People Shastra

In my career as an academic administrator for over 15 years, the biggest challenges I have faced are the HR & IR issues. In my very first assignment as the Principal of an engineering college, I faced a massive strike by the students. The problems started at 9.00 pm in the night due to some minor issue in the mess, and the mob went on a rampage - breaking vehicles, setting fire to the labs, and assaulting security personnel. I had a miraculous escape as I was hiding in the toilet of an employee on the fourth floor of the staff quarters. From the toilet window I could see the entire riots and the mass fury. I saw my vehicle – a Tata Sumo getting beaten to pulp. Since some VIPs visited the town on the same night, police force could not arrive immediately; also the college was situated 30 Kms away from the city. Finally the situation was brought under control by 4.00 a.m. with the arrest of few student leaders. When we did the enquiry, it turned out that a few faculty and staff members had instigated students to go on a strike to protect their own selfish interests. I gave marching orders to 12 of the trouble makers (I call them the dirty dozen) in the faculty and the staff after proper enquiry and with the approval of the management. As the young minds can be easily manipulated, we did not give further punishment to the student leaders. The experience of being in prison with criminals for two days was a good enough experience to reform them. I then initiated several steps to impart IT and soft skills training to the students to enhance their placement opportunities. I made it mandatory for faculty to engage in research and organize seminars and conferences. After all, an idle mind is a devil’s workshop. I also brought in systems to control leakages. That turned out to be the last strike for a college that was known for repeated strikes.

As the saying goes, if there is smoke there must be fire beneath. It is not that the management was virtuous or the college was run efficiently. There were genuine problems that the students were experiencing. Among the faculty and staff, there was a lot of politics as to who is closer to the management. There were a set of people working hard while few politicking people reaped all the benefits. These were the legacy that I acquired when I took over as the Principal. In fact, I was made the Principal when the then principal ran away as he was gheraoed by the students upon instigation by the dirtydozen (unscrupulous faculty and staff). There are several lessons that can be learnt from this case study. The management was simply concentrating on the income from the college as they had to repay hefty bank loans. Organizational politics among the officers (faculty/staff) was allowed to spill over to employees (students).Employees/students got easily instigatedas they did not know the full story. Politicians within theorganization make hey when the sun shines; they always love to set fire here and there so that the attention of the management gets diverted from their unethical practices. When the house is divided outsiders will enter inside to blow up the problem further; when we did room to room search after strike, we found a lot of M-L literature dumped in attics and hidden under cots. Gender issues can also play a key role in these situations. Some of the lady lecturers who were part of the dirty dozen instigated the girl students. They in turn whipped up the emotions and the boys demonstrate their heroism in the presence of girls. While the presence of girls can motivate students to perform better, it can also lead to destructive modes. It took quite some time to heal the wounds. Ultimately, it is the genuine concern and respect for the individuals that won the hearts of the students, teachers and the staff. The leader must be open to criticism and eat his own words without compromising on the vision and core values. It is not easy to manage a group of 5000 students and 250 staff members.

Director’s Message

PEOPLESHASTRA PAGE 2

HR issues are becoming very critical in organizations. The reason for the rise in HR issues is the self-cantered nature of people. Most employees refuse to see the organizational goals. Everyone tries to maximize his or her own monetary and emotional benefits. Ego problems, comparison with other employees are great threats to an organization. In my previous organization, there were two employees who kept fighting like cats and dogs for supremacy. This completely ruined the department and brought down the efficiency of the organization. When I removed both of them from their roles, they became the thickest of friends, now that they have common enemy!

With rising number of women in employment, we also have to tackle the gender related issues in managing organizations. Work-life balance, flexi-working and a host of other concepts are assuming greater importance. Since computers and automation has gradually eliminated the need for muscle power, managerial role will be increasingly performed by women in the coming days. Men need to learn to work for women bosses. IIM Ranchi has understood these trends and has rightly started the two year program in HRM. I am glad that my students are bringing out the first issue of the HR magazine. The theme chosen is appropriate when we experience unrest among employees in manufacturing companies. The same can easily spread to other service sectors too. We need to pay greater attention to the human resources. We need to instil right values and also recruit only employees who share the larger vision of the organization for sustainability and long-term growth of the organizations. My best wishes to the student editors. My sincere thanks are due to the contributors to this magazine from the industry and academia. We would be delighted to receive comments from the readers for the improvement of the magazine. M J Xavier


IIM Ranchi has been the torch bearer among the all the IIMs, having started the specialized PGDHRM program from the current academic year. It embarked upon this journey by crafting a careful strategy with an innovative, industry-relevant curriculum and with a team of dedicated and competent faculty and staff who gave their best to shape this program into a cutting-edge offering. The students have been chosen through a stringent selection methodology with a fine balance of excellent academic performance and relevant industry exposure. This is also consistent with the vision and mission of the institute. Already rated as the one of the best institutes offering management education in eastern India, IIM Ranchi is poised to fuel more growth and development in this region and in the country by developing the leaders of tomorrow. The PGDHRM program has a single-point agenda of grooming and churning out the best talent and it has started its journey with the HR Conclave, having the Heads of HR in renowned blue chip organizations participating and deliberating in the two-day event scheduled for 21st & 22nd September. Since we are a team that believes that ‘a journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step’ and that our first batch of dedicated HR Soldiers will create and leave a lasting impression upon one and all..... I wish the students of the pioneer program the very best. Dr. Bijaya Mishra

PGDHRM Chair’s Message


Induction day is a day every institute and it’s every aspiring candidate looks forward to. It is that day of the year when the newly admitted batch of students is formally addressed by the Director of their institute for the first time. Known for his candid stage presence and eloquent speeches, Prof. M. J. Xavier started off on a serious note and tried to convince students that MBA education all over the world had drawn a lot of criticism in recent years and, that their decision of pursuing management studies at one of the prestigious institutes of the country was going to be closely watched. At this time of desperation, he focused upon the need for

holistic development of students and stressed upon the need for good hearts to take decisions in organizations instead of a well-trained mechanical minds. At the same time Prof. Xavier emphasized the values which IIM Ranchi cherishes, propagates and looks to preserve. He mentioned about all round development of students and also apprised students that they would beundergoing yoga/meditation sessions, a rural immersion programme and an outbound training programme. All this, he added, was essential for students who are going to be leaders and managers of tomorrow. He further emphasized that the world is looking to East for value based management and this is where immense opportunity lies for Indian students who come from a rich spiritual society.

IIM-Ranchi HR Inaugural Batch

Inside This Issue

4. IIM-Ranchi HR Inaugural Batch

5. Active HiRe 6. Batch Profile 7. Industrial relations-

then and now 10. Labour Unrest 13. Body Language 14. Values: Clash of the

generations@ workplace

16. Compensation policy employed by organizations

17. Conflict Management- the WHYs and HOWs

19. Take care of people and the money will take care of itself

20. Views from corporate: Mr. Shrihari Mahabala Udupa

22. Views from the corporate: Ms Anamitra Chaterjee

24. HR Panti 25. HR Conclave 2011 26. HiRe Club: Vision

and Mission

People Shastra 13 Sept 2012


From being just another club to being one of the most sought after, HiRe, the HR club of IIM-Ranchi has come a long way. Its stock has appreciated dramatically after the advent of the PGDHRM course. With fresh blood and renewed vigor, HiRe envisaged a lot of enticing events for the student community of IIM-Ranchi and HR enthusiasts all over. Some of the major events organized by HiRe were;

I. HR’s Cut: An online video making competition was hosted on Dare2Compete.com. The themes were related to the field of HR and the response was overwhelming, with multiple entries from B-schools all over the country. Attractive cash prizes up to Rs-15000 would be distributed to the eventual winners and the winning video would be shown at the HR-conclave being organized at IIM-Ranchi.

