Induction at Isro

Vol:25 Issue : 9December 2009

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Transformational Leadership

Employee Innovation

Induction at ISRO

HR in IR

Talent Management

Ethically Playing Safe

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Passing Passing the the

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Special Issue of The13th

National Conference at Mumbai 25th -27th November 2009

Theme: Lead from Uncertainty to certainty

Succession Planning

| HRD News Letter | December 2009, Vol.25, Issue:9 2 Silver Jubilee Series

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| HRD News Letter | December 2009, Vol.25, Issue:9 3Silver Jubilee Series


Vol - 25 December 2009 Issue - 9

EditorC. Balaji,

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NHRDN Leadership TeamRajan N S, National President

Aquil Busrai, Immediate Past National PresidentMadhukar Shukla, Regional President (East)Gopalkrishna M., Regional President(south)Satish Pradhan, Regional President (West)

Pankaj Bansal, National SecretaryAshok Reddy B, National Treasurer

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Articles

22 ........... Transformational Leadership andOrganizational Performance

–– Durga Padmaja Konakanchi

24 .............. Induction Programme at ISRO- A Case Study

–– J Ravisankar

26 ............ The Alignment of OrganizationalLearning with Employee Innovation:

Developing Congruent EmployeeBehaviors

–– Dr. Mohan Gopinath

27 ....................... HR in Emerging Bihar–– Shimoni Sinha

28 .......................... Talent Management–– Bhaskar Jha

29 ................. The Challenge of HRD in IR––R V Ravishankar

30 ........................Ethically Playing Safe–– Antu Das

31 ......... Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna to Your Job–– Sunder Ramachandran

32 ................ A Black Dot in the Workplace–– S. Kumar Chandar

33 ......... HRM in Health Care Organisations–– Dr. P.G.Ramanujam, Dr. G. S.Rama Krishna.

34 .................. Zeros to Heroes -Series 18–– S. Deenadayalan, S.Rajalakshmi

36 ................................... Colleagues–– P.Srivani

36 ..... Have You Ever Faced Multi-Reporting?–– M Venkat Siva Kumar

37 ..... 7 Habits of a Contributing Stakeholder/(CO star) -

–– Vinod Abraham

55 .....................Counseling Newly Weds–– Ratnakar Misra

Regular Features

6 ............................ President’s Message7 ......................................... Editorial8 to 13 ................... Mumbai Conference15 ............................... Monster Article42 ........... Remembering Dr B L Maheshwari47 ............................ Fascinating Facts49 to 52 ........................ Chapter News52 ..................... Quiz and Cartoon Corner53 to 66 ................ Chapter Photographs

Silver Jubilee Features

43 ......................... "Silver Jubilee Article"

Advertisements

2 .................................. Accor Services3 ................................... Dale Carnegie5 ............................... Jaipur Convention14 .................................. Monster Jobs17 ................................. Dale Carnegie19 ...................................... Alphastar21 .......................................... Probe23 ............................................ Grid25 ............................... OD Consultants67 ................................... Global Hunt68 ....................................... Monster

Column

16 ............. Empowering Internal Customers–– Global Hunt

Humour Review Department (HRD)

18 .............................. “E” Verything “E”–– Col. P. Deogirikar

Lead Feature

20 ............. Succession and Career Planning–– T N J Raman

Case Study

48 ........ Employment of Married Couple in theSame Company

Suggested Solutions to Case Study No.33.–– R. Dharma Rao

ISSN-0974-1720


President's Message

N S RajanNational President

Dear friends,

Institutions are understood and 'identifiedwith a social purpose and permanence,transcending individual human lives andintentions, and with the making andenforcing of rules governing cooperativehuman behavior'. What makes an institutionendure? What factors govern the prospectsof perpetuity? What drives the need toconnect and collaborate? These are vitalquestions to reflect upon to unravel thecomponents of institution building. NHRDNhas an overarching commitment to promotethe HRD movement in India and enhancingthe capability of human resourceprofessionals, enabling them to make animpactful contribution in enhancingcompetitiveness and creating value tosociety. It addresses growth of self, theorganization and the society at large,creating an uplifting and compellingframework of engagement of individuals inthe Network. The abiding purpose of theNetwork and the remarkable possibilities ofcontributing through a collective process isthe bedrock of this institution.

As your President, it is indeed my duty andprivilege to articulate the way forward, andpresent a shared vision that sustains theinstitution building process and enables anenhanced equity of the Network that webelong to and cherish deeply. Even as I learnfrom the past two and half decades of growthand consolidation, the time has come for usto imagine what our Network would be forthe future generations, and work togetherto achieve a defined outcome. " For I diptinto the future, Far as human eye could see,Saw the vision of the world, And all thewonder that would be" wrote Tennyson,perhaps aptly summing up the endeavourto envision the road ahead.

At the recent Executive Board Meeting heldin Nov 14, 2009, on our collective behalf, I

presented the way forward to the esteemedmembers who unanimously gave their wholehearted consent. The focus of the next twoyears would be to align the Network on threekey pillars:

1. Governance: institute constitutionalreforms and transparency

2. Engagement: enable an enhancedvalue proposition

3. Network: strengthen organizationalarchitecture

The way forward would be governed bystrong focus on execution, measurableoutcomes, accountability and transparency- paving the way in creating sustainedinstitution building and enhanced equity ofthe network. In a highly acclaimed article'What Business Can Learn from NonProfits'in Harvard Business Review of Jul-Aug 89,Peter Drucker observed succinctly that "Nonprofits need management even more thanbusiness does because they lack thediscipline of the bottom line." True indeed !

GOVERNANCE

The National HRD Network has adocumented set of bye-laws that govern thefunction of the Executive Board and theChapters of the Network. The ExecutiveBoard, chaired by the National President,holds Board Meetings every quarter andaccounts audited every year, without fail.The Chapters are expected to follow thedirection set by the Executive Board and playa critical role in enabling sustained levels ofengagement, on one hand following thenational agenda set, and on the otheraddressing the needs of the local members.Organizations like ours must be willing torefresh themselves and welcome change,to endure and retain relevance into thefuture. "Asking 'What is right for theenterprise?' does not guarantee that the rightdecision will be made. Even the most brilliantexecutive is human and thus prone tomistakes and prejudices. But failure to askthe question virtually guarantees the wrongdecision" reflected Drucker. With two andhalf decades behind us, this surely is anopportune time to initiate constitutionalreforms and to revisit and renew our bye-laws and the way we work together. To stayrelevant and prepare us for the future thatbeckons us.

ENGAGEMENT

The vision of the Network and the agendaand tone set by the National President andthe Executive Board finds translation into awide range of activities that engage themembers through the year. Monthly

Meetings and Special events, LearningCentre workshops, Webinars, and specialprograms like "Meet a Mentor', seminars,conferences, training interventions, andinformal get-togethers create multiplevenues for networking, learning and growth.Books and papers are published to sharedevelopments in the field of HRD. The HRDNewsletter published every month and theHRD Network Journal every quarter are vitalinstitutional vehicles for dissemination ofnews and knowledge. The NHRDN alsoworked on a critical mission of identifyingHR Competencies that meet the need to stayrelevant and created "HR Compass" forprofessionals to equip themselves for afulfilling role in their chosen profession.Keeping with the times, the NHRDN hascreated a web presence, built on the socialnetworking platform Web2.0. All of theseinterventions need to be preserved andpersevered with a strong execution focusand clearly defined accountabilities toprovide an enhanced and compelling valueproposition for the members of the Network.

NETWORK

While the Executive Board serves the corepurpose of setting directions to the Network,the 30 Chapters function with fair degree ofempowerment. With the support andguidance of Regional Presidents, theChapter leaders and office bearers such asChapter President and Secretary of therespective Chapter provide the requisiteleadership and guide the execution ofactivities at the Chapter level. The range ofactivities at the Chapter level, and the levelof engagement constantly reenergizes theNetwork, drawing upon each other'scapabilities and forging a symbioticrelationship between the local Chapters andthe all India Network. It is important to sustainthis symbiotic relationship, and even moreto support and nurture the emergingChapters in line with our expectations, andexpand our overall membership manifold.

The task ahead is daunting yet inviting. Inthe wonderful words of Tennyson from hisUlysses: "I am a part of all I have met; Yetall experience is an arch where through,Gleams that untraveled world, whose marginfades, For ever and for ever when I move.How dull it is to pause, to make an end, Torust unburnished, not to shine in use!" Thisis no time to pause. Let us light the lamp ofaspiration and illumine the road ahead, asfellow travelers into the future.

President's Message


EditorialMAKING UNWORKABLE RELATIONSHIPSWORKABLE: AN APPROACH

Consider that every relationship ispurposeful: i.e., there is some purpose thatneeds to be achieved through thatrelationship. Relationships, then, areinstrumentalities. When A relates with B, thisrelationship is a means for either or both ofthem to achieve some end. A or B or bothmay not look at their relationship as an endfor a means; they may consider therelationship itself as the end; they may notbe aware or conscious of the result; but, thatthey relate to achieve some end isunquestionable.

Suppose there is a strain in the relationshipbetween A and B. This strain jeopardisesachieving the end-result that A or B or bothwant from that relationship. We can say thatthe relationship has become "unworkable".Depending on the nature of the strain in therelationship, the instrument calledrelationship that is required for achieving theresult doesn't work at all, or doesn't workwell enough to produce the result. Whatneeds to be done, under such a situation, isto bring the relationship back to a state ofworkability.

How can we make an unworkablerelationship to a state of workability? Here'san approach that was implemented in a - C Balaji

Editorialworkshop effectively. This approach brought12 strained unworkable relationships into astate of workability. In the extreme case, therelationship between two people was sostrained that they had all but stopped talkingto each other for a few weeks. And it was amoving sight to see these people hug oneanother spontaneously as soon as theybrought in workability in their relationships.

So, here are the steps:

1. Acknowledge that unworkability has setin the relationship; acknowledge thespecific result that has run into risk

2. Express authentically the commitmentto bring in workability in the relationshipto achieve the result

3. Share what has worked in therelationship - i.e., what did A and B dothat has enabled movement towardsachieving the result (Note: It is importantthat the focus here is on what actuallydid A and B do, and not on their qualitiesand characteristics)

4. Share what has not worked in therelationship - i.e., what did A and B dothat has had a negative impact onachieving the result (Note: It is importantthat the focus here is on what actuallydid A and B do, and not on either whatthey did not do or their qualities/characteristics)

5. Discuss and commit to what should Aand B do in the future to accomplish theresult (Note: It is important to focus hereon what should A and B do, and not ontheir qualities/characteristics)

6. Thank one another for the commitmentto bring in workability in the relationshipto achieve the result and for committingfor future actions

Try these steps out … and share yourexperiences with the readers of theNewsletter.

M. Subramanian, an IIM Ahmadabadalumnus (Batch of 1975) and part of theHR landscape in Bangalore for more than2 decades passed away on November10th 2009. He was involved with a lot ofprofessional associations like CII, EFSIand a multitude of educational institutionseven while he held the top HR post incompanies like Madura Coats andIngersoll Rand. MS lost a valiant 12-yearbattle with cancer. Many like me havebenefitted enormously from his wisdom,generosity of spirit and his willingness topatiently teach us. Here are some of thethoughts from people who knew him well.

MS’ was a person of integrity; a true‘Karmayogi’, and a professional whorespected the uniqueness in individuals!We all lost a good friend...

R. R. Nair

MS was one of the few people who I havemet with strength in both Concepts andexecution. While he could conceptualiseboth Business and HR issues with ease,his eye for detail and boundless energymade execution flawless. I learnt a lotworking closely with him—both on pure HRand on how to add value to the Business.

Prashant Sankaran , CEO Blueshift

MS, as he was fondly known, was a rarehuman being for whom duty wasparamount. In spite of the dreadful disease,he used to get out of the hospital and startnormal work the next day itself. I am awarehis daughter is doing a lot of research tosave future generations in whatever wayshe can and I am sure that is the best adaughter can do to a father. I have immenserespect for this man who did not care muchabout name and fame but just went aboutdoing his job. We will miss him forever.

I pray God to give his family the courageand strength to overcome his absenceand pray God for his soul to rest in peace.

V G Nirupama, Managing Director, AdAstra Consultants

I first met MS professionally, but therelationship turned into a friendship thatbrought me great pleasure. MS was oneof the few people whom I sincerelyadmired and for whom I had tremendousrespect. He was a driving force inwhatever he did but he accomplished thisin a modest manner, his respect for otherssecuring their respect for him. Hisknowledge and experience made him alively conversationalist and he tinged thiswith a sense of humour and a readysmile. Having enjoyed meeting MS’slovely family, both my wife and I extendto his wife Sashi and their daughter Vidya,our deepest sympathies. Our thoughtsand prayers are with them in their loss ofa very special human being, a loss thatwe all share.

Nigel Copsey. Corporate Vitality IndiaPvt Ltd

A tribute to M. Subramanian by Gayatri KrishnamurthyE-mail: [email protected]


(L-R) Uma Ganesh, Shekhar Chaudhuri, Dr. Uday Salunkhe &Ajit Rangnekar talk on the new model of Employability


Monthly Feature

by GlobalHunt

Contributed By:

During slowdown, many measures such ascost cutting, job freeze, lay offs, pay cutsbecame news of the press everyday. Onething which was completely overlooked wasemployee engagement. Where ever stepswere taken for survival, there, manysignificant aspects were not taken care off.Employee engagement dipped in everyorganisation resulting in low morale and lossof connectivity with employer. Now when theeconomy is showing signs of revival, whencompanies are executing deferred plans,and are recruiting people in large number,then employee engagement should not takea backseat. Instead it should become thedriving factor for retention and productivity.

Employee engagement is not only affectedby how the company as a whole treats andvalues its staff but by all the interactions anemployee has in the work place. Employeesmust feel fully connected to their companyand passionate about their job. It's aboutempowering employees to conceive andinitiate change from their perspective.Employee engagement triggers increasedjob satisfaction and employee retention. Itmaximizes workforce productivity. Employeeengagement is essential for meetingcorporate sales and profitability objectives.Here's how you can engage your internalcustomers:

Communicate, Again and Again: Makefrequent communication programs ascommunication raises awareness, increasesparticipation, boosts performance, and mostimportantly, helps develop that important

Mail us at: [email protected], Visit us at: www.globalhunt.in

culture of appreciation. Have clear goals andset realistic expectations from youremployees and communicate the same tothem. Make sure your employeesunderstand the big picture or their part / rolein it.

Build a "Culture of Appreciation" YearRound: Use 'Employee Appreciation Day'to kickoff a new, year-round employeerecognition effort or energize your existingone. By recognizing and rewardingemployees throughout the year, it creates aculture of appreciation and a highlymotivated and satisfied workforce withinyour organization.

Create a "Recognition Moment" throughMeaningful Rewards: Giving employeesthe generic company watch or one-size-fits-all "gift" is an uninspiring way to say thankyou. Rather, award your employees bygiving them a choice of meaningful, self-selected rewards such as gift cards, qualitymerchandise or travel vouchers. Whenemployees redeem their award, it will createan important "recognition moment"-withimpact.

Empower Everyone in the Process-Fromthe Board Room to the Mail Room:Employee recognition should not residesolely on the shoulders of management.Every person in the organization should beempowered to acknowledge their peers andco-workers for a job well done. This enablesfrequent recognition and engages the entirestaff-not just the top 10 percent-in theprocess.

Tie Rewards to the Bigger Picture forBigger Results: Employee recognitionshould be directly linked to the company'svision/mission. This aligns the entireworkforce towards achieving criticalcompany milestones.

Balanced, appropriate workload - Thissounds like a no-brainer, but matching jobs toemployees' talents isn't always done. It beginswith hiring the right people then matching theirtemperaments and talents to the job. Oftenemployees fail because their jobs don't matchtheir temperament and talents.

Encourage - Support employees in theirwork and growth. Encourage employees torespond to a subordinate's idea as brilliantor even good. Success begets success.Your organisation can support employeegrowth by providing education and learningopportunities, cross training, coaching, andany other interactions that supportemployees' personal development.

If ownership is the essence of engagement,then creating an engaged culture meanspushing ownership down throughout theorganization. Empowerment is not enoughbecause it merely gives employeesownership over their own jobs, notcommitment to the overall enterprise.

It isn't necessary to give employees thepower to make strategic decisions, however.It's enough for them to feel that their ideasare invited and taken seriously and that theycan influence organizational direction, or atleast somepart of it.The crux ofthe matter isto makeemployeesfeel thattheir input isgenuine lyvalued.

Rememberthe cliché, "actions speak louder thanwords." Praise amounts to fine words, butasking people for their advice is action.Surely the clearest way to show that youvalue people is to ask for their input.

It has been proved that engaged employeesare more productive than their disengagedpeers. Companies with high employeeengagement had higher operating margin,net profit margin, revenue growth andgreater earnings per share than companieswith low employee engagement. Before warfor talent begins, GlobalHunt suggestsengaging brains of all employees andcreating more shared ownership and astronger group effort to help organizationprosper. �H

Empowering InternalCustomers


– Col. P Deogirikar

Let us say that some words in writing havebeen given to this prospective copywriter forhim to tell the meaning. His answers couldbe amazing especially if there have beensome extra spaces given erroneously intyping. With due apology, I don’t really haveto write how good (?), most of the candidatesfrom this central part of the country are inEnglish communication. Hence part of theintended pun is thanks to such inadequacyin this part of the country.

In the following lines the written wordintended to be given to the candidate is givenin the bold. The words actually given to himthanks to some typing mistakes are given initalics and, finally, the answers given by thecandidate are given at the end. Here we go-

Eco-system – E co- system – e learning inco-education environment, boys and girls inthe same class.

Eden - E den – Den for a hacker – anelectronic den.

Ego – E go - A person having electronic go(or drive). The old people like us who havephobia about things electronic, will have low‘ego’.

Egocentric – E go centric – Get to the centerof an electronic problem.

Elapse – E lapse – An electronic lapse.

Emission - E mission – An electronicmission, like the one taken up by ChandraBabu Naidu in Andhra many years ago.

Ethic – E thic – Electronically thick.

Equip – E quip - A witty saying in e mail orwebsite.

Element – E lament - A cry of sorrow andgrief sent through an electronic means.

Elite – E lite – An electronic bulb.

Elocution – E locution – Electronic locationof an entity, like web address.

Elucidate – E Luci date – A ‘date’ obtainedfrom Lucy electronically.

Emend – E mend – Mending electronically,like updating or changing a website designetc.

Emerge – E merge – Merging of twoelectronic entities like portals etc.

Evaluate – E valuate – Valuation of an itemor entity electronically.

Evaporate – E vaporate – Vaporization ofelectronic entities, like busting of a dot comorganization.

Event – E vent – A gap in the electronicpresentation of an organization like somedetails missing in the company web site.

Evolve – E volve – An electronic valve.

Elan – E LAN – The word it self is wrong forLAN is always an electronic thing- LocalArea Network!

Emotive – E motive – An automobile runelectronically.

Epic – E pic – Picking an item electronically.

Eligible – E ligible – The clarity of a writtenmaterial on an electronic medium. Dependson the type/size of fonts, colour, spaces inbetween etc.

Eliminate – E liminate – Laminatingelectronically, giving an electronic cover tosomething.

“E” Verything “E”

Some years back I was worried about the existence of the HR persons as the robots aredestined to take over from ‘humans’. An article on this subject was also published in thismagazine. But now, the immediate danger appears to be the buzz word ‘e’! e-ticketing, e-mail, e-commerce, e-business, ‘e’ everything ‘e’. So much so that I instinctively discountthe first ‘e’ of any word starting with ‘e’. Now with this ‘e’ way sweeping everything, veryinteresting possibilities could be imagined. Imagine it is year 2020. Imagine I am workingas a Human Resource Manager in an advertising agency. And also imagine that there is acandidate who wants to appear for an interview to be a copywriter (person who writes thetext, dialogues, jingles in advertisements).

Lt. Col. (Dr.) P. Deogirikar (Retd.) is Vice President (HR) with Ruchi Group, Indore. E-Mail: [email protected]

�H

WHAT, you have given him an enemabecause the patient was suffering frome-motion imbalance!

Etiquette – E tiquette – An electronic ticket.

Egress – E gress – The style of an entityseen electronically, the electronic grace, likethe beauty of the web site.

Erase – E rase - Raising an e-organization.

Errant – E rrant – Rent collected throughan electronic media.

Anticipating this e - confusion, it is better thatthe English dictionaries the world over arerevamped with special care to be takenabout the words starting with an ‘E’.

I e-nd here (electronic new delhi?)! Hopethere will be some e-arth, ‘electronic’ arth(meaning) left on this planet!

| HRD News Letter | December 2009, Vol.25, Issue:9 19Silver Jubilee Series | HRD News Letter | December 2009, Vol.25, Issue:9 19Silver Jubilee Series

– T N J Raman

There is a typical quote about an Americanboss asking his deputy 'who is yoursuccessor in case you are hit by a trucktomorrow'. We in India perhaps would notmake such a crude remark but mostprobably ask 'have you planned who willtake over from you when you retire or shiftedto another position in the Company'. In otherwords both are talking of successionplanning by senior level personnel of theorganization

Succession planning is an essentialingredient of a good manpower plan. TheDefense forces are a good example ofdocumenting a succession plan in aProfessional manner. In the Army there isalways a need for review of appointmentsbeyond the stage of Colonels as up to thatlevel there is an automatic movement to ahigher cadre beginning with the position ofthe lieutenant. Selection committees finalizetheir recommendations for the variouspositions from Brigadier up to Lt. Generalswithin the time span to avoid any gap in theevent of retirement of persons at variouslevels. At every level of the hierarchy thereis always a nominated individual whoofficiates in the absence of the permanentincumbent thus pacing the way forsuccession in a transparent manner.

There are several steps before we begin thepreparation of a succession plan. Theorganization must identify which are the keypositions which require to be a part of asuccession plan. In a typical manufacturingand marketing organization the positionswhich come within this ambit are Heads ofManufacturing, Marketing , HR , Finance,Materials, Engineering and R & D ( asapplicable to the type of product). Below theabove mentioned positions there would bePlant Managers, Heads of Departments inPlants, Sales Branch Managers, CorporateCommunications Manager and other seniorpositions in the corporate office asunderstudy to the Heads of variousfunctions.

For succession planning to be a usefulinstrument of the Company's overall plans,we need inputs like Annual Performanceappraisals and identification of high potentialemployees. In functions where key resultareas are measurable in terms of volume ofproduction and value & volume of sales, this

data becomes the base for further review ofa person's capability to succeed to a higherposition.

A typical position requires (a) plannedreplacement and (b) an emergencyreplacement. A person identified to succeeda General Sales Manager in a period of 2years according to the succession plan mayhave demonstrated several attributes likegood planning, organizing skills andmotivating qualities. These managementcapabilities may have to be reviewed in thecontext of the several sales personnel whohe will be controlling. The identified plannedsuccessor may require an exposure todifferent functions for a period of one yearand also attend a program outside theorganization in general management. Aperson, who is appointed as an emergencysuccessor because of an unanticipated exit,should be a person already handling thesame level of responsibility in anotherfunction and with same competence ingeneral management. We find oftenadvertisements by Public Sectorundertakings for a Managing Director afunctional Director like Finance, Marketingand HR. This is a bit surprising since anorganization of the size of most PSU's havequalified and experienced personnel atgeneral management levels who should beconsidered for up-gradation. There seemsto be an arrangement where board levelpersonnel of PSU are provided promotionsbased on seniority as per positions held indifferent PSU's and a selection processinvolving the Public Sector enterprisesselection Board.

