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Everyone knows about Penguins. Penguins are a group of flightless birds that lives predominantly in Antarctica. The biology of penguins is well studied and volumes of information about this group of birds are known to the scientists across the globe. Another important scientific fact about the habitat of Antarctica, especially the glaciers over there and the penguins are less known to the mankind. Further such information is very important for every corporate as it has a profound management wisdom.

It has been reported that the 3% of the glaciers in Antarctica is composed or constituted by the urine of penguins. It is indeed an amazing fact. Technically one can argue that since the temperature in Antarctica is much below 0° Centirade, the urine of penguins has to freeze in the ice. In brief, the urine has no scope to get washed off or can get evaporated out.

Composition of the glaciers in Antarctica having 3% penguin urine, directly teaches an important management message to the corporate. The people in the corporate do shed the 'waste' materials of their culture 'individually' and 'collectively'. Such waste materials do get frozen in the culture of the corporate and become an integral part of the same.

It is not the corporate alone is shaping the culture of the employees, the employees do define and shape the culture of the organization. In Antarctica, it may not be possible to clear up the urine of penguins as they easily get integrated with the glaciers. To separate them out means, one has to melt the entire glaciers and which is impossible. But in the case of corporate, removing the deposits/waste materials of the culture of people is not difficult. Every single individual contributes to the above.

The easy way to remove them is to first recognize such possibility, that is, people do drop the waste materials of their culture 'individually and collectively' in the corporate. In MNC's, the deposition of such waste materials of the culture of the employees are going to be too less to worry. In MNC's, like in the ocean, most of the waste products are washed to the shore by continuous movement of waves.

The single man led corporate is the one, becomes the worst habitat to have huge deposits of the waste materials of the culture of the employees. While working in the same corporate and or while leaving the organization, all employees shed such wastes of their culture in the corporate. It is for the corporate to understand the above truth and do a regular audit on the culture of the corporate independently.

The HR function in the corporate must know the composition of the glaciers in Antarctica and how it has become so. They also must learn from the above fascinating phenomena in nature and how the same can relate to the corporate to keep its culture healthy, supportive and progressive. The HR function must know essentially the 'composition' of the culture of the corporate first.

Dr S Ranganathan, ClinRise Derma Pvt., Ltd., Chennai

Learn more from the following management books

1. Jungle wisdom for corporate management – lessons from the university of nature by Swami Sukhabodhananda and Dr S Ranganathan

2. Nature – The Entrepreneur by Dr S Ranganathan