II. H-Caliber: HiRe, gave an opportunity to B-school students for expressing their views on burning issues in the HR domain today. Students from twenty-eight B-Schools participated in the competition. The winning entries were: Winner – Unnikrishnan Nair, T.A. Pai Management Institute, Manipal- Article – Values: Clash of the Generation at Workplace 1st Runner Up – Krishnan Chidambaram, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai- Article - Compensation Policy Employed by Organizations 2nd Runner Up – Charu Puri, IMI New Delhi, Article – Conflict Management

III. QuizHR: The first HR specific quiz of the season had overwhelming participation throughout the batch. The quiz consisted of two rounds, with six teams qualifying for the final. Students found it extremely informative. The teams gave a tough competition to each other and even after the tie-breaker round, two teams emerged victorious–

Team A (Ram Jaiswal, Shivang Ganatra, Vikas Tiwari, Nivedita Bakshi, Jyotsna Poonia, Abhishek Wadurkar and Pallavi Venkatesan)

and Team E (Manas Bora, Yashwant Yadav, Toney Naorem, Vikas H.K., Samridhi Goad and Pooja Ohri)

Active Hire

A new offshoot of IIM-R preparing to

scale up new heights

With fresh blood and renewed vigor, HiRe envisaged a lot of

enticing events for the student community of

IIM-R

IIM-R as a team believes that “a journey of thousand miles begin

with a small step”


Batch Profile

When 44 of the best students from a pool of 1500 aspirants are put together in a room, what else but the richest of learning experiences can be seen! IIM Ranchi has acquired the coveted place of being the first and only IIM to introduce an exclusive HR course. Being the pioneer batch, the onus is upon the students of the first-ever PGDHRM batch to hold aloft the torch of the brand IIM-Ranchi; as they are the trendsetters, the ones who lay the foundation, the benchmark for the next batches to match. Diversity, be it cultural, educational, demographic or linguistic, is most palpable here. This batch comprises some of the brightest talent, from a variety of educational backgrounds which include the likes of lawyers, engineers, pharmacists, doctors and graduates of bio technology, economics, commerce, sociology, physics, chemistry, psychology and business management. A typical day in the PGDHRM classroom has the lawyer discussing changes in Industrial Law with the IR professor, a dentist explaining the concept of perception marketing, a post graduate in Literature enlightening everyone about the Oriental and Occidental concepts of Edward. This is the perfect example of how diversity in fact enriches knowledge, perceptions and learning. The cultural background ranges from the airs of Kerala to the Jats of Haryana, with people representing the perfect cultural mix which India is renowned for. Each and every student has his/her own uniqueness, with an established identity, proudly upholding the traditions and values. One also gets to glimpse the cultural practices of their peers as they participate in the various cultural activities that bring out the unity amidst diversity. This cultural indulgence spills over to include cuisines as well, from students enjoying the delicacies of the north-rasgullas to those lip-smacking delights from the south-banana chips; all thanks to DHL and Blue dart.


“We are ready to accede to your demands for more paid leave, provided….” … “The management needs to understand that….”… “But how do you expect us to…”… “This is just not acceptable”… “You don’t understand how grave this is.”… “This is apparently a deadlock which leaves us with no choice but to go on a strike.” And TIME’s UP!!! As our professor Mousumi Padhi announced this; all of us came out of the trance at once. We had been role-playing as managers and union workers indulging in collective bargaining over a set of issues provided to us in the form of a case. Employing the concepts out of the textbooks and going a step further, activities such as this enable us to simulate and develop a deeper understanding and empathy towards this much-needed vertical of HR. This paper, Introduction to Industrial Relations, is a special addition to the flagship program in Human Resource Management at IIM-Ranchi. In the light of the current (mis)happenings, HiRe, the HR Club at IIM-Ranchi, felt the need to delve into the realm of IR and the issues raging in the Indian Industry. Here, in the inaugural issue of our very own People Shastra, we present the Then and Now of Industrial Relations in India. When the advocates and practitioners of Industrial Relations fail to deliver on their promises, the onus falls upon the educational institutions to make sure that the ‘products’ they are churning out have the right elements in the right blend. At least that is what has been happening recently, as seen in The Economic Times’ report about the ‘B-schools including IIMs reviewing Human Resource Curriculum after the Maruti’s Manesar violence’ [1]

So, what exactly went wrong? Or, thinking on a macro level, what has been going wrong?

As we all know, the media does not present a very positive picture of what goes on between the management and the workers (predominant, yet only one of the aspects of IR). There is a certain degree of distortion, if not inclination toward one side, of the facts that revolve round the case. The bone of contention previously being the level of wages and paid leave, has now become union recognition, work conditions and every other aspect of the manufacturing industry with respect to the workforce employed in it. On the outside, it looks like the management and the workers are perennially at logger-heads with each other!

perennially at logger-heads with each other! A plethora of questions arises-why do conflicts

arise? Who is at fault? Why is there a need to resort to

extreme means? How can conflicts be avoided? Or more

importantly, can conflicts be avoided at all? We try to cater

to most of these questions here, but the evolution of IR and

human resource management is to be tackled first.

They dealt with Manpower Planning then. They deal with

Manpower planning now.

They were involved in selection and recruitment then. They

are involved in selection and recruitment now.

They provided/facilitated Training and development then.

They still do now.

But they were called Personnel Managers then. They are called Human Resource Managers now.

Industrial relations-then and now… Roopal Aggarwal (PGDHRM 2014) Leena Handique (PGDHRM 2014 )

What is the difference? From a general

perspective, we might use Personnel management and Human Resource Management interchangeably. But upon critical examination, they represent two different worlds.

They were called Personnel Managers

then. They are called Human

Resource Managers now

You are a Personnel manager if you fill up the

vacancies in your organization with the right candidates-

your job is done. But you are an HR Manager if you align the

goals of recruiting with that of the organization and ensure

the fulfillment of mutual interests of both the organization

and the employees.

Another scenario-you are a Personnel Manager if

you do only the task assigned to you by your superiors, no

questions asked. But you are an HR manager if you

participate in any and all decision-making processes that

concerns employees.

In a nutshell, Personnel management is more tangible (with a well-stated contract of employment) and job-oriented while HRM is holistic and more inclined toward role-orientation. Personnel Management precedes HRM. Now where do Industrial Relations come into the picture? Industrial Relations, and this has been constantly debated upon, is a subset of Human resource management. While some support the view that IR is a stand-alone function, others view it better as one of the HR functions, where human resource management is responsible for the development and facilitation of IR.


“Opportunity is missed

by most people because it

is dressed in overalls

and looks like work”

-Thomas Edison

Where the meadow is Greener

Organizations take advantage of the locations that are not

traditionally associated with industries. This, of course, helps them to

procure labor and technology at cheaper rates. A special case in

point is the advantage to the organization with respect to labor as the

organization hires semi/un-skilled labor with almost no prior experience

of factory work and therefore by default has no idea of organized

associations.

The Indian IT industry is a stark contrast to this as it is one of

those few ‘green’ industries in India which enjoy highest growth rate

and yet remain Union-free.

S. Gopala Krishnan, CEO of the IT giant Infosys, in a report

dated July 2, 2007, when asked if the IT sector was a well-paid industry

How is IR now?

The shift from Personnel management to HRM has also brought

about a similar change in the span of Industrial Relations in the sense that

what used to be externally controlled is now being attempted to be

controlled by harnessing employee-commitment.

Simply put, the focus has now shifted from control to

commitment and the result is EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT. Now IR

practices involve promoting mutuality of goals, reward and recognition,

responsibility and respect. Collective bargaining has emerged as a very

strong catalyst in bringing the management and the trade unions to a

consensus on previously-debated issues.

It would be a mistake to think of collective bargaining as just a

negotiation between the management and the trade unions wherein

both parties pressurize one another to get their demands conceded to. It

is actually broader in its effect than just this. Collective bargaining

encompasses verbal communication between the two parties which

intend to solve the issues on hand by discussing its various facets and their

implication upon the consequences. The underlying motive is to achieve

a win-win situation by collaboration and comprehensive negotiation.