The most difficult task for top managementis to assess whether an employee is highpotential so that they can be provided acareer plan for growth within theorganization. The danger of neglecting suchhigh potential employees is that they will lookfor higher positions outside the organization.A feeling of stagnation may result if they donot perceive that no growth opportunities areavailable commensurate with theirexperience, age and talent. A high potentialemployee is one who is identified as havingthe capability of going up two levels abovehis present position. One of the criteria isthat such persons demonstrate leadershipqualities in achieving results from those whoare not reporting to them. When seniorpositions are frequently filled by outsidecandidates this will upset the morale ofexisting employees unless they themselves

are not qualified to take over the positionsby virtue of their limited qualifications onother attributes. This leads to anotherquestion of grooming persons within theirorganization to develop themselves toshoulder greater responsibilities as andwhen senior positions fall vacant.

It is important that management action inpromoting persons to senior position isgenerally considered as unbiased and is nota whimsical decision. There is a saying thatwhen a subordinate regularly plays golf withhis boss either he is re-exposed about hislimitations or gets a nod of approval forupgrading because of the qualities hedisplays in the golf course. However,personal qualities notwithstanding hiscontribution to the organizational goals as asenior executive should be the main criterionfor selecting him for the senior position.Whereas a succession plan cannot be apublished document, it provides to the CEOa professional base for making decision onupgrading of employees. Without asuccession plan prepared with considerablethought on the basis of achieved results, itwill become a big issue if and when there isa senior vacancy or when existing incumbentretires. Such a plan is a management needand its implementation should be in amanner it causes least amount of ripples inthe organization.

A lot of debate is there in respect of familyowned organizations since succession to thetop job and some senior positions likeFinance are invariably occupied by a personof the family. In very few family ownedconcerns a CEO is a Professional Managerwho does not belong to the owner's familytree. Here also such a CEO generallyfunctions as an Operations Head with noinvolvement in Finance and Purchasing.Family owned organizations also requiresuccession plans as a large number ofmanagerial positions cannot be filled byfamily members because they will not havethe experience in relevant technicalbackground.

There is a method though not generallyacceptable in professional organizationswhere the "Grape wine" formula is adopted.In other words, after selecting a seniorperson to fill a slot as per the successionplan exercise, a few months the name ofthe incumbent is floated amongst employeesto observe their reaction. If there are toomany negative vibes one has to relook atthe decision.

Shri T N J Raman is a HR Veteran of 85 years Young based at Hyderabad. E-Mail: [email protected]

Lead Feature

�H

Succession and Career Planning


Transformational Leadership andOrganizational Performance

– Durga Padmaja Konakanchi

Introduction to TransformationalLeadership

A new paradigm known as transformationalleadership has emerged with the changingbusiness environment and thereforeimportant to understand whotransformational leader are and what theyare made up of. Transformational leadersare those who stimulate and inspirefollowers to both achieve extraordinaryoutcomes and in the process develop theirown leadership capabilities.

Transformational leaders also havecharisma. A great example of greatleadership is the style of our very ownMahatma Gandhi, who basically helpedIndia gain freedom by harnessing the ideasof the Indian populace for an independentrule from the British. In contrast anotherexample in this context is the leadershipstyle of Sir Winston Churchill, one of thegreatest leaders of all time. It is not hard tofind the examples of modern leaders whoare inspired by Gandhi and or Churchill. Inthe contemporary era we have a bevy oftransformational leaders such as StevenJobs, Warren Buffet, Bill Clinton, Bill Gatesand Narayana Murthy.

Transformational leadership and teamperformance

In an organizational context it is importantto determine how a transformational leadercan improve team performance. Strongleadership plays an important role to helpthe team members to work in a collaborativeenvironment.

Transformational leadership is alsopositively correlated to total qualitymanagement, which has become one of thecritical success factors for the organizationto gain competitive advantage. Thestrategies that are employed by the leadercan lead to positive behaviors that arerelated to their job and can also lead toemployee job enrichment which is one ofthe important factors for the organizationalsuccess.

Impact of transformational leadership onthe followers influence strategies

Transformational leadership also attractsinterest in a business organization. Thepopularity and the attractiveness of this

leadership style stems at least in part fromits consistent association with superiorperformance in organization. Otherimportant benefits include increased moralerelated outcomes such as self efficacy (KirkPatrick & Locke,1996} Affective commitmentto the organization {Berling.et.al,1996)intrinsic motivation and trust in the leaders (Podsakoff.et.al,1990). Transformationalleaders can increase the morale of theemployees by using their interpersonal skills.Employee's morale depends on myriadfactors. Transformational leaders alwaysidentify these behavioral changes in theemployees and try to find out their problemsin the work place.

Effects of transformational leadership onemployee empowerment and teameffectiveness

Studies in this genre of leadership haveshown that transformational leadership ispositively related to employee satisfactionand in those in role behaviors whichconstitute job performance (Bass &Avalio,1990). Transformational leadershiphas also been linked to outcomes such asleadership effectiveness, qualityimprovement. The best example in thiscontext is the leadership style of Sir WinstonChurchill. Effective human resourcesdevelopment can also take place, when theleaders are able to empower the employeesto achieve their individual goals. Churchilltried to manage the performance of hispeople through realizing their strengths. Hefirmly believed in a dialogue. He makes anattempt to know his people. By taking timeto understand his team people, a leader getsto see organizational climate. This willenable to understand whether things are onthe right track or not.

The leader is responsible for settingindividual goals this can be aligned intoorganizational goals. Creativity, team work,employee empowerment are essentialfactors for a successful development ofhuman and professional competencies thatlies in the hands of successful leaders. Theyneed have a vision for their organization, anduse that to empower and drive employeesfor the organizational development. Studieson leadership and management skills(Bennis & Nanus,1985) suggest that thepractice of empowering subordinates is aprincipal component of managerial andorganizational effectiveness..

Ms. Durga Padmaja Konakanchi is Professor, Magnus Business School, Hyderabad. E-Mail: [email protected]

Transformational leadership andmotivational skills

Effective leaders are always good motivatorsand coaches. They know how to bring outthe best potential in their employees andalso know how to set up reasonable goalsfor their employees within their expectations.When the leader exhibits confidence on theskills and competencies of the employeesthis will energize them to perform well. Thisis also an integral part of strategicperformance management.

One can learn and apply the motivationalskills of Sir Winston Churchill. Hedemonstrated great forgiveness andmagnanimity but never harboring grudges.He knew that his responsibility as a leaderwas to be genuine and to be someone whomothers could look to and respect in theworkplace. In doing so he kept people calmand focused while maintaining sense ofurgency to get the job done. Churchill wasa visionary leader, during crisismanagement, whenever there was a needfor strong leadership. Churchill`s approachto motivate the team members was to firstexplain the ground realities to them. Then theleader should inspire the team members byoffering them a vision. They should motivatethem how to get things done. Finally theyshould mobilize the team into action.

Conclusion

Transformational leaders always have theuncanny ability to win people and influencetheir actions. They are the truly inspirationaland have long term vision for theorganization. The true challenge ofleadership emerges in dealing with people.Dale Carnegie in his book "How to WinFriends & Influence People" writes, "whendealing with people remember that we arenot dealing with creatures of logic. We aredealing with creatures of emotion, creaturesbristling with prejudices and motivated bypride and vanity'.

According to Dale Carnegie (How to winfriends and influence people, p, 16) insteadof condemning people lets try to understandthem. Let's figure out why they do what theydo. That's lot more profitable and intriguingthan criticism and it breeds sympathytolerance and kindness. The more emphasisis given on effective human resourcesdevelopment and in nurturing their talent itwill be a source of competitive advantageto the organization. �H


Induction Programme atISRO - A Case Study

– J Ravisankar

Mr. J Ravisankar is a Scientist, HRD Division, Space Applications Centre (ISRO), Ahmedabad. E-Mail: [email protected]

Preamble:

Effective induction is needed to achievelong-term benefits and organizational goals.New employees get familiarized with thecorporate objectives, mission andexpectations. It helps to solve any unrealisticexpectations and prevents any surprises orshocks for new employees and develops atwo way communication channel betweenthe employees and employers. This casediscusses the structured Induction Programwith an example of ISRO Induction TrainingProgram (IITP).

Induction Program at ISRO:

A typical induction program followed in ISROis popularly known as ISRO InductionTraining Program (IITP). IITP is a formal,collective and centralized induction practicedat ISRO since 2002. Every new recruitedScientists/Engineers of level SC&SD has toundergo this program that lasts for aboutthree months. This case briefly describes themethod, contents and features of IITP.

Objectives:

� To provide general information about theorganization.

� To create a feeling sense of importanceof individual contribution.

� To inculcate ISRO culture.

� To provide an opportunity fornetworking.

IITP Structure: The program is structuredinto the following three modules.

Module-I: General Module

This module broadly addresses history ofspace programs, dimension of Indian space

programs, organizational, national,international aspects, managementperspectives et al. It is a 10 days modulebeing held at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre(VSSC), Trivandrum.

Module-II: Technical Modules - Thismodule has the following three parts

� Part-I: Technical Module-LaunchVehicle Area

� Part-II: Technical Module-Satellite Area

� Part-III: Technical Module-SpaceApplications Area

The above technical modules are held atVikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC),Trivandrum, ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC),Bangalore and Space Applications Centre(SAC), Ahmedabad respectively for about10 days at each centre. Each part providegeneral technical inputs pertaining LaunchVehicle, Satellite and Applications. As partof Technical Modules, Lab visits of majorISRO centers are also organized.

Module-III: Area Specific IntensiveModule (ASIM)

In this module, the trainees will be wellexposed to in-depth technical knowledgeand also they are engaged in carrying out asmall project work in team mode. It lasts forabout 45 days duration.

Features:

� It provides a platform for interaction withsenior Scientists/Engineers of ISROwho dedicated their life for Indian SpaceProgram.

� Centre/Lab visits are major strength ofIITP that helps in seeing world classlaboratories in an organized way fornewly recruited Scientists/Engineers.Otherwise, it is a rare opportunity evenfor employees of ISRO.

� It provides an excellent opportunity fornetworking as they are staying togetheralmost for three months.

� The IITP also includes non-academicactivities like picnics, cultural program,et al. in addition to academic and

organizational inputs. This promotes aculture of ISRO family.

� During IITP, participants are alsoexposed to different cultures of ourcountry.

In a nutshell, Induction is a unique Training &Development program of ISRO. Of late, it hasbeen restructured based on the feedback byparticipants. Present structure has twomodules only and also duration has beenreduced to two months by minimizing technicalinputs pertaining to respective group.

The recent evaluation study of IITP at SAChas concluded that IITP is perceived as abetter knowledge-intensive learning platformin one's professional life and also a platformfor socialization that helps in removinganxiety of new environment.

Conclusion:

A good induction program will create afavorable impression of the organization andits work. Just as a favorable first impressionof an individual helps to form a goodrelationship, so a good initial impression ofa company, a co-worker, or a supervisor canhelp a new employee adjust better. Inductionhelps in creating feelings like sense ofidentity, sense of importance and sense ofdevelopment among the new entrants. Thus,a structured induction is vital for anyorganization in order to create the best firstimpression.

References:

Aswthappa K, Human Resource andPersonnel-Text and Cases, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi,2006, p-178.

Khanka S S, Human Resource Management(Text and Cases), S Chand & Company Ltd,New Dehi, 2003, p-87.

Acknowledgements:

I sincerely appreciate the contribution of Ms.Swati Garg/Ms. Dipesh Arora, SummerInterns of PGDM/MBA in the evaluationstudy of IITP, which has helped to documentthis case study.

ISRO INDUCTION TRAININGPROGRAMME [IITP]

GeneralModule

AreaSpecificIntensiveModule(ASIM)

Technical Module

� Launch Vehicle

� Satellite

� SpaceApplications

�H



Dr. Mohan Gopinath is Professor, Dept. of HR and Registrar, Alliance Business School, Anekal, Bangalore. E-Mail: [email protected]

The Alignment of Organizational Learningwith Employee Innovation: Developing

Congruent Employee Behaviors– Dr. Mohan Gopinath

INTRODUCTION

In this paper, a novel concept of linkingemployee behaviors with motivation/innovation is attempted. This is meant to beapplied in organizations where organizatinallearning is evident by its presence. In short,what the paper attempts to do is to look atthe causal linkages between employeebehavior/ motivation, innovation, andlearning, and how the interlinking betweenthese paradigms changes as the employeemoves higher up in an organization.

A FRAMEWORK FOR ALIGNMENT

The framework reproduced in Table 1 below,shows the linkages between employeebehaviors and organizational incentives/motivation. If the alignment is correct, thenthe outcome is the presence of organizationallearning of different types. If there is amismatch, then the motivation levels asrevealed by the behavior of the employeecomes down, and there is a correspondent

Table 1: Employee Behaviors and Organizational Incentives/ Motivation: an Alignment Towards Organizational Learning

Stage

Trainee

Entry LevelExecutive

MiddleManagement

SeniorManagement

CEO

PerceivedOrganizationalGoal

Learning

Meeting basicdepartmental targets

Meetingdepartmental targets,achievingdepartmental 'fit'

Strategic outcomes

Strategic outcomes,organizationalendurance,organizationalexcellence

Desired Behavior

Exploration

Exploration,experimentation

Integration,acceptance

Integration,acceptance, exerciseof authority

Continuousimprovement ofperformance,discovery (newopportunities for selfand company)

IndividualMotivation

Personal curiosity

Curiosity, increasedknowledge

Compensation,moving up the ladder

Recognition,compensation,moving up theorganization

Industry recognition,self actualization

OrganizationalIncentives

Provide growthopportunities, teamwork

Provide learning andgrowth opportunities

Remove barriers,compensation andbenefits

Recognition by topmanagement

Board approval andappreciation of actions.Peer recognition

Existing OLLevels*as PerceivedBy the Employee

Single-loop learning

Single-loop learning

Single-loop borderingon Double-looplearning

Double- loop learning

Deutero- learning

*Organizational Learning Levels: Single - loop learning occurs when errors are detected and corrected and firms continue with their present policies andgoals. Double-loop learning occurs when, in addition to detection and correction of errors, the organization questions and modifies its existing norms,procedures, policies, and objectives. Deutero learning occurs when organizations learn how to carry out single-loop learning and double-loop learning. Thefirst two forms of learning will not occur if the organizations are not aware that learning must occur.

decrease in the level (and quality) oforganizational learning in the company.

In the table reproduced below, the linkbetween the first two columns is theorganizational goal as perceived by theemployee. The desired behavior is detailedin column 3 and is followed by the specifictype of individual motivator, which drives theemployee. As will be observed, the higherone moves up the organization, the morecomplex becomes the type of motivationrequired to drive the employee to deliverbetter performance. The last two columnsdetail the incentives which could provide thismotivation (again, the higher one goes upthe organization, the more complex theincentive), and the level of organizationallearning which exists within the organizationat that particular level attained by theemployee.

AN ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE OFORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATION

HSBC

The bank is an amalgam of many banks andnow operates under the umbrella of HSBCHoldings plc, and is a UK bank. Many of itsprincipal companies opened for businessover a century ago and they have a history,which is rich in variety and achievement. TheHSBC Group is named after its foundingmember, The Hongkong and ShanghaiBanking Corporation Limited, which wasestablished in 1865 to finance the growingtrade between China and Europe.

The Global Environmental EfficiencyProgram enables HSBC offices worldwideto showcase environmental innovation andshare best practice to help the bank achieveits environmental reduction targets.

The environmental efficiency initiativesfocus on some key areas:

� Behavior - training, awareness raising,flexible working practices;



�H

Bihar is emerging as a fast movingdeveloping state of India. Though 90% ofthe population is in rural areas, not all ofthem depend on the state for employmentand living. The changing scenario in Bihargives several challenges for designing theHuman Resource strategy. It is time for Biharto look at the Human Resource relatedchallenges from a long term perspective of10 years. There could be a question whythis is necessary at this point of time. Biharcan achieve accelerated growth anddevelopment using its human resourcepotential, if it plans well.

This challenge for Bihar has severaldimensions. One dimension is the necessityto accelerate educational interventions atdifferent level from primary to postgraduation plus.

Fortunately, some differentiated and qualityinstitutes of excellence have startedfunctioning in Bihar. An example of this isChandragupta Institute of Management,Patna. The future planning in HR needs tobe understood in a segmented fashion.Further, this challenge of Human resource

HR in Emerging Bihar

– Shimoni Sinha

development needs to be addressed at thelevel of Government, corporate and otheragencies such as financial intermediariesand non-governmental organizations.

We would like to highlight the role ofcorporate and Government in HumanResource development in Bihar.

Since, Bihar is an integral part of India,corporate needs to look at the state in termof big investments which will give themcommercial advantages. However,Corporate Houses need to follow a definitepolicy of aligning with the Government andother institutions in becoming a partner or acontributor in the development of Bihar. Inother words, the objective of corporate needto be not only the commercial gains, butsocial responsibility related roles for reapingthe benefits of the state which is at thebottom of the pyramid. This is a newconcept. The vision can be contribution toHuman Resource development in Bihar tofacilitate faster development .

The talent pool of Bihar has emerged as themajor profit generator in many commercial

Ms. Shimoni Sinha is a Second Year Student, Chandragupt Institute of Management, Patna. E-mail - [email protected]

organizations across the globe, thanks totheir intellect and well honed managerialskills. The same success formula can bereplicated in Bihar. Candidates with localroots have a better cultural grounding. Theselocal candidates can substantially help thebusinesses and eventually help the state togrow. If HR specialists can take initiatives tocontribute in growth of these futuremanagers from Bihar, it is more likely thatthey will be able to create a sense ofbelongingness and affection among theseindividuals for their state. So, it provides aunique chance for the HR to develop peoplewho, in future, will be helping theirorganizations to grow.

Human resource development of the state isa part of the much larger objective to bringback Bihar in the mainstream of development.When we are saying human resourcedevelopment, it includes people from thelowest rung of the society. Inclusive growththrough social entrepreneurship is the nextbig challenge for HR in Bihar. �H

� Benchmarking - developing flagshipbuildings to recognized environmentalstandards which are independentlycertified;

� Footprint Management andInnovation - reducing energy and waterconsumption, business travel andcarbon dioxide emissions, paper useand waste production. This will includepiloting innovative and new technologiesand working with our clients in theenvironmental sector,

� Environmental Management Systems- systems and processes optimizing theefficiency of the bank's operations.

What is important to note in the foregoingparagraphs is the emphasis laid by the bankon getting employee buy-in into a program,which is not a part of core banking activities.By giving them the required inputs on thenecessity of giving importance to theenvironment, the bank has done three

things:

a) it has developed in the employees apride in working for an organization thatis forward looking, and has adapted tochanging times

b) it has communicated to the employeesthat sustainability is important for anyorganization, and this sustainability canonly be built through programs whichare, prima facie, not in line with the corepurposes of why the company wasestablished, and

c) being an international bank, theseinitiatives have achieved a global reachand acceptance

The initiatives taken by such companiespromote a mind set in its employees, whichmake them realize that the spread oflearning and knowledge are as much a partof their core responsibilities as is the efficientperformance of their role in the company.

CONCLUSIONS

The framework presented in this paper(Table 1), tries to show the interconnectionbetween the three organizationalimperatives - learning, employee behaviorand innovation. I am deeply indebted to DrDolphy Abraham et al for the model of theframework in Table 1, which is similar to amodel developed by them - Abraham, D etal (2004), Alignment of OrganizationalIncentives, Proceedings of the TenthAmericas Conference on InformationSystems, New York.

The table shows that the higher up theemployee goes in the company, the moresophisticated becomes the motivators, andso does the complexity levels oforganizational learning show an increase. Itcan therefore be concluded that the quality,sustainability and number of innovations inan organization is directly proportional to thelevels at which the three imperatives havean interplay.


In the first decade of new century, Peoplemanagement has overshadowed any otherarea of management. The distinct, uniqueand most significant resource ordifferentiator is the Human Resource. Thequality of people is what determines successof any organization today.

If an organization wants to be extremelysuccessful in trying conditions, they musthire and retain talented individuals whowould also be team leaders and teamplayers. If a nation desires to be successfulit must have a sound education system.

The talent gap is compromisingorganizations growth big time. The risingsalaries in years 2000-2007 was a proof oforganizational war over a few talentedindividuals.

More than half of India's billion-pluspopulation is below the age of 25 which isthe demographic advantage India has. Butover 40 % of the workforce of about 400million people is illiterate and another 40 %comprises school dropouts. Demand forgraduates over the next five years is likely tobe 14 million and only 13 million students willbe produced by our universities good or bad.There will be a quantity shortfall and a hugequality gap despite demographic advantage.

More than 1 million people lacking the abilityto participate in the workforce has themakings of a potential demographic disaster.There will be an army of young people leftbehind and increasingly frustrated with theirplight. They not only have potential to derailIndia's growth prospects, but also challengethe basic fiber of the society.

With a literacy rate of 61% India scores verypoorly compared to Brazil, China andRussia. Rival China already produces morethan three times the number of PhDs everyyear. Home to some of the world's oldestUniversities, India is witnessing only 10 %of those who enroll in first grade pass thehigh school. Female participation isabysmal. Without hundreds of millions ofIndians receiving a better basic education,it will be virtually impossible for India toachieve its "Dream Potential". With our newand dynamic education minister Mr KapilSibbal, India can look forward to become atalent super house. In tenure of less than

Talent Management

– Bhaskar Jha

six months he has made impactful changesto improve quality of education in line withchanging times.

Organizations spend a huge amount ofmoney and time to train their employees andbridge the gap. Infosys has its traininginstitute at Mysore which can house 15000people at a time. New recruits spend aboutsix months learning trick of the trade despitethe fact that recruits are most talented lotcoming from most prestigious institutes vizIITs and IIMs.

Recently State of Secretary of United Statesof America visited India and in one of theprograms with Aamir Khan televised onTimes Now channel it was discussed thatIndia has a better education system than thatof US and Indians are very hard working.However, Goldman Sachs and some othermajor reports & findings counts the lack ofquality education as one of the 10 factorsholding India back from rapid economicgrowth. Analysts say it raises cost, includingsalaries as firm vie for the best with reducedproductivity and compromising firms'competitive advantage.

Ideally education should happen in collegesit should not happen in company campuses.Secondly changing attitude, behavior of anageing workforce is a major challenge. Theeducation should develop required attitudeand skills and should not depend heavilyupon rote system of examinations.

Of all the big issues challenging corporate,education is the starting point. If educationis managed properly then a lot of things cango right in the country. Infosys spent $ 175million on training & education in FY 2008-09. Similarly, all organizations devote theirvital resources viz. Human, Time & moneyon Training and development without aneffect which a sound education system canbring with it.

90 % of total education budget goes inpaying salary of teachers both in private &Government schools and colleges andhardly anything left for infrastructure, books,library etc. Those who do not get lucrativejobs, join teaching and not all of them aremotivated or committed to impart qualityeducation.

Mr. Bhaskar Jha is Dy Manager Training, HPCL, Mumbai. E-Mail: [email protected]

Another important aspect of education isvocational training offered by ITI. It is notthe white collared jobs which need focus butmore importantly focus should be on bluecollared jobs. The manufacturing sectorneeds more & more of such personnel.Generally white collar productivity kills theorganization while we focus on productivityof workers.

