Page 254 - DCOM506_DMGT502_STRATEGIC_MANAGEMENT

Strategic Management

Notes Three days afterwards, Baluja got the shock of his life when he came to know about this
from another supervisor. After the ugly incident, Baluja had to rush back to his house for
admitting his son in the local hospital for viral fever. Since Roberts was drunk and it was
his birthday, Baluja never thought of reporting the matter to his boss.
The union presented a highly fabricated case to the chief of manufacturing, Ramlal and
demanded immediate disciplinary action against Baluja. Ramlal instructed Shekhar to
demote Baluja immediately so that he would mend his violent ways of dealing with
workers. Shekhar advised restraint since this would send wrong signals to other supervisors
and would demoralise them thoroughly. Shekhar however, fearing a revolt from the
union, had to demote Baluja.
Unable to swallow the insult to his ego, Baluja resigned immediately thereafter, citing
personal reasons. Shekhar was quite unhappy with the turn of events and sought advice
from the personnel manager, Khurana.
Khurana was quick to respond, “Incidents of this nature should help us realise the
importance of picking up people with good interpersonal skills as supervisors rather than
technical skills. After all, they need to extract work from others, without losing their cool
even under provocative situations. You see, we can’t put unions in a spot even when they
are on the wrong side.”

Shekhar: ‘I know people were after Baluja, since he is sincere and hard-working. He was a
race horse. Others were not. With a little bit of tact, Baluja could have managed the
situation well.”
Ramlal: “It’s sad to lose people like him. But Shekhar, workers are illiterates and respond
negatively when you talk tough language. A supervisor should use his brains rather than
hands while dealing with people. This fellow rubbed shoulders with union people on the
wrong side previously too. Other supervisors seem to be OK. Be careful in your selections
from now on.”
Questions
1. What is the main problem in the case?

2. What would you do, if you were in place of Shekhar?
Source: Adapted from IGNOU

13.5 Summary

Functional Strategy is concerned with developing and nurturing a distinctive competence
to provide a company or business unit with a competitive advantage.
Functional strategies are essential to implement business strategy.
Functional policies will ensure that the strategies are carried out as intended and that the
different functional areas are working towards the same ends. Companies have plans and
policies that cover nearly every major aspect of the firm.
Operations strategy plays a crucial role in shaping the ultimate success of a firm. It enables
an organisation to make optimal decisions regarding product, production capacity, plant
location, choice of machinery and equipment, maintenance of existing facilities and host
of other aspects of production.
Personnel policies are guides to action. Brewster and Ricbell defined HR policies as “a set
of proposals and actions that act as a reference point for managers in their dealings with
employees”.

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