STUDENTS' CORNER - 196

While discussing the essential skills required of a supply chain management personnel, we mentioned particularly two skills: Communication Skills and Relationship Management Skills.

Communication skill has been profusely dealt with; now, we shall move on to the next skill required of a supply chain manager, so to say. Though both are equally vital for a successful supply chain manager, it can be said the second skill appears to be slightly more important because any lapse or short-coming in the communication skill is likely to be overlooked if not excused if the person’s relationship has a definite sway over the customer. Now, let us look into the attributes of an enviable relationship management skill.

It will do good to look into one of the most essential aspects of living, relationship. Let us see what observation and study offer us on relationship.  Have you ever thought about another aspect of living , that is, relatedness? Have you ever given some serious thought about relationship and its implications? Let us rather probe into the mystery called relationship. The word ‘mystery’ is used to suggest that what is so common about relationship is being continually missed by the majority of the people, both learned and illiterate, the rich and the poor. Let us try to see what the importance of relationship in our lives is.

To begin with, life is relationship; there cannot be any shade of living without relationship. Let us see what relationship implies for everyone. One is born in the network of relationships. That is, relatives were there before you are born; you are born with a crowd of relationships around you like brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nephews and nieces. Only thing is you are not born among friends; indeed, some of your relatives may be friendly with you. Perhaps you may have the experience that you feel drawn naturally to some relative of yours more than to anybody else. In other words, you feel related to some relative which sense of relatedness is markedly absent with others. This is a very significant fact about relationship. It says that all relatives are not related to you.

Relationships generally are both direct intimate relationships and indirect formal relationships.  Please understand business is a vital component of your chain of relationships. Business also is a source of meaningful relationship.

Relationship management is a business jargon; because, in a real sense of the word, when a relationship is managed means it is not as natural and integral as a true relationship has to be.  To understand the intricacies involved in the so-called task of relationship management, you must know the huge difference between relationship and relatedness which we will go into rather in some detail in our next session.