One organization that has got both its concepts and

applications in IR in place is Harley-Davidson. The organization works in

Industry and employees were happy, said "What is the reason for trade unions now in the IT sector?". He opined that the IT Industry must be self-regulated, which brings us to another thought-provoking issue of whether the sole aim of unionizing is to increase pay?This aspect shall be dealt with after some other issues have been touched upon.


partnership with its trade unions and has recorded unprecedented profits (in the year 2005).

"Harley-Davidson Motor Company is an American cultural icon not only for the products it manufactures, but for showing its competitors that good business starts with respecting workers' rights," says David Bonior, Chair of American Rights at Work. Well managed IR can bring an organization back from the gallows. That is what exactly happened with Harley Davidson which

recovered from near bankruptcy in 1980’s by partnering with its trade unions and working in tandem with them. This shows the

changing role of Trade Unions from being a reactive entity earlier to now being a business partner-a pro-active entity.

The Conflicting Predicament

This section tries to deal with what has largely been associated with trade unions- CONFLICTS. The individualism of HRM versus the collectivism of IR has led to the concept of Collective bargaining being seen in a bad light. So, is Collective bargaining only an adversarial system and nothing more? So we asked our professor, Dr. Mousumi Padhi.

“Collective bargaining has been a method through which trade unions have tried to protect and promote their member's interests. Most of the times, the management adopted an unsympathetic attitude. However post liberalization, as Prof. Venkata Ratnam's study of collective bargaining agreements reveals, an increase in global competition is forcing companies to shed their adversarial attitude and build cooperative relationships with the labor. Similarly, there have also been instances where unions have cooperated with the management when they perceived that the problem was due to market conditions and not due to an unsympathetic management. One example of this is the 1993 agreement of workers of Hindustan Food Limited who agreed to take voluntary unemployment till the company started operating.

Many a time, the differing inclinations of IR and HRM have brought about an assumption of the duality in the employees’ loyalty, i.e., organizations, per se, are not anti-union. While management requires dedicated employees committed to the goals of the organization; commitment to the trade unions is another issue. The Harley Davidsonscenario negates this duality in confusion and proves that a duality in loyalty can co-exist! But how?

-by involving trade unions in the strategic decision making process. This way, employees can not only put forth their take on the decisions that affect them but also feel involved and responsible towards the organization.

Sincere implementation and adherence to the agreement would minimize conflict and this is one of the major bones of contention between the employer and the employee. And it holds true equally for both the management and the trade unions.

Finally the management must be sensitized towards the needs and rights of the employees, the most essential of which is coming together and forming a union. The management itself must ensure the economic and social interests of the employees. The way ahead

There needs to be collaboration between the management and the employees upon matters relating to employment. Establishing harmony between the management and the trade unions still remains a utopian phenomenon. We can aim for industrial peace, nonetheless. An organization that sees its employees as a potential source of competitive advantage has crossed half the maze already. Now if the organization actually goes ahead and builds upon this, it is through in entirety, in the absence of which the maze becomes even more confusing and leads nowhere.

COVER

STORY


“It used to be that if you said ‘trade union’ you said

‘good’. That’s changed, and desirably so because the

harm Trade Unions have done has become obvious and

patent that even the most innocent and naive, well-

meaning people, no longer equate labor unions with

labor”

[ From an episode of The Open Mind interview, Milton

Friedman dated Dec’7 1975]

Consider these two examples,

South West airlines is highly unionized, yet it

functions profitably and smoothly, much to the surprise of

the common people, as ‘union workers’ are generally

perceived to be rude or rowdy. But here the union works in

tandem with the airline. In fact, some time ago, the pilot’s

union decided to freeze wage increments for around 10

years in return for greater allocation of South West’s stock

options. This harmony between the union and the airlines

has helped the South West thrive in a highly competitive

industry.

[http://www.counterpunch.org , The Secret of Southwest Airlines by DAVID MACARAY]

The strike of the Bombay mill workers is a classic example of

trade unions ruining it for the whole factory, rather an entire

industry. In 1981, the Bombay mill workers, led by Dutta

Samant, went on a city-wide strike resulting in the shut-

down of a large number of mills for over a year. After a

prolonged conflict, the movement collapsed, majority of

the mill owners moved out of the city, which eventually led

to mass-unemployment. Whatever were the reasons for

movement, it resulted in around 80 mill owners shutting

shops and around 1.5 lac employees rendered jobless.

Source: Labour Monthly Vol. VI, May 1924, No. 5.]

What do we observe?

Clearly, the power of trade unions to make or break an

organization (ceteris paribus) is what is most prominently

seen.

TUs have been active in India since pre-independence

and if history is to be believed, the

Labour Unrest

the first national level TU was formed in 1920 and was called AITUC.Since then, industrial relations have changed manifold, bringing about a new perspective altogether to trade unionism.

This change is interplayof, again, multiple forces acting in tandem and having an effect upon different facets of IR. Initially formed as a grievance cell to voice the misery/problems of the workers, the TUs have come a long way in the sense that now they indulge in more non-bargaining roles and social activities. Trade unions have been known to pursue campaigns, stand up for a cause and lobby for it or,as in the Labor Party in Britain, provide financialaid to the candidate/party.Trade unions have also gone on to introduce economic reforms in the Nordic countries and Philippines.

The conventional IR was a function of three parties-the tripod, the workers and their unions, the management and the government. Now, because of the new framework, which has been addressed later, the consumers and the community have emerged as the major players with the power to play a significant role in the society.

(This change, the TUs must understand, must be well

assimilated and them and if they see their future right, they

must align themselves with the interests of the wider society.)

WHY THE SHIFT??

If we were to categorize the Indian economy and

its workforce in the post-independence era, we would see a

clear demarcation as follows:

1. 1947-1991- the period of import substitution.

2. 1991-till date- the era of economic liberalization.

Post-independence, the government played the

role of a protectionist, encouraging the public sector to

mushroom and build its base upon heavy industrialization

from mid 50s to end 60s.

The thrust was on import substitution strategy (ISI)

and any and all kinds of monopolies were restricted.

This probably explains why India could not grow as fast as its

neighbors in Asia (Taiwan, Korea (of course south),

Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia)-countries which pursued

export-oriented industrialization strategies. The country’s

position vis-à-vis rest of the world went from bad to worse

and it was then that the Tenth Plan (2002-07) Document was

considered.

When you deny

certain section

of the society

their fair share of

the ‘resource-

pie’ unrest

happens

Roopal Aggarwal (PGDHRM 2014) Mohammed Thanveer (PGDM 2014)


“The Roots of

Violence:

Wealth

without work,

Pleasure

without

conscience,

Knowledge

The key recommendation which changed the entire

economy to what we see now was the need to transform the

agrarian economy into a modern, unrestricted and multifaceted

source of power. The country saw a paradigm shift from ISI to

export oriented industrialization (EOI).

Result:

Tremendous pressure for a change in the IR system. Each

stakeholder- the judiciary, executive, and the government did their

best to simplify and prune the formalities and legalities concerning

employment.On the industrial front, the labor bore the brunt as the

manufacturers shifted focus from labor-intensive to capital-

intensive production, rendering a large percentage of the

workforcejobless. The major outcome of this influx was casualization

and contractualization of work.

INEQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH

There is another set of argument put forward by many

intellectuals about why there has been unrest among the

workforce and why there has been so much anarchy in the

world.. Economists like Paul Krugman say unionizing is not the

actual problem; the problem lies in how capitalism is run. The

problem lies with thepeople who run the country as well those who

run the organization. According to him, “They’re not very important

in America, but they should be”. The fact that unions have been

pushed into a marginal position is a political tact. Unions remain

very important in other developed countries, and not just ones that

are far away and very different from us. Unions are very important

in Canada. Unions . . . In the ‘60s, Canada and the U.S. were

comparably unionized – about 30 percent of their workforce.

