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RohinGupta

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  1. Please check following links to get a glimpse of whats in store.1. Study Group on intellectual development of Ayn Rand - http://forum.objectivismonline.com/index.php?/topic/28351-ayn-rand-chapter-from-the-power-and-the-glory/2. Study Group on how iPhone was conceptualized and developed - http://forum.objectivismonline.com/index.php?/topic/29185-becoming-steve-jobs-how-a-reckless-upstart-became-a-visionary-leader/
  2. Pre-Study started yesterday ----------------- WEEK 0 CHAPTER 3 - COLLABORATION 1. Introduction 2. Business Collaborations - Purely Transactional, Transactional and Contractual, Purely Contractual - Employer-Employee relationship - Employee-Employee relationship - Employer-Employer relationship - Cultural Relationship, Government-Businessman relationship 3. Conclusion ---------------------- I will publish questions that the participants can optionally answer. Participants can also summarize or outline the text. They can also select the portion of text, analyzing and synthesizing it deeply, chew the content that is. So here are the questions from this week's content Q1.) Which subject does business collaboration belong to? In this chapter what are we trying to resolve? Q2.) Business collaborations are inferred based on which facts? Q3.) Explain with examples, transactional form of business collaboration? Q4.) Explain with examples, "transactional and contractual" form of business collaboration? Q5.) Explain with examples, purely contractual form of business collaboration? Q6.) What are similarities and differences between contractual relationship and employer-employee relationship? Q7.) What is the problem with having a contractual relationship with house maid? Q8.) What is the scope of employer-employee relationship? Q9.) Explain with examples employee-employee relationship? Emphasis can be on key attributes of this relationship. Q10.) Explain with examples employer-employer relationship? Emphasis can be on key attributes of this relationship. Q11.) Explain with examples, cultural relationship businesses have? Q12.) If possible, share examples and attributes ( both positive and negative ) of Government-Businessman relationship?
  3. Mini version now available here - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NWBS1SJ?fbclid=IwAR1oBovyShIf5wtAwtPCrFiwDpLmPG3VFZNz8eXEhosyqHvJ64fm-UJQgUs So those who may not have bought the full book, considering it complex, can still buy the mini-version and participate in the study-group.
  4. Just posted following etiquettes for the upcoming study group. Etiquette is the art of facilitating trade by applying principles and rules of behavior to social situations. In this case we are trading ideas on particular topic, and etiquettes deal with how we should post and interact in the thread. Here are etiquettes designed specifically for study-group method of discussion. 1. THE NATURE OF POSTS IN THIS STUDY GROUP a. Focus on the Text. The study-group is a text-focused series. This means each participant's weekly post should be either an outline of the text, a summary of the text, a "chewing" on some point in the text, an elaborated question about a point in the text; or an answer to the weekly optional questions about the text. b. Unacceptable Substitutes. Not acceptable as core subjects of the main weekly posts are: personal comments; mere statements of agreement or disagreement; links to sources other than the particular text which is the object of study; criticisms of the author's style; or debate with the author. Any of these might be appropriate as an aside in the main weekly post. c. Duplication. Duplication of form is not a problem. Even if, by unlikely accident, all participants were to write the same kind of post (e.g., a summary of the text assigned for the week), the content will inevitably be different. d. Secondary Posts. Sometimes a secondary post (written after posting an outline, summary, etc. for the week) can increase learning about the text. Secondary posts are optional. Topics might include: showing a connection to another field; asking about the best study method to be employed for a certain text; or describing one's personal experiences with the subject of the text. Of course, these secondary topics, if very brief, can be woven into the primary post. 2. DO Do address issues, not individual SGO members. If Mike says "X and Y and therefore Z," address his argument, summarized in your own words, but without naming him. Do remember that no member has an obligation to respond to another member's questions, invitations, or comments. Do edit for typographical errors. 3. DO NOT Do not name other participants in your posts, but instead deal only with ideas. For example, you could write "The notion of 'necessity', as it is traditionally used, implies a false dichotomy of . . . ," instead of "John Smith's bizarre fantasy about 'necessity' in metaphysics . . . " or any other personalized statement. Do not link to, name, or discuss individuals, websites, or ideas not relevant to the topic discussed in a study group. Do not quote participants, but instead express their ideas in your own words. IMPLEMENTING ETIQUETTES I will be sending the message to the person in case I think the etiquette is violated. And he can edit accordingly, or reply back if there is misunderstanding. These etiquettes are adapted from etiquettes of Burgess Laughlin's study-group. Study Group Link is as follows:https://www.facebook.com/groups/146490542953558
  5. Continuing my journey to apply Objectivsm into Management, I have started a study group. OVERVIEW The study will involve chapter 6, Organization, of the book "Reinventing Management: Organization Ethics from Objectivism". The chapter builds on the Employer-Employee and Employer-Employer relationships from chapter 3, Collaboration. Delving into relationships like creating complementary material values, skill building, wages, and Central Purpose of Life in a skewed social system. Details of the study-group are here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/146490542953558/ The book can be bought here - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MH79D18 Once the study is completed, I will convert the group into a discussion forum for working professionals. The forum will cover topics related to work environment and work culture, career and job related discussions, business counsel etc.