In European countries the salary of anexperienced technician is higher than ajunior engineer. If higher wages and statusare guaranteed for blue collared jobs also,more students will prefer to join vocationalcourses as per their capability & interest.This is especially true in a country like ourswhere research & development gets theleast priority. An European consultant oncejokingly remarked that in India you have fivesupervisors for one worker. We shouldchange this trend.

Another major issue which needs to betackled is migration from the rural to urbanareas. We need to corporatize theagriculture sector. Though this suggestionappears to be a 360 degrees turnaroundfrom the system followed in India (Zamindarisystem). But there is a huge differencebetween the two. Once the corporate groupsenter this field more research will happen &best in the field from around the world willbe made available. HPCL is also doing it inits own small way by involving in Jatropa &sugarcane cultivation.

Every individual is born with certain talents.We need to identify, develop and nurture it.Talent management is not only an art, butalso is a science. Right talents, whenencouraged can bring fortunes toorganization. Here comes the role ofCorporate Training Department of anorganization which identifies the gap andbridges it with right interventions. However,there are some roadblocks which must beovercome.

The words "Our people are our greatestasset" is probably one of the commonestphrases on the lips of chairmen and incompany annual reports and in all forum wespeak highly about newly invented "P" thatstands for people. But ask a few managersto name some items on cost cutting list and


The ghastly attack on the HR executive ina Coimbatore factory and the currentindustrial unrest in Gurgaon has broughtinto sharp focus the role of HRD in industrialestablishments. The moot question here iswhether HR has failed to make an impacton IR.

It is necessary to understand the historyand background of IR in India. Industrialrelations is a highly regulated subject in ourcountry with a host of laws like IndustrialDisputes Act etc, Court judgments andcontrol by Governments thorough labormachinery. This had led to the creation ofthe iconic 'workman', dreaded bymanagements, supported by politicalparties and protected by laws. Unionsassumed a major role and exercised totalcontrol over their members. This hadcreated a 'compliance' mindset inmanagements that it is enough to complywith the legal requirements as mandatedby law, judgments of Courts, awards ofTribunals etc and for the rest it is better tokeep the workers at arm's length. A policyof 'benign neglect' was consideredappropriate and there was no effort toengage the workers directly and ourindustrial establishments became highlysegregated with workmen on one side andthe managerial staff on the other side witha sharp cultural, educational and classdivide. There were of course notableexceptions like Tatas who placed a lot ofimportance on the welfare and growth ofhuman resources even before the term'HRD' came into usage.

The Challenge of HRD in IR

– R V Ravishankar

HRD is a pro-active concept directed at anindividual employee for realization of his fullpotential. Its impressive success in theservice and ITES sector can be attributedto the dominance of individuals in the sector,be it a bank teller or a waiter in a fast foodrestaurant or customer relations executivein a BPO. Industrial production units on theother hand are dominated by tight-knitgroups of unions and affiliation and loyaltyto one's group is more important thanindividual aspirations within the groups. Thisis the inherent challenge of HRD in IR. Howto target individuals and succeed withoutalienating or antagonizing the groupscontrolling the individuals?

The first step should be to come out of the'compliance' syndrome and have thecourage of conviction to reach out andbridge the divide. HR interventions shouldtake place at group level and the groupsshould be made a willing partners and theindividual worker should be reached throughthe group so that the group does not see itas a threat to its existence or interests. It isbetter to engage the dominant group firstwhere there is multiplicity of groups. Oncethe group is convinced of the benefits of anHRD-oriented approach, the individuals inthe group will be quick to follow. Any attemptto reach out to the individual bypassing thegroup may be counter-productive.

One of the major problems in industrialestablishments is the lack of avenues forcareer progression for workmen. A clerk ina bank can aspire to be a member of seniormanagement cadre one day but there is no

Mr. R.V. Ravishankar is Retired Chief Manager, United India Insurance Company, Chennai. E-Mail: [email protected]

way a workman with ITI qualification canaspire to become the General Manager ofproduction or materials. The absence offormal educational qualification is a biggerhandicap in industry than in a white collar job.An experienced and skilled workman can geta good compensation but he cannot breakthrough the glass barrier. Imparting Englishknowledge skills and continuing technical andmanagement education and careerprogression based on competence andknowledge level without insistence on formaldegrees/diplomas would open up new vistasfor the bright and aspiring workers to progressin their careers instead of being confined tothe same trade or skill for the entire career.Soichiro Honda, the legendary founder ofHonda Automobiles did not have any formaltechnical qualification but it did not preventhim from setting up an empire which hasexcelled in automobile design and productionwith a reputation for high quality engineering.There are many bright and aspiring workersin our factories and HRD must create an eco-system of career growth to unleash theHondas in them.

HR can successfully emulate its impact onservice sector on industrial sector with achange of strategy and methodology. HRDin production industries should evolve as adistinct specialization and HR practitionerswith long years of experience in IR shoulddocument and share success stories for thebenefit of others. A large database of casestudies will help the specialization effortsand will form the core of the new strategiesand initiatives. �H

reply will come "Chop the training budget"."Train a salesman at age 40, that'simpossible. Salesmen are born not trained".However, I am proud to say that at HindustanPetroleum Corporation LimitedManagement is pro training and wholeheartedly encourages learning. Employeesare very receptive and they look forward toTraining & Development. Officers setthemselves goal and one of the quadrantsof Balance Score Card is "Learning &Growth". HPCL has taken several HRinitiatives in this area viz. Competency

mapping, competency based traininginterventions, developing internal coaches/ faculty with a fair amount of success.

It is always easier to retain people you arenot too worried about than the ones who arevital to organization. In such dynamicsituation "Training & Development" comesto rescue of both employees andorganization. Training is actually neither acost nor an investment but it is a strategicdecision. Once we define it as strategic, itbecomes easier to enroll all concerned and

achieve desired results. The moment wecategorize it as cost, it seems to impactprofitability adversely and if we say it is aninvestment some or other review meet therewill be a question of return on investment.

Most of the star performers in anorganization look towards recognition,foreign tours, career progression etc asreward and an effective tool in retentiongame. Let us focus on needs of our starperformers and organization will becomeleader by itself. �H


Mithu Pal, an executive with loan andadvance section, has always been anobedient and sincere employee. But herrecent behaviour started causinginconvenience to a large number ofemployees. Being in-charge of loan &advance section her job matters to anumber of people. Now whoever comes toher, he or she had to face really a bad time,as she uses to make it horrible to attendthem. If repeatedly requested for any earlysanction, she puts the application undersuch a process that approval becomes animpossible.

Her colleagues have been ignoring theissue quite sometimes considering that thethings will improve soon. But, days turn intoweek and weeks to month, hermisbehaviors kept intensifying with the turnof each day. She has no regret for doingso. Gradually her colleagues have beenable to discover the reason behind thesudden behavioral change. The crux of thematter is that she has recently beendivorced by her husband. People have pityon her but how long things may continuewhen her personal issues were taking tollon official activities. Her negligence startedaffecting the office.

Now it was getting wearisome foremployees to cooperate with her any more.She was getting aggressive and lost controlover her tongue too. In a recent occasionwhen Mr. Shiney applied for an immediateloan for treatment of his son, not only shedeliberately delayed it but her languagewas enough to irritate him at this junctureof time. His son was not getting propertreatment resulting in loss of speech forlifetime. Misbehaviors, which have beenignored for quite a long period, were gettingconverted into grievances. Moreover howlong one can tolerate stress when nochanges are observed in opponent'sbehavior. Every day the Head of HumanResources was to receive calls allegingMithu for some reasons or other. To everycall the Head (HR) has the only answer thathe is looking into the matter and will come

Ethically Playing Safe

– Antu Das

out with a solution very soon. Maintainingintegrity requires an intervention of theHead (HR) but he never pays an attentionto the issue nor did he ever try to counselher.

The Head (HR) who is disciplinary authorityand her (Mithu's) departmental in-chargetoo could not succeed ignoring the issuetoo long. As an efficient administrator hechanged his strategy and whenever hereceives a telephone call from aggrievedemployees asked them to send him an e-mail with a brief narration of the incident.Sooner his mail-box was flooded withcomplains alleging Mithu on variousgrounds. He knew it better that delaysometimes acts as remedy to manyproblems.

No action is taken against her. Fed-up withmovement of the issues employeesstopped complaining anymore and lookedfor alternative arrangements. Either theyrefer to other executives in the departmentor approach a financial institution. Almosta year elapsed since the episode started,Mithu was also recovering from thenightmare. Her returning to normal regainsthe section with previous stature. The thingswere back to usual again.

One day Mithu received a loan applicationof Head (HR). Mithu put it in the order shereceived it. There were many irregularitiesin his application and processing takesmore than a month. The boss wasexpecting an out-of-turn favor but it didn'thappen so. By the time sanction comes itwas too late to deal with the purpose forwhich the application was made.

But more than anything else the incidentinjures the prestige and status of the Head(HR). The boss plays safe in expressinganxiety. He wisely used his authority,organized all complains accumulated in hismail-box and prepares a charge-sheet.After few days a peon from In-charge'soffice hands over Mithu a memo. Thememorandum brings more than a dozen ofallegations asking to prove her innocence

Mr. Antu Das can be reached at: [email protected]

against the alleged misconducts. Mithuimmediately referred it to Head (HR). TheHead replied that he has tried his level bestto protect her from every harm but helplessnow. People have reached the top. As longhe could, tried to defer it, assuming thateverything would be okay in the long term.Now he is under the pressure and superiorswere regularly inquiring into the progressof the issue. Boss even regrets his inabilityand begs to be excused.

After thanking the boss for his extraordinaryhelp all throughout, Mithu returned back toher own work. The disciplinary proceedingsstarted after a week. There was a heap ofcomplains with narrative of the eventswhich were presented as exhibits. Theenquiry officer found Mithu guilty of the saidcharges in pursuance of which thedisciplinary authority after considering thefindings of the enquiry officer awarded thepenalty of removal from service withimmediate effect.

Questions

Q1. Mithu was dismissed for her allegedmisbehavior of unbecoming of an obedientemployee. Her dismissal has valid groundsbut what are the unethical componentsinvolved in her removal from the service?

Q2. What has emerged as a potentialreason for initiating disciplinaryproceedings when so many monthselapsed to the occurrences and Mithu hasreturned to her normal again? �H


Nisha Bhardwaj a26 year old businessanalyst with aconsulting firm in

Delhi says "I was always struggling to meetdeadlines and often ended up working onweekends to cover up. I decided to leave thejob to get away from the pressures only to seemy past repeating itself. A discussion with mynew boss made me realize that the real issuewas my poor time management skills andunless I improve on that front, I will continue tofeel overworked in any job"

Nisha depicts the trend amongst youngprofessionals to jump from one job to anotherwithout trying to address the root cause ofdissatisfaction.

While your reasons could include a bad boss,lack of appreciation, no promotionalopportunities, too much work etc, there areways you can reignite the passion in yourcurrent job and never say 'Alvida' to it.

I am never going to get promoted

Do you feel stuck with no hope of promotion?You don't see any job you'd like to do next. Ifthat's the case, you may want to discuss thesepossibilities with your boss.

❖ Make sure that your boss feels the sameabout your performance. There are many timeswhen our view of our own performance is verydifferent from the way the Boss looks at it.

❖ Ask your boss if you could make ahorizontal move to another department. A lateralmove could perhaps provide you the intellectualstimulation you are looking for and open doorsfor a future promotion.

❖ Volunteer for new projects andassignments. Most organizations value initiativeand people who want to continue to learn andgrow.

❖ Consider swapping assignments with acolleague who feels like you do about his/herjob. (Do get your boss's approval for this)

I have a terrible Boss

This is infact the most common and the topreason why people leave. If your boss is justplain nasty and snobbish, then leaving mayseem like a good idea but there are othermanagers who may be failing to provide you asense of direction, involve you in importantdecisions, appreciate your efforts and partnerwith you for your growth within the organization.Consider the following:

❖ Communicate your concerns to your boss.Many people don't realize the impact theiractions create. Others just don't care. Even

Kabhi Alvida Na Kehnato Your Job

– Sunder Ramachandranbosses need to be told. So don't assume themto know exactly how you feel.

❖ See if you can be transferred to a differentdepartment. Try to remove yourself from themanager's influence if the relationship is badlystrained.

❖ If you are planning to leave anyway, youhave not got a lot to lose. Talk with yourmanager's boss or the H.R department to seeif they can intervene and bail you out.

I am overworked

Well your organizations may be following a 'lean& mean' staffing model and trying to achievemore with fewer employees.

❖ Get some data around your dailyproductivity i.e. no: of hrs you spend at work,no: of days that you have to do overtime or anytrends of having to work on weekends etc.

❖ Present this evidence to your boss andsuggest options like - hiring a new resource,getting a part time resource or get an intern towork with you and assist you, identify redundantand mundane tasks that may be eating up yourtime and delegate them to a colleague.

"Duplicacy and redundant work can becompletely avoided by discussing andbrainstorming options with a senior colleague.Young people often keep their frustrations tothemselves and feel insecure. Opencommunication can not only solve problems butalso help in retaining employees" says Delhibased Abbas Rizwi, Director with EternityTraining & Placements.

Do not crib about your problems rather presentfacts about how the extra work is affecting yourwork life balance and also impacting yourmotivation levels.

Nobody seems to care

You put in tremendous amount of hard workbut to no avail. Your office does not seem tocare. You feel unappreciated.

❖ Speak to your boss and get his/her inputson your performance. Tell the boss you'd liketo sit down with him/her regularly to obtainfeedback, both good and bad, so you canimprove.

❖ 'What goes around comes around'. Makeit a habit to appreciate others and celebratetheir achievements. Your colleagues and bosswill reciprocate this emotion as well.

❖ Sometimes, feeling unappreciated has todo with money. Analyze the market trends foraverage industry salary for your profile. If youfeel you are underpaid, have a discussion withyour boss and present any facts that you can

Mr. Sunder Ramachandran is a Managing Partner at WCH Training Solutions, a New Delhi based Training & Consulting firm).E-Mail: [email protected]

to support your claims. Follow up to make sureit happens.

I am not cut out for this job

Do you dislike your daily tasks and the contentof the job? It's good if you have realized thatyou are in the wrong career/job. At least nowyou can do something about it. Consider theseoptions:

❖ Revisit your career history, think of eventsor occasions when you received maximumappreciation and felt satisfied.

❖ Evaluate your educational background.See if you have the credentials in place for thecareer you are aspiring for. If you feel an MBAis a must for an H.R opening, then work towardsit and request for an inter-departmental transfer.

❖ Revisit your career every 6 month andevaluate your key skills. A lot of people don'tknow what their strengths are unless they aretold. Speak to colleagues and friends and gettheir feedback about what they view as yourstrengths.

❖ Young professionals today are looking atmaking a quick buck, things like careerenrichment and job satisfaction are lower in thepriority list. This results in frequent job hopping"says Noida based M.S Ramesh, Sr Manager -H.R with NTPC.

I work with a bunch of losers

You love the job but hate your colleagues andpeers. You avoid seeing them eye to eye. Justensure the following:

❖ Ensure that the dissatisfaction is notstemming from your own insecurities. Often ourunhappiness is inside of us and has little to dowith the action of others.

❖ Analyze your own actions. E.g. -Do yourepeatedly start a new task but then quickly loseinterest and become disillusioned? If you spota trend, the unhappiness may all be internallygenerated. If the unhappiness is inside of you,only you can make certain changes to yourbehavior to make your job interesting.

❖ See if you can control any aspects of thejob that is bothering you. If you identify areasyou control, try fixing them. Perhaps sitting inthe break room listening to people complain anda spread rumor is spoiling your day. Stay out ofthere for awhile to see if your outlook improves.

So let leaving the job be the last resort that youturn to. It's better to work towards strengtheninga relationship and sustain it rather than breakingaway completely.

�H


"One Mousedropping ruinsthe whole pot ofrice porridge" -Chinese Proverb

It is a Monday Morning, new day and youare going to your organization. Your bossbeing kinder than usual and your colleaguesfalling over themselves to be helpful to signan agreement with the client, life can't getany better at the end of the day. Your bossis braying for your blood and your mostdependable aide has quit. Organizations paya heavy price by hiring people with anegative attitude. Negativity is a barrier tochange. The leech-like environment candrain strength and other's happiness also.It can be the result of miscommunication orattitudinal problems at the work place.Unfortunately most of the time people do notrecognize the signs of negativity. It will berecognized when people spend more timeby criticizing and judging others in theorganization. Negative behavior is classifiedinto three different styles; Internal, Externaland verbal.

Internal: People with internal negativeattitude will bottle up their emotions andbecome "work-alcoholics", control freaks orknow-it-all experts. These people don'trecognize their co-workers directly, andfinally lead to frustrations.

External: External negativity is aboutbehavior. A very destructive negativity canresult in actions like backstabbing or rabblerousing. People with this kind of attitude arevociferous about the way they feel and mayspend hours thinking of ways to spreaddiscontent about their co-workers.

Verbal: Words can be stronger than actionsin influencing or putting others down. In thisrespect verbal negativity can be asdestructive as the external one to demotivatethe co-workers. Verbal negatives spreadgossip and make cynical statements, whichcan harm the health of the organization.

Negativity drains the employee'senthusiasm and creativity. Working in anegative environment is stressful andunpleasant. The different types of negativework place behavior is listed below

1. Personal Insults

2. Invading co-workers personal problemsand territory

3. Threats and intimation interns of verbaland non verbal.

A Black Dot in the Workplace– S. Kumar Chandar

4. Withering e-mails

5. Public shaming, dirty looks or statusdegradation rituals.

6. Abuse behavior include by putting downand silent demeaning acts that drivepeople out of the organization.

When negativity goes unchecked, themorale of the people takes a toss andconsequently productivity slips. An individualwith high morale is usually cooperative andhelpful. Morale improves efficiency andeffectiveness of individual. Want to turnaround negative employees and betterrelations? Here are a few guidelines:

Clear Communication: Identify theproblem/person with a negative attitude andtake immediate steps to get on top of thesituation. Have frequent talks with yoursubordinates and seniors to keep the linesof communication free and strong. Makesure your co-workers to understand what isexpected of them. If your superior is thinkingof implementing some drastic changes tellyour superior how you and others feel aboutthem. Share with him your ideas and yourfears.

Building Trust: Start by building trustbetween you and your co-workers byapplying all the interpersonal skills todevelop building and nurturing relationshipof mutual trust, belief and concern. Keep allthe co-workers informed of about theimportant development and decisions.

Involve: The co-workers feel that they arecompeting with their colleagues forrecognition, promotions, or appreciation. Acompetitive environment gives rise to thefear that if important information is shared,somebody else will claim credit for it andwalk away with the laurels. The kind ofbehavior can deter many from sharing andhelping others. The challenge beforemanager is to check that this kind ofexcessive competitive attitude does notbecome recurrent. The negative moral willdestroy the group's ability to work as a team.The success of job depends on how wellthe employee can relate them with theircolleagues and superiors. Treat other co-workers with respect and dignity.

In Order to avoid the negativity in the workenvironment all the employee should followthe guidelines given below.

� Don't criticize, condemn or complainabout your co-workers.

S. Kumar Chandar is Faculty (Systems) in SCMS-COCHIN, E-mail: [email protected]

� Give honest sincere appreciation

� It is important to focus on behavior, noton the personality of the individual(s)you're dealing with.

� Show respect and be sympathetic foryour co-workers opinions, ideas anddesire.

� Remember that unjust criticism is oftena disguised compliment.

� If you are wrong admit it quickly andemphatically.

� Try honestly to see things from the otherperson's point of view.

� Learn to relax & enjoy during the timeof work environment.

� Put enthusiasm in to work.

� Don't get pulled/involved into gossip

Teach the employees how to fightnegativity

The employees in the organization have toknow, how to fight against the negativitybehavior in the work environment. The Intel,the world's largest semiconductor makersgives full time training on "ConstructiveConfrontation", which emphasises thatnegative things happen, when theemployees use personal attacks, disrespectand intimidation. When a problem happens,only the loudest and strongest voices getheard and there is no diversity of views.Finally the affected employee resigns fromthe organization. The employee have tolearn how to "argue as if he/she is right andto listen as if he/she is wrong". The Intel triesto teach their employees through lectures,role playing and through observing the waymanager and leaders fight.

Conclusion

Putting the right practices and policies in theworkplace is useful, if it leads to civilizedconversations and interactions. Beingaround people who look angry makes youfeel angry too. Most of the time theworkplace environment matches with theArabic proverb: "A Wise man associating thevicious becomes an idiot". The mostimportant steps in dealing with workplacenegativity are recognizing negative thoughtsand spread the positive energy. Everyonehas negative feeling, but the important thingis how to react to negative situation and dealwith negative emotions. Keep a positiveoutlook and mindset. It may just spread tothose around you. Finally, do not battleviolence with violence. �H


Introduction

People constitute the valuable humanresource needed for the development of anycountry. In assessing a country's resourcesfor economic development, the health of thepeople should be reckoned with. Thedevelopment of healthcare facilities isinfluenced not only by the opening ofhospitals and health care centers but moreso by their proper administration andmanagement. The concept of humanresource has already been adopted inindustries in India, but it is yet to gainmomentum in the healthcare institutions ofour country. Unlike any other industry, theadvent of technology, modernization,computerization, newer diagnostic andintervention techniques, has not reduced theneed of human labour in hospitals. Sincemost decisions made in health institutionsinvolve people, HRM plays a very significantrole in effective performance of a hospital.

Human Resource Functions in Hospitals

Human Resource Planning

Health man power planning is a process ofestimating the quality and type ofknowledge, skill and attitudes of a healthsystem. The staffing norms should aim atmatching the individual aspirations to theobjectives of the hospital. The coredeterminants of staffing the hospitalorganization are quality, quantum of work,round-the-clock service, professional andtechnical skill required in the job andoptimum utilization of its personnel.

Recruitment and Selection

Hospitals present a wide range of positionsin terms of skill and personality requirementsbecause patients and visitors are moreimpressed and concerned with thesympathetic and empathetic attitude andattention of the health-care personnel ratherthan with any other aspect of the hospital.While recruiting employees, the hospitalmust first identify the job requirement andwhile interviewing, an attitude and aptitudesurvey of the candidate must be done. Inthe hospital environment, recruitment isgenerally made through givingadvertisements in professional journals andnewspapers for different categories of postssuch as doctors, paramedical staff and

HRM in Health CareOrganisations

– Dr. P.G.Ramanujam, Dr. G. S.Rama Krishna.

others. Emphasis should be placed onprofessional competence, human relationskills, integrity, loyalty and commitment

and identification of the personnel withhospital's mission and philosophy duringdifferent stages of the selection process.

Training and Development

Unfortunately, hospitals have hardly realizedthe growing need and importance of training.They send only the top doctors and seniornursing staff for training. Most hospitals donot feel the necessity of giving any kind oftraining to the rest of the employees. Thedeployment of training can be done throughregular continuing medical education (CME)for doctors, nurses and technologists, bedside teaching for doctors and nurses,training through joint departmental councils(JDC) for hospital attendants in subjectssuch as waste management, oxygentherapy etc. There has to be an evaluationsystem in place for monitoring theeffectiveness of training. The parameters tobe monitored could be feedback frompatients and relatives, number of re-admissions for the same ailment and aboveall customer retention.

