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One of the most delicate and challenging job of the Human Resources
Management Department in modern day organization and MNCs is
effective and efficient management of work culture. Due to the amazing
inventions and innovations in the field of technology the world has
become a global village, which brought a bouquet of advantages and
problems for the industries as the work force now comprises of people
not only of different hues and colours but also from different
nationalities, religions, beliefs and social background which are
diametrically and radically opposite of each other. The canvas and scope
of Industrial Relations has also expanded encompassing into its fold the
work culture management. Dealing with Trade Union leaders has been
always an uphill and hazardous job particularly due to their political
affiliations, arrogance, corrupt and blackmailing tactics and nuisance
value and the situation has remained the same even in todays changed
scenario. The carnage in the Maruti Suzukis Manesar- Plant on July 18,
2012, was really unfortunate, rare but not unavoidable which will go
down the annals as one of the most spine chilling, heinous act. The
article examines the work culture and other related issues involved in the
violence.
KEY WORDS
Human Resource Management
Industrial Relations
Maruti Suzukis Manesar Plant
Work Culture.
INTRODUCTION TO COMPANY
The History of Maruti Suzuki: The Company was set up by the
Government of India and incorporated under the Companies Act 1956 in
1981. It was initially called Maruti Technical Services Private Limited.
The first Managing Director of the company was Sanjay Gandhi. During
the period of 1985 to 1996, a few other significant developments took
place including Suzuki taking up 50% stake in Maruti, leading to a 5050 joint venture. The first car that the company produced was a fourdoor Maruti 800 and the second car was a Multi-Utility Vehicle Omni
and later Gypsy.
Presently the company offers 15 brands and over 150 variants. The
company has two manufacturing facilities located at Gurgaon and
Manesar, with an combined annual capability to produce over 1.5
million, passenger car units. It has rolled out more than 10 million cars
and sold 1.13 million cars in 2011-12 including exports to Europe, Asia,
Latin America and Africa etc,. The company employs more than 9000
INTRODUCTION TO CASE
One of the most delicate, sensitive and challenging job of the Human
Resources Management Department in any modern day organization and
more particularly in the MNCs or Companies having good chunk of
market share with regular profits is effective and efficient management
of work culture. Due to the amazing inventions
and innovations in the field of technology, the world has become a
global village, which brought a bouquet of advantages and problems for
the industries as the work force now comprises of people not only of
different hues and colours but also from different nationalities, religions,
beliefs and social background which are diametrically and radically
opposite of each other. The canvas and scope of Industrial Relations has
also expanded encompassing into its fold the work culture
management. From the late 1970s there were very regular instances of
violence and carnage particularly in industrial cities like erstwhile
position and future prospects. There are no prescribed norms for work
culture in private sector and the position will drastically change from
one company to another company. It varies as per the philosophy of the
founders and their family values, so the comparison between two
similarly placed private sector companies become irrational. Of course
in case large companies and particularly those operating like MNCs,
there are several similarities as they have to adhere to the international
practices e.g. IT companies. Social fabric of any culture is shaped by
their history which in turn influences the way different countries or
cultures conduct their businesses. In this backdrop it is worthwhile to
make a comparison between work culture of Indian and Japanese
businesses.
unduly long time. Again in Public Sector in India, due to the RED TAPE
the decision making may sometimes take several years. Involvement of
all the stakeholders in a decision making is at the heart of Japanese
system, whereas in India only top people are involved. In case of public
sector the position is even worse as only the CMD and in few cases the
Government official form part of the process.
Japanese believe in participative management in letter and spirit
involving workers and management equally on the same platform.
Though in India there is a statutory provision to involve workers likeWorks Committee, Quality Circles, Joint Management Council and at
the top most level in the Board of Directors, but the whole hearted
approach is lacking and in most cases it seems just fulfillment of the
formalities.
The workers in Japan always strive for self improvement and improve
all aspects of organization. In sharp contrast in India the focus is less on
organizational development and quality.
Japanese believe in effective time management like punctuality while in
India late coming is taken for granted as a routine matter. Japanese are
was later arrested by the police. His suspension had sparked the workers
protest, which snowballed into large scale violence as a workers mob
attacked company officials. More than 91 workers have been lodged in
the Gurgaon Central Jail.
Strategic Issues that rocked Manesar: Manesar is an excellent
example of smouldering labour turmoil. The Plant has a history of
problems and this was the fourth incident of labour unrest within a
couple of years. The Management failed to read the signals of brewing
unrest not only among the workers but also the managers. Even the
deceased HR manager wanted to quit the job. The Factory was put under
lock out following the violence. The 3000 and odd workers went into
hiding due to the fear of getting arrested by police. The villages and
surrounding areas depicted a picture of gloom. The place once vibrant
with activities is stinking with mistrust and uncertainty. Although the
main cause of aggression followed by arson is still shrouded in a
mystery, the following major issues seem to have lead to the unfortunate
incident in July.
almost one third in some cases, though work done by both the categories
of workers was the same.
This disparity was the main cause of violence. Hostile working
conditions:- The supervisors were abusive, the working conditions were
bad. The contract workers were treated almost like slaves.
Unfair and unethical labour practices:- Although time and again there
were demands of absorption of contract workers in to the permanent
cadre, the decision was postponed for an unduly long period, making the
workers suspicious about the intentions of the management. As the time
passed the workers grew restless and the issue snowballed. It is also said
that the company appointed bouncers in the factory who often
misbehaved with the workers.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
It is not yet clear what went wrong in the Manesar Plant as the
investigations are still in progress. Further the possibility cannot be
denied that the truth may never see the light of the day as all the
stakeholders management, workers and the Government are blaming
each other. Work culture may be one of the issues but it is only like tip
of the iceberg and the real causes lie deep buried underneath. It is not
humanly practicable for any country to fully adapt the work culture of
other country but due to globalization the options are limited. Every
effort has to be made to understand the nuances of the alien work culture
and the local work force should be trained in that direction. In fact it is
CONCLUSIONS
The main cause of the carnage at the Manesar Plant has not been known
till date as the case is subjudice and under investigation. The
management and the union leaders are busy overtime to blame each
other. The Management has strongly denied that there was an IR
problem or has to do anything with the poor wages and the working
conditions, and claimed that both the issues were being sorted out. The
workers on the other hand are blaming the management for various
issues like lower wages, hostile working conditions, bad working
environment, poor facilities and insulting treatment by the superiors etc,.
The Japanese companies have a history of paying poor wages even in
by seniority, not clamoring for higher wages and late sitting. The
grievances are sorted out within the company itself. Though this work
culture was the backbone for Japanese economic miracle but it did not
succeed when practiced overseas. According to Professor Noato Sasaki
of Tsukuba University, Japanese management lacks international
outlook. Japanese do not want to manage their business operation in
overseas in any new special way. Group culture, another common
method of decision making process in Japanese company, is imposed on
Japanese subsidiaries in overseas. These clashes with the individual
decision making processes, which is a
common management practice in Indian, US and several European
companies. Group decision is time consuming and requires approval
from their head quarters.
REFERENCES
[1] A.H. Halm :- Managerial Problems in Public Enterprises IIPA
Administration New Delhi.
[2] Budhwar, P.S. and Boyne, G (2004) HRM in Indian Public and
Private sector: An Empirical Comparison-International Journal of
Human Resource Management, 15(2):
[3] Decendo and Stephen Robbins, Personnel Management John Wiley
& Sons Inc, 7th Edition 2002.