human resource
DESCRIPTION
Management enrichTRANSCRIPT
MARKS: 80 COURSE: MBA 1ST SEM
SUB : HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
N. B. : 1) Attempt any Four cases2) All cases carries equal marks.
NO. – 1
ENRICHING JOBS AT STANDARD DECOY
Standard Decoy in Witchell, has been making traditional wooden
hunting decoys since 1927. Cyrus Witchell began the business
by carving a couple of ducks a day by hand. Demand and
competition have long since driven the company to use modern
machinery and assembly-line techniques, and they now turn out
two hundred ducks daily even on the slowest days.
When Steward Alcorn, Cyrus Witchell’s grandson, took over
the business, he knew things needed to change. Output had not
fallen, and the company was surviving financially despite
competition from what he called “plastic ducks” from the Far
East. But Alcorn noticed that the productivity per worker had
stayed the same for ten years, even during the period since the
company had bought the latest equipment. While touring the
AN ISO 9001 : 2008 CERTIFIED INTERNATIONAL B-SCHOOL
plant, he noticed many employees yawning, and he found
himself doing the same. No one quit. No one complained, They
all gave him a smile when he walked by. But no one seemed
excited with the work.
Alcorn decided to undertake a survey. He appointed a
respected worker at each step in the production process to ask
each of his or her co-workers questions and to fill in response
sheets. One conclusion emerged from the survey : The “fine-
tuners”, as Alcorn thought of them, were the most content ones.
That is, those who used fine tools and brushes to get the ducks’
heads, expressions, and feathers just right seemed to enjoy
their work most. In contrast, the people who planed and cut the
wood into blocks, rough – cut the body shapes, spray – painted
the body colour, and applied the varnish were all pretty bored.
Alcorn had heard about a technique called “job rotation”
and decided to try it out. He gave all workers a taste of the
“fun” jobs. He asked for volunteers to exchange jobs for one
morning a week. The fine-tuners were skeptical, and the other
workers were only slightly more enthusiastic. The whole
programme turned out to be a disaster. Even with guidance, the
planers and the spray – painters could not master the higher –
precision techniques, and the fine-tuners seemed to give them
only limited assistance. After one trial week, Alcorn gave up.
During a lunch break that Friday, Alcorn was wandering
outside around the plant bemoaning his failure. Then he noticed
one of the rough-cutters, Al Price, whittling at something with an
ordinary pocket knife. It turned out to be a block of wood that
he had cut incorrectly and normally would have thrown in the
scrap heap. But as Price said, “It kind of looked like a duck, in
an odd way,” and he had started whittling on it in spare
moments.
Alcorn liked what he saw and asked Price if he would be
willing to sell him the duck when he got through with it. Price
looked surprised, but he agreed. The following week, Alcorn
noticed that Price had finished the whittling and was getting one
of the fine-tuners to help him paint the duck in a way that made
it look even odder. When it was finished, Alcorn offered it to one
of his regular customers, who took a look at it and said, “You’ve
got this hand made ?” and asked if he could order a gross.
By the middle of the next month, Alcorn’s “Odd Ducks”
programme was in full swing. Workers were still responsible for
producing the usual number of conventional ducks, but they
were allowed to use company tools and materials any time they
wanted to work on their own projects. There were no quotas or
expectations for the Odd Ducks. Some employees worked on for
weeks. Others collaborated and produced one or two a day.
Some wouldn’t sell their ducks but crafted them to practice
their skills and brought them home to display on their mantels.
Those who would sell them kept half the selling price. That price
usually did not amount to more than their regular hourly wage,
but no one seemed to care about the precise amount of income.
The response to the Odd Duck programme was so great
that Alcorn put up a bulletin board he called “Odd Letters, as a
place to post appreciative notes from customers. Most of the
customers, it seemed, had no interest in hunting but just liked to
have the ducks around. And when Alcorn learned that some of
his customers were in turn selling the ducks as “Cyrus Witchell’s
Olde Time Odd Ducks,” he did not complain.
Questions :
1. How did the “Odd Ducks” programme enrich the jobs
at Standard Decoy ?
2. What motivated workers to participate in marking
the Odd Ducks ?