Wage and Salary Administration

The ability of the hospital to pay the wagesprevalent in comparable hospitals is animportant consideration. The financialposition of the hospital is a major factor tobe considered in the establishment of awage and salary plan. Regarding the modeof disbursement of salaries, some hospitalspay in cash on a working day during workinghours while some others by crediting in thebank accounts of all the employees. In mostof the hospitals the length of the pay periodis usually a month.

Working Conditions, Safety, andEmployees' Welfare

Hospital employees have to work constantlyunder conditions of great stress. It istherefore, the responsibility of the hospitalauthorities to provide them good workingconditions which meet the acceptedstandards of cleanliness, ventilation,illumination, natural air etc. so as to ensuretheir safety and welfare. In this respect,factories are governed by statutoryprovisions under the Factories Act, 1948.However, it is a pity that there are no suchprovisions applicable to hospitals. It isimportant to introduce a system of accident

Dr. P.G.Ramanujam, Professor, Swarnandhra College of Engineering and Technology, Narsapur. E-mail: [email protected]. Gandham Sri Rama Krishna, Asst. Professor, Dr.C.S.Rao P.G. Centre, Sri Y.N. College, Narsapur. E-mail: [email protected]

prevention in the hospitals because at anygiven time there are large number of peopleinside the hospital premises mainly theemployees, patients and their attendants.

Performance Appraisal

Some hospitals have developed a systemof executive appraisal, while some othersare adopting the KRA (key result areas)appraisal system. Appraisal is done by givingtargets to all the doctors and employees atthe higher level in the form of key resultareas (KRAs) which are reviewed twice ayear. The annual appraisal identifies the"super" achievers who are recognised asfast trackers. Other appraisal system usedis the 360 degree appraisal which includesself-appraisal, superior's appraisal,subordinates appraisal and peer's appraisal

Collective Bargaining in Hospitals

Collective bargaining is on the increase inhospitals, but it is still not as popular as it isin industries. Hospital employees are not asunion-minded as the industrial workers.Hospital managements believe thatcollective bargaining can have adverseeffects on the skilled and unskilledemployees, thereby endangering patientcare. Some of them even argue that the highcost of medical care in hospitals can beattributed to the unions and their demands.Collective bargaining can have a positiveinfluence on the management-unionrelationship if the union's efforts can resultin better service to the patients and reducedcosts for the hospital.

Conclusions

Employees communicate the real spirit ofthe hospital. The manner in which theyperform the duties assigned to them, whatthey say and do, how they say and do it andthe degree of cordiality and cooperation thatexists among them make for the efficient andsmooth functioning of the hospital inside andcreate the public impression of the hospitaloutside. Tata's H.R philosophy "attract goodpeople, retain the better people and advancethe best people" is a right step in thisdirection. Thus, the need of the hour is todevelop and adopt scientific principles ofHRM in hospitals for the optimum utilizationof its greatest resources i.e., its personnelto improve and render the highest quality ofmedical care to its patients.

Deep Publications, New Delhi, 1992. �H


Civic Gandhi

Recently the leading film actor Mr. KamalaHassan said, every one of us have Gandhiin us and that doesn't surface in action inmost of us while it does in some. And this istrue of our Civic Gandhi DR. M.B Nirmal,founder of the ExNoRa movement.

Dr.M.B.Nirmal, socialthinker and social activist isour hero of this month. AB.com Graduate started hiscareer as a Dispatch Clerkwith a Nationalized Bank inearly 70's is the founder of

29 organizations today and he is proud tohave created such self-sustaining andsatellite organizations for social change.

Nirmal is the founder of ExNoRa, a non-governmental organization which hasimmensely contributed to creating cleaner,greener and more enviro-friendly world.

Land Lord to Landless

Born in a family that enjoyed a rich ancestralproperty of 500 acres in the prime locationof Chennai he had to face the reality of lifewhen these properties were lost by his grandfather and father in business. Crisiscontinued and his father left him with a debtof 15 lakhs. Finally he landed-up in a placecalled 'Gariappa Road' in T Nagar, Chennaiwith a number of slums.

"Be the Change" than changing the place

Sympathies flowed and one day his auntsaid to him, can't you go to a better place?Nirmal believes in making declarations andhis definition of declaration is that 'you makean affirmative statement to yourself on anymission that's important in your life'. That'show he declared and said to his aunt 'I can'tgo to a better place but I can change theplace where I live'. It sowed the seed for hisrevolutionary thoughts and what ExNoRa istoday - a sheer accident.

Nirmal started to work with the people in hisneighborhood on a mission to keep theenvironment clean. He realized that it isn'timportant to know about environmentalmanagement but knowing how to involvepeople in environment management is vital

– S. Deenadayalan, S.Rajalakshmi

to the change process - a believer inGandhian philosophy. He made thempartners and his declaration worked butslowly. Gradually he expanded hismovement beyond Gariappa Road.

Ordinary student honored by the collegeafter two decades

In the meanwhile things changed in hisprofessional side as well. Nirmal, an ordinarystudent, who used to get 40% in schoolexams managed to complete his B.Com andtook-up the job of Dispatch Clerk in anationalized bank. A few years ago whenhis alma mater, the famous Pachaiyappa'sCollege celebrated its 150th anniversary,after thirty years of his passing out from thecollege, published 150 'Outstandingstudents of the college', Nirmal was oneamong them which included eminentleaders and personalities, virtually the "whois who" of Tamilnadu including two formerChief Ministers Mr.C.N.Annadorai(Tamilnadu) and Mr.Brahmananada Reddy(AP) amongst the alumnus of the collegejoining the list of who have immenselycontributed to the development andtransformation of the society. Whathappened in between is the story ofinspiration.

Leveraging the sixth sense

During the early days of his career in thebank, once when the officers had difficultyin tallying the books of a particular sectionhe took-up the task on his own, helped themto find the difference and tallied the booksin 3 minutes. While everyone thought it wasa fluke in the beginning but he proved it bydoing it again and again the same way ofeven the books of other sections. Hebelieves that everyone has a powerful sixth-sense and through keen observation anyonecan deliver the job at higher efficiency.

As a dispatch clerk he used to continuouslyobserve how tallying is done before thebooks are handed over to him to bedispatched to other sections. Over a periodhe learnt the list of possible errors and theshortcuts to correct them as well. That's howhe succeeded in doing what is otherwise thejob of the officer.

Things changed and he went on to becomean expert in tallying. He went aroundbranches only to ensure that the books aretallied and closed in time. His service helpedthe bank in clearing off many backloggedwork. He realized that it was in fact he whowas de-motivating himself all these days,what he calls the fragility he developedbecause of peer comparison in thecommunity and the standard judgmentoffered to anyone when they score only 40%in academics. Fortunately the declarationshave helped him. He grew up to becomeOfficer and eventually Manager in the bank.Simultaneously he completed his law degreealso.

Nomination rejected for training -Becomes trainer in NIBM

When Nirmal was manager of IOB,Teynampet branch, Normal's direct superiorrecommended his nomination to a high leveltraining program at 'National Institute ofBank Management' (NIBM), but it wasrejected by the General Manager citing thereason that for a programme of such highstandard Nirmal is not suitable. Having cometo know of this, Nirmal made anotherdeclaration - he said to himself that he wouldmake it up to NIBM at him earliest.

The declaration did miracles. Nirmal wentto NIBM within 6 months not to undergotraining but as a Trainer. How it did happen?During one of the training sessions at NIBM,a Psychology Professor remarked why bankmangers make so much fuss about gettingthe work done by their subordinates, as afterall nothing is so easy and exciting thanhandling people?. He went on to say bankingshould not be just handling money buthandling people who handle money. Thesenior executives of banks who attended theprogramme did not agree and asked theTrainer whether he ever had the opportunityof working in a Nationalised Bank anddealing with staff? Those made the Trainerto fittingly answer the participants who raisedthe question by bringing a manager who wassuccessful in handling and motivating hisstaff and make him address them. A fax wassent to all the banks to submit to NIBM 'aname of the most successful Bank Manager

S. Deenadayalan and CEO and S.Rajalakshmi Architect - Organizational Capability &Team Leader- Organizational DevelopmentCentre for Excellence in Organization, Bangalore. [email protected], [email protected]

Zeros to Heroes -Series 18


who had motivated his staff'. Names pouredin including that of Nirmal from IOB and hewas the choice.

He knew nothing about training except thathe was confident of sharing what he did.That's perhaps the reason why his trainingsession became a great hit at NIBM. Hisunconventional approach to training inspiredmany. For every statement of theory he hadan example to share to reach the commonman in a very simple manner. Subsequently,he held positions at various branches of thebank including his stint at Hong Kong asChief Manager for four years.

Training was in fact another portfolio hehandled throughout his career. He trainedpeople on what he believed 'you can do','you can change' and he became a greatmotivational trainer. Even today he gets callsfrom those who attended his program 10-15 years ago requesting him to share hisexperience with their staff.

You have 48 Hour a Day

Over the years he has developed modulesto address specific needs - Spot Spark andSpot Success, Fashion your Passion, MotiveAction, Study Smarter and Not Harder, 48Hour Day etc to name a few very interestingsessions. Today he conducts a wide rangeof programs for all sections of the communityand corporate.

Two decades of ExNoRa

Nirmal founded ExNoRa in the year 1989,many years after his informal movement atGiriappa Road, with a clear vision to mobilizeand empower communities to participate inpreserving nature and preventingenvironmental degradation, therebyimproving the quality of life of the commonman. ExNoRa's fundamental philosophy isthat no environmental protection ormanagement is meaningful unless itbecomes the conscious choice of all orsubstantially all the population.

ExNoRa since the start has seen thatmismanagement of waste was the mostimportant cause of environmentaldegradation, and that this affected the poormore than the rich. The inability of the localbodies to manage the waste was due to thesheer volume that was generated and lackof resources. This problem needed asolution that involved the participation ofpeople who after all are generating thewaste.

Its success was in its ability to motivatepeople and involve them in the sanitation oftheir area. This became possible by bringingthem together through neighborhoodcommunities called Civic ExNoRa's. Overthe past decade and a half, ExNoRa hasbeen able to motivate and form thousandsof Community Based Organizations (CBOs)

named "Civic ExNoRa" across India, whotook "Civic pride" in their locality, managedtheir waste in an environment friendly wayand in part were able to participate in thegovernance of their locality.

ExNoRa firmly believes it is quite possibleto develop different kinds of replicablemodels to suit different places and situations.The various prototypes developed byExNoRa are indeed replicated everywheretoday. The vision has been to promotesustainable human settlements, through thepromotion of waste management as anincome generating opportunity. Practicestoday by Civic ExNoRa's include SolidWaste Management, Liquid WasteManagement, Rain Water Harvesting andRecycling among others.

Innovator - every moment

Nirmal kept promoting models andorganizations such as ExNoRa InnovatorsClub, Civic ExNoRa, Home ExNoRa andmany more just to ensure that the conceptreaches all corners and involves all sectionsof the society in promoting green and cleanenvironment. He believed that socialtransformation is possible only when the like-minded and socially conscious people cometogether. This led to formation ofmanagement committees, operationalteams and he delegated most of theresponsibilities to them and remained as aMentor.

Nirmal is an atheist (if that's how one whobelieves 'divinity is within you' to be called)who says prayer is more powerful than thegod. For him, all religions are the same; hisfamily is an example of how members ofdifferent religions can live unite as a family.He attributes his success to the three womenin his life, his mother, wife and daughter.

Even parts of Star Fish creates anotherstar fish

It's very difficult to narrate about someonelike Nirmal in an article. Like how the StarFish gives birth to another Start Fish if a partof its body is cut into a piece, every socialtransformation thought of Nirmal gives birthto formation of an organization, a model ora team. His greatest strength is 'emptiness'- bubbling with ideas every second, heconceives the idea, operationalizes it, handsit over to the beneficiaries and keeps movingto another mission; he never holds things tohimself. "He can be called the Guru of Let-Go without being a Sanyasi" - detachedattachment is his specialty.

This article is dedicated to thosetransformational leaders who believe (d) inpeople movement and human motivation forsocial change.

Address:M B Nirmal, ExNoRa 3rd Eye30, Engineer Sampath GardenArumbakkam , Chennai 107

Something on his familyHis wife, Dr Vijaya lakshmi Nirmal is retiredDirector of Madras Medical College. Shepractises in letter and sprit what Nirmalpreaches. She travels only by bus and evenas Director of MMC she was doing it.

His daughter Anita & Son in Law Mr Tim aresoftware Engineers and his son ManojNirmal and daughter in law Madhu Manojare also software Engineers in USA.

Photos can be used selectively where relevant

People called "Godown" street as "GoDown" Street earlier. ExNoRa motivated theshopkeepers and it became the "God Own"street.

PAMMAL TANK with PEOPLE'SPARTICIPATION and under the ableguidance of Mrs MangalamBalasubramaniam, Vice-Chairperson,EXNORA & Service Partners, a beautifultransformation is made.

RESTORATION OF COMMUNITYDRINKING WATER POND BY KOVALAMYOUTH EXNORA

The dead pond The pond today.

You can reach him at [email protected]

If readers visit the following website, theintent of the article will have better impact.

http://www.indianwatchdogs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11877.

www.99999.co.in

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www.vegedge.co.in �H


In today's World most of us irrespective ofgender distinction are working in oneorganization or another. We spend around8 to 10 hours of our working time at the office.So, we spend more of our time during ouradult lives with colleagues rather than withour respective families.

Given the above it goes without saying thatwe spend time at the office interacting withour colleagues, communicating with themand also socializing with them to a certainextent. Given the cut throat scenario amongorganizations it is but inevitable for theemployees of the organizations to co-ordinate and also compete amongthemselves at the same time.

Colleagues– P.Srivani

Colleagues come in all forms, sizes andvarieties. Also, good colleagues cometogether in solidarity when faced withunjustifiable ire from management. Theycreate for themselves a congenialatmosphere and plan even extracurricularactivities, outings etc., to combat stressburnouts etc.,

Sometimes the good relationships betweencolleagues can morph into friendships thatenrich our lives.

However one can only hope for such idealwork atmosphere. Practically speaking sucha scenario is not always possible. There arecolleagues who totally refuse to co-operateand create bad interpersonal relationships.One who encounters such an accursedworking environment can forget about peaceof mind In his/her life.

Ms. P.Srivani is Faculty member, Magnus School of Business, Hyderabad. E-mail: [email protected]

Each one of us must ensure that we act asgood colleagues we should make the newcomers comfortable, make them lose theirshyness.

We should avoid misunderstandings amongeach other which will pave the way for goodand smooth working atmosphere. Whateverthe type of opposite person, we must try tobe supportive and co-operative. In turn it willearn us friendliness, supportiveness andgood will. Behaving in a trust worthy mannerwill develop trust among others. It helps toimprove our sense of well being tounderstand that we cannot wish awayunpleasant colleagues but that the best wayto deal with them is to ignore them.

All said and done, it would be good to all ofus to remember that we should treatothers as we ourselves would like to betreated. �H

The age-old employeereporting system hasbeen that, theemployees report tosingle boss. This hadsome advantages andsome disadvantages toemployee as well fororganization too. Whenwe keenly look at thetraditional hierarchy fromemployees perspective,it had limited positiveoutcomes. Thus, theemerging concept ofEmployee Multi-

Reporting (EMR) system will play a vital rolein achieving the organizational andindividual goals faster and on time. One ofthe biggest difficulties in working with anEMR structure is the fact that we havemultiple bosses.

Have You Ever FacedMulti-Reporting?

– M Venkat Siva Kumar

Working with multi-bosses will be a toughtime to any employee, since theexpectations of job, will differ from one toother. At current times, this situation isprevailing in all corporate contexts.

Challenges ahead in Employee Multi-Reporting(EMR) are:

1. Confusion over who has the finalauthority

2. Lack of role clarity on areas ofaccountability

3. Managers unaccustomed to sharingdecision rights

4. Delay in decision-making process5. Disturbance to healthy working

atmosphere

However, the following opportunities willbe identified in EMR structure

1. Identification of Prioritized tasks

2. Planning of work in limited workinghours

Mr. M Venkat Siva Kumar is Junior Manager - HR, Ramky Infrastructure Ltd, Hyderabad E-Mail: [email protected]

3. Innovative problem solving skills

4. Continuous learning to meet theexpectations of job

5. Transform the job knowledge tocolleagues / peers and subordinates

6. Handling of multiple tasks at a time

7. Ability to cope up with the job pressure

8. Effectively handle the queries frominternal and external customers

Every new concept in HR, has its ownimpact on employee productivity. TheEmployee Multi-Reporting structures willreduce the manpower budgetary cost andoptimizes the employee performance whichultimately safeguards the interest of theorganization.

So, colleagues, be ready to face multi-reporting.

Reference : "Multi Reporting", "EmployeeReporting" articles from Internet. �H


In business ‘no stakeholder group is moreimportant than employees’1, says AndrewWinston. Winston may not be the first personnor the last person to echo the importanceof employee as a stakeholder in business.The enormous power of the employees tosustain the business is much appreciatedover the decades. When business is doingwell every stakeholder enjoys the fruits ofprosperity, however during the adversity thehit on employees who are vital part of thestakeholders are much severe than anybodyelse. Nevertheless, employees with theirunlimited human potential can become a costar by being a contributing stakeholder.Every organization wants its co stars to bewith them all through the life span of theorganization. This article tries to exploresome of the critical and constructive habitsevery employee has to develop to becomea contributing stakeholder or co star evenat the worse business scenarios. They are;

7 Habits of a ContributingStakeholder/(CO star) -

– Vinod Abraham

business success as well. Without havingthe fundamentals in place, a great businessidea will usually fail2. Preparation is the keyto success. This is the time for all employeeswaiting for a project, to take initiatives byoneself to check one’s capability on thefundamental knowledge, skills, the requiredbusiness acumen, etc. If I quote Stevencovey, this is nothing but the time for‘sharpen the saw’. In order to sharpen thesaw you must first know that your saw canbe sharpened better, than the presentstature. What could help one to analyze theones own ‘sharpen’ statute are;

a. An open mind or positive attitudetowards learning, relearning andunlearning

b. ‘Off shoulder the chips’. As the proverbsays, you can fill only an empty pot withits mouth wide open. Getting into selfawareness necessarily demand fromyou to be your own ruthless critic.

c. Collect question banks of yourrespective fields and try to solve it; thuscheck your credentials and capability.

d. Identify and attend appropriate trainingsto strengthen your weakness

e. Get into the research and reading mode.Get yourself involved in technical &functional discussions

f. Get into the company of people who areoptimistic and creative rather thansomeone who is laid back andpessimistic

g. Improve the networking skills and getto know more talents to collect multitudeof ideas and knowledge

h. Develop a hobby to withstand againststress

i. Set your aim as to be the best in yourrespective field and put in effortaccordingly

Knute Rockne says, “Build upon yourweakness until they become your strongpoints”3. The day you realize that you couldturn some of your weakness into strength,the perception about you start gettingchanged. A person whose fundamental

Mr. Vinod Abraham works for Oracle and is based at Bangalore. E-Mail: [email protected]

knowledge are strong always considered asthe authority to be referred. Hence set yourfundamentals right first to regain yourauthority over the subject, technology,domain, businesses, etc

2. Strive for the extra edge

“The greatest danger for most of us is notthat our aim is too high and we miss it, butthat it is too low and we reach it” saysMichelangelo. Today the business scenariois that you got one job and ten profiles to bemapped against the same. The million dollarquestion to you as a professional is that howwould you outperform the other nine? If youhave a convincing answer you can stay ontop of the list, else one among the other nine.The management is looking at you for thatsomething which normally not expected fromyou but you can provide as a surprise! Thisis what we refer here as an extra edge.

What you should do to gain that extra edgeover others? Cecile M. Springer says;“Above all challenge yourself. You may wellsurprise yourself at what strengths you have,what you can accomplish”4 What would besome of the mechanisms in our givenscenario for us to get an extra edge? Couldit be you getting into a research andpublishing a research paper in any of thegood journals or filing a patent request?Could it be you developing new features forthe existing product you are working on?Could it be you inventing a new strategy toimprove the top line of the business? Couldit be you inventing a new trainingmethodology to share the knowledge yougained to others. You could do all theseindividually or identifying a group of peoplewith similar interest as well. Let yourmanagement get powered up by the interestand the approach you take towards work atthis adverse time. We always think of thesenior managers motivating the juniors. Whycan’t we think of the other way?

3. Determined to be a goodwillambassador

Employee as a goodwill ambassador is theadvocate to spread the positive aspects andpotentials of his or her organization. Talkinggood about one’s own organization would

The demand of time on you as an employee

1. Set the fundamentals right

2. Strive for the extra edge

3. Determined to be a goodwillambassador

4. Think dynamically

5. Aim to create customer delight

6. Put on the hats of a sales person

7. Put in efforts to be a core asset

1. Set the fundamentals right

It is said that genius is one percentinspiration and ninety nine percentperspiration. The same can be said about


at least not put the competitor strong andwould not pave the way to lose business tothe competitor. Talking ill about onesorganization is like cutting the branch onesits. There are a lot of meanings for talkinggood about one’s company, especiallyduring the difficult times. Roger Haywood inhis book “Manage your Reputation”discusses how employees can be trueambassadors for the organization.According to him employees have to

a. Gather the knowledge of how thecompany stands, its strengths,weaknesses, opportunities and treats

b. Understand what it wishes to achieve

c. Appreciate clearly their own role withinthese plans

d. Involve and feel that one can contributein their own areas of skill and experience

e. Support management effort to move theoperations ahead

f. Make a personal commitment to theambitions of the organization.5

Any employee who practices the abovesteps would definitely be a goodwillambassador for the organization. Talkinggood about the organization is a must to bea costar along with the organization.

Roger further writes, “A ‘good old moan’would be diverting pastime but criticism ofthe company by one of its own employeescan be devastatingly damaging”6. The factis that employees are the powerful tools ofcompany marketing and branding.Employees can build or damage theorganization. Being a goodwill ambassadorand sending positive messages to the worldout would reward the employee himself inthe long run, as positive messages attractcustomers.

4. Think dynamically

Dynamic thinking has to be one of thecharacteristics for anyone to become aCo-star along with the organization. For, theneed of the hour is not the person who thinksbut who is unique in thinking. Anyone whois unique in giving solutions, at high qualityand less cost is the hero of the time. Thinkingout of the box is to think differently,unconventionally, from a new perspective.This is sometimes called a process of lateralthought. Lateral thinking7 is about reasoningthat is not immediately obvious and aboutideas that may not be obtainable by usingonly traditional step-by-step logic.

Dynamic thinking can be applied to think toimprove the existing inventions as well asto go for new inventions. How can youbecome a dynamic thinker?

Firstly, You need to be a positive thinker.Only positive thinkers can radiate energy

and enthusiasm, think creatively and inspirea team to do so. If you are not a positivethinker, adopt methods of reading books onthe subjects or attend such trainings, orconsciously try to form a network of peoplewho appreciate the same.

Secondly, You have to become a good criticof yourself because dynamic thinkers lovenothing but new challenges. Challenge yourviews and thinking patterns and get out ofyour comfort zones.

Thirdly, Walk back to your team. If the boomhad created a gutter between your team andyou, let this recession level the gutter- walkback to your team. Start listening to yourteam. Encourage healthy debates anddiscussion on various topics. Sometimes aspark of a discussion point would tell youhow you can be dynamic in providingsolutions.