  6. Share the screenshot of wrong preview along with screenshot from proper book. Objectivism is supposed to be data based, not feelings based.
  7. In which portion or portions you had this concern? What part did you get distracted from, and missed in first read? Perhaps you can take us through your study process of the portions of the book.
  8. Customer-Supplier is also transactional or contractual relation. Employer-Employer instead refers to Co-founders, Investors, Board of Directors etc. Team work is also mainly a part of Employer-Employee, because end goals are those of employer primarily. Further Employee-Employee also has an element of employer-employee, as in supervisor-subordinate or even mentor-mentored. This classification is mainly to help readers focus on overall work ecosystem, and understand the mixtures better. Purely employee-employee is more about learning skills from each other, approaching co-worker for problem solving, or knowledge sharing like career goals, even commute problems, or sharing financial knowledge like pension funds etc. Even Office friendship can come under this type.
  9. Purely Contractual, Employer-Employee, Employer-Employer, Employee-Employee, Cultural Also, if you like collaboration, you will like Chapter 6, Organization, even more. I think it's perhaps the most original chapter in the book.
  10. Politics as per Objectivism is about protecting values. Business is about gaining values. There is very little element of physical force in office environment. Government actions by contrast are heavily forceful. Whats called "Office Politics" is actually different understanding of priorities in an Organization, and is therefore better classified under Organizational Ethics rather than Politics. On a related note, application of "Reason, Purpose, Self-Esteem" to workplace is covered in Chapter 7 "Organizational Goal".
  11. True, there are elements of politics in business. The Government-Business relationship does have few layers, and also businesses are impacted by Government policies. However, these aspects are not the essence of business. There is a clear line between the two. Politics is about protecting a rational man from irrational people like criminals, frauds, trespassers etc. Or it's about protecting a rational individual from the irrational actions of otherwise rational individuals, as in breach of contract. The business, Management or Organizational Ethics that is, its about studying how a rational person can collaborate with other rational people in society, or rational aspects of any person in society. Employer-Employee is one such relationship, which the book studies in detail. So essence of business, and essence of politics, are indeed converse of each other.
  12. Good to see so much interest in Burgess. He was the primary influence along with Ayn Rand for my just released book - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MH79D18 Apart from books, I think his major intellectual activity is saved here - http://aristotleadventure.blogspot.com/ http://reasonversusmysticism.blogspot.com http://www.studygroupsforobjectivists.com/ going offline is a conern though. It had some major insights from Burgess.
  13. Original post was just the Statement of Purpose, written one year back. Though I disagree it is as bad as you convey. Since then this and remaining portion of the book has been refined and re-refined.
  14. Proud to announce that the book is now released - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MH79D18
  15. Hi All, I am happy and proud to have written the book, "RE-INVENTING MANAGEMENT: ORGANIZATIONAL ETHICS FROM OBJECTIVISM". In a sentence, the book is about applying Objectivist Ethics and Epistemology in a non-political social space. Specifically and primarily, within the business. You can get the book here - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MH79D18 The book also resolves the question I think is crucial not just for businesses, but every Objectivist. "Analyzing Maslow's model of motivation from Objectivist perspective"
  16. There are following connections the book makes. 1.) Organizational Ethics and Management. (Basically conveys that the two are same). 2.) Organizational Ethics and Ethics, Objectivist Ethics in particular. 3.) Organizational Ethics and Industrial Sociology 4.) Organizational Ethics and relevant facts. 5.) Objectivist Ethics and relevant facts. 6.) Industrial Sociology and relevant facts. So the reviewer needs to judge following two things a.) Are these connections actually made in the book, to sufficient degree. b.) Are these connections useful to the intended audience described in my previous comment.