NO. 2
DETERMINING PAY RAISE
The Scientific Equipment Manufacturing company is a small
manufacturing unit located in Peenya, Bangalore. The company
is non-unionised and manufactures analytical equipment for
hospital laboratories.
Approximately one year ago, the manager of the
Component Assembly Department established three production
goals for the department. The goals were : (i) reduce raw
material storage costs by 10 per cent ; (ii) reduce variable
labour costs (i.e. overtime) by 12 per cent; and (iii) decrease the
number of quality rejects by 15 per cent. The manager told the
six unit supervisors that the degree to which each supervisor or
exceeded these goals would be one of the major inputs for their
merit – pay increases for the year. In previous years, merit
increases were based on seniority and an informal evaluation by
the department manager.
The six supervisors worked on separate but similar
production lines. A profile of each supervisor is as follows :
Amitha Aged 28, single; three years with the company after
receiving her degree from the Bangalore University. Has a job
offer from another company for a similar job that provides a
substantial pay increase over her present salary. The scientific
Equipment does not want to lose Amitha because her overall
performance has been excellent.
Shindhe Aged 32, married with three children; three years with
the company, high school education. One of the most stable
and steady supervisors. However, he supervise a group of
workers who are known to be unfriendly and uncooperative with
him and other employees.
Anandan Aged 34, married with four children; high school
equivalent learning; one year with the company. Came to
Karnataka six years ago from Tamil Nadu. A steady worker,
well-liked by his co-workers, but has difficulty in learning the
local language. He has, therefore, problems of communication
within his group and with others.
Hemalatha Aged 29, divorcee with three children, two years with
the company ; high school education. Since her divorce one
year ago, her performance has begun to improve. Prior to that,
her performance was very erratic; with frequent absences. She
is the sole support for her three children.
Eshwar Murthy Aged 27, single ; two years with the company,
college graduate. One of the best liked employees at Scientific
Equipment. However, he has shown a lack of initiative and
ambition on the job. Appears to be preoccupied with his social
life, particularly around his recently purchased house.
Cheriyan Aged 24, married with no children ; one year with the
company after graduating from a local college. First full – time
job since graduation from college. He is liked by all employees
and has exhibited a high level of enthusiasm for his work.
Exhibit 11.3 presents summary of the performance of the six
supervisors’ during the past year. The data include the current
annual salary, the performance level on the three goals, and an
overall evaluation by the department manager.
The new budget for the upcoming year has allocated a total
of Rs. 1,40,000 for supervisory salaries in the Component
Assembly Department, Rs. 40,000, increase from last year. The
management has indicated that salary increases should range
from five per cent to 12 per cent of the supervisors’ current
salaries and should be tied, as closely as possible, to their
performance.
In making the merit-pay increase decisions, the following
points should be considered.
1. The decisions will likely set a precedent for future salary
and merit increases.
2. Salary increases should not be excessive, but should be
representative of the supervisor’s performance during the
past year. It is hoped that the supervisors develop a clear
perception that performance will lead to monetary rewards
and that this will serve to motivate them to even better
performance.
3. The decisions should be concerned with equity, that is, they
ought to be consistent and comparable with each other.
4. The company does not want to lose these experienced supervisors to other firms. The management
of this company not only wants the supervisors to be satisfied with their salary increases, but also to
further develop the feeling that Scientific Equipment Manufacturing is a good company for
advancement, growth and career development.
Exhibit 11.3Supervis
orCurre
nt Salary (Rs.)
Storage
Costs (10%)
Goal Labo
ur Costs (12%)
Attainment
Quality Rejects (15%)
Effort Manager’s Cooperativen
ess
Cherian 23,000 12% 12% 17% Excellent
Excellent
Amitha 24,000 12% 13% 16% Excellent
Excellent
Shindhe 24,000 6% 2% 3% Good ExcellentAnandan 22,000 4% 4% 12% Excellen
tGood
Hemalatha
23,000 11% 10% 10% Fair Fair
Eshwar Murthy
24,000 8% 10% 3% Fair Fair
Instructions for the exercise
1. Each person in the class should individually determine the
Rupee amount and percentage increase in salary for each of
the six supervisors, Individual decisions should be justified
by a rationale or decision rule.