Cost cutting is the need of the hour and alsomost preferred check point on these days.You can start to think in this direction to helpyour clients to achieve their goals but in alesser cost. A solution, without compromisingon the quality would give you more mileageand probably repeated business. Let youdon’t be an executioner but a thought leaderin order to gain new business for yourorganization. Put in passion and providesolutions to the customers as if you are thelife-line to your organization and your clientis the savior of the time. Let your passioninspires the top leadership and your coleaders. You need to become a co star alongwith your organization. I read Dee Hock andhe says; “The problem is never how to getnew innovative thoughts into your mind, buthow to get the old ones out” Anyone who isunique in giving solutions, at high quality andless cost are the heroes of the time.

5. Aim to create customer delight

Customer delight is the aim which noorganization would dare to compromise,especially at this hour. These days, it’s allabout “customer delight,”8 says SheriBridges, a marketing professor at WakeForest University. She defines a “delightful”consumer experience as the one sopersonalized that each individual customerfeels that his/her preferences and needs aretaken into account.

No demand means no revenue and finallyno business. Having delighted customer isthe only way to sustain the business. It wouldeventually lead the customer to think of youif there is a chance of new investment atany cost. Get into the dreams of thecustomer; not as a nightmare but as a sweetand pleasant thought.

It is the time for you to give something morethan what the customer expects. Deliverbefore time; cut the cost as against thenormalcy; provide much better quality;

suggest and implement additional featuresin the product or deliverables.

What would require you to create customerdelight? The more you know about yourcustomers, Rogers says, the easier it is toensnare them in “friendly entanglements”that make switching to a competitor muchmore difficult. A ‘customer delight task force’would be a good choice. Next thing whatyou need to do is to be masters of youruniverse in delivering the product or servicethat lies at the heart of the business-customer relationship. Third most importantthing is your reworking on your processes.Convert your rigid process to constructiveand customer oriented one. No customerwould prefer to wait for seven years and 50approvals to convert their idea into action.“The bottom line is that good customerservice is the bare minimum needed today”,Bridges says. Customer service that ispersonalized and “delights” your targetaudience will help your business thrive andsee tomorrow.9 Jerry Garcia’s thought is veryapt for the time, he says; “You do not merelywant to be considered the best of thebest….You want to be considered the onlyone who does what you do”

6. Put on the hats of a sales person

The time demands each employee to getinto the role of a sales person and grab anew work for your organization. Thisrequires the management to get out of thecomfort zone and demolish and rebuild theboundaries of the sales organization. Definea new mechanism from generating lead toprospects to rapport building to identificationof business model to formal quote to closing,expand the scopes and reward the stars.

It is the time that sales are not driven bydemand and supply but by relationships. Aresales folks at our organization are the bestpeople who has better relationships with thecustomers? Aren’t the poor project managerwho executed his last project or the teammember who worked at onsite the rightpeople to talk to your clients and identify anyscope for a new project. Can’t you projectthe best team who got awards from theclients to be projected to capitalize on thetime and generate new opportunity?

Over the time we often forget the fact thatany employee who is in direct contact withthe customer is a sales person. Bob Janetsays, “We all know the customer is the mostimportant person in our business, butsometimes we forget that the second mostimportant person in the business is anyemployee that comes in contact with ourcustomers in anyway. The employee whocontacts the customer face-to-face, so tospeak, is the person who represents thebusiness in the customers mind”10 One ofBob’s idea of the four things that everyemployee can do to increase sales andprofits is to Ask, Ask, Ask, Ask and keep on


asking for the sale. Every employee, thus,who has a good rapport can get into the roleand do this extra thing for the organizationat the difficult times.

7. Put in efforts to be a core asset

“Employees are our most valuable resources”.We must have heard this statement athousand times. As global economy goesthrough an unpredictable turn, it seems to bethe time to re-read the statement as‘contributing employees are our most valuableresources’. The generic thought of the time isthat if employee A is a cost or asset? If it is acost, cut it; else, develop it.

One of Lorraine Mallinder’s article on“Recession survival tips” talks about EileenMcMahon’s, a partner at Torys, threebaskets categorization of assets when itcomes to employees 12, viz

a. Core assets:

b. Nice to have assets

c. Dead woods

Core assets are assets that have a “directimpact on market exclusivity”. Nice to haveassets are those that run up hefty maintenancebills year-on-year without bringing in top-linerevenues. They would be reliable at times.However dead wood requires a lot ofinvestment to turn them into assets.

I read on Max Fabian and understand thathe completes 100 years of age on March 9,

2009 and to our surprise, he still works inthe warehouse and retrieves mail at A-ZIndustries Inc. in Northbrook. He Counts hissuccess secret as "Make yourselfinvaluable", which make him irreplaceableeven at the age of 100. Making oneself aninvaluable or core asset has to be our habitas an employee to be a co-star.

Conclusion:

Any organization which is not unique hardlygets noticed so as the employees. Creatingstardom for the organization is to be the targetof every employee and in the process eachone has to become a co star. All the abovediscussed 7 habits of contributing stakeholderare further grouped into three steps, viz.,Competitive Base, Competitive Advantageand Competitive Business. The below diagramdepicts the impacts of the above discussed 7habits in turning the organization into a STARand the employee into a CO STAR.

Step 1: Competitive Base

The first 3 habits which we discussedconstitute the competitive base for anyorganization to become star and theemployee to become co star. Employeeswithout strong fundamentals will not be ableto gain appropriate attentions. Those gainattention, if lacks an extra edge over otherswould capitalize little on the initial gain. Beinga good will ambassador creates high brandvalue for the organization. Thus CompetitiveBase helps to have high value employees

Step 2: Competitive Advantage

The next 2 habits viz., Dynamic thinking andcustomer delight would help to get an edgewhich is a competitive advantage overothers. This would give you a 'top of themind' advantage of a customer when itcomes to business

Step 3: Competitive Business

Competitive Business is the fruit of you beingcompetent enough on the above two steps.It brings you more business and morerevenues.

7 Habits of a CO STAR help the employeesto be a true co star along with theorganization. It ultimately rises up the valueof employee from 'nice to have' to 'Coreasset'. The success of the organizationdepends on the number of core assets it hasand thus the co stars. Each employee mustconstantly get into a periodic analysis modeof Asset versus Liability. This would definitelyreveal the co star value for each resource.

References

i. Andrew Winston , "Greener B-Schools, GreenerEmployees", www.harvardbusiness.org

ii. Kevin Sinclair, CPA, of Be Successful!Business & Personal Success Resources-www.ksinclair.com.

iii. Web page- General quotes

iv. Web page- General quotes

v. Roger Haywood, "Manage yourReputation", Second edition, published byKogan Page Publishers, P.136

vi. Roger Haywood, "Manage yourReputation", Second edition, published byKogan Page Publishers, P.135

vii. coined by Edward de Bono, a Maltesepsychologist, physician and writer. It firstappeared in the title of his book New Think: TheUse of Lateral Thinking, published in 1967

viii. Philipp Harper How to delight yourcustomers: Get personal -www.microsoft.com

ix. Philipp Harper How to delight yourcustomers: Get personal -www.microsoft.com

x. Bob Janet, "The Four Things EveryEmployee Can Do To Increase Sales Andprofits" www.evancarmichael.com

xi. Wayne F. Casio, Responsible restructuring:Seeing employees as assets, not costs,Ivey Business Journal November/December 2003, P. 2

xii. Lorraine Mallinder, "Recession survivaltips: Unlock IP asset values", FinancialPosts, Published: Wednesday, December10, 2008- www.financialpost.com

xiii. Courtney Flynn, "Man who's nearly 100 isstill working", From the Chicago Tribune, -www.newsday.com

�H


National HRD Network, Jaipur Chapter andIILM Academy of Higher Learning, Jaipurin collaboration with International Center forEconomics of Non-Violence andSustainability (ICENS), Jain Vishwa BhartiInstitute, JVB University Ladnun, Societyfor International Development (SID)organized the, Fourth Dialogue on RelativeEconomics under the patronage of H.H.Acharya Mahapragya during November 1-2, 2009, at JVB, Ladnun

While addressing thesession, AcharyaMahapragyaji made a verykeen observation on theexisting concept ofdevelopment and said thatthe concept is wrong,

because it insists on material developmentrather than human development & relativeeconomics will rectify the concept.

Dr. Ashok Bapna, PresidentNHRD, Jaipur Chapterwhile addressing thegathering said that thematerial and human beingsare very important inrelative economics.

Speaking on the occasion,Mrs. Kanak Barmecha,President, ABTMM, saidthat the existing vices arethe reasons behind theintroduction of the conceptof Relative Economics and

this concept can be the basis forsustainable development.

While chairing the first plenary session, thewell-known economist and advisor to PrimeMinister, Prof. V. S. Vyasemphasized the need tofind out some ways tointerpret the values inroutine life, as the socialchange & economic changeshould go together & thereshould be some case studies, which can

prove the relevance ofrelative economics

Shri R.L Bajpai, SocialScientist, pointed out thatthe concept of the presentconference is derived from

Jaipur Report - Fourth Dialogue on ‘Relative Economics’November 1-2, 2009, Ladnun

the previous conferences on economics ofnon-violence and he considered poverty asthe main cause of violence.

Mr. S Shyam Prasad,Associate Dean, IILM saidthat management shouldinclude spirituality in thecourses.

Bajrang Jain, ManagementExpert insisted that RelativeEconomics is for the people,of the people & by thepeople. Main focus shouldbe on development ofpeople & not on growth of material,development should be measured by thehappiness of people, rather than luxuriouslife.

Professor L.N Nathuramka,Economic Analyst, sharedhis views on NormativeEconomics and said that itrepresents the ideal type ofeconomy. He further addedthat there are three types of

development- exploitative, cosmetic &durable development.

Professor DayanandBhargava, Vedic Scholar,chaired the second plenarysession and explained thecomplementary relationshipbetween religion andeconomics. He said that theRelative Economics is the economicsintroduced by Mahaveera.

Muni Abhijeet Kumar,Research Scholar, said thateconomics is a kind of fuelwhich is required to fulfill thebasic needs & necessity ofhuman values.

Muni Akshay Prakash,Research Scholar, said thatin ancient times there wereonly Social, Political,Religious & Economicpolicies. Man has convertedmoney into powerful resource. Money hasbecome the most important asset in life.

Prof. BR Dugar, Head, Dept.of NVP, stated that majorproblems are arising due todifferences in culture; art isdeteriorating and resourcesare being depleted.

NK Chaudhary, Director, Jaipur Rugs, while

presenting the case study on“Sustainable Growth - ANecessity Today”,emphasized the importanceof sustainability and pointedout the relationship betweenpeople & profit.

Prof. M.R. Gelra, Former Vice — Chancellor,JVBU stated that people often say thatscience is a curse for thesociety or mankind becauseof invention of atom bomb,today they are saying thateconomy is also leading usto destruction because ofglobal recession.

Prof. V.S. Vyas, emphasized on thedevelopment of multi flexible plan of relativeeconomics, which can deal with all theproblems.

At the end of first day, question & answersession was organized in which Prof. SohanRaj Tater, Pro VC, Singhania University;Nitin, CEO, Crosslink International; Dr. VedPrakash and students of IILM participated.

In the evening, a play entitiled ‘Tamso MaJyotirgamaya’ was staged by the studentsand faculty members of IILM which gave themessage that excessive wealth promotesover indulgence in sensual pleasures whileproper use and management of moneyleads to the welfare of all.

The Third Plenary Session was chaired byMuni Mahendera Kumar and thediscussants were Muni Sukhlalji and Prof.S.R. Tater.

Muni Sukhlalji said that theconcept ‘relative’ iscomplete in itself and it is adeep subject of study. Toremove the gap between therich and the poor, life styleshould be changed.

Prof. S. R. Tater definedrelative economics in termsof absolute economy andvalues and said that man isthe center of this economy.

Further presenting a casestudy on Non-violence training model,


Samani Ramniya Pragya shared her viewon Rural Dev : A Way to RelativeEconomics, she defined the socialrestructuring in the terms of peaceful,objective, productive and progressiveconstruction of society.

Samani Shashi Pragya said that economyof Mahaveera is based on affection andvalues. The concept of relativeness isbased upon individual, family and society.

Discussing the concept Samani ChaityaPrajna said that the aim of money is toprovide need and complete the deed butgreediness troubles human kind.Happiness is not based on time, money or

anything, it relies on ownself-satisfaction.

A presentation was made byVeena Baid, Secretary,ABTMM on ‘Action inVillages- A Case Study’ inwhich she highlighted

various efforts and activities in the area ofeducation, health & hygiene and alsotraining programs related to women & childdevelopment carried out byABTMM.

Muni Mahendra Kumar,Chairman of the sessionsaid that to combinehappiness withconsumption is one of thebiggest cause of sorrow. Countries, whereboth education and health services andHDR are rated good, have found that thecitizens are internally happy. He furtheradded that there is a need is to combinespirituality & economy.

Dr. Ashok Bapna said that the presentationof the welfare efforts made by Terapanthiorganizations has proved the important roleNGOs are playing in development.

In the next session, paper presentationswere made by IILM students Ajay Sharma,Kuldeep Mishra, Satish Kumar Ahir, NiteshBhardwaj, Swapnil Sharma, ShivaniSharma, Sudeep Punia & Somdutt. Thestudents spoke on resolving the problemsof violence, poverty & other issues.

At the valedictory session of the dialogue,Dr Ashok Bapna, Director IILM & ICENSsaid that relative economics is a newconcept & we will have to makecomprehensive efforts at national as wellas international level.

Muni Shri Krishan Lal jistated that the success ofrelative economics is basedon relative life style.

At the end, Dr. Ved Prakash,Prof. IILM, Jaipur summedup the proceedings and saidthat Relative Economicsgains special importance inthe light of the fact that life

is also lived relatively.

4th Dialogue on "Relative Economics"

LADNUN DECLARATION

November 2, 2009

1. Fourth dialogue on the initial vision ofEconomics of Non-violence, started atDelhi in 2005, was held at Jain VishvaBharati, Ladnun, under the newchristened title of "Relative Economics"on November 1-2, 2009. This choiceof title was necessitated on the basisof learned thoughts shared in theprevious conferences.

2. Based on the established managementprinciple of resistance to change, it wasstrongly felt that introduction andpropagation of a new thought facesresistance to change, which requiresus to proceed cautiously, with care andpatience.

3. Relative Economics is for harmoniousrelationship around human beings andnature.

4. It is a multifaceted concept, wherespirituality, morality, ethics,environment, non-violence and otherrelated subjects have not only apositive role, but do affect the shapingof relative economics. Besideseconomic science, social sciences,psychology etc. have also directbearing. Therefore, a holistic approachis necessary for conceptualizing

Relative Economics.

5. For success in the evolution andimplementation of this new approach,the objective should be to involve massof people, rather than being restrictedto a few intellectuals and accelerate thepace of implementation.

6. Principal objective of this new approachshould be to eliminate absolute povertyand minimize inequalities.

7. Quest for economic growth should beconditioned with a realization that itcannot be at the cost of damagingnatural resources. Therefore, a limit togrowth should be accepted.

8. Basic ingredients of RelativeEconomics, such as non-violence,purity of means, humane order are non-negotiable. Such factors be identifiedfor absolute conceptual clarity andpossible dilutions.

9. Implementation is most important.Preparing a road-map, time scheduleand action chart should not be hasty,impatient and far from reality.

10. The end result is limiting consumption,through controlled desires andchecking comforts and luxuries.

11. Starting point for implementation is theindividual. At the same point, systemshave to be impacted to provide aconducive environment.

12. Case studies of successful practice ofeconomic growth, coupled with ethics,should be prepared to demonstrate itsfeasibility.

13. NGO's, civil society, enthusiasts havea direct role in field implementation.Work is already going on through selectbodies in Rajasthan and outside. Thisstrength needs further augmentationand speed.

14. Select group of enthusiasts, women,youths and other volunteers, equippedthrough training in effectivecommunication skills (such as plays,nukkad natak, religious discourses,etc.), suited to local factors, beencouraged for grass rootdissemination, awareness generationand action.

15. A formal blueprint for further take-off,based on this declaration, is placed inAppendix.

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It is with great sorrow I learnt of Dr B LMaheshwari’s passing away. I have veryfond memories of him and learnt much fromhim. He was generous with his time and hadthe candour that came naturally to honestpeople.

In early ‘70s, Arun Maira (my immediatesuperior at that time in Tata Motors-Pune,then called TELCO-Poona) and I flew toHyderabad to meet Dr Maheshwari and toinvite him to take up a consulting assignmentto advise us on launching MBO. He listenedto us patiently and then said he would firstlike to spend three days in TELCO-Poona,meet the key people and then decide thebest course of action thereafter. Aftermeeting all the key people, he summed upunerringly that the key decision maker stillappeared to be the then Vice-Chairman,Sumant Moolgaokar and as such, he wouldaccept the assignment only if he could meetMr Moolgaokar in person and if the later washis primary client. As we could not get MrMoolgaokar to meet Dr BLM, let aloneaccept being the primary client, Dr BLMpolitely but firmly turned down our request.

I was very impressed that here was a person

Remembering Dr B L Maheshwariwho was not one who would accept alucrative assignment if he felt he could notdo justice to the assignment! Years later, inmid-90s, when I was approached by HDFC,Thomas Cook, Madura Garments andseveral other organisations to advise themon organisation-wide transformation work, Ifollowed in Dr BLM’s footsteps in acceptingthe assignment only if the #1 decision makerin the organisation agreed to not only seeme in person but also become the key clientand sponsor for the assignment.

During those early days in the ‘70s, I alsoattended an Executive Developmentprogramme at ASCI, Hyderabad when Iheard Dr BLM and interacted with him again.It was he who advised me that I should readHistory of Political theory (by GeorgeSabine) and several other classics – notnecessarily from traditional managementliterature – to provide me with the requisitegrounding to take up any Changemanagement role in large organisations. Ibought every book suggested by him anddevoured them.

My last meeting with Dr BLM was at the CoDa few years ago when he invited me to

address participants in an ExecutiveDevelopment programme. He was kindenough to invite me to his home and fordinner afterwards. I sat with him as he wentthrough his weekly chore of cleaning hisarray of pipes. It was a peaceful momentand one that I shall cherish forever.

Dr BLM was anything but a traditionalist. Inmany ways, he epitomises for me whatRichard Bach meant when he wrote, “It isnever worth a first class mind to state amajority opinion, for by definition, there areenough people repeating that anyway”.

Dr BLM was indeed one of a kind. The mouldmust have been lost after he was created.Those of us who could interact with him andlearn from him should indeed view ourselvesas very fortunate people.

May God bless the family he leaves behindand let his soul rest in peace.

V S Mahesh25, Lenborough Close, Buckingham MK18

1SE, England;[email protected] 16

November 2009

The proceedings began with the oath takingceremony reminding all HR professionals oftheir commitment and integrity towards theirprofession. The esteemed members werethen apprised of the membership programthrough referral, aimed at widening thehorizons of National HRD Network. Themain program began with moderator Mr.Bansal, secretary NHRDN, taking charge ofthe deliberations following which speakersjoined him on the dias.

Mr. Bansal described the session plan andapprised the audience with the three sub-sections planned for the evening. Theopening sub- section focused on the"Business Partnering Role Of HR inContemporary perspective"

Mr. Bimal Rath said that, today there arethree dimensions: Time, Criticality, and theVision of CEOs. He emphasized the longterm plan which CEO's stress on. Theseplans are critical to organizational growth inadverse situations. He also talked about thevision of CEO's to be permeated into theorganization's HR function.

Mr. Shankar talked about the significanceof unarticulated needs of the CEOs, which

DELHI CHAPTER - WRITE- UP FOR 17th NOVEMBER SPECIAL EVENTthe HR must understand and put to practice.The emphasis was on trying to understandthe difference in thinking of line managersand the HR. The discussion stressed on howto empower the HR and make themaccountable, making the responsibility sinkin. Talk went on to things like talentdevelopment index, business processes,technology etc. He emphasized that it is thisthat would convert HR into a "great businesspartner".

Mr. Praveen Sinha gave a new perspectivewherein he talked of HR as a medium ofcommunicating the broad termorganizational perspective to all thestakeholders. He also talked about thedelineation of HR from line function andimportance to bridge this gap. This first roundculminated with audience questions beinganswered by the speakers to the audience'ssatisfaction. While answering one of thequestions, Mr. Sinha talked about the shiftof HR from "responsiveness role to theproactive role". The second round focusedon sustainable development using the HRfunction which includes both transactionaland transformational work.

Mr. Krish brought about the concept ofempowering line functionaries to takeownership of the HR initiatives. Mr. Sinhadeliberated on the same issue and explainedhow they achieved line function alignmentwith HR initiatives in his organization.Mr. Rath talked of bringing about businessperspective to this issue so as to involve linemanagers into the HR initiatives. Themoderator Mr. Bansal then asked speakersto rate themselves both in their capacity asline functionaries and HR professionals fortheir respective organizations. All thespeakers more or less ranked their HRfunctions viz-a- vie line functionsperspectives equally.

With this the third session came in. Aninteresting motley of thoughts, of theaudience and speakers. The discussionmoved towards its culmination with thequestion round. It left a lot to be thought overand a lot to be understood about HRschanging role. This was how the session forthe day came to an end with Mr. Bansalthanking the speakers followed by thememento delivery ceremony by Mr. Rajan,the National HRD Network President.


B R Shah*

INTRODUCTION

Sickness in a business is a major problem,encountered not only in India but also inmany market economies. Around 10,000units are said to fail every year in the UnitedKingdom. One out of every five firms listedon the stock exchanges turns sick. Out offour sick firms, only one manages asuccessful turnaround. In the United Statesduring the decade 1967-1976, one out offour companies listed on the stockexchanges there had turned sick, with onlya third of the companies achieving recovery.

In our country, over 550 large units and1.3lakh small units are sick. Theseenterprises tie up nearly Rs.5, 000 crore offunds provided by term lending institutionsand banks. This is not all. Over 20 percentof central government owned public sectorundertakings which now have a totalinvestment of over Rs.50,000 crore, are loss-making.

The economic liberalization polices of theGovernment coupled with the growth ofsunrise industries will lead to increasingcompetition which in turn, will take its toll onthe health of the new units. The problem ofsickness is likely to grow worse in the comingyears, particularly in the context of a numberof inadequately trained entrepreneurslaunching new units.

WHAT IS SICKNESS?

The Reserve Bank of India classifies a unitas sick if it has incurred a cash loss for ayear and is likely to incur a cash loss in thecurrent and coming years. These unitscharacteristically tend to have a poorfinancial structure, that is, a debt-equity ratioof less than 1:1. Financial institutionsconsider a unit sick if it has consecutivelydefaulted on four half-yearly loans andinterest instalments, and has made cashlosses for two consecutive years or has lost50% of its net worth, besides being saddledwith mounting arrears of statutory and otherliabilities.

The extent of sickness in a unit can begauged by comparing its currentperformance with its performance undercomparable business conditions in the past,and its current performance with that of othercomparable units in the industry known tobe efficiently managed. These comparisonshigh light how badly the unit is operatingagainst its potential. These help because aunit may be considered sick if it is operatingwell below its potential, even if it is notmaking cash losses.

A distinction needs to be made here betweensickness due to inefficient management and

sickness due to reasons beyond the controlof the unit's management. Sometimes acompany may be making cash losses dueto the industry in which it is operating facinga severe recession. Any revival action insuch cases should be industry orientedrather than company oriented. As a rule,revival efforts yield better dividends wheninitiated early in the case of units performingbelow their potential level.