  17. Here is the content from first chapter describing the intended audience. ------------------------------------ Specifically, regarding the kind of people who can benefit from this work. For people already applying Objectivism in their work and lives, I think this will deepen their understanding. Directing focus to more social aspects of their work lives also. Ayn Rand fans, who have read mostly her fiction, can get introduced to her ideas in a more structured form. Non-Objectivist intellectuals, even Politicians, Businessmen, and working people in general. Those who are not satisfied with status quo, but besides feeling and concrete instances, at a bigger picture level are unsure about what’s wrong in the work environments they operate in. These people can also benefit. In general, any adult willing to understand the culture he operates in should benefit. ------------------------------------ To summarize, Ayn Rand has rightly been identified as the philosopher of individual. The book shows her ideas can also be used for building collaborative institutions. Not very different from Rearden Steel or rational aspects of Taggart Transcontinental or Roark's office after he built Enright House.
  18. Happy to announce that the project I was working on has reached a major milestone. It includes three books in the series. Initial draft and most of the revision is completed for the first book. Title of the book is REINVENTING MANAGEMENT : ORGANIZATIONAL ETHICS FROM OBJECTIVISM. I am looking for reviewers for the book. Attaching first two chapters here for reference. Please post your email id in comments, if you are willing to review. Or mail me at [email protected]. From the perspective of Objectivist movement, here is essence of the book series. ------------------------- Following thought I think offers the foundation bedrock on how Objectivism should proceed in social context The symbol of all relationships among [rational] men, the moral symbol of respect for human beings, is the trader. We, who live by values, not by loot, are traders, both in matter and in spirit. A trader is a man who earns what he gets and does not give or take the undeserved. A trader does not ask to be paid for his failures, nor does he ask to be loved for his flaws[14]. A trader does not squander his body as fodder or his soul as alms. Just as he does not give his work except in trade of material values, so he does not give the values in his spirit – his love, his friendship, his esteem – except in payment and in trade for human virtues in payment for his selfish pleasure, which he receives from a man he can respect. The mystic parasites who have, throughout the ages, reviled the traders and held him in contempt, while honoring the beggars and the looters, have known the secret motive of their sneers: a trader is the entity they dread – a man of justice. GALT’S SPEECH, FOR THE NEW INTELLECTUAL SCOPE OF THE BOOK The foundation thought from Galt’s speech is called Trader Principle.Going deeper into this thought, and other similar thoughts, there are two aspects to these. There is negative aspect, where the irrational relationships cannibalize rational men. Artistically, for this aspect we can recall Hank Rearden from Atlas Shrugged[15]. In Industrial context, an example of this are taxes for Altruistic reasons (You are your Brother’s Keeper). And using those taxes to fund people who strangle your business through arbitrary regulations like Anti-Trust laws and Obamacare. Objectivist Politics, work in the field of Nature of Government[16] andIndividual Rights[17] specifically, focuses on this aspect of Trader Principle. Protecting rational man from initiation of Force by other members in society. In this book however, I focus on other aspect of Trader Principle. How can rational man, or rational aspect of any person, benefit from other rational people in society? We explore answer to this question through Organizational Ethics. Extrapolating Objectivist code of values and virtues to Industrial setting. In Corporate setting (I use Industrial and Corporate interchangeably), Honesty for example can be data based decision making. Integrity can be policy based decision making. Just as science is related to Applied Science and technology. Similarly Ethics will be connected to Organizational Ethics. ------------------------- Chapter-1-Introduction-with-footnotes-Kindle-Optimized.pdf Objectivist Ethics With Footnotes.pdf
  19. Happy to announce that the project has reached a major milestone. There will be three books in the series. Initial draft and most of the revision is also completed for the first book. Final title is same as the working title, REINVENTING MANAGEMENT : ORGANIZATIONAL ETHICS FROM OBJECTIVISM. I am looking for reviewers for the book. Attaching first two chapters here for reference. Please post your email id in comments, if you are willing to review. Or mail me at [email protected]. From the perspective of Objectivist movement, here is essence of the book series. ------------------------- Following thought I think offers the foundation bedrock on how Objectivism should proceed in social context The symbol of all relationships among [rational] men, the moral symbol of respect for human beings, is the trader. We, who live by values, not by loot, are traders, both in matter and in spirit. A trader is a man who earns what he gets and does not give or take the undeserved. A trader does not ask to be paid for his failures, nor does he ask to be loved for his flaws[14]. A trader does not squander his body as fodder or his soul as alms. Just as he does not give his work except in trade of material values, so he does not give the values in his spirit – his love, his friendship, his esteem – except in payment and in