2. After each individual has reached a decision, the group will
convene and make the same decision as noted in (1) above.
3. After each group has reached a decision, a spokesperson for
each group will present the following information to the full
class:
a) The group’s decision concerning merit pay increase for each
supervisor (rupee and percentage)
b) The high, low and average individual decisions in the group.
c) A rationale for the group’s decision.
NO. 3
TRAVAILS OF A TRAINING MANAGER
Ashwin Kumar, who had recently joined System, as a training
manager, was feeling
uneasy at the end of his first meeting with Pesu Shroff, the
managing director of the company.
Systems was a ten-year old unit employing 300 people. It
had a turnover of Rs. 25 crore the previous year. The company
traded in several products – both domestic and imported.
Nearly 80 percent of its turnover came from selling electronic
component products which were assembled locally from imports
of semi knocked – down kits. The landed cost of its imports was
about Rs. 10 crore last year. The products had an assured
demand in the country, with smuggled goods from Taiwan and
Korea providing whatever little competition there was. The
company had been operating in a seller’s market for years and,
as a result, most of its activities were production oriented rather
than market oriented.
Early during the current financial year, the Government of
India had announced, as a part of its economic liberalization
strategy, several policy measures which made imports costlier.
All imports had to be financed by exports – there were
restrictions on margin money and interest rates for working
capital had shot up at one stroke. With little export income in its
account, Systems had no choice but to discontinue importing
SKD kits.
The company management had three option before it. First,
to build up its domestic trading activity rapidly ; second, to
assemble at least a few of the component products from raw
materials sourced locally and third, pursue after-sales service
aggressively both to generate revenue in the short run and to
establish an enduring client-base for the company’s products in
the long run.
Invariably, this meant that the survival of Systems
depended on how quickly it could train its people – beginning
from a handful of sales engineers – to become market – centred
and customer – friendly in their approach to business.
“ The days of easy revenue money are over for us,” Shroff
had told Kumar, who had a formal training in HRD and had been
an officer in the training cell of a multinational firm before
signing up with Systems. “ We have to compete now in the
marketplace and sell hard to be able to secure orders. Times
are changing. We have to change too. And that is where you
come in. It will be your responsibility, as the training manager,
to ensure that people here acquire marketing skills,” he said,
adding, as a clincher, “Frankly, have always felt that a salesman
is born, not trained. I have had no belief in non-technical
training. In fact, have found no need so far for a training
manager at Systems. But I am prepared to do anything to get
more sales.”
That punching was what had made Kumar uneasy. But he
decided to let it pass. Over the next few days, Kumar got busy
evolving specific training packages for workers, shop – floor
supervisors, administrative staff and senior functional
executives and an intensive module for field salesman.
Deciding to start with the salesman first, he met the sales
manager to ask him to depute 10 salesmen for a training
session the next day. The sales manager was skeptical and only
half – heartedly consented to release people for the two – day
training.
The session was a disaster. No one showed any interest in
the proceedings. In fact, one of the salesmen came up to him
during the coffee break and said, “You see, all this is a waste of
time. Take the client for a drink and you get the sale. It is as
simple as that. It has worked in the past and it will work in the
future.” Kumar laughed it off but the message had been
delivered.
The attendance for the second day session was thin. This
lack of interest was again obvious at the session for workers
next day. The works manager who had originally agreed to the
idea was vague about the absence of so many workers at the
training session. “They are sick, I believe,” he said, making no
attempts to hide his feeling that to him to whole thing was a big
joke.
Kumar had encountered such resistance in the company
where he had worked earlier. He also knew that his training
capsule was very effective. He was aware that training needs
were universal for all companies and so were the training
techniques which were also easily transferable from one set of
working conditions to another and from one industry to another.
He also knew that he had the aptitude and interest to become a
professional trainer.
But Kumar began to realize that he had made a few tactical
errors in his particular case. He should have perhaps asked
Shroff to personally inaugurate the training session to give the
whole exercise an air of formality and, more importantly, of
authority. He should have perhaps started with the module for
senior executives first.
“I must find a way out of this and bring everyone round.
There is simply no way I am going to accept failure. Whatever
damage there has been must be undone. I must do something,”
he said to himself.
