More about IOC

I had written earlier on life at Indian Oil Corporation. Upon leaving, the then GM, Mr. Anand Kumar had asked me to send him a brief write up on the experience at IOC. I did within a few weeks and here it is reproduced from a resurfaced draft without editing. It is left unedited to bring out many of my own prejudices and ignorance in hindsight. But it is not without some merit....

'It gives an inexplicable feeling that it is entangled in its own procedures. Imagine the frustration of a professional who discovers that most of the time is wasted in getting approvals, the more the layers, the more so and by the time the approvals are through, the original enthusiasm has died down and sometimes the situation and the priorities have also changed. This leaves the impression that IOC is best for people who are just capable such as those selected from the exisitng AMIEs and NIPM graduates.


Indeed if one cares to evaluate they are the ones who feel any sense of improvement once in the company because he gets a jump whereas the professionally qualified entry level officer has to slog at least 12 years to get to the next postion of any substance namely the Manager.

It is amazing how much of self deception is prevalent at all levels that we are No. 1 that we are Fortune 500 company in India and so on. The worth of a company is no longer dependent on such qualifications but on its capacity to adapt, change and charge ahead.

For the very same reason the size of the company will prove to be the single largest hindrance to its survival.

Brings us to the question why inspite of the excellent welfare amenities so many are frustrated and slowly leaving. I have felt hat IOC takes care of your future but at the expense of your present.There is a concept called inbreeding in Biology. This occurs when a species procreates with its own community and thereby lose the chance to get the genetic qualities of the other members and be resistant to diseases etc. The same happens if you look at IOC as an organistion. Every year new members are recruited but the enthusiasm soon dies out since he has to learn primarily from the boss who has gone through a similar exercise in his days with the result that the chances of any new ideas and radical changes befitting the times are stifled.


Recruitment of professional managers at higher levels is therefore a must for IOC. Imagine the break with the past that an ouside Manager can bring in . Today it is not the dearth of talent but the approval Raj that snuffs off opportunities for change. One would in a better position to help IOC if he is an outside consultant than being an employee. So much for waste of telent.

The exit interview format is the most unimaginative thing one can expect. Look at the rigidity of options. Moreover the instrument is to be filled in by the interviewer. Incidentally in an article that I wrote for a Management journal (JIMS 8M Jan - Mar 1999) I mentioned the fact which saw me through a lot in my final decision to leave IOC.

IOC can do a lot of justice to itself by being transparent right at the start at the time of recruitment by saying where exactly the postings would be and drawbacks of the place rather than just an 'authoritarian ' you are liable to be posted anywhere in India ' which sounds more like joining the military. Indeed one finds oneself in such an atmosphere without the discipline.

IOC can also mention before recruiting professional such as HR that 'you may be posted under such officials from streams other than HR who knows nothing about the function and whose qualification is just that they have been unsucessful in Project and Maintainance.......

I had often thought why I WROTE THE LETTER. I could have chosen not to write or may be a more polite one. It shows how one is surprised at oneself if able to go back and look at onself .........