December 11, 2024 20:55 IST
Originally published by: December 11, 2024 at 20:53 IST
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FIITJEE.com describes DK Goel as “Founding Chairman” and “Senior Advisor”. The first name is descriptive, a historical fact – FIIT JEE was founded in 1992, and Goel was and continues to be among the top men in the company. However, being a “primary advisor” should require more than just being there at the beginning.
Earlier this week, a video of Goel “advising” his team surfaced on social media. In it he is seen abusing the employee – from calling him names to misbehaving with a female “ma ki gaali”. The reason for his anger, it is reported, is that the employee questioned the investment made by the company in an “open forum”. When the employee pointed out that the questions he was asking had become public, Goel continued to challenge him – “take me to court”.
In a sense, there is little that is surprising about the behavior of a “counselor”. It’s part of the many videos that have appeared in recent years showing people the right to do things the wrong way. In fact, the argument can be (and has been made) that with the ubiquity of cameras and recording, there is at least a modicum of accountability: Goel’s meeting was on Zoom with hundreds of FIIT JEE staff and was recorded and shared.
The question, however, is this: Will the CEO face any consequences?
Goel also faced criticism in March this year when he said, “Salary is not a right”. His company has refused to pay other employees to “send a wake-up call to the corporate team”. Besides giving contract lawyers nightmares, there’s more to it than keeping a team of psychologists and sociologists engaged.
In an era when many like to praise the “cancellation culture” as a big bogey, what allows a CEO to abuse his colleagues and seek impunity? Goel is not alone. In June this year, as Northern India suffered from scorching heat, Amazon’s warehouse in Manesar, Haryana made its workers swear “vows” that they would not drink water unless they met daily targets (a labor lawyer can join a contract lawyer to him. disappointment). The warehouse seems to be doing well, and Jeff Bezos continues to be a billionaire bodybuilder who charges other rich people for joy rides in space.
Goel may not be Bezos, but he may want to be. You probably realize that just as most of us won’t stop ordering from Amazon because of how the company treats its employees, the FIIT JEE model is also “proof of outrage”. About 15 lakh students appeared for JEE – IITs have less than 18,000 seats. In a country where competitive exams continue to be seen as the primary means of economic security and social welfare; when the “wishers” are often pressured in what they wish, FIIT JEE knows that it will not lose customers because the “chief consultant” treats the people who work for him with complete lack of dignity.
The problem, for FIIT JEE may be that 2024 is not 1992 and its initial advantage in the coaching field is over. And in an era where more ed-tech startups are giving his company a run for its money, there may be a hidden cost to Goel’s behavior. The Chief Counsel, by harassing the staff, made FIIT JEE look like a bad place to work. And in a competitive environment, his composure and impunity make him a bad CEO.
There are no moral consequences for being an authoritarian, abusive boss in India. But perhaps, the potential damage could eventually end up holding hope in the deserts.
aakash.joshi@expressindia.com