‘HR should better judge applicants on competence, not how they dress up’

By authoring ‘Corporate Pakistan — Insight to Leadership and Governance’, Sirajuddin Aziz has demolished the perception that bankers are too intellectually passive to produce high-quality knowledge.

Former State Bank of Pakistan governor Dr Ishrat Husain said this on Monday while addressing a launch ceremony for the book authored by Aziz, renowned banker and writer.

Dr Husain remarked that the book was based on practical experience. “Aziz’s is one of the best books that share new ideas and relate quotes of philosophers, writers, and economists with practical knowledge,” the speaker said as he called the book a remarkable achievement by Aziz.

The former SBP governor was of the view that some chapters of the book should be disseminated through vlogs, special reports, features, and media so that more and more people could benefit from it.

The speaker discussed the theory of leadership in the book. “Leadership is nothing but a skill of inspiration and motivation on the basis of which subordinates, employees, and colleagues could be inspired and motivated to work for the betterment of an organisation.”

Dr Husain said Aziz’s book told the readers to learn from young people. He added that sometimes egos of officers and staffers made hurdles in the corporate sector. “I would tell my colleagues and subordinate to leave their egos at home when you come to the office because egos create problems for personal and professional growth of employees and the organisation.”

In his note of thanks, the author remarked that he was personally against the adoption of English as the official language. “But it is a proven fact that English dominates in the corporate sector. Therefore, I urge the newcomers to be proficient in English. It is very important to understand international phenomena and new ideas,” he said.

Aziz, however, stated that proficiency in English did not necessarily correlate with competence of a person. The ability to speak English should not be used as a tool of discrimination in hiring procedures, he said.

The author stressed that the human resource departments of the corporate sector should not take into account how the applicant had dressed up and from where they belonged. He added that the HR must count the competency and honesty of the applicants.

In her introductory note, international relations expert Dr Huma Baqai explained that the book had six chapters covering various subjects such as corporate sector, leadership in business and practical experiences.

“The writer has shared his personal experiences about leadership in the corporate sector which universities don’t teach to the students in classrooms,” she said.

Engro's veteran CEO Zafar Ali Khan said that Aziz was not only a successful banker but he had also proved his mettle as a fine writer. The speaker added that the author also worked for education and he had funded a school in Korangi where currently 450 students were enrolled.

Khan said lessons in Aziz’s book were essential for every kind of business be they a family-owned business, corporate sector, NGOs or general trade. He added that the book discussed the organizational values, leadership, governance, and other issues.