1) What should he do?
NO. 4
“ WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON, ANYWAY ?”
It was past 4 pm and Purushottam Kshirsagar was still at his
shopfloor office. The small but elegant office was a perk he was
entitled to after he had been nominated to the board of Horizon
Industries (P) Ltd., as workman – director six months ago. His
shift generally ended at 3 pm and he would be home by late
evening. But that day, he still had long hours ahead of him.
Kshirsagar had been with Horizon for over twenty years.
Starting off as a substitute mill-hand in the paint shop at one of
the company’s manufacturing facilities, he had been made
permanent on the job five years later. He had to formal
education. He felt this was a handicap, but he made up for it
with a willingness to learn and a certain enthusiasm on the job.
He was soon marked by the works manager as someone to
watch out for. Simultaneously, Kshirsagar also came to the
attention of the president of the Horizon Employees’ Union who
drafted him into union activities.
Even while he got promoted twice during the period to
become the head colour mixer last year, Kshirsagar had
gradually moved up the union hierarchy and had been thrice
elected secretary of the union.
Labour-management relations at Horizon were not always
cordial. This was largely because the company had not been
recording a consistently good performance. There were
frequent cuts in production every year because of go-slows and
strikes by workmen – most of them related to wager hikes and
bonus payments.
With a view to ensuring a better understanding on the part
of labour, the problems of company management, the Horizon
Board, led by chairman and managing director Avinash
Chaturvedi, began to toy with the idea of taking on a workman
on the board. What started off as a hesitant move snowballed,
after a series of brainstorming sessions with executives and
meetings with the union leaders, into a situation in which
Kshirsagar found himself catapulted to the Horizon board as
workman-director.
It was an untested ground for the company. But the novelty
of it all excited both the management and the labour force. The
board members – all functional heads went out of their way to
make Kshirsagar comfortable and the latter also responded
quite well. He got used to the ambience of the boardroom and
the sense of power it conveyed. Significantly, he was soon at
home with the perspectives of top management and began to
see each issue from both sides.
It was smooth going until the union presented a week
before the monthly board meeting, its charter of demands, one
of which was a 30 per cent across-the-board hike in wages. The
matter was taken up at the board meeting as part of a special
agenda.
“Look at what your people are asking for,” said Chaturvedi,
addressing Kshirsagar with a sarcasm that no one in the board
missed. “You know the precarious finances of the company.
How could you be a party to a demand that simply can’t be met?
You better explain to them how ridiculous the demands are,” he
said.
“I don’t think they can all be dismissed as ridiculous,” said
Kshirsagar. “And the board can surely consider the alternatives.
We owe at least that much to the union.” But Chaturvedi
adjourned the meeting in a huff, mentioning, once again to
Kshirsagar that he should “ advise the union properly.”
When Kshirsagar told the executive committee members of
the union that the board was simply not prepared to even
consider the demands, he immediately sensed the hostility in
the room. “You are a sell out,” one of them said. “Who do you
really represent – us or them?” asked another.
“Here comes the crunch,” thought Kshirsagar. And however
hard he tried to explain, he felt he was talking to a wall.
A victim of divided loyalties, he himself was unable to
understand whose side he was on. Perhaps the best course
would be resigned from the board. Perhaps he should resign
both from the board and the union. Or may be resign from
Horizon itself and seek a job elsewhere. But, he felt, sitting in
his office a little later, “none of it can solve the problem.”
Question:
1. What should he do?
NO. 5
THE RESENTFUL EMPLOYEE
It was a bitterly cold night, and even at the far end of the bus
the east wind that raved along the street cut like a knife. The
bus stopped, and two women and a man got in together and
filled the vacant places. The younger woman was dressed in
sealskin, and carried one of those little Pekinese dogs that
women in sealskin like to carry in their laps. The conductor
came and took the fare. Then his eye rested with cold malice on
the beady-eyed toy dog. I saw trouble brewing. This was the
opportunity for which he had been waiting, and he intended to
make the most of it. I had marked him as the type of what Mr.
Wells has called the Resentful Employee, the man with a
general, vague grievance against everything, and in particular, a
grievance against passengers who came and sat in his bus while
he shivered at the door.
