OrganisationalDivorce: TheBoss Factor

NIDA ZeeShAN ALI

Amonth back, I left my job in an

organization I had worked with

for six years. People asked me if I

was unhappy with my salary, or if there

had been a fight, or whether I’d merely

gotten bored? My reply to all these

questions was negative. I told them I’d

left because I was uncomfortable with

my immediate supervisor;

‘uncomfortable’ was an understatement.

At work I’d been assigned to a team

lead, along with 11 other people. We

were to work as a team for one year

with hard targets and tough deadlines.

We were putting in every ounce of effort

into the project, yet there was not one

word of appreciation or encouragement

from the team-lead. But make one

mistake, and lo and behold! All hell

would be let loose on us. By the end of

7th month, it became impossible to stay

on. After I left, I spoke to some of my

other teammates and almost all of them

told me they also intended to quit if

things didn’t get better soon. This

situation is not unique to one

organization or employee. World over,

one of the top reasons an employee

leaves their jobs is adverse relationship

with their boss. Employees don’t need to

be friends with their boss but it cannot

be denied that the immediate supervisor

is the person they might spend most of

their waking hours around. To have a

toxic relationship with the person an

employee reports to not only causes

stress, it also undermines the

employee’s confidence and engagement

level. Organizations spend a lot of

money on employee retention programs.

Failure of such programs, in part, can be

credited to concentration on the wrong

factors. Refer back to my story, contrary

to common perception, studies show

that a good work environment is often

much more important than the current

pay level. Merely raising an employee’s

salary or assigning a glorifying job title

may not be enough. Studies also show

that many employees will be willing to

put in extra time and effort, in exchange

for minimal compensation, if the work

environment is congenial. On the other

hand, employees who are unhappy or

dissatisfied with the work environment

may demand unrealistic compensation

or simply refuse to take on extra

assignments. A bad relationship with a

supervisor may lead to stress, anxiety

and depression and it doesn’t stop here.

Employees working with ‘bad’ bosses are

also more likely to suffer from other

health issues including life threatening

cardiac conditions, states a study

published in the Journal of Occupational

and Environmental Medicine. The study

states that employees working with

incompetent, secretive or inconsiderate

bosses were 60% more likely to suffer

cardiac arrests. In today’s competitive

work environment, high turnover, poor

employee morale, or diminished job

performance can wreak havoc for an

organization. The answer is simple – a

happy workplace is a productive

workplace. Ensure that the people

promoted to supervisor roles are

prepared for dealing positively with

subordinates. Get regular feedback

from the employees – this will be

especially helpful to find problem areas

before they get too bad – and give

employees the confidence to speak up

regarding a difficult supervisor. These

small steps will lead to greater gains in

terms of increased employee

engagement and morale.

01

ISLAMABAD

APP

Pakistan has turned aroundfrom a food deficient to afood surplus country and hasalso seen a sharp rise in theproduction of economically

vital cash crops like sugarcane and cotton.impressive surge in the major crops yieldlends credit to a combination of a sufficientraise in support prices and unhamperedflow of credit for farmers.

this remarkable turnaround has beenachieved despite national calamities likefloods and other challenges. Gone are thedays when the country had to hurriedlyarrange for the importof its major staplecrop like wheat tofeed its popula-tion.

according toofficially com-piled figures, wheatproduction has in-creased by 14.5 per-cent, rice by 10.7percent, sugarcane by24.8 percent and cot-ton production by 14.1percent during this pe-riod.

Pakistan was included in the list offood deficient countries in 2007-8 when itimported not only wheat but also pulsesamong other food items.

During the financial year 2007-8,wheat production was recorded at 20.95million tonnes against the domestic re-quirements of about 22 million tonnes,forcing the government to enhance its sup-port prices besides providing subsidies ondifferent agro-inputs like fertilizers, seedsand pesticides and provided technical as-sistance for growers.

according to the data of agriculturePolicy institute (aPi), during the financialyear 2009-10, the country harvested for thefirst time, a bumper crop of over 24 milliontonnes.

During the period under review, peracre crop yield also increased which max-imised the farm income of small land hold-ers of the country.

During the financial year 2010-11,once again the country harvested a historicbumper wheat crop with an outputrecorded at 25.214 mil-lion tonnes

which was surplus, resulting in Pakistanmaking an appearance on the list of wheatexporting countries.

Besides, rice production also recordedincrease with production standing at 5.563million tonnes during 2007-08 which in-creased to 6.95 million tonnes by the year2008-09.

