organisation. There is likely to be more blaming going on when people feel their jobs are threatened,” Tiedens said.

Fast said: “When we see others protecting their egos, we become defensive too. We then try to protect our own self-image by blaming others for our mistakes, which may feel good in the moment.” However, in the long run, such behaviour could hurt one’s reputation and be destructive to an organisation and further to our society as a whole, he added.

”Blame creates a culture of fear and this leads to a host of negative consequences for individuals and for groups,” Fast said.

Anyone can become a blamer but there are some common traits. Typically, they are more ego defensive and tend to feel chronically insecure, Fast said. The results will be published in the November issue of Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.— ANI