trade for human virtues in payment for his selfish pleasure, which he receives from a man he can respect. The mystic parasites who have, throughout the ages, reviled the traders and held him in contempt, while honoring the beggars and the looters, have known the secret motive of their sneers: a trader is the entity they dread – a man of justice. GALT’S SPEECH, FOR THE NEW INTELLECTUAL SCOPE OF THE BOOK The foundation thought from Galt’s speech is called Trader Principle. Going deeper into this thought, and other similar thoughts, there are two aspects to these. There is negative aspect, where the irrational relationships cannibalize rational men. Artistically, for this aspect we can recall Hank Rearden from Atlas Shrugged[15]. In Industrial context, an example of this are taxes for Altruistic reasons (You are your Brother’s Keeper). And using those taxes to fund people who strangle your business through arbitrary regulations like Anti-Trust laws and Obamacare. Objectivist Politics, work in the field of Nature of Government[16] and Individual Rights[17] specifically, focuses on this aspect of Trader Principle. Protecting rational man from initiation of Force by other members in society. In this book however, I focus on other aspect of Trader Principle. How can rational man, or rational aspect of any person, benefit from other rational people in society? We explore answer to this question through Organizational Ethics. Extrapolating Objectivist code of values and virtues to Industrial setting. In Corporate setting (I use Industrial and Corporate interchangeably), Honesty for example can be data based decision making. Integrity can be policy based decision making. Just as science is related to Applied Science and technology. Similarly Ethics will be connected to Organizational Ethics. ------------------------- Chapter-1-Introduction-with-footnotes-Kindle-Optimized.pdf Objectivist Ethics With Footnotes.pdf
  20. Thank You for the feedback. Checked the link. Following two look most relevant 1. Objectivist Virtue Ethics in Business - http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/Younkins/Objectivist_Virtue_Ethics_in_Business.shtml 2. Capitalism and Commerce: Conceptual Foundations of Free Enterprise https://www.amazon.com/Capitalism-Commerce-Conceptual-Foundations-Enterprise/dp/0739103814 (1.) offers good outline and guide for what I plan. So should be good reference. It gives good intermediate concepts for my proposed work. Concretization in the form of specific real life examples like iPhone development or Amazon is lacking, which I will take from other sources. (2.) looks more from Libertarian perspective. Emphasizing on freedom and consequences, rather than its ethical and epistemological roots. But should give some leads on areas to focus, and how to approach various subjects.
  21. Thanks a lot for the feedback. Got similar input from facebook forum. Following reference after further discussion. "Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior: Indispensable Knowledge for Evidence-Based Management" https://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Principles-Organizational-Behavior-Evidence-Based/dp/0470740949/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1514945994&sr=1-1 This is a collection of various essays on Organizational Ethics and Management, from people associated with Edwin Locke. Looking into the contents, it looks quite relevant. My estimate is that relationship between my planned work and these essays will be that my work will be more interlinked across chapters. Similar to relationship between Ayn Rand's essays in various books, and Dr. Peikoff's "Objectivism : Philosophy of Ayn Rand". I haven't gone into the details, but considering my evaluation of Mr. Locke from his other works, should be worth it.
  22. I will start working on my debut book this year. Working title(or maybe even final title) is “REINVENTING MANAGEMENT: ORGANIZATIONAL ETHICS FROM OBJECTIVISM”. Many or all of you are connected to the domain of the planned book. Urging you to leave relevant comments here. Mission statement is as follows ------------------------- INDUSTRIAL SOCIOLOGY, ORGANISATIONAL ETHICS, AND OBJECTIVISM Industrial Sociology” is a branch of Sociology. Sociology being its Genus that is. Sociology studies various human relationships in society by organizing them. “Industrial Sociology” in turn studies human relationships in Industrial setting. (Or in contemporary terminology, Corporate setting). Range from family or friends to National-Global citizens being different type of social relationships. And different relationships between corporate workers, or customer-supplier relationships, or government-industry relationships being examples of “Industrial Sociology”. Coming to why Objectivism needs to work on “Industrial Sociology” at this stage of its development (Objectivism’s development). Before that, let’s look at where we are in the development of Objectivism. Apart from foundation work from Metaphysics-Epistemology to Art-Politics in non-fiction, Ayn Rand’s novels deeply concretize and also publicize many of her ideas. Books likeObjectivism:Philosophy of Ayn Rand and The Ominous Parallels by Dr. Peikoff look into same ideas from different perspective. Books like How We Know, DIM Hypothesis, and Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics dig deep into various aspects of Objectivism. Clarifying things that many of us find ambiguous. If we add work of Yaron Brook, Alex Epstein, Burgess Laughlin, Elan Journo, and other such writers, the connecting links between Ivory Tower of Objectivism and Man in street grow stronger by the day, despite the movement being in nascent stage. Coming to the fields involving social relationships, following