During the year 2010-11, due to flashfloods in the country crop production wit-nessed slight decrease including rice andcotton which was recorded at 4.823 million

tonnes but it againgained momentum and

reached 6.160 milliontonnes during the year

2011-12.Meanwhile, sugar-

cane productionduring the year2008-9 remainedat 50.045 milliontonnes which in-creased to 62.503

million in 2011-12showing an increase ofover 24 percent.

the cotton crop out-put which was recordedat 11.655 million bales

in 2007-8 increased by14.1 percent during the

last five years and reached13.579 million bales during 2011-

12.agriculture credit disbursement by

banks surged by 12 percent on a year-on-year basis to Rs 140.32 billion in the firsthalf (July-December, 2012) of the currentfiscal year (2012-13).

according to the state Bank, in ab-solute terms, disbursement of credit to theagriculture sector increasedby over Rs 15.11 bil-lion in July-Decem-ber, 2012 whencompared withthe totaldisburse-ment of Rs125.21 bil-lion in thesame periodof the last fiscalyear.

the overall creditdisbursement by fivemajor commercialbanks including al-

lied Bank Limited, Habib Bank Limited,MCB Limited, national Bank of Pakistanand United Bank Limited stood at Rs 76.04billion in July-December, 2012 as com-pared with Rs 70.56 billion disbursed inJuly-December, 2011 depicting an increaseof Rs 5.47 billion or 7.76 percent.

the Zarai taraqiati Bank Limited(ZtBL), the largest specialised bank, dis-bursed a total of Rs 19.28 billion in July-December, 2012, down by 8.39 percentcompared with Rs 21.04 billion disbursedin the same period of the last fiscal year.

Punjab Provincial Co-operative BankLimited (PPCBL) disbursed

Rs 3.59 billion in July-December, 2012down by 7.02 percent compared with Rs3.87 billion disbursed in the same periodlast year.

Fourteen domestic private banks alsoloaned a combined amount of Rs 33.16 bil-lion in July-December, 2012 up by 36.84

percent as com-p a r e d

w i t hR s

24.23 billion disbursed in the same periodof the last fiscal year.

Five microfinance banks includingkhushhali Bank Ltd., nRsP

Microfinance Bank Ltd., the First Mi-crofinance Bank Ltd., Pak Oman Microfi-nance Bank Ltd. and tameer MicrofinanceBank Ltd. Disbursed agricultural loansamounting to Rs 8.25 billion during July-December, 2012 as compared to Rs 5.50billion disbursed in the same period of thelast fiscal year.

the state Bank has provisionally setan indicative agricultural credit disburse-ment target of Rs 315 billion to banks forthe current fiscal year.

However, experts believe that furthersteps are required for keeping up the risingmomentum in crops and called for intro-ducing less water consuming seed vari-eties.

Encouraged by the farmers’ perform-ance, the present government has alsoplayed its part for further encouraging thefarming community to enhance productiv-ity. the government has also announcedincrease in the wheat support prices fromRs 1,050 per 40 kg to Rs 1,250 per 40 kgagainst last year’s support price.

they said due to climate changes andincrease in temperature, water level was

swiftly decreasing which was analarming trend for agro-based

economies.to overcome such issues

and challenges, theystressed the need for in-

troducing short dura-tion, drought resistant,disease resistant andlow water consuming

varieties to fulfil theincreasing demandfor food in thecountry.

BUSINESS

BMonday, 11 February, 2013

Major crops yield witnessestremendous increaseduring last five years

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BUSINESSMonday, 11 February, 2013

ArSLAN AhMAD MAhAAr

tHE dairy industry of Pakistan is ahuge industry and the most com-mon dairy product is milk. improv-

ing quality assurance in dairy industry ofPakistan is a need because Pakistan is stillunable to create a market among foreigncompetitors because its products are stillrestricted to basic.

Pakistan is said to be the 4rth largestmilk producing country and the yearly pro-duction of Pakistan is 33 billion liters. it issaid that 80% of the milk in Pakistan is pro-duced by rural producers.

the developing dairy industry of Pak-istan is ideal for branded dairy productsmostly in the urban areas because in urban

areas mostly branded and packaged milk arethe ones which rule the market while thereare few segments which use the loose milksupplied by “local gawala”. Quality assur-ance is not that much there as far as loosemilk is concerned because of the conven-tional method of milking and handling of themilk does not protect the milk from germs.a lot of people are now aware of this fact sothey now prefer packaged milk more as com-pared to loose milk. in packaged milk qualityis insured as by using machines for milking.the machines used in milking are washedwith chemical before and after milking isdone. Even the milking glands of the animalsare also washed to ensure better quality.