Canada is still almost as unionized as it was then. In the United

States, the unions have been largely crushed. And ‘crushed’ is the

right word because it was hostile, often illegal union busting by

employers because the political environment was one in which

open season had been declared on union organizers. There is no

reason. People say, “Oh,” you know, “manufacturing faces global

competition.” Well, that’s true; and it places limits on what unions

can achieve in the realm of manufacturing. But why

mustn’tunionization occur in Wal-Mart? (There’s no law which says

we couldn’t have large corporations in the service sector part of a


unionized workforce.)Unions are just important as a

counterweight to negate any disruptive forces in the society.

There’s not . . . There are not many ways in which ordinary

workers can be effective in bargaining effective politics.

Unions is the best way to do that”

(in an interview given by Mr. Krugman on the website

http://bigthink.com on December 27, 2007).

So often it’s said that the root cause of all unrest is bad

economics. Economics is the tool with which you distributes

the resources of a country to its masses who are the stake

holders of the country. This is true even in the case of an

organization where the revenue is distributed amongst the

stake-holders.

When you deny certain section of the society their fair share

of the ‘resource-pie’ unrest happens . Anywhere in the world,

unrest occurs when you deny someone something that

he\she thinks belongs to them.

In an organization, when one particular group of stake

holder is denied their fair share, unrest will emerge.

Let us look at the occupy Wall Street movement. They claim

they are the 99%.They say their fair share is not delivered to

them. They despise a democracy which can’t distribute its

wealth equitably. Is it the fault of capitalism?

Since Organizations are the arteries which runs the capitalist

economy the problem of so called inequitable distribution of

wealth happens inside the organization.When the

organization fails to distribute the profit (the engine that

drives the free economy) to its employees, they naturally get

agitated.

Consider an organization which has been consistently

growing at around 10% for a decade or so but the wages

are not growing in proportion to that. There would be a

discontent amongst the employees won’t there?

Why don’t some organizations distribute their profit? Is it

because, as Pink Floyd says “Money, it's a gas Grab that cash

with both hands!”The entire philosophy of wealth-sharing in a

free economy is under severe scrutiny.

The workers agitate when they feel that they are not

compensated properly. This is the one basic reason of

employees forming unions.

Sometimes we wonder why this phenomenon of trade unions

and employee-employer relation breakdown doesn’t

happen (mostly) in the Scandinavian countries?

Scandinavian countries are classic examples of a society

where resources are shared almost in an equitable manner.

As a result the labor unrest is pretty much low in these

countries.

This example itself proves the point that wealth has to be

shared or else this unrest will keep on happening.(French

revolution happened when the poor became so poor that

they had to eat cakes instead of breads).

Although the concept of equitable distribution of wealth

sounds almost utopian in the Indian context, the discussion

does bring home the importance of establishing amity

between the labor and the organizations to avoid many

unfortunate events that have beenrecently witnessed back

home.

Finally, as Professor C.S. Venkata Ratnam suggests, the

linkage between HRM and IR must be duly appreciated. The

need of the hour is for the management to encourage the

environment of mutual trust while on the behalf of the

union/workers, just the clarity of the largely-wrongly-held

belief that the management plots to wean employees away

from their unions is enough.


Body language helps us understand what we or others ‘say’ through gestures and facial expressions. The art of reading body language can help us in many ways…including helping us impress whom we want to impress…maybe the new boss who holds the key to your promotion, or the stern interviewer who can help you crack your dream company…or, those who have kept you up all night, or have given you butterflies in your stomach, or have made you go mad thinking ‘Loves me, loves me not’…the list is endless.

Basically, there are two types of gestures- open and closed gestures. Open gestures are exhibited when someone is interested in you, and closed when s/he is not. But this doesn’t work always. For example, X might show open gestures to Y whom she finds attractive appearance-wise, but might change her mind when Y begins to speak, and display closed gestures. Don’t rely on first impressions, substance also matters!

Body language is essentially a part of non-verbal communication. We communicate non-verbally through a variety of channels. Thus there is a lot of scope for you to know about somebody else’s interest in you and for position yourself as an attractive option!

EYES Eyes are much more

expressive than words! Your pupils dilate when you like someone–presumably to make you look cuter! When someone likes you, s/he tries to keep you in her/his line of sight; no matter where s/he is standing, s/he

will always stand in such a manner that you are in her/his line of sight. Another indicator of attraction is that one would catch your eye, and then look away, and then look at you again. But, if s/he doesn’t look back again, it means that that person isn’t interested in you. So back off!

VOICE Voice can also show interest. If

a person’s tone, speed, and words match yours, it means that they are trying to improve their relationship with you. Watch out for rhyming conversations!

BODY POSITIONING How we sit, how we stand, the

way we recline…all impacts the way we are perceived. Unconsciously, even we judge others based on their body positioning. For example, while giving an interview, if a person reclines on the chair, he might be perceived as having a laidback attitude. Body positioning also works in issues of ‘personal interests’! While speaking to you, if a person leans towards you with the head or entire torso turned towards you, it shows romantic interest. In fact, even mirroring–mimicking your actions- by that person signal attraction! Further, knees pointing towards a person show interests! Even moving and bouncing toes show interest, apart from curled toes. MEN v/s WOMEN

Just like everything else, men and women differ when it comes to body language as well. Women can show 50 different signals via body language, while men can barely show 10! This makes men easier to understand, but even then, women are better at picking up these signals. Cheers girls!

Next is a list of gestures and expressions (as per Jo Hemmings) indicating someone’s interest in you…

She likes you if… 1) She pulls up her sleeves!

It’s a subconscious way to show that you are gentle and tender. It’s unusual, but very common!

2) She pushes your or her wine glass towards you (it indicates a wish to close the gap between both of you)

3) She fondles with her necklace and often plays with her hair

4) She looks at you, and when caught by you, she quickly glances away…this indicates interest! This shows that she thinks about you and gestures follow the suit. He likes you if…

1) A sure sign is the flirting triangle: He looks at each of your eye, then at your mouth and then back at your eyes to reconnect.

2) Like a strutting peacock, he breathes in and pushes his shoulders back

3) He stands in a cowboy pose – puts his hands on hips and thumbs in belt

Body Language - Nivedita Bakshi(PGDHRM 2014)

But these can’t be taken as thumb rules. Sometimes people tilt their heads to listen and may not be necessarily interested in you that way. Even smiles can be faked. So, if you have a feeling that a person likes you, don’t wait for the violins to play!

“The most important thing in communication is

hearing what isn’t said”

-Peter Drucker


Values: Clash of the Generation at Workplace

Unnikrishnan Nair T.A. Pai Management Institute

H Calibre Winner

Statistics around the world prove that this is the first time in the

history of the modern workforce that employees from so many

different generations are working side by side and closely with

people who are as young as their children and as old as their

parents. With a firm focus on productivity, managers around the

world are confounded on dealing with the values and needs of

each of these generations and hence address them in a

manner that increases productivity, morale and employee

retention.

One of the most classic distinctions of the workforce has been

on the basis of the periods of birth – the Arab proverb ‘People

resemble their times more than they resemble their parents’

holds much ground in this distinction. Though the generations

do share certain characteristics, most of it is overshadowed by

their distinct values in their approach to various aspects. A tip of

that ice-berg is attempted in the following exhibit in the form of

their differences and the peppering of similarities shared across

the generations.

Adding to these differences in the value system are the

underlying variations and perceptions of the various

generations amongst each other and their stereotyping, and

the cauldron becomes a mix beyond comprehension.

.

Bridging the generational gap requires acknowledging that

every individual is different and that ‘one size fits all’ is not the

approach that is going to help any organization in the long run.