“ You must take that dog out”, he said with sour venom.
“I shall certainly do nothing of the kind. You can take my
name and address,” said the women, who had evidently
expected the challenge and knew the reply.
“You must take the dog out-that is my order.”
“ I won’t go on the top in such weather. It would kill me,”
said the woman.
“Certainly not,” said her lady companion. “ You have got a
cough as it is.”
“ It is nonsense”, said her male companion.
The conductor pulled the bell and the bus stopped.
“ This bus does not go on until that dog is brought out.”
And he stepped on the pavement and waited. It was his
moment of triumph. He had the law on his side and a bus-full of
angry people under his thumb. His embittered soul was having
a real holiday.
The storm inside rose high. “Shameful”, Why is not he in the
army ?” “Call the police,” “ Let us all report him,” “Let us make
him give us our fares back,” “Yes, that is it, let us make him
give us our fares back.” Everybody was on the side of the lady
and the dog.
That little animal sat blinking at the dim lights in happy
unconsciousness of the rumpus of which he was the cause.
The conductor came to the door. “What is your number?”
said one taking out a pocket-book, with a gesture of terrible
things, “There is my number,” said the conductor
imperturbably. “Give us our fares back – you have engaged to
carry us – you can not leave us here all right.” No fares back,”
said the conductor.
Two or three of the passengers got out and disappeared
into the night. The conductor took another turn on the
pavement, then went and had a talk with the driver. Another
bus, the last on the road, sailed by, indifferent to the shouts of
the passengers to stop. “ They stick by each other, the villains,”
was the comment.
Some one pulled the bell violently. That brought the driver
round to the door. “Who’s conductor of this bus ?” He said, and
paused for a reply. None coming, he returned to his seat and
resumed beating his arms across his chest. There was no hope
in that quarter. A policeman strolled up and looked in at the
door. An avalanche of indignant protests and appeals burst on
him. “Well, he has got his rules you know, he said generally. “
Give your name and address,” “That is what he is being offered
and he won’t take it.” “Oh”, said the policeman, and he went
away and took his stand a few yards down the street, where he
was joined by two more constables.
And still the little dog blinked at the lights, and the
conductor walked to and from on the pavement like a captain on
the quarter – deck in the hour of victory. A young woman whose
vice had risen high above the gale inside, descended on him
with an air of threatening and slaughter. He was immovable as
cold as the night and hard as the pavement. She passed on in a
fury of importance to the three policemen who stood like a
group of statuary up the steel watching the drama. Then she
came back, imperviously beckoned her “Young man” who had
sat a silent witness of her rage, and vanished. Others followed.
The bus was emptying. Even the dashing young fellow who had
demanded the number, and who had declared he would see this
thing through if he sat there all night, had taken an opportunity
to slip away.
Meanwhile the Pekinese party was passing through every
stage of resistance to abject surrender. “ I will go on the top,”
said the sealskin lady at last. “You must not.” “I will”. “You will
have pneumonia”. “Let me take it” (This from the man.)
Certainly not – she would die with her dog”. When she had
disappeared up the stairs the conductor came back, pulled the
bell, and the bus went on. He stood sourly triumphant while his
conduct was savagely discussed in his face by the remnant of
the party.
Then the engine struck work, and the conductor went to the
help of the driver. It was a long job, and presently the lady with
the dog stole down the stairs and re-entered the bus. When the
engine was put right the conductor came back and pulled the
bell. Then his eye fell on the dog and his hand went to the bell-
rope again. The driver looked around, the conductor pointed to
the dog, the bus stopped, and the struggle recommenced with
all the original features, the conductor walking the pavement,
the driver smacking his arms on the box, the little dog blinking
at the lights, the sealskin lady declaring that she would not go
on the top and finally going.
Questions :
1. Which theory of motivation do use to motivate the
bus crew ? why ?
2. If you were the conductor what would you do ?
3. If you were the lady with the pet dog, what would
you do ?
4. Role play (a) conversation between the conductor
and the lady with sealskin, (b) between policemen
and the fellow passengers, and (c) between the
conductor and the driver.
