http://www.wikimir.com/raja-pervaiz-ashraf

One can clearly see how many times this guy has just blurred out whatever comes first. This is the second time he has given a deadline for elimination of loadshedding.

But your thoughts did enrich that of my own and you have my gratitude for that. Have a nice time!

Raja Ashraf is a section head and not the head of an organization if you are comparing that.

Since you have stated your idea about the head of organizations, this is where we differ.

A power policy is some thing that cannot be made by someone with no knowledge of electricity and technology. If you say we have working examples of success, also look at the working examples of failures (they don’t work for that long and hence disappear).

I don’t mean that we have 45nm buzz without any issues. But that is not what I am highlighting, I want you to think how large is the possibility that intel’s CEO has been taken in on it? Is it because he knows inside out of the process and technology so he can verify, if the need be, everything on his own and that’s what keeps his researchers from bluffing?

About your specific example, raja ashraf or any head of that organization doesn’t need to verify anything by himself on a technical level. But he surely can know if the targets are being met, as the reports suggest, by seeing the output just like anyone else in the public. I would be surprised or shocked rather if he starts believing that power generation requirements of the country have been met while we are having load-shedding during winters.

And no your assumption about my opinion is not correct. I am against the idea that EVERY organization should be headed by someone specifically trained to do the business that organization deals in and as well as the proposition that a person with leadership skills is all we need to manage ANY organization. My opinion is that it is wrong to issue blanket statements and that we have enough working examples out there to think that the requirements for the top post can vary depending on the nature of organization under consideration.

Why does finance minister have to a lot of thinking and power minister doesn’t?

Raja Ashraf will definitely not need to go and check at site. But he definitely gets reports, how can he verify the integrity of those reports??

Am I right to assume here that your point is that to lead ANY team, the head must have leadership qualities, and that should suffice?

The example of finance ministry doesn’t really counter my proposition. I am saying that cabinet ministers don’t necessary have to be technocrats and not that they necessarily have not to be a technocrat. In some cases, it is imperative as in finance ministry since the person responsible himself has to do a lot of thinking which cannot be just relegated to a technical team. But do you expect that someone in place of raja ashraf to actually go on the site and test against the benchmarks whether all the parameters of the generation plan have been met? At least I don’t. It might be a good skill for him to possess but that is in no way necessary.

And the example of Steve Ballmer does fit in. Just like him, our superman raja parvez ashraf can also be a PM of his organization which is beaming with highly qualified engineers and technicians : ) But of course I am not sure about the competence of his team.

Why have Shaukat Tareen for finance then? Will Sherry Rehman be able to head it?

The example of Steve Ballmer doesn’t fit in because he is required to manage something that is already so great. Also, he is like the PM of his organization who is required to have managerial skills. But on Ballmer’s team, the leaders/heads of different departments (analogous to ministers) will definitely be qualified in their respective fields.

Nevertheless, I personally do favour someone with a technical grasp to be in place instead of raja parvez, who apparently doesn’t know anything about anything. But the point is that our experimentation with different organizational structures specifically during the past half century suggests that perspicacity, dedication and sincerity matter a lot more than mere technical expertise for the person at the top.