World over, the best managers are trying to handle the situation

using what is known as the ACORN imperatives – approach that

contributes to inter-generational comfort. Regular

communication is the basis for any practice to be implemented

to help handle & lead a multi-generational workforce. Valuing

the employee opinions and their individuality is the biggest need

across all generations and imperative for collaborative success.

Mapping the right customer set to the right set of people is

another essential mantra for achieving business success –

Customers prefer to be communicating with ‘people like them’.

Generational conflict is more likely to arise from errors of

attribution and perception, than from valid differences.

Therefore, effective communication is critical in dealing with

generational conflict. This essentially has to be taken care of in

terms of feedback and evaluation.

Learning and development has to be tailored as per as the

situation since generational differences ensure that some prefer

class room training while others are more willing to learn on the

job. Moving on to retention, it’s a perceived change that loyalty

is taking a back seat amongst the employees and so are the

monetary returns. Hence this has to be factored in for the various

generations at work, making the retention and evaluation system

flexible and robust to face these needs. More easily said than

done, but these are essentially the steps needed to ensure that

the best of the generations are used for the organizational

growth. It’s essential for any manager to view the differences

with a positive intent and use techniques like Appreciative Inquiry

to ensure that the positive employee centered dialogues

overcome the generational differences. After all evolution of

views, doesn’t make the old ones obsolete.

.

“Bridging the generational gap requires acknowledging that every individual is

different and that ‘one size fits all’ is not the approach that is going to help any

organization in the long run


Factors Traditionals Gen X Millennials

General Outlook Practical Sceptical Hopeful Work Ethic Dedicated Balanced Ambitious

View About Authority

Conformity, Authority & Rules – Top Down Approach

Comfortable with Authorities but not

intimidated by the titles

Respectful, but expect it to be earned. More prone to Flat structure

Expectations regarding Respect

Deference, Special Treatment & expect to be valued for their opinions

Do not expect Deference, but expect to be held in esteem and listened to

Do not expect Deference but expect esteem and being listened to

Leadership By Hierarchy Competence Achievement & Together

Preferred Ways to Learn

On the Job, Discussion Groups & Peer Learning

On the Job, One on One Coaching, Peer

Interactions

On the Job, Peer Interactions, assessment & Feedback

Feedback & Supervision

May be insulted by continuous feedback

Immediate & Continuous Continuous & From all Quarters

Loyalty Considered among the most loyal of employees

Less loyal to companies but loyal to people

Committed & Loyal to idea, cause or product

Work-Life Balance Sacrificed personal life for

work Balance Life takes priority over the work

Preferred Leadership Attributes

Credible, Listens Well, Trusted

Credible, Trusted, Farsighted

Listens Well, Dependable, Dedicated

Attitude towards Flexibility

Freedom to set hours if work done and full time work

including working Saturdays

Similar Freedom but with more time for personal

reasons

Freedom to set working hours and focus on only getting the work done.

Smaller working weeks. Most Important

Aspect of Workplace

Fair, Ethical, Straightforward, Professional

Fair, Ethical, Straightforward, Collaborative

Fair, Ethical, Friendly/Social, Straightforward,

Top Reasons for Happiness at

workplace

Feeling valued, Recognition & Supportive Environment

Feeling valued, Recognition, Leadership that can be related to

Feeling valued, Recognition, Capable Workforce, Team Spirit

Perspective Team Oriented Self-reliant Civic-minded

Perception of the Traditionals for the later Generations

Perception of Gen X about the others Perception of Millennials about the earlier Generations

• They have no work ethic • They are just slackers • Not reliable or consistent • Not loyal to the job or

organization • Too much technology oriented • Lack People Skills

• Too laid back or too tensed • Hard to gain respect • Too Experienced or too

inexperienced • Tend to give responsibility but no

accountability • Too inflexible or too unconcerned

• Slow workers & learners • Too straight jacketed • Tend to take work as life • Doesn’t take much humour into

their stride • Too caught up in their own world • Rule driven

2: Generational Gaps

1: Perception Differences


Performance is so abstract that it is easy to perceive but hard to quantify. Sadly, perception has ruled the roost in most of our closed-door-once-in-a-year appraisal process that we pre-dominantly follow. We have been following a compensation system that delivers the goods only during times of contingencies (read as to convince employees from leaving organizations, to subside employee dissatisfaction). Of course, achieving equality in the compensation process is impossible as every employee is unique and what he/she brings to the table is an evidence of that uniqueness. Hence it is understandable that the compensation system can never become transparent. But lack of transparency cannot be the causative for the flaws we have induced in the compensation system.

Every organization considers its employees as an asset. However, during the season of compensations, the same employees are treated as liabilities. This can be attributed to the fact that the compensation models currently in use mostly attempt to measure an employee’s performance at the instant of appraisals, where the immediate supervisor assigns a mere numeral as per the candidates’ performance over the year. At the end of the day, even the appraiser is a human being and there are possibilities (intentional/unintentional) of human bias playing a role in deciding the appraisal (in favour/against favour) either due to recency effect or memory decay. Attempts should be made to remove the human bias by extending the appraisal process to self-appraisal, peer appraisal and team appraisal. Also, organizational goals should be made clear to the entire team and the head of the respective organizations should arrive on metrics to track the activities of employees which are relevant to the goal. For example, mentoring a junior is equally important as dealing with the client. Such acts should be tracked. By doing this we can move towards equity based compensation model that clearly focuses on giving the compensation that an employee deserves rather than desires.

.

Achieving equality in the

compensation process is

impossible as every employee is

unique and what he/she brings

to the table is an evidence of

that uniqueness

Compensation policy employed by organizations

he/she should be rewarded at that instant instead of waiting till the end of appraisal cycle. This should invite other interested folks to chip in and will greatly help in improving the capability of the team. In fact, an organization that is the best pay master in the market creates hope/illusion among its employees that their competence is the only the limit for the pay.

If salary hike and bonuses form the tangible facets of the compensation, then affinity is the intangible facet of the compensation. We hear stories of many employees starting at the bottom of the ladder and rising to the top as stakeholders of the organizations. This was possible essentially because they were happy employees who were ready to work for their organization. This sense of belongingness is what should be created and compensation process can play a very crucial role in achieving this. Compensation should be the last reason for an employee to leave an organization.

An appraisal process that gives importance to competence is the need of the hour

Bonuses form another significant part of the compensation. Most of the organizations distribute performance bonuses in a round robin manner to their employees. The negative connotations of this activity may lead to an utter disregard for such incentives leading to perceived artificiality in appreciations. In essence, organizations should creatively overhaul the performance bonus to motivate employees who walk the extra mile. Whenever an employee goes out of his way beyond his responsibilities,

Krishnan Chidambaram Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai

H-Calibre - 1st Runner Up

Performance is so abstract that it is easy to perceive but hard to quantify. Sadly, perception has ruled the roost in most of our closed-door-once-in-a-year appraisal process that we pre-dominantly follow. We have been following a compensation system that delivers the goods only during times of contingencies (read as to convince employees from leaving organizations, to subside employee dissatisfaction). Of course, achieving equality in the compensation process is impossible as every employee is unique and what he/she brings to the table is an evidence of that uniqueness. Hence it is understandable that the compensation system can never become transparent. But lack of transparency cannot be the causative for the flaws we have induced in the compensation system.

Every organization considers its employees as an asset. However, during the season of compensations, the same employees are treated as liabilities. This can be attributed to the fact that the compensation models currently in use mostly attempt to measure an employee’s performance at the instant of appraisals, where the immediate supervisor assigns a mere numeral as per the candidates’ performance over the year. At the end of the day, even the appraiser is a human being and there are possibilities (intentional/unintentional) of human bias playing a role in deciding the appraisal (in favour/against favour) either due to recency effect or memory decay. Attempts should be made to remove the human bias by extending the appraisal process to self-appraisal, peer appraisal and team appraisal. Also, organizational goals should be made clear to the entire team and the head of the respective organizations should arrive on metrics to track the activities of employees which are relevant to the goal. For example, mentoring a junior is equally important as dealing with the client. Such acts should be tracked. By doing this we can move towards equity based compensation model that clearly focuses on giving the compensation that an employee deserves rather than desires.