CAUSES OF SICKNESS

Sickness may arise due to internal and/ orexternal factors. Internal factors could besuch as the choice of wrong technology, sub-optimal plant capacities, poor managementskills, and project cost over-runs. Externalfactors could be increased competition,recession, inputs shortages, disturbedindustrial relations climate, exchange ratechanges, credit squeezes, inflation, etc.

An important reason for sickness in anorganization is stagnation - its inability tochange or manage change. Change is aresponse to internal or external stimuli. Thecritical internal stimuli for change are thedesire and vitality to grow and advance.Unlike human beings, organizations have aninfinite life cycle. Any organization thatreaches absolute stability tends to stagnateand decline. Absence of change in anorganization should always be a matte ofconcern as it could be a sure sign of internaldecay. Any industry or organization that failsto take cognizance of changes around it, likechanging consumer habits and attitudes andlifestyles, modern technology and processes,changing employee aspirations and social,political climate, has to pay the price ofsickness. Textile and jute industries in Indiawhich failed to keep pace with the changingtimes are classic examples of this syndrome.

Whatever else be the finer reasons forsickness, management failure is always thedominant reason. There is substantialempirical evidence to bear this out. Specially,all pointers are towards a poor andineffective leadership as best illustrated inLee Iacocca's description of Chrysler. Toquote him, "What I found at Chrysler werethirty five vice-presidents,. Each with his ownturf. There was no real committee set up,no cement in the organizational chart, nosystem of meetings to get people talking toeach other. I couldn't believe, for example,that the guy running the engineeringdepartment wasn't in constant touch with hiscounterpart in manufacturing. Everybodyworked independently. Nobody at Chryslerseemed to understand that interactionamong different functions in a company isabsolutely critical."

CAN WE PICK UP ANY WARING

SIGNALS?

Unlike in the past, it is possible nowadaysto plan and prepare for change. Anticipatingchange and organizing the two mostimportant resources, namely managementand capital, are obviously the most criticaltasks to be performed by the chief executiveofficer of the company. An alter CEO willwatch out for early warning signals. Here isa list of seven deadly signs that canforewarm him.

1. Reality becomes unglued: This is whenthe top management starts to believe itsown rhetoric. It wishes things weredifferent and spends its energiesdenying the existence of a problem. Thisleads to problem denial or pushingproblems under the carpet, hopingagainst the obvious that somethingwould change. Management continuesto listen to what it likes to and turns adeaf ear to all signals.

2. Breakdown of management team: Theteam decomposes. Individuals gravitatetowards personal agendas. Goodpeople leave. Others hide behind a lineof projects and create a Great ChinaWall between their work and thedeterioration around them. Commonpurpose, functions, method anddirection dissolve.

3. Priorities get misplaced: Managementmakes totally inappropriate or just plainwrong, choices of priorities, or makenone at all. Trying to do everything is asure way to achieve nothing. A mismatchbetween short-term and long-termconsiderations always spells trouble forany company.

4. Form prevails over content: Thishappens when the company insists onfollowing a set pattern of work even if itdoes not achieve results. The image ofsuccess becomes more important thanthe reality of achievement.

5. Numbers don't add up: In troubledbusiness, the CEO lacks personal graspof the numbers and their meaning to hisown business. He must be skilledenough to manage his experts, and tomanage personally the pursuit of hisdesired goal - as kept by numbers.

6. Lie and hedge stage: Company officialsbegins to misrepresent things to theiroutside constituencies.

7. Customers' needs cease to dominate:Company chooses to ignore signalsfrom the market place. The consumerfocus of the market place is lost.

"Silver Jubilee Article""Silver Jubilee Article"

TURNAROUND STRATEGIES: FOCUS ON THE HUMAN DIMENSION - by B R Shah

Reproduced from:Vol. 7 issue 1&2 Jan-June, 1991


TURNAROUND STRATEGY

No company has to die if it is alert to theseven deadly signs of business, sins whichare often predictable and observable. Todeal with them you need to watch out forthe signs, be sensitive to them, and act onthem fast.

Carrying out a radical strategy in a large firmis the acid test of corporate leadership. Thisis particularly true when business is goingthrough such grave losses that its verysurvival is at stake if improvements are notachieved swiftly. Skills required to turnaround businesses going through suchexperiences and implement survivalstrategies, are very different from the skillsrequired in managing healthy organizations.Management or its leaders faced with thechallenge of transforming, reorienting,revitalizing or turning around a largecorporation will find few relevant models oruseful prescriptions to guide their actions.Nor are such skills taught in managementinstitutions where they equip students withskills required for managing already healthyorganizations.

When a corporation's very survival isthreatened, its top management must carryout emergency actions that will stave offbankruptcy and buy them the time requiredto implement a radical strategy. Theanatomy of this strategy needs somediscussion:

Step 1: Outsider as a Change Agent

There is substantial evidence to indicate thatan outsider has a critical role to play inturning around sick business. Such outsiderscould be consultants who are expertfacilitators to effect the required change, oroperating CEOs. Consultants' "think-tanks"are an obvious source of fresh ideas.

It has often been found that an "outsider"brought in as Chief Executive performs thesurgery successfully provided he has provencrisis management skills, Unfettered byallegiance to organizational traditions orprecedents and hangovers of past failures,he is better equipped to play the role of acatalytic agent by taking a dispassionateview of problems and challenges all factsand assumptions placed before him. Thishelps him identify the key result areas andsteps for improving business and assumethe role of a corporate revolutionary with avision of the corporation's future and the willto achieve it.

Step 2: Build a Team

Since, in the end, all business operationscan be reduced to three words: people,product and profits, with people coming first,the new CEO must build a good team. Theright professional people should be identifiedand brought in to man key functions. Forcrisis management, task forces should be

created with clearly assigned responsibilitiesand accountability in order to avoid passingthe buck. These task forces clearly becomecoordinating points in order to achievesynergy in their working.

Step 3: Establish Credibility

The change agent, if an outsider, is likely tobe viewed with suspicion by many insiders.For him to be an effective leader, he mustquickly establish himself and gain credibility.He can do this by:

1. Defining and reaffirming the company'sgoals. This could be restoringprofitability or recapturing lost marketshare. A renewed goal orientationsshould be clearly provided.

2. Sharing information about the companyand openly communicating withmanagers and employees at all levelson the crisis the business is goingthrough on profitability, growth,productivity, market share etc. Themessage must be clear that thecompany is in trouble and that its futureis in doubt unless drastic measurers aretaken. They should be told that thetrouble is real and an immediate changemust be made. The strategy for survivalmust be clearly communicated to helpdevelop a sense of participation andcommitment amongst all.

3. The articulation of concrete and visiblegoals-like gaining 30% market share orincreasing capacity utilization by 50% -against which progress can bemeasured, can instill a spirit of challengeamongst the rank and file.

4. Identifying one or two quicklydemonstrable areas of improvement andachieving areas of improvement andachieving results for all to see, in orderto restore confidence in the employeegroup. These successes, however minor,go a long way in demonstrating that thenew management means business. Thisis done by acts such as dropping a coupleof unprofitable product lines or halting alldiversification plans till the company'sfinancial position improves, or improvingcapacity utilization.

5. Imparting financial discipline by, forexample, efficient working capitalmanagement and cost effectivenessprogrammes. Another key area is tobreak down the broad plan of revitalizingthe business into actions requireddepartmentally, so that the tasks arespecific and clearly understood andfollow-ups are systematic.

Step 4: Arrive at Peace with theEnvironment - Internal and External

The management of change in a turnaround,situation is somewhat more tricky and calls

for a lot of tact while at the same timedemanding firmness. Unfiltered exchange ofinformation can at times cause a sense ofpanic even among managers. Similarly,changes initiated for revitalizing theorganization can meet with stiff resistancefrom unions. Quite often, insecurity andresistance stem from merely a lack ofinformation or provision of distortedinformation. Therefore, one of the mostimportant tasks in managing change is themitigation of such insecurity at all levels inan organization and fostering a climatewhere employees are able to express theirviews fearlessly. It is a fact that only the bosscan set a tone that lets people feelcomfortable enough to say those magicwords, "I don't know" followed by, "I'll findout." Business, after all, is nothing more thana bunch of human relationships.

Step 5: Lead from the front

If necessary, take a cut in salary in order toset an example. Practise austeritymeasures, because people watch the leaderand would be willing to follow only if theleader practices what he preaches. In otherwords, they look for congruence betweenthe leader's words and deeds. It is a factthat people accept a lot of pain if everybody'sgoing through the grind together. Ifeverybody is suffering equally, even amountain can be moved.

Step 6: Review Organization Structure

Most non performing companies have a sub-optimal structure. The organizational needshave to be reviewed and a leaner and fitterstructure should be implemented in order toimprove the speed of response. For effectivecrisis management in sick organizations,speed of response is very critical as theycan ill afford long chains of reportingrelationships and all the bureaucracy thatgoes with it. Four key parameters that needto be studied in order to determine theorganization structure are: span of control,the degree of specialization of managerialjobs, the extent of duplication between jobs,and the number of adhoc jobs that need tobe done.

Step 7: Motivation

The need for open, honest, and sensitiveyet freewheeling communication in layingdown the rules of fairness in the motivationgame cannot be overemphasized. Contraryto the common perception that coercive,authoritarian methods are required to turnaround a business, experience has shownthat greater success can be achieved bymotivating people. A clarion call from theleader for effecting change goes a long wayin creating amongst people a sense ofchallenge, a sense of participation and pridein a turnaround, and competition forexcellence greater. Operating autonomycoupled with fairly clearly defined

"Silver Jubilee Article"


responsibilities for performance, ensures therequired support from employees at alloperating levels.

The renewed goal orientation should belinked to performance evaluation of allmanagers, resulting in commensuraterewards. Thus the renewed goals becomea mission for the company management,and vigorous pursuit of this mission helps insustaining motivation.

It has to be recognized that money alone isnot a great motivator. In a turnaroundsituation, once the firm commitment of allthe team members is obtained,management appreciation of theirachievements and their being a part of ateam that created history is itself atremendous reward for them. Asking forsacrifice at a time of dire need should befollowed by readiness to be generous whentimes change, especially to employees atcertain levels for whom economic rewardsmean a lot.

Step 8: Entrepreneurial Spirit

The powerful change agent shouldencourage getting results through boldaction, risk-taking, participative decision-making, and emphasis on professionalismand innovation. Above all, entrepreneurialorientation should be fostered in order toprovide a good blend of professionalism andintuition in management.

Step 9: Management Styles

The acts of a powerful change agent haveconsiderable symbolic significance,especially during a turnaround. During theperiods of transition more than any othertime, members of the organization will belooking out for signals, watching for cues,inferring intents and motives to see whichway the organization is going. The cues thechange agent emits powerfully shape thestyle of management. These could be achange in style from authoritarian,conservative and bureaucratic to one oftaking on challenges, being open aboutissues and problems, and encouraging anentrepreneurial orientation.

THE LIPTON EXPERIENCE

In early 1981, Lipton India Limited hasincurred losses to the extent that two thirdsof its capital was wiped out and the verysurvival of its operations and the fate of alarge number of employees was at stake.Faced with a grim situation, the company'steam fought hard. It had to take a series ofhard decisions on costs and overheads.Everyone in the company - from a worker inthe factory, a salesman in the field or amember of the office staff, to the topmanagement-strained every sinew andmuscle to turn the business around. In threeshort but eventful years, they managed to

restore the original equity and reserves andthe company was back on the dividend list.Exports business once again boomed.

Some elements of the turnaroundstrategy mix were similar to the onesenunciated in the foregoing:

1. A new top management team wasformed of professionally trained Unilevermanagers who were hand-picked fortheir expertise in various functions. Thisteam transformed the work culture of thecompany into a vibrant professional one.

2. The new management establishedcredibility by being firm and fair indealings with union and employees,discontinuing unprofitable lines andconcentrating on quick-profit areas, andby a sharply reducing costs throughbetter working capital management andtax planning.

3. The cumulative effect of all these actionswas evident in the first quarter itself afterthe new management took over when amodest profit was registered. The newmanagement could demonstrate itmeant business and that it was result-oriented. This had a profound effect onthe morale of people at all levels.

4. There was a sense of participation andinvolvement in the survival strategywhich had clear-cut goals: recapture lostmarket share of packet tea, improvecapacity utilization in factories, andreturn to the dividend list by the thirdyear.

5. Professionalisation of management, Teabuying, accounting for 70% of the cost,and marketing were identified as keyimprovement areas, Professional werehired.

6. The chief executive forged a well-knitteam and assumed the role of a profit-centered head. He took charge offinance and raw materials and keptpersonal tabs on cash flow - the lifeblood of the business. The company'shistory shows that it is essential thatevery employee - and not only thosebearing the label 'manager' - should feelmotivated to give his best for thesuccess of the business. To achieve thisgoal and prepare people to adapt to thechallenges of a competitiveenvironment, the company increasinglyshared information about the state of thebusiness with sales personnel,supervisors, office and shop floorcolleagues.

Lipton's history also underscores the needfor a change in organizational structure torespond to the changing needs of thebusiness. After the acquisition of newbusiness in 1984, we found that ourdiversified portfolio required different skills

in different areas, and far more intensivemanagement to control the bottom line. Thusthe management committee responsibilitieswhich were till then shared functionally, werechanged to divisional accountability. Many ofour recent successes in turning aroundindividual businesses or launching newsbrands at high speed, reflect the advantagesof this step. This is periodically reviewed andmany aspects of our structure are questionedto ensure that we remain fighting fit.

In Lipton, managers were encouraged to beentrepreneurial and to take calculated risksrather than speculate, successes wereacknowledged, and failures, were treated aslessons to improve performance and gainexperience. This was a change from theearlier style of management where decisionswere made at the top and management wasnever delegated.

In conclusion, there are three phases ina turnaround strategy:

Phase 1: Identifying key areas forimprovement

If the warning signals have been ignored forsome reason and surgery has becomeimminent, quickly identify the key areas forassesting the haemorrages of losses withthe help of an outsider - either a consultantor a newly appointed operating CEO.

Phase 2: Formulating and implementingthe turnaround strategy

Formulate the turnaround strategy andimplement it with the participation andcommitment of managers at all operatinglevels.

Phase 3: Look beyond the Turnaround

Once the turnaround has been achieved andcommensurate rewards to all concernedhave been given, continuously monitor andensure the health of the company in allaspects viz.financial, market share,organization structure and people. This iscritical as there is no such thing as acompany being in the pink of health all thetime. On the other hand, complacency canquite often render healthy companiesvulnerable, particularly with respect to theorganization structure as there is atemptation to build up the organization whenthe company is doing well, allowing costs toovertake volumes.

One of the best ways of improving structuresis for the company boards to do a GreenfieldExercise in which they go back to zero baseand ask themselves which tasks and jobsthey would be prepared to pay for if thebusiness was theirs. Such a periodic healthcheck-up keeps the organization fit and trimand in a state of preparedness to meetcompetitive challenges.

*Mr. B R Shah is Chairman of Lipton IndiaLimited

"Silver Jubilee Article"


Cochin ChapterAugust Meeting on 26.08.09

Anil Kumar. K. Ph. D., Head, Departmentof HRM, Rajagiri School of Managementaddressed the members on Leading Fromthe Middle – The Curious Case of DynamicFollowers

More than 23 professional attended theNational HRD Network Cochin ChapterMonthly Professional Meeting. Followed bya power point presentation, Dr. Anilkumar,in his characteristic style, invited people totake part, in tits and bits, in conversationalstyle and participative mode. It was awonderful experience.

The presentation was followed bydeliberations and exchange of personalexperiences by the members with regardto people as followers. Student community,Senior HR professionals, and newGenprofessionals rendered variety ofexperiences, and shared in platform for all.Some of the members emphasized theneed to create effective followers in PSUs.Some others talked about the practicaldifficulties in Indian organizations ineffectively developing dynamic followers.The discussions were fruitful and themembers felt themselves enriched.

Cochin September EventMeeting on 11.09.09

Mr. George Kunnath,*ex-Director (HumanResources), MRF Ltd. addressed the 23-odd HR professionals in the HRD Network,Cochin Chapter on 11th September, 2009.

Programme was designed essentially to'involve' participants fully and make thecollective wisdom, experiences etc. of thewide variety of people. Their knowledge,skills and experience were weavedtogether. Mr. George stepped in, on and off,to make it lively, cheerful, and forthcoming.He 'steered through' excellently. Hisacademic bias came in, sometimes, to bringin memories of the past. It was also a Back-to-Basic' session too. We saw people takingnotes, as time went by. The benefit for eachand all was the vast amount of knowledgeand experience shared by almost all theparticipants. They all walked out much moreenriched, in all respects. The participantscame forth with their ideas, experiences,reflections, feelings, across the discussionforum, and made it a meaningful and fruitfuldialogue.

Resource Person briefly touched upon thetopic for few minutes. He elicited the viewsof th econcept "Learning" as it occured toeach. Some said. 'learning, 'unlearning','smell of new book', 'telling other want we

know', 'sharing knowldge and experience',etc., etc.

He sletched the various facets of learning.Adult learning is yet another. Pedagogy,Angragogy, Synergogy have to be clearlyundestood concepts for HR practice. Theexitement of a school boy receiving the firstset of books on the school opening day etc.was also remembered by each and everyparticpant.

Learning from teachers, gurukula system,learning from colleagues, learning fromchildren, learning from closer observationover/ of others/ events, discussions,imparting knowldge & experience to others,gaming, notes taking, simulations, fun &humour, formal & informal settings,reflections/ reflective thoughts & sharingthem with others, finding out newerdimensions, discussing further with othersin brainstorming sessions, listening to 'so-called orinary persons' and picking uplearning points, etc., etc. also form Learning.

*also with Mahindra & Mahindra Group, BombayDyeing & Mfg Co. Ltd., Xavier Institute ofManagement, before which he was closelyassociated with HRD Network and Indian Societyfor Training and Development.

Cochin October EventMeeting on 28.10.09

Mr. Kunjachan, Chairman and ManagingDirector of Arjuna Natural Extracts Ltd.addressed on “Learnings from the Life of aCEO”. He has created an excellent platformfor discussing on Learnings from the Lifeof a CEO. Subsequent to Mr. Kunjachan’sinputs on how he built this company overthe years, other 32-odd members had ahealthy deliberation and brought out thefollowing learning. It has also been foundthat all these learnings can be reflected inthe best organisations in the country andabroad.

The address was down-to-earth, verycasual, frank, innocent, and transparent.Enlisted others to share their experiences,and related their experiences. Mr. Baburaj,Head-HR of Harrison Malayalam summedup and concluded the proceedings.

It is heartening to note that HRD Network ispicking grounds in Cochin, enlisting widergroup interests, and in terms of numbers.

To inculcate Leadership, the following traitsare required. One of the most critical rolesof a leader is to retain the committed, highlyperforming employees to continue servingthe organisation.

• Openness

• Ability to accept mistake, gracefully

• Be empathic (learn to understandothers). The owner/MD or the leadershipat any level should meet the HR personat least once in a day. It helps him tounderstand issues and effectivelyrespond to the group, empathetically.

• Communicate effectively to build relations.Building relations pays off in long-term.

• Focus on Result Orientation:Commitment employees meansdifferent at different levels. At worker’slevel, we need to understand what theycan deliver and support them to deliverthe best. Using multiple yardsticks

• Showing path, consistently is critical forpeople in the organisation to walk thetalk.

• Perseverance and Patience are criticalfor leading business in difficult times

• Firm and fair. Being employee focuseddoes not indicate being soft. Tocommunicate with truthfulness andimplementing practices/processes to thebest of the organisation is critical.

The processes required to build qualityleadership are:

• Create small successes as successbuilds success

• Create a sense of urgency -meaningfully communicated andinvolved

• Leadership styles are different and aresituations.

• Keep Ego - the selfishness in anIndividual should not exist to buildrelationship

• Go to the shopfloor (learnings fromshopfloor can have a telling impact onthe decision making process)

• Build cross-functional learning - createopportunities for people from indirectdepartments such as finance/hr/production to go to market andunderstand customer.

More important, is the value leadership,which makes the company to sustain. Abilityto get connected to the grass-root withembedded value system helps theorganisation to sustain and build growth.Strength and synergy is gained from/ and toindividuals through the invisible thread called“leadership-in-empowered-situation”

All members appreciated how simplelearnings can create such profound outputs- within an hour’s interaction.

-summarised by Mr. Baburaj, Head-HumanResources, Harrison Malayalam Ltd.

We, in NHRDN Cochin Chapter intend topublish such proceedings, as monographs.


– K. Satyanarayana

Mr. K. Satyanarayana, Hon. Executive Director (Retd.), National HRD Network. He can be reached at: [email protected]

281. In A Weak Economy Unions CannotBe Strong

With only 13 percent of American workersnow represented by unions - the lowest insix decades - a sign that in a weak economythere cannot be strong labor unions,organized labor at corporations like Cintasbased in Cicinatti, nation's largest uniformrental company, employing 17,000 workersare planning to form a union as a way ofdemonstrating that the movement can regainits old strength. Like many other companies,Cintas is aggressively battling unionization.Its executives maintain that a union will bringantagonism to the ranks and undermineprofits, growth and spirit of cooperation. "Wehave a special culture here that would bejeopardized by the kind of hostile actions thatcharacterize the union's approach to dealingwith the company," a senior official said. Thecompany supplies uniforms to othercompanies and cleans mats, towels etc.

Many workers are unhappy because theyare paid less than $9 an hour while thecompany boasts that its revenues havegrown continuously for 33 years, but when

we ask for a raise, they say the company isnot doing well. One lady worker with thecompany for the last 13 years says that sheis embarrassed to work there and isashamed to admit that she earns just $8.20an hour. She says, "We need a union to helpus get a good salary and good insurance."Another lady worker complained that asupervisor had told workers that they shouldbe careful not to become pregnant or theycould be fired. One more worker grumbledabout earning $7.97 an hour and about ratsand roaches in the lunchroom.

Cintas has 365 plants across the countryand large numbers of employees areimmigrants from Mexico and other countrieswhere unions are popular. In its employeehandbooks, the company says it stronglyopposes unions. Executives note proudlythat workers at 49 plants, most acquiredfrom other companies, have voted to ousttheir unions. Cintas, which had revenues of$2.3 billion last year, spends hundreds ofthousands of dollars on labor consultantswho often tell employees that unions will sowdiscord and only want their dues money.

In the current battle, Unite is using 150organizers and spend at least $3 million. Ithas financed litigation accusing Cintas of notpaying overtime to its workers and of illegallyfiring workers for supporting a union,accusations that the company denies. Unitehopes to avoid elections and instead seeksto persuade management to grant unionrecognition through a process known as cardcheck neutrality. Under this procedure,management agrees not to campaignagainst the union and to grant recognitiononce a majority of workers sign cards sayingthey favor unionization. Company preferssecret ballot since union organizersmanipulate or coerce workers to sign cards.Company officials say that it provides a greatplace to work with competitive wages andbenefits like profit sharing and pensionplans. Many workers who oppose union say,"we have a very good management, if wehave any issue, we can walk into anymanager or even call the C.E.O. It is allopenness. Everybody works together for acommon goal."

