Filter Coffee #122

On Commendation & Recommendation

FC #121 received some very interesting comments:

• Viswanathan from Mumbai says: “Sir, I have been reading your posts since the first one. I am amazed at how you link the current topic with the previous posts. Please continue, as the name of the post itself is stimulating on a Sunday morning.”

• Tarun Kunzru says: “While retrospective is ‘past-based’, introspect is a ‘now process’ and circumspect is for ‘future action’, one ingredient which is common and essential to all is objectivity. Since in essence, all three are internal analytical processes, being objective helps deliver wise outcomes/decisions.”

FC 121 dealt with three aspects of the ‘thought process’ and in this post, I am dealing with two knowledge-based concepts that I hope my readers would find interesting.

👍 Commendation & Recommendation

Commendation is an act of appreciation, praise or complimenting someone for some significant or unique achievement. We often refer to someone’s achievement and say, “what she accomplished is indeed commendable.”

Commendation is a product of objective evaluation and unreserved approbation. It is a trait one has to develop consciously, with an element of selflessness thrown in. Applauding someone for their efforts is an act of commendation, but many people find it difficult to celebrate someone else’s success in any given field. They may be envious of that person, or they may simply trivialise the effort.

Some take credit even though they did not contribute to the successful outcome of efforts put in by their subordinates. They unabashedly clothe themselves with the glory which rightfully belongs to someone else and usurp the commendation to themselves.

Commendations, in recent times, have become suspect and controversial. Particularly, commendations from the political dispensation. Intense lobbying precedes commending someone for making it to the list of ‘winners’. Of course, there are a few exceptions. Infrequently, meritocracy does get recognition, albeit belatedly. This happened to my sister-in-law (God bless her soul!) who got the Padma award for her lifelong struggle with performing arts and her theatrical accomplishments. Please see 🔗 Filter Coffee #097 – by M R Prasanna.

By far, commendations like the various Seva medals given to armed forces personnel have credibility, considering that they are given during active service or posthumously for chronicled acts of valour. Academic commendations, too, have a fair deal of credibility, though at times some of them may be mired in some controversy or allegations of favouritism.

A commendation is also about expressing a favourable opinion, and so a commendation can fold into a recommendation. You could refer to a person’s commendable achievements and make a recommendation. 

Recognition, commendation and recommendation make an interesting sequence. If the State recognises a person’s achievement in sports, it becomes commendable and can lead to someone recommending her for a celebrity endorsement.

Celebrity endorsements of products and services are more like commendation, since they endorse the claims made by the company in respect of a product or service, and stop short of recommending. The endorsements vary from simple consumer products to housing projects and a host of other things in between. Of late, celebrity endorsements have come under the lens of ethical advertising following consumer claims that they were swayed not by the product, but by the belief that the celebrity was a user of that product and that they induced the consumers to likewise use the product. Audiences in the impressionable age group may, out of unconditional loyalty, believe in what the celebrities say and emulate their choice.

If you are a statistics buff, you may want to look at the Celebrity Brand Valuation Report of 2021 using this link: 🔗 Kroll launches Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2021. 

I am not taking a moral high ground, but I am against celebrities endorsing any kind of tobacco and alcohol products. I also believe that it is unethical and does not behove celebrities to endorse alcohol brands, even through surrogate advertisements. It is as if consumers are so naive that they cannot see the underlying message in a campaign for mineral water or glass cutlery sold under a famous liquor brand. Celebrities should be aware that there are consequences to promoting unethical endorsements. Consumers can also assert their rights under the law. If interested in this subject, you may read 🔗 Filter Coffee #004 – by M R Prasanna. This post also has an interesting narrative on elephants.

Recommendations are the bane of meritocracy. I am not saying people with merit are not being recommended. What I am getting at is that merit alone seems inadequate without a push in the form of a recommendation. That’s not a good thing. There are some highly competitive examinations, and passing them does not automatically guarantee employment. A push is required, either in the form of a recommendation or through the proverbial ‘back door’. 

In some competitive examinations, a person who is a high scorer may well be failed in what is known as the ‘viva voce’ test, and he is upstaged by a guy who scored less but had the gift of the gab and spoke well! Viva voce is a Latin expression meaning ‘by word of mouth’ or through ‘one’s own voice’. There have been many instances of candidates not making the mark during the viva voce stage, a kind of elimination that is subjective and suspect.

Recommendations are worth the paper on which they are made only if they are from a credible source. The credibility of the recommender and the recommended both play an influential role. Knowing the person well enough to vouch for him is important. It carries some weight. A recommendation that says: “I recommend Mr.x for your consideration. I don’t know him personally, but I am told by my friend that the boy is the son of my friend’s family friend. You may evaluate him on merits.” is no recommendation. On the contrary, it may undermine the boy’s prospects.

Vote bank politics lead to dime-a-dozen recommendations. There are templates which are used by politician’s assistants to create a pile of recommendations for signature. A very insincere, mindless and often useless way of recommending. 

One comes across a caveat, “any kind of solicitation will disqualify the candidate”. Is recommendation synonymous with solicitation? In the context of employment, it is quite possible to equate solicitation with a recommendation. However, in the context of soliciting business, like mutual funds, the recommendation becomes both a caveat and a disclaimer in as much as the solicitor recommends that the subscriber reads all the terms and conditions before investing.

Suggestions and recommendations are not to be confused with each other. In some contexts, they are used interchangeably. Take for example this oft-repeated sentence: “I suggest you go for it”. It is more a recommendation than a suggestion. Consider this sentence: “I recommend that you don’t say a word.” It is more like a suggestion. It is a recommendation if the lawyer tells the accused, “There will be questions thrown at you. You don’t say a word.” In such cases, recommendation and advice become synonymous. 

Giving suggestions or making recommendations can also depend on certain contexts. If your friend wants to lose weight, you suggest that he consults a dietician and a weight trainer. While ordering food in a restaurant, you can recommend the apple pie for dessert if you have ordered it before and found it to be excellent. 

If an investment advisor recommends that you put your money in some financial instrument it should be taken as a suggestion or at best advice, but the investment decision should be made by you after making enquiries and satisfying yourself that it is worth investing — keeping in view your risk appetite particularly if you are putting aside money for your later years.

A couple of one-liners on recommendation: 

“John Jonathan worked for our company for eleven years. When he left us, we were very satisfied.”

“It is a great honour to write a letter of recommendation for Mr Repeater, an astute law student who has been in my classes for the past five years.”

If you think my post is commendable, please recommend it to others 🙂 Ciao!