The Japanese Fan

The ‘Japanese Fan’ concept (on a lighter and satirical note), in the organizational context, was first suggested and theorized by one of the contemporary management-thinkers of our times. Here is an excerpt from the "Modern Management Concepts and Organizational Behavior" by DPM! You are encouraged NOT to take it too seriously!

A software engineer comes over to his supervisor after sending across a meeting request that the supervisor has accepted. They go over to the discussion-room and the sweet discussion gets a kick-start.

Engineer: Boss, it's been more than 4 years in this organization since I started working on your project. My performance, as stated by you several times, has been very good, so far. You know that, over the past many months, I have been performing tasks that I would do in my next higher role. And, I have done a good job, as confirmed by you. However, I am yet to come across a promotion and a good salary hike. And, I have discussed with you about this concern over the last year, as well. However, my concern has not been addressed yet! Then, he continues in Hindi. Bahut garmi lagne lagi hai. Please, kuchh kijiye. Pankhaa chaliyee (onsite bhejiye), yaa fir AC chalaa dijiye (Promotion + Hike). Pasinese latpat ho gayaa hun. Aur sahaa nahin jaataa! Jald hi kuchh kijiye. [Translation: It feels really too hot! Kindly do something to help me. Either, please switch the fan on (that is, send me on an onsite assignment or delegation at a suitable location abroad; where the fan denotes the propeller of an airplane) or switch on the Air Conditioner (that is, get me a promotion and a good salary hike; for, the higher one goes, the cooler it becomes)! I am already drenched with my own sweat! I can not take it anymore. Do something fast.]

Supervisor: I understand your situation. However, honestly, I do not see anything upfront that I can offer you as an obvious solution. Please understand the situation and continue to work on the current assignment. I shall do my best to address your problem over the next performance appraisal cycle. Over this year, it is not possible!

Engineer: Boss, I am disappointed to hear that. And, I think, we are done with our discussion. Thank you for your time.

Supervisor: Thank you for your understanding and good work.

After 45 days, again, the software engineer comes over to his supervisor after sending across a meeting request that the supervisor accepted. They go over to the discussion-room and the quick discussion gets a kick-start.

Supervisor: Tell me, how can I help you (What can I do for you)!

Engineer: Pulls out a Japanese Paper Fan from his bag and says, in Hindi, Sir, meine bolaathaa aapko ki bahut garmi lag rahi hai. Bahut jyaadaa taklif hai. Naa aapne pankhaa chalaayaa, naa aapne AC ON kiyaa. Ab mein kyaa kartaa, meine hi ek Jaapaani Pankhe kaa jugaad kar liyaa. [Translation: Sir, I did tell you that I really felt too hot. And, I was in real pain. Neither did you switch the fan on, nor did you switch the Air Conditioner on! I had no other choice. I arranged this Japanese Fan to cool myself off.]

Aur, fir Engineer apnaa jaapaani pankhe se hawaa khaane lagaa. [Translation: Then, the engineer used that Japanese Fan for a while to induce an airflow to refresh himself.]

Supervisor: Dear, I did not understand anything!

Engineer: Please take a look at my Jaapaani Pankhaa (= Japanese Fan), then.

The Engineer, hands over the Japanese Paper Hand Fan to the Supervisor. The supervisor takes a closer look at it and realizes that it's not really a Japanese Fan. It is around 15 job offers the Engineer has accumulated over the last 45 days. And, those offer-letters have been arranged in a Japanese Hand Fan shape (formation).

The story ends here. Yes, it is just a story.
Hindi is a beautiful language. However, please forgive my bad Hindi!

Theme: In appropriate cases, switch the fan or AC on before it becomes too hot (late). Retention of right talent is the key to managerial (and business) success. Reward and Recognition are not sufficient to achieve the goal. 'Right Time', another R' Factor, does really mater a lot. Reward and recognition delayed are, in many cases, as good(bad?) as, well, denied!  Next Page >>

The Japanese Fan by Debi Prasad Mahapatra is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.