NO. 6
WHEN AN EMPLOYEE SAYS HE IS HIV POSITIVE
Chemtech was a chemical firm employing nearly 1,500 people.
Since the company
was operating in a sheltered economic environment, the
organizational focus for
many years was on technology and manufacturing. There was
little accent on marketing. But a liberal import regime heralded
by the Government of India galvanized the management into
sprucing up its sales and marketing team. A number of people
were being hired from outside the company in a long overdue
exercise of giving a customer – oriented focus to the company’s
operations. a few employees were also being promoted from
within. In a professional career spanning over two decades in
personnel function in different companies, Aparojit Das, Vice-
president (HRD), was closely involved with the hiring interviews.
And he had always chosen well even while most of his
contemporaries had been expressing disillusionment with the
interview as a medium of getting the right candidate for the
right job.
The secret of his success lay in a technique he had worked
to perfection. As a candidate walked in for an interview, Das
would quickly size him up for a first impression. Subsequently,
the whole tenor of his questioning over the period of the
interview would be aimed at destroying that impression. If the
first impression was favourable and if it persisted till the end of
an interview or if an unfavourable impression turned otherwise
by the end, Das had an intuitive feeling that he had a good
candidate on his hands. Of course, the assessment already
made by the concerned divisional head regarding specific job
requirements would be a major benchmark in the final selection
of a candidate.
Das knew, however, that if he had chosen people well, it
was not because of any particular skill but because he was
simply lucky.
That morning, as he looked at the folder lying in his desk,
Das wondered whether he was finally running out of luck. The
folder contained dossiers of two candidates who have been
interviewed at various levels over the previous month. As a part
of the final assessment, Das himself had met them individually
an hour ago. Both were internal candidates, presently working
as sales executives and seeking promotion to the post of the
sales manager to be based at the head office of the company.
Both were highly recommended by the company’s vice –
president (sales) for the post.
The first dossier was of Prem Sagar who had been with
Chemtech for five years. Sagar had worked his way up and
understood the company’s product and their markets. He was
very keen to take on new responsibilities. The second was of
Arvind Vardhan who had joined the company only the previous
year. He seemed confident, sensitive to others points of view, a
self starter, and a good team player. Das’s maiden impression
was that Vardhan was a natural salesperson and it persisted,
however hard he tried to disprove himself. He was clearly in
favour of Vardhan.
It was when he was about to terminate the interview that
Vardhan said “Mr. Das, there is something that I think I must
mention in all fairness. But before I do so, I need to have your
word that what I tell you will remain between the two of us.”
You have my word,” said Das. “ I have been declared HIV
positive,” said Vardhan, “the tests came last week.
If Das panicked, he did not show it. “ I don’t see how it can
affect your chances of promotion,” he said, in a voice that, much
to his own surprise, lacked conviction. “ I think we should talk
about this separately,” he continued, trying hard to retain
composure. “ I will get back to you. In the meantime, take
care.”
Later, alone in his cabin, Das found the burden of having to
make a decision lying heavily upon him. The company’s
standing orders stated that no physical disability or even a
chronic health problem should come in the way of a promotion
as long as it does not interfere with a performance directly. But
there were two major issues, as Das saw them. First, although
the HIV infected people were known to work productively for
years, the risk of developing active AIDS at any point of time
was real. Recovery from even a temporary about of illness such
as pneumonia for example, would be longer, reducing the pace
of work and affecting performance on the job. This was an angle
which had to be borne in the mind while giving a promotion.
Second, could the confidentiality of the information given by
Vardhan be retained at all for long ? It was important that two
other persons be informed quickly – the company’s managing
director because this was the first – ever case of its kind in the
history of the company, and the vice-president (sales) because
he was Vardhan’s functional head.
Das further thought that once it was leaked, everyone in the
company would know quickly enough. Although there was no
danger of contagion from casual contact, people would surely be
prejudiced against Vardhan which in turn would affect his ability
to deal with them. Das wondered whether in such a scenario
Vardhan could be entrusted with a responsibility which in its
very nature involved greater interaction with people and higher
pressure of work. On the other hand, Vardhan deserved the
promotion on sheer merit. To deny what was due to him would
be unfair.
Question:
1. What should Das do?