.


Maya works for a pharmaceutical giant, she had been given

an assignment in the US and came from India 3 months ago.

She has been struggling to manage a team because of

constant fighting over territory and self centered interests.

Her authority and ability to manage her team is constantly

challenged. She wants to delve deeper into the problem to

plan her next course of action.

In the article we try to find the sources of conflict and try to

arrive at strategies to deal effectively with conflict.

What could be the other reasons for conflict?

In a study conducted by Stephen M Ross school of business it

was found that Americans did not believe that relationship

conflict was detrimental to performance whereas the

Chinese and the South Koreans thought so. This shows that

Americans value professionalism over personal relationships

whereas the Chinese and the South Koreans value personal

relationships more in the workplace and try to avoid direct

conflict. Conflicts due to cultural differences need to be

handled sensitively but firmly, so that it does not affect the

professional setting.

There is no ‘I’ in team but there is one in conflict. In a high

pressure situation egos are bound to clash. Charles Darwin

propounded the idea of ‘survival of the fittest'. Employees try

to assert their opinion to survive in the corporate jungle.

When a person’s thoughts or beliefs are challenged, the first

instinct is to retaliate and save one’s territory. In

organizations that promote internal competition and

territorialism, conflict is bound to arise and can lead to

disastrous consequences. In the present scenario of the

globalized world teams are becoming more and more

diverse, conflicts become inevitable. The presence of virtual

teams also adds to the problem.

Conflict Management- the WHYs and HOWs

Charu Puri IMI New Delhi

H-Calibre – 2nd Runner Up

Dividing the Cake

In situations such as Maya’s, a win-win collaborative style

based Thomas Kilmann’s Model is the answer. Every person’s

point of view must be heard and then negotiations must be

facilitated to achieve a common ground. Simply avoiding

would aggravate the problem and it can crop up in later

discussions, competing and compromising would mean one

party emerges the loser, which can result in loss in morale.

Accommodating can indicate inherent weakness and fosters

resentment. It is only through increasing the size of the cake

rather than cutting it into smaller pieces can everyone be

happy. So if employees put their heads together to arrive at

the best possible alternative, they can have their cake and

eat it too.

There is no ‘I’ in team but there is one in conflict


Mark de Rond writes about Cappuccino teams, these are

teams that break for coffee as soon as signals of conflict

arise. Managers need to create a culture of trust so that

employees within the team feel ‘psychologically safe’ to air

their views without encountering ridicule or rejection. A

manager in the form of a facilitator especially for virtual

teams is needed.

For effective conflict management a Manager should

• Recognize early signs of danger before everything spirals out of control

• Be objective: Support decisions with facts

• Facilitate: listening to telling ratio should be 90:10 for a manager

• Build trust and cohesiveness among team members

• Lead by example • Be Proactive in anticipating

problems • Counsel team members

The Good Fight

William Wrigley Jr. said “If two people in business always

agree, one of them is unnecessary.” The concept of healthy

conflict is accepted in most progressive organizations. It

helps to prevent yes men and promote divergent thinking.

Take the case of Microsoft and Google. Microsoft started out

as the giant, but after Ballmer took over the organization has

been riddled with problems, the primary one being a lack of

innovation. They have been selling old wine in new bottles in

the name of new products. Microsoft acquired a culture of

yes men, bureaucracy that is not conducive for innovation.

As prevalent in Google, a culture that supports employees

who speak up and fosters equality is the guiding light for

innovation.

Positive conflict weeds out the weak performers, it helps to

prevent complacency set in. Moreover it is the best way to

nurture and develop the talent pipeline in an organization.

Employees deal with conflict on an everyday basis, it is the

true test of the robustness of an organization’s culture and

processes as to how effectively conflict is dealt with.

Positive conflict is the elixir for innovation and prevents an

organization from becoming stagnant.


The law of reciprocity is the most powerful of all the laws which bind human relationships. It helps them achieve their goals and concomitantly contribute towards the goals of the organization. The greater the satisfaction and motivation experienced by the employees, the greater is the demonstrated commitment. A decade ago Sears, Roebuck and Company’s management team developed an employee-customer-profit model to analyze the attitudes of the employees towards their companies and their jobs, which had the pre-requisite of positive employee behavior toward customers. The findings revealed that a five per cent increase in employee satisfaction drives a 1.3 per cent increase in customer satisfaction which in turn results in 0.5 per cent increase in revenue growth. Larger the dream, more important is the team. The organizations must realize and understand that it is their employees and the employees alone which endow them with long-term competitiveness and should take the necessary measures to nurture and retain them rather than narrowly focusing upon short term monetary gains.

An organization comes into existence when a group of people come together with some tremendous dreams which inspire them to invest ‘every possible effort to create and add value to the organization’. Human resources are an indispensable part of any organization. Having an adequately skilled and highly motivated human resource is the prerequisite of any organizations’ success. All other resources depend on the human resource (workers, strategists, organizers etc) without which the rest are worthless. Organizations can’t attain excellence unless they provide an environment conducive to the employees to flourish and work in harmony. Embracing the cultural and regional diversity fosters faith and commitment towards the organization. Every single effort of each employee, when pooled together, leads to an organizations’ success. Although money is an essential factor for sustainability and growth, it’s a by-product of value addition to the organization. The Watson Wyatt Worldwide Human Capital Index study suggests that effective human resources practices lead to positive financial outcomes more often than positive financial outcomes lead to good practices. The question that most of the entrepreneurs or promoters ask is that why should they be employee centric. They should be more profit centric. As the words of Milton Freidman go- “The business of business is business”. The motive of business enterprises is to increase the profit of their stake-holders. ‘Profit’ is the engine that drives capitalism. Many a research has shown that the revenue of the organization has a strongly positive correlation with employee satisfaction. Look at all the successful organizations of the world-Google, Apple, etc.

HR Neeti Take care of people and the money will take care of itself

-Avinash Pakhre (PGDHRM 2014)

Embracing the cultural and regional diversity fosters faith and commitment

towards the organization


Views from the corporate – An interview with Mr. Shrihari Mahabala Udupa

An alumus of TISS, a senior HR Professional, Shrihari Udupa, is currently on a sabbatical doing a fellow program. He has held a number of senior positions in Industry including being, VP- HR, at Wartsila India, Senior Director-HR, Oracle India, President Group HR, Adani Enterprises, Ahmedabad. His last assignment was as Director and Human Capital Leader at PwC India, Gurgaon. Speaking with Megha Pranesh, Mr.Udupa discussed a range of HR issues relevant in the contemporary context. Excerpts from the interview are produced below: People shashtra: Dissonance and unrest manifest themselves in different ways. Recently we’ve been witness to some violent manifestations. As budding HR professionals we need to identify the root cause and solutions to these problems. Could you point out some possible potent sources and consequences of discontent that were until now quite latent? Shrihari: Violence does not always have to be overt and physical. Inflicting injury in any form is violence. Different dimensions of an organisation, individuals, colleagues/team members, policies and systems could impact an employee very adversely. It could be quite the reverse as well. An employee could cause damage to the organisation in many ways. There are multiple ways in which one could be harmed. Harassment, primarily mental (emotional, psychological), could cause tremendous damage to an individual. Even discrimination for example could cause traumatic feelingsin another. Many a times, by its very nature, harm done by another, this is not experienced by the recipient immediately. The damage is often understood, or felt very late, or may not be realised at all. So absence of overt expressions does not mean peace. Reaction to passive violence is reflected through equally passive means such as non-cooperation, poor communication, sabotage, stealth, poor contribution, damaging relationships and causingdamage to stakeholders. Essentially this inert violence impacts the free flow of constructive energy in teams and organisations, hurting everyone and results in under-performance. It appears, the moreeducated a person is, the more inert and subtle would be the violence mechanism. In most