(Source: The New York Times, May 31, 2003)

Fascinating Facts

Hydrabad Chapter - ‘Thursday Talks’December 2009

Theme for the month: ‘Employee Engagement’

Date Speaker Name Organization Designation

03.12.09 Dr. Prageetha Raju IBS Professor

10.12.09 Madan Mohan COD Associate

17.12.09 Srinivas Sangyam Polaris Head - HR

24.12.09 K. Pradeep Kumar ITW Signode Head - HRD

31.12.09 Amitabh Bhagat Franklin Templeton Head - HR

CITATION

‘This is one Chapter which has a rich historyand is known for its consistency. For manyyears the Chapter holds its meetings everyThursday, never cancelled or postponedand always started on time.

Key highlights:

1. Consistent and high standard ofgovernance

2. A remarkable library, a veritable stoveof books

3. Establishing an interactive website onweb2.0 platform which is integratedwith the national site

4. Strong focus on membership which isthe second highest number of membersadded and a significant contributor tothe HQ.

SPECIAL AWARD TO HYDERABAD CHAPTER AT THE 13TH NATIONALCONFERENCE AT MUMBAI - 27th November 2009

Innovative initiative:

The chapter architected a unique and highly acclaimed ‘Talent Management Conclave’ inassociation with ISB.

The National HRD network takes pleasure in recognizing Hyderabad Chapter for its ‘SpecialContribution’


Questions for Discussion.

Q.No.1. If you are the Sr.COO, what will youdo?

Ans. Many a time in the past, the Sr.COO wasin a dilemma on his decision for employing thiscouple. However, he had no regrets becauseof their excellent performance and ultimateresults. Keeping all these positive results inview, today he should take a crucial decisionto tell them that one of them should leave theorganization. He should also be prepared tosacrifice one of them and give the choice tothem who would leave. In case, they did notagree to his proposal, he should politely adviseboth of them to leave the organization. TheSr.COO was also aware that no particularperson was indispensable to the organization.

Q.No.2. If you are Pritam, what type ofdecision you will take?

Ans. Pritam was given an additional job ofmarket research analysis to improve consumersatisfaction and employee productivity whilereducing operating costs. With her deepinvolvement in this task, she progressed aheada lot which gave her great degree ofsatisfaction. Her task was still not completed.Her concentration at this stage was morenecessary as leader and she should sacrificethe occasion of the marriage of her husband'ssister.

Q.No.3. If you are Prakash, how will youreact?

Ans. Prakash's commitment was also equallyimportant. But he should positively attend themarriage of his sister and should convince hisparents respectfully on the circumstances underwhich Pritam could not attend the marriage. Heshould take his children along with him.

Q.No.4. What are the advantages anddisadvantages if married couple isemployed in the same company?

Ans. There are several advantages to thecompany. They can hire or allot an attractiveand spacious bungalow or a flat for both of themand thus can save on the cost of one morehouse. The company can also provide only onegood car for both of them with one chauffeur.Here also there will be a saving. Since bothhusband and wife will be travelling together,their communication system on the affairs oftheir company will be effective. They both willbe more loyal to the company. As far as thedisadvantages are concerned, I fully agree with

Employment of Married Couplein the Same Company-Hitches and Glitches

– Prof. Ravi Dharma Rao

Mr.V.Nagarajan whose solutions are given atthe end.

Q.No.5. What are the ideal professions fora married couple?

Ans. Teaching profession, medicalpractitioners, and lawyers are some examplesfor ideal professions for married couple. Marriedcouple engaged in their own business can alsolead as an ideal couple.

Q.No.6. How do you justify work-life-balance in this case?

Ans. Work-life balance is fundamental in naturewhen it comes to understanding andresponding to employees' needs. Work/lifebalance leads to better employee satisfactionand satisfied employee returns a lot to theorganization in terms of productivity andpositive work culture. Work-life balanceemployment practices are concerned withproviding scope for employees to balance whatthey do at work with the responsibilities andinterests they have outside work and soreconcile the competing claims of work andhome by meeting their own needs as well asthose of their employers. Today's corporateenvironment has posed with several newchallenges and problems for employees in theform of willful, constant change, wide variety ofjob responsibilities and uncertainties withincreasing pressures from ambiguouspersuasions to increase productivity. Theexecutives of today face the problem ofdeclined morale and exhaustion though themankind attained landmark improvements incommunication, transport and areas of science.The reason for this problem can be attributedto a syndrome of work/life imbalance. In India,the corporate should understand that theirexecutives are their wealth and strength andthey should be taken care of well. A fewcompanies here have experimented underwork-life balance systems such as 'flexi-work','flexi-time', 'compressed work week', 'job-sharing'. etc. For stressed employees in questof balancing work and personal lives, time isnearly as important as money. In these days ofcut-throat competition era, high workplaceflexibility can be a key strategic factor fororganizations in attracting and retaining themost talented people. Benefits claimed for aflexible workplace include increasedproductivity, improved recruitment and retentionof employees, and enhanced companyreputation. Work-life programmes also includechild care, elder care and special leave

schemes which provide employees with thefreedom to respond to a domestic crisis withoutjeopardizing their employment status. In thiscase study, work-life balance was notproportionate. Whenever, they had availedleave, either individually or jointly, they wererestive. By working in the same organization,they had more problems rather than havingadvantages. Certain misunderstandings alsoarose in their conjugal relationship.

The author wishes to acknowledge with thanksto Mr. V.Nagarajan, Sr.DGM -HR, TTK PrestigeLimited, HOSUR, who has sent his solutionsto the case study, which I am producing below:

1. As Sr.COO I would suggest one of them toattend reception and come back and theother to attend the wedding afterwards-which would satisfy the family requirementsand both would have done justice to theirjobs and personal/domestic requirementsalso.

2. As Pritam I would have blamed my fateand discussed with Prakash for somealternative arrangement to attend thewedding and convey an excuse thruPrakash to the family for not being able toattend the wedding.

3. As Prakash I would have taken thesuggestion of Pritam and acted afterblaming the ultimate fact that both werenot able to attend the weeding together.

4. Advantages to company: Making /receiving telephone calls can be reduced.As a matter of prestige one will vie witheach other in their respective professionin the company. Both will be on time to thecompany to avoid banging by Bosses; ForPurchase of house or any household itemsboth will apply housing loan and each willbe collateral security to the other. Theycan't leave the job abruptly or absent.

Disadvantages: For any given functionboth will apply leave which will affect thework. If one is affected by fever the otherspouse has to apply leave and help theother. If one of the spouses is reprimandedthe other will show his/hers discontentmentor will get offended.

5. Teaching and Postal departmentemployment are the ideal professions fora married couple.

6. Sheer adjusting nature, good temperamentand accommodative attitude between thecouple will bring in work life balance. �H

Suggested Solutions to Case Study No.33.

Prof. R. Dharma Rao, Head, HR, ICBM. He can be reached at: [email protected]


Electronics from Ravenshaw College,Cuttack and an MBA from Delhi Universitywith major in International Trade,International Financial Management andIndustrial Management. Apart from handlingvery significant profiles in Orissa, he hasserved the Government of Bihar, Ministry ofDefence-New Delhi and Ministry ofConsumer Affairs, Food & Public Distributionas Additional Secretary and FinancialAdvisor, Government of India and SpecialSecretary, Ministry of Power, Governmentof India, New Delhi.

Sri Padhi is known for his prowess incommunication which has always captivatedhis audiences. He spoke on a veryinteresting topic - "Right to Information forfuture managers". This topic has beendrawing attention from all quarters.

The talk was followed by meeting of NHRDNmembers of Bhubaneswar Chapter.

BARODASee Page No. 54

CHENNAISee Page No. 57, 58

COCHINSee Page No. 46

DELHIReport on Page No. 42 and Photographson Page 56

HOSURNHRD, HOSUR CHAPTER OCTOBERMEETING

The monthly meeting of NHRD, HOSURChapter for the month October was held on13th October, 2009 at the Ashok LeylandManagement Development Centre, Sipcot,Hosur.

To start with, the participants of the sessionobserved 2 minutes silence to condole theuntimely demise of Mr.ROY J.George, theH.R Head at Coimbatore based autocomponent manufacturer Pricol onSeptember 22, 2009.

The gathering also observed 2 minutessilence to condole the untimely death of theNHRD member Mr.Munirathnam.

AGRAWelcome to new life member

1. Mr. Manish Gupta, Dy. Registrar, ShardaGroup of Institutions, Mathura

BANGALOREThe Monthly event was held on Monday,26th October at Hotel Chancery Pavilion.

It was truly observed that "When you wantto grow higher look deep inside". What alsocan really be helpful in these times ofturbulence is a pure "wisdom". The twospeakers for the October Monthly meetingof Bangalore chapter were our own long-standing members who shared theirwisdom, which had come from their deepstudy of the subjects they spoke about.

Mr. H S Shama Sundar spoke on "Lessonsfrom the Epics for Talent Developments"which was interesting, insiteful as well asrelevant. He presented the nine lessons thatwill help corporate to create, build retaintalent. There were meaningful insights likehow Chintan ,Manam, Smaran and Bhajancan be adopted by corporate.

Mr. Rajshekar Krishnan from IBM on theother hand made a presentation on howindividual can bring forth "The power of sixthsense ".

Both the presentations were very relevantfrom individual growth and elicited a lot ofanimated interaction between the speakersand the participants.

BHUBANESWARACTIVITIES ORGANISED IN THEMONTHLY MEETING OF NHRDN,BHUBANESWAR CHAPTER AT 6.30 PMON 14th NOV, 2009 AT BHARATIYA VIDYABHAVAN

The monthly meeting of NHRDN,Bhubaneswar Chapter for the month ofNovember was convened on 14thNovember, 2009 at 6.30 pm at BharatiyaVidya Bhavan. The evening started with atalk by guest speaker, Hon'ble ChiefInformation Commissioner, Orissa, theeminent Sri Dhirendra Nath Padhi, who isalso a former member of the IAS.

Sri Padhi has been a visiting fellow at OxfordUniversity, UK during the full academic year1991-92 and worked on "India-EuropeanUnion Trade Relations". He is a Master ofScience in Physics with specialization in

Chapter NewsThe sponsor of the evening session M/sUpdater Services (P) Limited, Chennaimade a brief presentation on the 'facilityServices' provided by them in all areas ofHuman resources. Mr.K.G. Manikandan,Regional Manager, UDS stole the sessionwith his humorous presentation of the UDSservices.

The main programme started with theWelcome address by Mr.Alphonse, Presidentof NHRD Hosur Chapter who also introducedthe Speaker of the session Mr.M.S.Vadiraja,aleading Trainer and Managing Partner ofUNISOURCE, Bangalore. Mr.Israel Inbarajhonoured the chief guest by handing over acolourful Bouquet.

Mr.M.S. Vadiraja spoke on "LeadershipDevelopment through MBTI" for Role andTeam Effectiveness in Organisations. Whileexplaining the MBTI- (MYERS-BRIGGSTYPE INDICATOR), the speaker describedthat it is a model of personality that gives usinsight into how and why people understandand approach the world in different ways.MBTI has the background of research andapplication for more than five decades;

Mr.V.Nagarajan, chapter Vice-Presidentsummed up the speech and delivered Voteof Thanks. Mr.M.Ravindran, ChapterTreasurer presented the Chief Guest with amemento on behalf of the NHRD HosurChapter. The session ended with the recitingof the National Anthem. Mr.Bhalajie was theco-ordinator for the entire session.

November Meeting

The NHRD Hosur Chapter, Monthly meetingfor November held on 10TH November’09was hosted by M/s Renaissance GrandSarovar Portico Group of Hotels at theirpremises.

The programme started with the prayer songsung by Mr.Ravindran, the ChapterTreasurer. Mr.Vineeth of Renaissance Hotelwelcomed the gathering. Chapter VicePresident Mr V Nagarajan introduced theSpeaker. Mr. N Sekar, Joint Secretaryformally received him on the dias. This wasfollowed by a brief presentation by Mr. PaulJames of PSCS Consultants about hisorganization and the unique trainingprogram titled “Insights for Harmony” whichis happening in Hosur in December. M/sPSCS Consultants were co-sponsors for themeeting. After Chapter President Mr.Alphonse’s key note address, the mainspeaker of the day Mr. Sabu Paul deliveredhis presentation on the topic “Competencybased learning–A Key to successfulorganization”.



Key Learnings: Bottlenecks in a normallearning system:

� Resistance to change on the part ofemployees (Trainees) � Absence of alearning environment in the organization

Features of a Competency BasedLearning System Competency includes:Knowledge, Skills and Attributes.Competency cannot be improved throughregular Training and development activitiesalone. Types of competencies addressed:Technical, Behavioral, Functional, andOccupational Process: Assessment–findinggap–Bridging–evaluation–monitoring.Design & Implementation: Analyse–build acompetency model–design–implementation–evaluation. What and HowApproach Coaching/Mentoring.

PLAN WELL–MATCH THE RESOURCES-INVOLVE TOP MANAGEMENT FROMTHE BEGINNING TO END–GET THEIRSUPPORT–MEASURE THE RESULTS–REPLAN AND PLUG THE GAPS

The presentation was followed by theinteractive session. The speaker wasfelicitated by Mr Robert, the Chapter VicePresident.

HYDERABADSee Page No. 47 - Hyderabad WinsSpecial Award

Inducted into Hyderabad ExecutiveCommittee

L Prabhakar

Head - Human Resources

ITC Limited - Agri Business Division

31, Sarojini Devi Road

Secunderabad - 500 003

[email protected]

JAIPURSee Page No. 40

KOLKATANovember 6, 2009 marked another greatevening for Kolkata Chapter when we werehonoured by two esteemed speakers. OurPresident and VP HR of EvereadyIndustries, Mr. Sujoy Banerjee, welcomedour guests and introduced our first speakerfrom Mumbai.

Mr. Rajesh Padmanabhan from NHRDNMumbai Chapter visited us and enlightenedus with the details of the upcoming 13thNational Conference in Mumbai. After ashort break for some great snacks andcoffee, Mr. Sujoy Banerjee introduced ourspeaker of the evening, Mr. AshokMukherjee.

Mr. Mukherjee's profile:

Ashok Mukherjee is Vice President, HR withTata Consultancy Services (TCS). He holdscharge of the global HR compliance &governance portfolio and has intermittentlyspent seven years managing TCS HR in theUSA.

As visiting faculty in India, Ashok has taughtat the Xavier Institute of Management,Bhubaneshwar, the Army Institute ofManagement, Kolkata, and the prestigiousJamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management,Mumbai. He has also attended a weeklongprogramme in Harvard Business School. Heis a certified Senior Professional HumanResources (SPHR) from Society of HumanResource Management, Virginia, USA.

Setting up a Global HR Compliance.

Mr. Mukherjee started with the 'Basics' andsaid that "Compliance is a process". It has2 dimensions - Regulatory (external) andPolicy (internal). Regulations includeemployment laws, labour laws andimmigration. Non-regulatory or behaviouralcompliance includes security, ethics,policies, etc. We have to abide by both.

Talking about the necessity of havingcompliance, he said that with globalizationof organizations, there is an increased needfor workforce mobility, more stringentgovernance and compliance requirements;and ever greater pressure to improve.However, there is no defined area forcompliance in HR and it can be done eitherproactively or reactively. It should always beproactive because if you are reacting, itmeans that you have already received noticefrom the regulatory agency or lawyers.

The importance of compliance is shown bythe survey results which show that 61% ofthe company, who were surveyed, said thattheir HR heads were members of CorporateCompliance Committee or CCC; but eventoday in India it is a HR responsibility, butnot always a HR function.

Elaborating about laying the foundation, Mr.Mukherjee mentioned that in Corporate HR,there should be a dedicated Legal Dept.Then there is a corporate HR Dept. The HRtraditional model included the strategic partand the admin part. In the evolving model,global compliance is also included, withpeople in one place taking care of the globalcompliance throughout the world.

The most important thing to remember is thatthe managers have to be made responsiblefor the compliance and given the requiredtraining. Legal knowledge is the mainfunctional skill needed in this regard.

Mr. Mukherjee then enlightened us abouthow TCS build their compliance step by step,by taking one country at a time and learningthe HR laws pertinent to their business. Theydefined auditable evidence of compliance,got it checked by an outside lawyer and then

made a matrix of the laws. The responsibilityand accountability was then given to theappropriate people and compliance wasmaintained by monitoring changes ordevelopments in the laws.

For e.g. FLSA or Fair Labour Standards Actin US is a Federal Law that is extremelyimportant. Any changes are monitored andalerts sent to all responsible managers,senior managers and anybody else who areresponsible.

TCS has developed its own online tool formonitoring compliance. This tool has beenimplemented for India and is being currentlyenhanced to cover all locations worldwide.The tool facilitates uploading evidence ofcompliance with each law so thatmanagement is aware of the status ofcompliance for each location. After itssuccess in India, it will be implementedglobally from next year. Globally 506 lawsare being monitored.

Litigations can never be avoided, even if youare 100% compliant, especially in foreigncountries. However, it really helps to auditthe compliance functions. Tracking auditsand closing them is extremely important forHR.

Mr. Mukherjee concluded by describingsome key challenges for Global Compliance,namely:

� Educating managers

� Language barriers

� Keeping track of regulatory changes

� Managing more complex businessmodel

He explained all the theoretical aspects withbrilliant lucidity but underlined the mostimportant part at the end - compliance,accountability, governance are excellentparameters , that revolve around the mostprecious asset of the organization - itspeople.

It was indeed a privilege for NHRDN KolkataChapter to learn from this veteran and theChapter expressed its gratitude with a smallmemento and flower bouquet.

NAGPURSee also page 55

NAGPUR CHAPTER ORGANISES ASESSION ON "OB IN HRD"

On 08 Nov 2009, Nagpur Chapter organiseda session on "Out Bounds in HRD" at PrideHotel Nagpur. In this session, the speakersMr. Nicholas Conceicao, Executive Director,Outward Bound, Singapore and Mr. LewisGlenn, Outward Bound Trainer from USAspoke about the HRD training pedagogiesused by trainers for multi-nationalCorporations (MNCs) in USA andSingapore. They brought it out theimportance of Out Bounds Training in human



resources development. Mr. NicholasConceicao said that the use of OB is mosteffective training pedagogy in HRD. It takesout the employee from the comfort zone andputs him in simulated environment ofchallenge and risk, which gives him aneffective learning of communication, co-operation, trust, conflict resolution andproblem solving. Mr. Levis Glenn hasbrought it out that the they have observed,in a day long training the lessons on teambuilding, communication etc., can be buildup, however, for leadership development alonger period up to 21 days may be requiredto bring the effective change in theparticipants. Mrs. Vinda Warhadpande,General Secretary, Nagpur Chapterwelcomed the speakers. Dr. SV Gole, oneof the founder members of Nagpur Chaptermoderated the whole session. Mr.Shailendra Nath, Director, NADP, honouredthe guests. Mr. S Bhalerao, VP, HRD fromGammon India informed the expectations ofaudience to the speakers and also gavevarious clarifications on the topic. Dr. CVChalapatirao, proposed the vote of thanks.The programme was convened under thedynamic leadership of Sh. Arvind Jain, Sr.VP, Indorama Synthetics (I) Ltd andPresident Nagpur Chapter by Prof. ShyamShukla, Director, Central Institute ofBusiness Management Research &Development. The programme wasorganised in association with Out BoundsBharat. Mr. Nikhil Mundle, Mr. AvinashDeoskar and Mr. Sudhir Moharir from OutBounds Bharat also brought it out theirexperiences of OB in Indian Context.

PATNAACTIVITIES OF PATNA CHAPTER

22.10.09- A networking dinner was arrangedin A.M. Prasad's Library Hall garden.Mrs.and Mr. Piyush Sinha of IIM Ahmedabadwere the Chief guest.

6.11.09- A round table discussion onDomestic Violence was held in thePresident's house.Mrs. Mamta Malhotra,aprominent social activist spoke on theoccasion.The topic was Domestic Violence.

12.11.09- A delegation of HRD members metSwati Piramal, President Assocham todiscuss about the ways and means todevelop Bihar.

13.11.09- An IT Conference Infocom 2009-10 was held in Patna on 12th and 13th inwhich HRD Patna Chapter was representedby a presentation from the Secretary,Mr.M.K. Sinha.

17.11.09- HRD delegation met Mr. NandanNilekeni in Chandra Gupta Institute ofManagement,Patna and discussed with himthe importance of empowerment of peopleat the grassroots through UID Project.

20.11.09- A lecture was arranged in PowerGrid Corporation in which Mr. JyotiSinha(Rtd.Special Secretary to Govt. ofIndia) spoke on the Initiatives taken for thedevelopment of human resource at thelowest rung of the society.

PUNE"Good Vibrations"

NHRD, Pune held a session on GoodVibrations, By Dr. Barbara Galyen.

People all over the world tend to focus oncultural "differences" rather than look at howto genuinely connect at a basic human level.Regardless of race, color, or creed, peoplecan learn how to build relationships andcommunicate effectively with others by usingthe scientific principles of "good vibrations."

The impact of creating relational presenceand managing energy can significantlychange the ways people relate with eachother and feel about their connections. Thisinteractive, uplifting session looked atstrategies that could be applied in anyprofessional or personal setting.

Using videos and photographs, Barbaraprovided real life examples from severalcountries demonstrating how this strategyworks. Telling one compelling story from theBeijing Olympics, she shared a personalexperience of watching an athlete walk awaywith the GOLD significantly attributed to thedevelopment of "good vibrations."

The session covered utilizing energies andemerging as winners in today's competitiveage.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Barbara Galyen is the founder and CEOof "Bridge the Gap Consulting, Inc" - aninternational company that offers consulting,training, and coaching around the globe.Having lived in India for eight years and othercountries for more than twenty years,Barbara offers the unique opportunity forparticipants to learn from her "on-the-ground" experiences in the corporate, UnitedNations, and non-profit worlds. Her travelshave taken her many places including China,Afghanistan, Rwanda, Russia and CostaRica. There are few countries that she hasn'teither worked in or visited yet.

A master's degree in Counseling, doctorate inOrganizational Leadership, and continuedprofessional development keep her up-to-datewith recent research in personaltransformation and organizationaldevelopment. Her work focuses on both thebehavioral and structural aspects oforganizations. With her understanding of manydifferent cultures and broad work in teambuilding, leadership development, crossingcultures, and managing change, she offersinnovative, practical tools to build meaningfulrelationships and successful results.

"Bridge the Gap Consulting, Inc" works withan entire team of independent associatesaround the world. Our backgrounds,experience, and collaborative techniqueshave created tremendous possibilities onmany continents!

Pune Chapter Core Committee Meeting

The Core committee with a few membersmet to discuss and formulate a plan of actionto achieve the 3yr high-vision plan whichwas drafted at a previous meeting.

The exercise was initiated by Ms. AnuWakhlu and attended by ex-officio, presentcommittee and few other members.

The meeting concluded with a clear directionof initiatives and Plan of action for the team

RANCHINational HRD Network (NHRDN), RanchiChapter had organised a hi-octane Sundaytalk on Personal Effectiveness, Concerns,Issues and Way-Outs by Shri Ajay Agarwal,an eminent Management Consultant.Ranchi Chapter of NHRD Network is theleading national body outfit in Jharkhand forpromoting education, research anddevelopment in the domain of humancapability-building. Shri S P Patnaik,Executive Director (HRD), SAIL andPresident, NHRDN, Ranchi put immensefaith and dynamism in participation anddevelopment of students of differentmanagement and technical streams inRanchi through series of such programmesduring their formative stage. As a result, theprogramme was well attended by more than250 participants from Department ofManagement ,Birla Institute of TechnologyMesra, XISS, ISM Pundag and NIFFT.

