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The interesting aspect of every controversy in our country is the amount of publicity it generates. Close on the heels of the major row raised by the "instrumental" rendering of the national anthem at the function hosted by a major software company, came the almost ludicrous brouhaha over the cavorting on stage of aging Hollywood star Richard Gere with the born again Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty. A Sunday program on one of the popular television channels took the controversy to a new plane by emphasizing that the feelings of the new moral brigade were echoed by the majority of people in our country.

The "kiss and tell" controversy or the new "pecking order" as one correspondent called it exposes for the umpteenth time the double standards that prevail in our thinking and so often creeps into our working world. In the knowledge industry in our country, many social and cultural traditions are being brought under the headlamps and exposed for what they are-the artificial remnants of a previous era-when repression and a "holier than thou' moral attitude served as a wonderful façade for the exploitation and lewd behavior that has always lurked beneath the surface of our day to day life. Ask any young lady who has dared to travel on a Delhi Transport Corporation bus in peak hours about the behavior of the lumpen elements that have no respect for women at all.

This is not a plug for loose behavior or a general relaxation of ethical and moral standards but just an appeal for CXOs and HR chiefs in IT and BPO to wake up and smell the coffee. We cannot build a global industry with world beating aspirations if we continue to keep our young folk in cages and view any display of affection within or outside our office boundaries as a transgression of a code of conduct. The youth of today may be more liberated in their thinking but are well aware of their own independence and responsibilities.

At a recent talk for the National HRD network in Pune, I spoke about the need to build networks of relationships based on passion and love with colleagues up and down the corporate hierarchy to enable an environment of true bond ing that would put the organization on the path to attaining collaborative success. After the session, an elderly consultant actually asked me if I had not over stepped the line by advocating the demolition of hierarchies and wondered if organizations would not collapse under a climate of anarchy if rules were not laid and enforced, particularly with the large majority of the workforce being in their impressionable twenties. Contrast this to the response from the younger sections of the audience who were genuinely appreciative of the fact that some "old fogey" had actually reached out to their core feelings.

How does one build an environment of true "connectedness" in today's dynamic knowledge industry? In our own firm we have tried to make that happen in HR by having a team that spans twenty year old employee relations executives, thirty some HR managers of key business units, a more mature leadership that still stays in tune with the aspirations of the youth, and a sprinkling of truly senior mentors to listen to and address some deeper issues of youngsters. Does all this help in an attrition prone industry? Sure it does if our five basis point improvement in retention is any metric, and more important, the combination of sage advice with empathy makes for the friendly and fun environment that is enshrined in Zensar's own Five F cultural framework.

Finally, the humor associated with the narrow-minded behavior of a few elements is not the sole prerogative of our country. In an interview in the US, when Richard Gere spoke about the backlash being restricted to a fringe element of right wing ultra conservative politicians, the interviewer was quick to ask: "Are you talking about India?" in an obvious reference to this ultra conservatism that prevails in many parts of the western world as well! Is the world ready for a new beginning? It better be!

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