cases, at the earliest opportunity, if feasible, the employee who feels aggrieved leaves the organisation. This is least damaging. However, it does cause a drag in the system and becomes dysfunctional for the organisation. If the exit option is not there, frustrations get bottled up and erupt in more violent forms of aggression. The impact of this inert violence is reflected in the attrition, quality, productivity, poor service levels. Having seen the manifestations, let us understand the provocation for this inert violence. Primarily it could be traced to a seeming injustice, exploitation, unfair treatment or demand made on an individual by whatever means or situation. As long as the receiver feels as such, it does not matter whether the perception is right or wrong. In a broadest context, the organisations perceived unfair, inequitable policies, irrational procedures etc., could be contributing factors. At grass root levels, interactions with superiors, team members, as well situation in which an individual perceives himself could be major provocations. There are many channels can which help organisations to control and manage the negative emotions. In fact if these are handled well, they could result in a positive well-meaning employee. At an organisational level, it is necessary for the leadership to create a value based culture where respect for human being, trust, openness and transparency are upper most. The leaders need to set examples where employees raising issues are dealt with objectively. Organisations therefore have publicly stated no-retribution policy, assuring employees of no victimisation. They have separate hot lines, many at times global made available to employees. These help those with genuine grievances to raise and get the same redressed. Now there are employee assistance programs which help employees to vent emotions, share personal challenges, grief etc. and get counsel in total confidence. Multiple employee committees, participation channels are created for employee involvement. These provide scope for making investments in and building relationships. As the old age goes, prevention is better than cure. People Shastra: Technology nowadays plays an important role in the HR function. How, according to you, can technology enable HR managers to better organize the workforce?

Many relationships can be damaged forever. However, it seldom happens in the private sector. Nobody wants their image to get tarnished and hence in

most of the cases they leave the system and go. They quit.


It is an interdependent world. Business is no different. There

are stake holders, the management, the employee can do well only if the company does wellandgrows. The company similarly knows that its survival and well-being is dependent on the contributions of it’s workforce. This can happen only if the employees are motivated and engaged. One can’t thrive at the expense of the other. The title, of the book by Mr Vineet Nayar, CEO, HCL Technologies, ‘Employees First, Customers Second’, reveals it all. According to Mr Nayar, the critical value addition comes in the services the employees provide. It would therefore be foolish to ignore their interests.

It is, therefore, in the interest of all, that the gains of business are shared equitably. Equity is the key. Anyone trying to get more than his equitable share would only be perceived as exploitative by the other, sowing the seeds of discontent or tension. The maturity is reflected in parties understanding of and living the balance. People shashtra: ‘Peitho’, a Greek word, has from the very beginning been introduced as a balancing and harmonizing force. Known to us as ‘persuasion’, what do you think is its role in HR. Do you think persuasion is a positive force which can be strategically employed to smooth over differences? Shrihari: As a stake holder, without one buying into the purpose and objectives of the other, no one can be successful. There has to be a win-win approach. However it is not so easy. Both parties, the HR and the employer are engaged in a complex relationship. They seem to constantly testing each other. It is here that persuasion and communication come into play. We need all the interpersonal, persuasive ability, communication skills to maintain a healthy balance. Nothing can replace authenticity. Both character and skills are necessary. Persuasion skill alone, without personal authenticity is not sustainable.

Shrihari: We need to differentiate between effectivity and efficiency. One could be very efficient but not effective. Efficiency is doing things right, effectivity is doing the right things. Effectivity is about delivering substance/results. Technology helps in efficiency. Managing processes faster, with greater accuracy is what technology helps to bring in. If an individual’s job is development of people, major time should be spent in preparation and delivering programs or whatever it takes to develop people and not on , keying in data and generating reports. Technology is an enabler and should be exploited fully. With the help of technology, every repetitive activity/process can be automated and should be explored. It frees up HR time. minimises maintenance and administrative activity. Helps one to deliver more with less, up-grade one’s services, to provide more value add. This enhances the effectivity of HR. There are any number of systems that are available and should be fully utilised. People Shastra: Adding on to the previous question, technology is also used to contain and manage employees. A lot of monitoring goes on within an organization which often leads to a culture of spying and surveillance. What are your views on this subject? Do you think this might be one of the major sources of employee dissatisfaction? Shrihari: The philosophy of the organization is crucial while addressing this issue. In my view, ‘trust begets trust’. Monitoring needs a lot of effort and energy. The employees always know how to outsmart gadgets. Distrust itself creates hostility. On the contrary, reposing trust and faith makes people more responsible and works better. The management should communicate its philosophy and encourage its employees to live by the faith reposed. For e.g., in most MNC, IT companies, there is no system of attendance. Anybody absenting, is expected to apply for leave on his own. Many a times the supervisor or manager is in another country. It is impossible to keep watch on everybody all the time. In fact the percentage of employees who misuse the system is very less. It is better to manage misuse and abuse of faith on an ‘exception’ basis. This also should be done keeping principles of natural justice in mind. Any breach of faith or misuse is dealt with in proportion to the gravity of the misconduct. Drastic action should be taken, where need be, making other employees more vigilant. People shashtra: Do you think employer’s interests are inherently opposed to worker’s interests? Shrihari: ‘Mutuality’ is the key, this needs to be understood. The relationship is not one of conflict at all. In fact it is interdependent. Late Stephen Covey, incorporates this stuff very well in his book on ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’. He observes, at birth, we human beings are 100% dependent on society, as we grow, in the early years, we learn to be independent. However as we grow further we realise that all of us are interdependent. The greater the understanding of this interdependence and better the management of it, the more effective would the individual be.

First I’ll try to convince but after a point duty takes over personal style. I would explain with an

example from Mahabharata- At a point in the war, Krishna advises

Arjuna telling him that he did everything he could to avoid

war. Now Arjuna must follow his dharma.


Views from the corporate – An interview with Ms Anamitra Chaterjee

Anamitra Chaterjee is an Executive & Career Coach and a Leadership Facilitator. He has previously been Head - HR and Learning & Education (Training) at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Relationship Manager at Deutsche Bank AG. In an engaging interview with Megha Pranesh, he discusses some popular HR myths. People shashtra: HR is most often considered an administrative function. It is usually seen as the poor cousin of other management disciplines. What according to you is the status and role of HR? Anamitra Chaterjee: A lot depends on what we call “People’s perception”. HR is very important because of its nature which is developmental. More and more students are increasingly opting for HR. From the perspective of the industry it is quite important. HR deals with one very crucial and critical area, that is, the development of people. Coaching and counselling are essential to HR. HR has three basic functions and often one of them gets overemphasized while the other two remain obscure. The three main functions of HR are developmental, operational and strategic. The operational function is the one aligned with administrative work such as compensation, recruitment, etc. Strategic HR deals mainly with areas such as succession planning and talent management. Some people might not have clear awareness about these varied functions of HR. An HR professional is usually perceived as someone who gives the offer letter and disburses the salary. There is a need to make finer distinctions. HR is differentiated with multiple roles and functions. We need to acknowledge each function in its entirety and not confuse them together. There are aspects and specific areas of HR which are not known to the outside world.

People shashtra: IIM Ranchi has started a specialized post-graduate programme in HR. What do you think is the scope for HR professionals today? Are the academia and industry in sync with each other?

Anamitra Chaterjee: I see huge scope for HR over time.