A number of senior officials and dignitariesfrom the leading public and private sectororganisations viz. SAIL-RDCIS, CET, SSO,CCL, CMPDI, Coal India Limited and IndianInstitute of Coal Management , MECON andHEC Ltd have attended the programme. Thiswas the first time that the whole team ofsenior teachers from Delhi Public Schooland Jawahar Vidya Mandir attended aprogramme conducted by National HRDNetwork fostering the faith by the power-talkof Mr Agarwal. Mr Bishwajit Chowdhury,Hon. Secretary of the Chapter offered thevote of thanks.

VIZAGNHRDN Vizag Chapter Lecture MeetingNews

NHRDN Visakhapatnam chapter organizeda lecture and felicitation function on 18-11-2009 at 6.30 pm at Hotel Daspalla inassociation with the local chapters of ISTD,NIPM and VMA. Prof. Vinayshil Gautam, IITDelhi as a Chief Guest made a presentation


Quiz CornerQuestions - December 2009:

1) Which is the leading internet based search engine in Russia?2) What is the name , given to the inverse relationship between

tax rates and tax collections?3) Who said this-"Half the money I spend on advertising is

wasted, and the trouble is I don't know which half.'4) Nokia, recently had used a large scale interactive process, to

develop a new set of values, to provide direction to thecompany. What was that process called?

5) Identify this personality and the company he owns andmanages. His grandfather was the founder of Bank of Maduraand this personality is his grandson.

6) In which country, is it illegal for its citizens to own a tunable radio?7) What is the concept of 'flow', in employee engagement, as defined by the American

Psychological Association?8) What is the last question in the Great Places to Work Institute's Annual survey of top

employers?9) What is the brand name of the outlets, opened by the RPG Group, to retail books and

related items?10) In Retailing, who is referred to as 'night owls?'

Col. P Deogirikar, Indore [email protected]

CARTOON CORNER

Quiz Master:

1] It is the 'moment' when 'everything' falls into place. Psychologists call it 'insight.' 'Ahasolutions' are ALL or None (rather than the solutions that evolve/accumulate slowly overtime). It has also been correlated with activation in right cerebral hemisphere of the brain(Bowden &J Beeman) & hypocampus (J Beeman & Kazuhisa) 2] Between 1 and 2% oftotal number of seafarers (2003 ILO) 3] a) 22.4% of population (China) b) 7.1% of population(India) 4] Harvard Business School 5] Systems Thinking (Theory of Constraints) - 'TheGoal' by Elayu Goldratt 6] Affirmative action b)Understanding differences c)ManagingWorkforce diversity d)Strategic Diversity Management 7] Lectern 8] Kurt Lewin (alongwith WR Bion & J Rickman) 9] Aditya Birla Group 10] The Bombay Store (1906)

Answers to Questions of November 2009:

Mr. P Vijayan, Director-HR, CHEP India, MumbaiE-Mail: [email protected]

Hope this software company guysdo not come to know that we areactually the HR guys from thecompetitor with a task of paintingthe mosquitos black and white andnot killing for our campaign tospread rumours of dengue menacehere?

on "Reflections on OrganizationalEffectiveness". In this meeting Sri Y.Manohar, Director-Personnel, RINL wasfelicitated for being elected as the NationalPresident, ISTD.

Sri PMMG Krishna, GM-Admn., RINL andPresident, ISTD Vizag Chapter, presided themeeting and Presidents of otherassociations are on the Dias and felicitatedSri Y. Manohar. Dr. Demudu, Secretary,ISTD welcomed the gathering and theguests to the dias. Sri DVS Murthy,Secretary, VMA proposed vote of thanks.Nearly 100 members participated.

Prof. Vinaysil Gautam, former NationalPresident, ISTD, expressed his happinessto people of Visakhapatnam particularly tothe professional associations inVisakhapatnam, for the great honor that isbeing given to Sri Y. Manohar as thepresident of the prestigious body like ISTD.This is the first time that the nationalpresident is from Visakhapatnam.

VIJAYAWADASee Page No. 53

WARANGALA Report on NHRD talk at Warangal chapter.on 21-11-2009, at Masterji Degree & PGCollege by Ram Chander Maddela.( CEO -PRANTEC PVT LTD, www.udyogi.in )

Monthly NHRD talk on "Achievementmotivation for budding managers" wasattended by more than 72 profeesionals,faculty& students from various colleges andmembers of NHRD, Warangal chapter. Mr.Ram Chander Maddela,CEO - PRANTECPVT LTD, www.udyogi.in

gave some valuable inputs on importanceof achievement motivation. Mc Clleland'sneed achievement concept was stressedupon, to make the participants understandand differentiate the need for power,affiliation and achievement. He conducteda Thematic Apperception test to understandachievement motivation of the participantsand made them to aware about variousfactors involved in it. Eventually participantswho were expected to be the buddingmanagers of the corporate world weremotivated to concentrate on need forachievement, which will place them on newhorizons. Embracing the achievementmotivation would enable students to becomeentrepreneurs and business leaders.Different illustrations given and studiespresented highlighted the significance ofachievement motivation and its role in thedeveloping of a budding manager.Thereafter an activity was conducted related

to achievement motivation to make themunderstand the concept in depth. Inconclusion, students were enlightened tobecome entrepreneurs and businessleaders and achieve great heights in theirfuture endeavors.

The program hosted by Mr.S.Sunder Raj,secretary of Masterji Degree & PG College,ainstituional member of NHRDNetwork,warangal chapter.

Dr.Banda Prakash,President of the chapter,Prof.Bhavani Prasad, Vice President of theChapter ,Dr.Mohan Rao and SinivasDulipala, treasurer of the chapter tookinitiative to conduct this meeting successfullyand enrolled for new members.

As a token of respect the participants paidtheir tribute to Late Prof Ravi Prakash.S,Department of Commerce and BusinessManagement, Kakatiya University,Warangalfor his contribution to the society.

As per the monthly schedule the next talkwould be on every third Saturday and thevenue of next talk is on 19.December.2009at ITM,Warangal.


"Human Resource Management (HRM) isat the heart of, and the heartbeat of, acompany. It is the most important asset of acompany, especially during turbulent times,"said M. Gopala Krishna, in his key noteaddress in a seminar on "Creative HRM forCorporate Excellence" organized byDepartment of Business Administration, PB Siddhartha College, Vijayawada inassociation with the National HRD Network,Vijayawada Chapter. He pointed out thatstrategic and intellectual inputs come fromHRM.

Speaking about creativity, he said it was anoffshoot of insight, focus and finesse."Creativity must result in innovation andinnovation is doing things in a novel way. Itresults in value addition. Corporateexcellence is nothing but excelling oneselfand exceeding the expectations of thecustomers and this comes only from theability to change and see certainty inuncertainty," he emphasised.

He said HRM had the power to transformthe 'swabhava' of people into 'swakarma'and 'swadharma'. "Excellence also meansadherence to truth, trust and transparencyand to continuously raise one's ownstandard. Build your core competence andaim for customer-centric growth andemployees-centric change," he advised. Mr.Gopala Krishna said proficiency ofemployees must become efficiency of workand this efficiency, in turn, must become thebiggest asset of a company.

Doling out tips to students, he said if theyfollowed with honesty their home work, hardwork, smart work, team work and network,there wouldn't be any stumbling block in theirall-round development. He said one mustfocus on developing leaders who have a firmfocus on change management.

A key driver of organizational performanceand building High PerformanceOrganizations is the Creative HRM was theview expressed by Mr. R. Ganguli, seniorDirector (HR), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd.According to him successful highperformance organizations differentiatethemselves from the rest by not only havinga robust Performance ManagementProcess, but creating a High Performanceculture, where employees are not only clearin terms of expectations and deliverables,but also know what organizational behaviorswill be rewarded or not.

Mr K. Pradeep Kumar, head of the HR, ITWIndia Ltd. has presented the epace systemwhich has been practiced in theirorganization making their employees awareof their performance online in a continuousmanner.

According to Sri K.J.A. Swarup, DGM (HR),ITC Ltd., business environment is witnessingwinds of change and competition is gettingstiffer, organizations are constantly lookingfor ways to improve organizationalperformance in terms of their deliverablesto the key stakeholders like shareholders,customers and employees. He also stressedthe need for engaging the employees in ameaningful way so that they take theownership of the processes they handle.

Accoring to Sri K. Satyanarayana, honoraryExecutive Director (Retd) of the NationalHRD Network,

� Companies no longer offer careers.People create their own careers

� Society is always taken by surprise at anynew example of commonsense.

� The only guarantee is that there are noguarantees

� Markets even entire industries candisappear overnight.

He asked the participants to give athought to the following HRM Practices:

� Why do we need Time Offices andPunching clocks?

� Why do we need reserved parking?

� Why do we need cabins with doors?

� Why do we need to differentiate ourhuman assets as officers and workers?

� Why do we need to frisk workers atgates?

� Can we think of Paternity Leave?

� Is it necessary to commute on all days?

Vice-president of Siddhartha Academy SriB.S. Apparao inaugurated the seminar. DrRajesh C Jampala, Professor & Head, Deptof Business Administration, P B SiddharthaCollege, Vijayawada presented the themeof the seminar. Nearly 400 delegatesincluding management students, businessconsultants, and faculty members of variousmanagement institutes participated in theseminar.

All ears: Participants keenly listening to theaddress on 'Creative HRM for CorporateExcellence' by retired civil servantM. Gopalakrishna

Resource Persons of the seminararraving at the venue

Sri B S Apparao, Vice President, SiddharthaAcademy Inaugurating the Seminar

Sri K Satyanarayana, Hon Executive Director(Retd) NHRD Network lighting the lamp

Sri M Gopala Krishna deliveringKey Note Address

Seminar on: Creative HRM for Corporate ExcellenceOrganized by: Department of Business Administration

P.G.Centre, P.B.Siddhartha College, Vijayawada

In association with: National HRD Network, Vijayawada Chapter4th November, 2009


Welcome note by Mr.Bharat Mehta -PresidentNHRDN Baroda Chapter

Introduction by Mr.Anil Krishali -SecretaryNHRDN Baroda Chapter

Dignitaries Seated on the Dias

Audience engaged in presentation Ms.Namrata Iyer from E&Y makingPresentation

Mock Group Discussion in progress

“Cracking Campus Interviews” by Baroda Chapter A Presentation by Ms.Namrata Iyer of Ernst & Young toStudents of Faculty of Social Work on 14th Nov-2009.

The Economy slow down of 2008 has drastically affected the hiring of people across the globe & India is not an exception.During 2008, there was huge reduction in campus placements. Due to this, there is a growing anxiety in the minds of finalyear students for campus placements. In order to address this vital issue for students and academic world, NHRDN BarodaChapter decided to organize a unique programme called “Cracking Campus Interviews” in collaboration with Ernst & Youngand MS University. The programme was organized on 14th November 2009 at Faculty of Social Work, M. S. University,Baroda where about 100 final year students of MSW, MHRM, and DHRM participated.

The event was inaugurated by Dr. Aruna Khasgiwala Dean Faculty of Social Work & Mr. Bharat Mehta President, NHRDNBaroda Chapter. Mr. Bharat Mehta while explaining the purpose of this event conveyed the students that there is always ashortage of talent in the market and therefore students should work hard to be competitive. Dr. Aruna Khasgiwala thankedNHRD Baroda for organizing such a useful event for the students.

Ms. Namrata Iyer, Manager E & Y, Mumbai conducted the entire event to educate the students about the expectations fromthe students during selection process (Group Discussion & Personal Interview etc). She also took students through MockGroup Discussion & Mock Personal Interview and guided for improvement.

Bharat Goswami of the chapter whose brainchild was this programme, concluded the session with Vote of thanks.

Students found this interaction very useful for getting them prepared for the campus placements. The positive feedbackfrom the students & their active participation throughout the programme was showcasing the effectiveness of programme.

Mock Personal Interview in Progress Students presenting Boquet to the FacultyMs.Namrat Iyer

Vote of Thanks by Mr.Bharat Goswami - ECMNHRDN Baroda Chapter


It was Oktoberfest Club Night. My recentlymarried friend was drunk. His sweet littlewife, coming from a conservative family afew months back had never seen anythinglike this. Now it was time to head home. Sherefused to go with him, kept saying I will gowith bhaiya (ie. me). He kept saying she hasto go with him. It was tending to get violent.

Counseling Newly Weds– Ratnakar Misra

Mr. Ratnakar Misra is vice President, Patna Chapter of National HRD Network. E-Mail: [email protected]

So I told her to go with him I will followclosely. She finally agreed.

Reaching home, my friend, with my help,reached the divan and fell down, fast asleep.I asked the shocked wife to remove his shoeand belt. And let him sleep, he will be ok inthe morning. Give him coffee or tea whenhe wakes up. Please lock the door and relaxwhen I go, and get a good sleep. And don'tfight in the morning. Pretend nothinghappened.

She learnt fast. In another club night, she

came to me and started getting angry withme. I have seen you enter the bar 4 timesand you came every time with drinks. Howcan you do that? I told her that I take cokewithout rum but I get it from the bar so thatpeople think I am taking rum. I do it for PR.Let me see, and she took the glass andtasted it. Oh, she said it is just coke. Shenever doubted me again. I told her not totell anyone, it is a question of my reputation.

After all, there are responsibilities of ateetotaler. �H

Dear Chapter Coordinators and Members,

The offline database of Members and Non-Members hitherto being maintained by theundersigned will be maintained by Mr. MohitGandhi, Executive Director with effect from1st January, 2010.

All the Chapter Coordinators and Members

“Dewang Mehta Business School Award 2009” to Dr.Amishi Arora,the Founder President of Nagpur Chapter

Dr.Amishi Arora, Director, Datta Meghe Institute of Management Studies has been awardedfor the prestigious “Dewang Mehta Business School Award 2009. Dr.Amishi Arora is the firstlady to receive this Women Leadership Award.

This award was conferred on 05th November’2009 at Taj Land End, Mumbai in the 17thDewang Mehta Business School Award Ceremony.

The Jury had decided to honour Dr.Amishi Arora, Director, Datta Meghe Institute ofManagement Studies. This is the highest recognition for work in B School across India. Theaward is in recognition of leadership, development, innovation and industry interface ofBusiness School.

Dr.Amishi Arora has done MBA from Nagpur University having more than 18 years of teachingand industry experience. She has ample research papers to her account mainly focusing on current market trends and other businessdevelopment aspects. She has some publication by her name. She is also the founder president of National Human Resource DevelopmentNetwork Nagpur Chapter. She is the editorial advisor to Business Management Chronicle Publications.

DATABASE (OFFLINE) MAINTENANCE FROM 1st JANUARY 2010are requested to send notifications of newadditions of members and Non Membersand also the changes in the same Excelformat with effect from 1st January 2010 toMr. Mohit Gandhi on his e-mail [email protected]

All Chapter Coordinators and members are

requested to extend the same cooperationto Mr. Mohit Gandhi that I received all theseyears.

K Satyanarayana,Executive Director (Retd)

K Srinivasa Rao Life Member of Warangal Chapter Awarded Ph.D. in HRMK Srinivasa Rao (Membership No. L/WGL/0019/2006 E-Mail: [email protected]) has been awardedwith Ph.D in Human Resource Management from Dept. of Public Admin. & HRM, Kakatiya University, Warangalfor topic entitled "MANAGING EMPLOYEE EXIT IN COAL INDUSTRY - A Case Study of Singareni CollieriesCompany Limited" under the supervision of Prof. G. Sreenivas Reddy, Principal, Aurora's Management andResearch Academy, Hyderabad.

Dr. Srinivasa Rao has this to say: "NHRD was instrumental in establishing and maintaining the interfacebetween industry and management education institutions which is a noteworthy feature. The long associationwith NHRD was indirectly helpful to me in my research work by creating a knowledge sharing environmentwith the industry professionals. I appreciate the move of NHRD which has gone a long way in helping outyoung scholars in doing their research work effectively."

National HRD Network Congratulates Dr Srinivasa Rao K on his accomplishment.


The Chennai Chapter of NHRDN hasorganized a series of lectures on TalentManagement and Leadership Developmentduring September-October 2009.

In the first of the lectures, Professor VenkatR Krishnan, Professor (OrganizationalBehavior) & Director (Yale ResearchCenter) Great Lakes Institute ofManagement offered a thought provokingglimpse of current thinking on what isleadership. This was followed by a best-practice sharing session by Mr AllenSequeira, Sr. VP-HR, Mahindra andMahindra who outlined the TalentManagement Architecture that M&M hasdeveloped and successfully deployedacross the Group.

On Friday, October 23rd , PriyaGopalakrishnan, Director HR, ING VysyaLife Insurance, highlighted the impact thatsocietal and demographic trends have hadon organizations’ approach to TalentManagement (TM). She also shared hersome of the practices that have emergedas a result of these changes.

Guest speaker Ms. Priya Gopalakrishnan

Audience in rapt attention

Chennai Chapter Meeting — October 23, 2009Talent Management & Leadership Development Lecture Series

In her lively speech, Ms Gopalakrishnanvigorously challenged a number ofestablished TM practices. QuotingWharton’s Peter Capelli, she started bysuggesting that most TM practices are atleast fifty years old and in need of a relook.She then expanded on this theme byexamining practices in each of the four pillarsof TM — Acquisition, Integration,Development, and Deployment.

For instance, she questioned the mindlesshiring of management trainees from B-schools as a panacea for many talentmanagement problems, even inorganizations which are not internally readyfor such an initiative. For mid-career talentacquisition, she advocated maintaining anexternal bench — keeping a close eye ontalent within the industry through a trustedrelationship with preferred resourcingvendors. She urged HR teams to do anhonest review of their “make-or-buy”decisions on talent and asked them to beprepared to have different answers fordifferent positions in the company

Declaring herself a training-skeptic, MsGopalakrishnan was emphatic on the need toestablish a clear business context for all majortraining initiatives. She recommended the useof e-learning for achieving effectivedissemination of core knowledge that isrequired across the company, but preferredface-to-face methodologies for imparting skills.

On the topic of High Potentials, sheexpressed the view that “in-your-face focus-on-the-top-25%” kind of programs aredysfunctional since they create substantialresentment in the middle 50-60% of theemployees. She observed that, in manyyounger industries, it is necessary to promotean executive to the next higher level evenwhen he/she is only 60-70% ready for therole. But this must be followed by attentivehand-holding by HR and senior managers forthe first six months. On-boarding of internalpromotees is critical, she said.

Ms Gopalakrishnan concluded by

underlining the fact that, of all the elementsof Talent Management, the most neglectedand yet the most critical was Deployment.Only business-critical roles require highpotential talent, she added. Every HRbusiness partner must know what thosecritical roles are and focus retention andsuccession planning efforts on those.

Member soliciting the expert’s view point

When summing up the deliberations of theevening, Mr Natarajan Sundar, VisitingFaculty at London Metropolitam University,cited Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager ofEnglish football club Manchester United as asterling example of a great Talent Manager.

Mr. Natarajan Sunder presenting the memento

Mr. Sivasankar receives the gift fromGuest Speaker

OutLearn A special initiative from the National HRD Network, Chennai Chapter‘OutLearn’ is the latest initiative of theNational HRD Network, Chennai Chapter.Through this, HR practitioners would havethe opportunity to visit facilities of worldclass organizations in and around Chennaiand to learn from the people practices ofthose organizations.

The second visit under the ‘OutLearn’programme, to Saint Gobain’s manufacturingfacility at Sriperumbudur was on 14th

November 2009 with a team of 28 NHRDNmembers which was received very well.

Participants of ‘OutLearn’ were takenaround the production / operation areas ofthe Saint Gobain facility, preceded with abrief by the HR team at the facility followedwith an Open House. NHRDN memberscherished this unique opportunity to learnnot only from the organizations visited, butalso from the other participants.

Ms. Rajeswari N, one among the NHRDNteam member says “With exuberant of joyI would like to take this opportunity to thankNHRDN-Chennai Chapter for organizing a

wonderful trip to Saint Gobain on 14thNovember ’09. It was extremely useful andin particular being a HR professional itpaved a way for learning new concepts andmethodology and excellent to note theirexecution of HR practices (i.e HRexcellence) and HR framework”.

Mr Ramesh N said, “…it is a veryinteresting, informative & educative visit. Iam sure most would agree that we all stoodto benefit from this Factory visit - aprofessionally enriching experience. The


Saint Gobain officials were open-mindedand the interactions were frank and fruitful.A visit that would remain in our memory forlong....”

Mr P.K.Chidambareswaran says, “It wasindeed a memorable day, and the rain godsadded lot of charm to it. The arrangementsand coordination were excellent, as usual.Special thanks to the SGGI HR team forthe excellent hospitality, even to the extent

of holding umbrellas, so that we do not getwet in the rain.”

Other comments: “It was a fantasticexperience for me.”, Manikandan N; “It wasan excellent OutLearn Program at SaintGobain. Thank you very much”, Aravind S

On behalf of all its members, the ChennaiChapter thanks the entire HR Team at SaintGobain for their hospitality!

Members of Saint Gobain’s HR Teambriefing the visitors

Some of the NHRDN Members The audience in rapt attention The NHRDN delegation along withmembers of the Saint Gobain HR Team

Breathing TherapyThe nose has a left and a right side; we useboth to inhale and exhale.

Actually they are different; you would be ableto feel the difference.

The right side represents the sun, left siderepresents the moon.

During a headache, try to close your right

nose and use your left nose to breathe.

In about 5 minutes, your headache will go?

If you feel tired, just reverse, close your leftnose and breathe through your right nose.

After a while, you will feel your mind isrefreshed.

Right side belongs to 'hot', so it gets heatedup easily, left side belongs to 'cold'.

Most females breathe with their left noses,so they get "cooled off" faster.

Most of the guys breathe with their rightnoses, they get worked up.

Do you notice the moment we wake up,which side breathes faster? Left or right?

If left is faster, you will feel tired.

So, close your left nose and use your rightnose for breathing, you will get refreshedquickly.

This can be taught to kids, but it is moreeffective when practiced by adults.

My friend used to have bad headaches andwas always visiting the doctor.

There was this period when he sufferedheadache literally every night, unable to study.

He took painkillers, did not work.

He decided to try out the breathing therapyhere: closed his right nose and breathedthrough his left nose. In less than a week,his headaches were gone! He continued theexercise for one month.

This alternative natural therapy withoutmedication is something that he hasexperienced.

So, why not give it a try?

You're not going to lose anything............&

Stop reading n start doing righthere...........feel the Verve..........

IMPORTANT FOR PC USERS!!!!!!!

During a recent visit to an optician, one of my friends was told of an exercise for the eyes bya specialist doctor that he termed as 20-20-20 .” It is apt for all of us, who spend long hoursat our desks, looking at the computer screen. I Thought I’d share it with you. 20-20-20

Step I :-

After every 20 minutes of looking into the computer screen, turn your head and try to look atany object placed at least 20 feet away. This changes the focal length of your eyes, a must-do for the tired eyes.

Step II :-

Try and blink your eyes for 20 times in succession, to moisten them.

Step III :-

Time permitting of course, one should walk 20 paces after every 20 minutes of sitting in one particular posture. Helps blood circulationfor the entire body.

Otherwise our eye would be like this.....

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