Considering the current situation of Pak-istan dairy sector i.e. major key players of

dairy business are importing cheap skimmedmilk powder for their products; (this refersto the ahmed Faraz khan Column ‘Dairyfarmers hit by milk powder processing’, nov5, 2012) if this situation persists for quitelong it would be very disastrous as the farm-ers might have to sell their animals to earntheir livelihood and they will be permanentlytrapped in the circle of poverty. Quality playsa very crucial role in the dairy sector becausethe consumer of today’s modern era is veryhealth conscious. so the businesses shouldfocus on continuous improvement of theirproducts quality.

The writer is a student of School ofManagement, Forman Christian CollegeUniversity

02

B

EnERGy plays an importantrole in the development of anysociety. it is the primary anduniversal necessity for allkinds of work ever done by

human beings and nature. the rapid industri-alization has led to increased use of fossil fuelsuch as coal, oil and gas to meet the powerrequirement, which results in depletion ofnatural resources. Due to increased demandand cost of energy, these resources are notsufficient and becoming more and more ex-pensive. Presently, the country is facingmajor energy crisis that has seriously affectedeconomic growth and development process.Prolonged load shedding is a routine matterand the reason is continuous decline in oiland gas reserves and vertical increase inprices. Deforestation and emission of hydro-carbon is a continuous threat on environ-ment, considered responsible for ozonedepletion. With the increasing fuel demand,available energy sources are not sufficient asbeing used rapidly. Emission of poisonousgas from burning of fossil fuel is also a majorconcern for the ecosystem and human health.in view of the prevailing situation it is nec-essary to get rid of these serious problems.

For this purpose, alternate energysources especially for rural community mustbe explored. it is becoming difficult for theGovernment to provide gas facility even incities, what to talk of villages. Our country isrich in animal resources, water, constructionmaterial, ambient temperature and human re-sources. the increased power demand, de-pleting fossil fuel sources and increasingenvironmental pollution have led the worldto think seriously for alternative sources ofenergy. the concept of alternative energy re-lates to the sustainable, renewable and pollu-tion reducing energy. the available optionsfor renewable energy in the country are nu-clear, Wind, solar and Biogas.

Use of renewable biomass as energysource, creates a balance to atmospheric carbondioxide levels through replacement of fossilfuels. Biogas originates from bacteria in theprocess of bio-degradation of organic matterunder anaerobic conditions. in the absence ofoxygen, anaerobic bacteria decompose organicmatter and produce a gas mainly composed ofmethane and carbon dioxide called biogas.this gas can be compared to natural gas, whichcontains more than 80% methane. Comparedto other fossil fuels, methane produces less at-mospheric pollutants and generates less carbondioxide because it is comparatively a cleansource of fuel. the trend has increased to useit for appliances, vehicles, industrial appli-cations and power generation. analysis ofbiogas shows that it contain Methane 50-75%, Carbon dioxide 25-50%, nitrogen 0-10%, Hydrogen 0-1%, Hydrogen sulphide0-3%, and Oxygen 0-2%, quite nearer to thenatural gas, having good combustibility.Faced with power and diesel shortages,farmers are not able to optimally benefitfrom water resource which is further deteri-orated with increasing stress from climatechange. Use of biogas is a good option to runthe existing tube wells, which are presentlyusing diesel oil. keeping in view this tech-nological advancement and attractive finan-cial breakthroughs it should be implementedin suitable villages to meet continuously in-creasing water requirements of agriculture.

a typical biogas plant consist of a di-gester where the anaerobic fermentation

takes place, a gas holder for collecting bio-gas, and input-output units for feeding the or-ganic matter and storing the effluentrespectively, and gas distribution system. thefermentation of cow dung and farm waste inbiogas plant in the form of slurry increase ni-trogen, phosphorus and potash percentage.GEoGraPhical suitability of

bioGas Plant: the process of organicmaterial anaerobic digestion takes place inthree main temperature ranges: from 10-25°C,from 30-37°C and from 48-55°C. the idealtemperature is between 30 and 40 degreesCelsius within the fermentation chamber, asthis is the temperature range at which anaero-bic bacteria are most active. if the temperatureis too low, the process of fermentation will be-come slow; consequently biogas productionwill be reduced. Punjab is the most populousregion with 56% of total population. More-over, the central Punjab including Faisalabad,sargodha, Jhang, toba tek singh, sahiwal,Okara, Pakpatan, sheikhupura, Hafizabad,Mandi Bhauddin, khushab, Mianwali, Bhakaris considered to be the most potential area forinstalling biogas plants as these areas are tem-perate in nature. northern areas of the countryare less temperate, so their suitability for in-stalling biogas plants is low.