The PGDHRM course commenced by IIM Ranchi is an initiative in the vision of the director. I reckon that like any other programme it will take time to bear fruit. However there is a huge demand to cater to. The place would become a nursery for good HR professionals over time. In 10 years’ time it would be IIM Ranchi, TISS and XLRI which will be the exponents in the HR academia. I believe that any application must have theoretical underpinnings, otherwise it loses ground. In times of crisis it needs a strong base. At the same time if all modules become entirely theoretical they would lose relevance. Interwoven into the course should be some electives relevant to the industry.

People shashtra: Approaching certain myths, HR is considered to be a poorly paid job. It is not seen to be very lucrative. Do you think this to be true? Anamitra Chaterjee: A bulk of HR goes into internal HR work. It is different from, say, variable pay based on sales. In PWC, for example, the starting pay for anyone who joins would be the same. What we need to do is to differentiate between fixed pay and variable pay. In certain practices like financial advisory the pay is quite different due to this variable factor. In that respect, the same pay is not possible for HR since the nature of work is different. At the top, however, things are quite different. The head of the HR would be equally paid as the marketing or the finance head. There is a sort of convergence at the top senior level. Therefore, a temporal dimension is attached to this issue of pay levels across departments. A time scale comes into play. There is a peak in pay structure at a certain time in one’s career graph. There is less divergence at mid-career or at the peak of one’s career. People shashtra: Another common perception is that HR exhibits a gender bias. HR is assumed to be women’s domain. Do you believe this perception to be true or is it a

. In 10 years’ time it would be IIM Ranchi, TISS and XLRI which will

be the exponents in the HR academia


mere stereotype. What may be the basis of such perceptions? Anamitra Chaterjee: Over years many a girl students have chosen HR because that seems to give them stability as opposed to, for example, a travelling sales job. This is a trend observed not only in India but abroad too. Internal HR is commonly perceived as stable HR. Girls have gravitated towards it. Boys perceive HR as a domain that would limit and restrict their career growth. The choice of HR seems to be more of a gender choice by women. For example why don’t we see many women police officers in the IPS. These cultural choices apart, it is quite natural to have competence as a deciding factor. However I know that even though in the eyes of the students appearance or grades may matter, in the eyes of the recruiter competence plays the primary part. Assumptions in the students’ and recruiters’ minds vary. Selection is based solely on potential capability. That is my belief. Grades too are not crucial for the recruiter. The developmental angle associated with HR is largely present more in women than men. Since the very beginning and even in theoretical conceptions men have been viewed as hunters while women as farmers. The training and development function of HR imparts knowledge. Thus we see there is further stratification and gender based choices within HR itself. Over time this norm has to be broken. At the risk of sounding self-contradictory I must venture out to say that certain norms cannot be broken since existence itself is based on them. Here I would like to point out another domain which exhibits similarities. Be it finance or Formula 1, men dominate in these areas. Finance is associated with risk-taking. Now risk-taking activities are taken up more by men. Even in the finance sector we see women more in banking, which is again considered safe. People shashtra: Another myth associated with HR is that it is less stressful. Do you believe this to be true? Anamitra Chaterjee: There are different kinds of stress attached with different kinds of work. HR can be quite challenging during the recruitment season. There are targets and deadlines to be met. There are thousands of CV’s waiting to be sorted out and filtered on online portals such as naukri.com. I agree that stress in HR is not the kind that is associated with one’s pay, or variable pay to be more accurate. It is not linked to one’s performance. However, HR too has milestones to cover. There are year-end increments and appraisals which can be quite harassing. There are downtimes in the HR calendar as well. Recruitment is the only activity that goes on year long. There are off times since training and development programmes are not organized all the time. Unlike, say marketing, HR professionals are not answerable to customers every time. HR, in that respect allows one enough time for personal work and comfort.

People shashtra: Finally, who, according to you should opt for HR. Are there any skills that one should ideally come with before opting for HR? Anamitra Chaterjee: Skills are the reason why people opt for something. The issue, I believe, has to be addressed scientifically. There are three things on which one bases one’s decisions. We are driven mainly by interest, motivators and skills. Interest is the primary factor which compels us to choose our career path. Skills (knowledge) will be gradually and consequently imparted by the institute. Interest should dominate everything else in choosing a particular specialization. Parents usually put an emphasis on skills. In the end, however, interest and passion must rule above everything.

HR can be quite challenging during the recruitment season.

There are targets and deadlines to be met.


HR Panti

The HRM batch depicts diversity at its best. And when such elements come together, the universe is bound to explode!

We have such mini-explosions every now and then in our classroom…whether it’s Wadu’s antics, or Shivang’s doubts,

there’s always something to keep the class going, especially when the classes start at 9 a.m. and end at 11:30 in the

night!! Though Shovana Mam is the sweetest, but we dread her entry with a stack of papers – harbinger of an

unannounced quiz!! But relative grading ensures that we all sail through ;) Mohit’s “you know”, Venu’s “But why???”

,Akshat’s “humble opinions” , Parul’s fashion parade, Shabir’s knowledge of all facts whatsoever (pun intended!)…all are

vital ingredients for a delicious recipe called the PGDHRM batch!

acHaaR Awards is an attempt by HiRe to recognise these unique and amusing talents of our peers! This quarter, the

acHaaR Awards goes to Tiwari Vikas Chandramohan for exhibiting exceptional work-life balance!

Cheers!

Exceptional Work Life Balance

Learning Management..Garam Chai in class..

Courtsey: Shabir Mustafa (PGDHRM 2014)

Sourabh Barapatre (PGDM 2014)


event. Mr Yogesh Mariwalla, founder of Index Advisory, talked

about developing various skill sets and understanding the

core competencies of an individual before joining the

industry. Mr Asit Mohapatra, Director HR at Raymond Ltd.,

advised on challenging the status quo of an organization and

bringing in fresh ideas to enhance overall productivity of the

organization.

Ms Alka Tiwary, Senior General Manager and Head-HR of 3i-

Infotech talked about the contemporary issues and struggles

in the HR domain. She stressed on new challenges the HR

managers faced in the ever evolving landscape of business

firmament. Mr Manas Panda, Executive Director SAIL, stressed

on the very important difference between capital and

resource and corroborated the same with various examples.

He talked about the intricacies of HR working in a PSU. The

valedictory address was delivered by Prof Subir Verma, Dean

IIM Ranchi, who highlighted the goals IIM Ranchi strives to

achieve in due course of time. IIM Ranchi looks forward to

take this event to greater heights in the coming years.

IIM Ranchi organized the first edition of its annual HR con-

clave on December 10, 2011 on “Holistic Development of

Human Capital”. The event was marked by presence of

dignitaries from the HR domain of corporate world as well

as the academia. IIM Ranchi is coming up with a 2 year

program in PGDHRM starting in 2012. It is the first IIM to

initiate a program dedicated to the HR field. The discussion

was moderated by Dr Pranabesh Ray, Dean-Academics at

XLRI, who has taught in the top management institutions

around the world. The inaugural address was given by Prof

M J Xavier, Director IIM Ranchi, who stressed on the fact

that HR challenges were evolving with the changing needs

of organizations across various verticals. The first batch of

IIM Ranchi will graduate in 2012 and the challenges that a

student faces in transition from college to corporate world

were discussed in the

HR Conclave 2011


Vision "Development of future HR professionals through collaboration of academia & corporate" Mission “Holistic development of the students who aspire to be HR professionals by imbibing in them the key skills and right attitude” . People Shastra – HR Magazine of IIM Ranchi brought to you by: HiRe- HR Club (Co-ordinators: Kapil Nitharwal and Mukesh Yadav) Creative Team (Co-ordinator: Vaibhav Bansal) Literary and Media PR Committee (Co-ordinator: Nishant Vatsa)

HiRe: Vision and Mission

Courtsey: Toney Naorem (PGDHRM 2014)

HiRe - HR Club Co-ordinators (2012-2014) - Toney Naorem , Avinash Pakhre , Akshat Gupta

Documents

People Shastra