thought I think offers the foundation bed rock on how Objectivism should proceed. The symbol of all relationships among [rational] men, the moral symbol of respect for human beings, is the trader. We, who live by values, not by loot, are traders, both in matter and in spirit. A trader is a man who earns what he gets and does not give or take the undeserved. A trader does not ask to be paid for his failures, nor does he ask to be loved for his flaws. A trader does not squander his body as fodder or his soul as alms. Just as he does not give his work except in trade of material values, so he does not give the values in his spirit – his love, his friendship, his esteem – except in payment and in trade for human virtues, in payment for his selfish pleasure, which he receives from a man he can respect. The mystic parasites who have, throughout the ages, reviled the traders and held him in contempt, while honoring the beggars and the looters, have known the secret motive of their sneers: a trader is the entity they dread – a man of justice. Galt’s Speech, For the New Intellectual, 133 The thought has been called “trader principle”. Going into this thought, and other similar thoughts, there are two aspects to these. There is the negative aspect, where the irrational relationships cannibalize rational men. Artistically, for this aspect we can recall Hank Rearden from Atlas Shrugged. In Industrial context, an example of this are taxes for altruistic reasons (You are your Brother’s keeper). And using those taxes to fund people who strangle your business through arbitrary regulations like Anti-Trust laws. Objectivist Politics, work in the field of “Individual Rights” and “Nature of Government” specifically, focuses primarily on this aspect of “Trader Principle”. Protecting the rational man from Initiation of Force by other members in society. Here however I focus on other aspect of trader principle. How can rational man, or rational aspect of any person, benefit from other rational people in society? The field that I think can cover this is“Organizational Ethics”. Specifically, this would mean extrapolating Objectivist virtues to social, Industrial setting in particular. In Corporate setting (I use Industrial and Corporate interchangeably), Honesty for e.g. can be Data based decision making, and Integrity can become Policy based decision making. Just as science is related to “Applied Science” and Technology. Similarly, Ethics will be connected to “Organizational Ethics”. Before making this connection however, I think we need to classify relationships in an Industrial setting. And this is where “Industrial Sociology” comes into picture. So these relations can be intra-company or inter company. Customer-Supplier being the example of latter. Apart from Objectivism, I think society as a whole badly needs Industrial Sociology and Organizational Ethics. Even the best of companies are struggling because of the lack of proper intellectual base in these fields. Implosion of Uber due to various allegations, firing of young employee from Google for raising genuine policy concerns, conflict between CEO-Promoter inInfosys and Tata are few of the examples. Many of the innovations these days happen in startups. Whether Uber or Facebook or Dropbox, ultimately however, every small successful company becomes a big business. And howsoever frustrating many corporate interactions may be; from “Power Corporations” to “Internet Service Providers” and Big Factories in China and all over the world. Fact is that Big Business is indispensable for most of us. And long term survival of humanity depends on building strong foundations for Industrial relations – developing fields of Organizational Ethics and Industrial Sociology that is. To illustrate the idea, here I take Agile Model being followed in Software Development. Industrial Sociology, various relationships that is, in this model will center around Scrum Team. Scrum Team consists of Developers, Testers, Scrum Master, and Product Owner. Scrum Master and Product Owner often being part time roles of Developer or Tester. Product Owner bringing in features or bugs to be fixed by the team. Scrum Master ensuring that activities of each member are tracked every day to the nearest hour (by member himself). Both these roles also facilitating planning, review, and retrospect every few weeks, known as Sprint activities. People Managers, Product Managers, Program Managers etc. form next layer around many such Scrum Teams. Involving themselves more deeply in the time of crisis. Marketing and Sales, and further Administration teams also come into wider picture. Coming to Organizational Ethics part of Scrum Team, there are specific ways in which various Individual Ethics can be extrapolated in these relationships. Using past data for estimating activities (Honesty). Or splitting complicated activity (an Epic) into smaller stories, an example of Rationality. Various Sprint activities act as input for Objectives assessment by Manager, the Organizational application of the Virtue of Justice. “Idea to Product” and “Product to Market”; Productivity in a nutshell being central driving force of Scrum Team and surrounding ecosystem. When we think of Superhuman, Superman or Spiderman come into mind. This is good for artistic presentation. In reality however it’s the Big Business, people who are its “Prime Movers” to be more precise. It’s this association of “Prime Movers” that is a Real Superhuman. Due to leftist bent of mainstream intellectuals, the superhuman is struggling, and is not completely healthy. Let’s take the pointers of Ayn Rand and Objectivism to re-energize this Atlas. Rohin Gupta 28th December, 2017 -------------------------
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