the digested liquid manure coming outof the biogas plants would provide an excel-lent organic manure in which all the usefulnutrients remain preserved (due to decompo-sition in the enclosed digester of the biogas

plant) for promoting environmentally soundeco-farming. Because the nutrients in the bio-gas digested liquefied manure gets mineral-ized, and is easily available to the crop.Moreover, this biogas digested manure, im-proves water-holding capacity of the soil, andacts as soil-conditioner, improving its fertilityand building-up micro-flora in the soil(which might have lost due to excessive useof chemical fertilizers & pesticides. Due tothe residual effect of the biogas-digested ma-nure on the soil, its positive impact could alsobe observed in the next 1-2 crops as well. asthe biogas-digested manure provides all theplant food, minerals and micronutrients, itproduces healthy crops, due to which the at-tack of insects and disease is reduced sub-stantially. as the inherent strength of theplants (crops) is developed, it increases thecapability and capacity of crops to fight backthe diseases and also to withstand underworst stress conditions and water shortage,as compared to the chemical fertilizer basedcrops. if the farmers are not able to use thebiogas plant digested liquid manure immedi-ately, they could use this liquid for makingexcellent scientific compost along with otherlocally available biodegradable wastes. thedigested liquid manure would also promotemaking of compost faster, and all the nutri-ents of the manure will remain preservedwhen composting rather than letting it dry-this compost could then be used during thecrop seasons. in developing countries, the

production of biogas and bio-fertilizer holdsthe promise of substituting increasingamounts of imported fossil fuels and mineralfertilizers. On an economic scale, the impor-tance of digested sludge as a supplementarysource of fertilizer is gradually gainingrecognition. as populations continue to grow,there is a corresponding increase in the de-mand for food, fertilizers and energy. in Pak-istan, both the production and consumptionof chemical fertilizers have been steadily ex-panding over the past decades. according toan estimate it is predicted that the nationalconsumption of mineral fertilizers could bereduced by 30% through the use of digestedbiogas sludge as fertilizer that improves soilfertility and increased crop yield by 10-20%.Furthermore no smoke is produced by burn-ing the biogas, residential area remained neatand clean and a germ free environment isavailable besides the economic advantages.

Biogas is cheap, clean, soot free and ex-tremely convenient cooking fuel. introductionof this technology to the rural community willhelp to mitigate the daily cooking problemsof rural women, upgrade their living standard,improve the environment and slow down themigration to urban areas. Energy efficient de-vices can help to create a sustainable fuel sys-tem within the rural community and sustainthe ecological balance of a region. alternativeenergy sources can provide local employmentopportunities through construction, repair andmaintenance of energy devices, or through the

sale of energy to local utilities. this techno-logical advancement through further expan-sion in the rural community as necessity oflife can save the living planet from environ-mental pollution. it is the dire need of the daythat other resources must be explored for selfsufficiency in energy as well as agriculturesectors. these days, the technique of produc-ing biogas from agriculture, animal and do-mestic waste is getting popular throughout theworld, to meet the energy crisis, shortage andincreasing cost of fertilizers.

Based on the quantity of gas producedand number of animals available, three dif-ferent sizes of biogas plants are being de-signed. Plant size of 12 cubic meters forwhich 6-8 animals are required, can producethe amount of gas which is sufficient for 10to 12 hours of domestic use. 30 cubic meterplant with 16-18 animals can produces gasfor 24 hours for domestic use. similarly, 50cubic meter size of biogas plant with 28 ani-mals can produce domestic biogas for 24hours and 8 to 10 hours tube well running.

to facilitate the rural community foradopting the biogas technology and its promo-tion, Zarai traqiati Bank Limited has made ita loan able item for house hold & tube wells.the farmers, who have sufficient number ofanimals, can contact branches of Zarai traqiatiBank in their respective areas or may contactagriculture technology Department, head of-fice islamabad (Phone no.051-2840872,0301-5139165, Fax 051-2840848).

BIOGAS — AN EMERGING ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGY

IMPROVING QUALITY ASSURANCE IN PAKISTAN’S DAIRY INDUSTRY

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