Homework is power
Posted on June 01, 2011
Commandment 2: Do your homework
Somehow, the word `homework’ seems inevitably connected to school, class teachers and the proverbial sword of Damocles hanging over our heads as we struggled every day to get through the aforementioned. So much so, that even years later, the word has the capacity to traumatise us. At no point then unfortunately, did we have the foresight, or the ability to evaluate the obvious benefits of homework. But today, we have the valuable gift of hindsight which allows us to look back and understand that homework actually enables a couple of things:
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1. It allows us time for preparation.
2. It makes our knowledge about a topic/subject more thorough
3. It allows us to focus on the finer details in depth and slowly add them up to the larger picture.
4. It reinforces our existing knowledge base.
Very often, when in a government office or engaging in any kind of process to get a particular job done, we do not understand the job from start to finish. This creates information gaps along the way, which then allow for us to fall through them. At the very mention of a road block up ahead, our first inclination is to panic and pay to get it done, thereby fuelling an already corrupt system.
Since knowledge is power, what might help before you approach an official with a request, is to:
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1. Identify exactly what it is you need to do.
2. Speak to an expert if possible and ask for advice on how best to go about this.
3. Do a little research – the end to end process, who is responsible, paperwork you might need, who is the next in charge (so you can escalate if need be) etc.
4. Ask around for other’s experiences or contacts in the relevant department. You never know who might be able to help.
The end result of this effort will be that you arrive fully armed with the right information to identify exactly where there is a break in process, or someone is acting up, or asking for money to do a task that does not exist in the actual process flow itself! The following Bribe Report from Ipaidabribe demonstrates the advantages of learning up as much as possible, so forewarned is definitely forearmed.
“I needed to get a Learner's License and despite the comfort of having touts around who would be more than willing to grease a few hands to get me a license, I refused ! All I did was to gather information about the license process from the website and followed it. I got my license without having to pay a penny to anyone (except official fees against receipts). The problem is that most of us are lazy and the easiest way is to grease palms. Know your rights. Fight corruption” (edited, only for grammatical consistency)
Knowing the process will also help you avoid talking to the wrong person who could very well lead you up the garden path. Also, if it is the right person, but he/she does not seem to be getting the job done, you can always ask to meet his supervisor or move on to the next stage, forcefully. Only because you KNOW what comes next. Ignorance here, is certainly not bliss, but its opposite actually is, as this Bribe Report illustrates:
"I registered my client's firm for a service tax number. My client was called by the officer and he asked for a bribe. But I resisted and I argued that as per the law if I don’t get a Service Tax Registration certificate within one week of submission of all the relevant documents, I can consider it as registered. And in this case there was no notice from the department for lack of documents so I argued that I won’t pay a bribe to get the certificate and will consider it issued. Now the ball was in his court as to whether he wanted to give me a certificate or not and he handed it over to me saying nothing. I would urge all the readers to please read all the regulations and laws before paying any bribe. If you do, and all your documentation is perfect then there should be very little chance of officers asking for a bribe. I believe that we give government officers the chance to ask for bribe in favour of passing our file. We want them to do wrong for something wrong that we want to do."(edited, only for grammatical consistency)
Finally, doing your homework will also reinforce the first commandment, which is: Be confident!