Page 171 - DMGT517_PERFORMANCE_MANAGEMENT_SYSTEM

Performance Management System

Notes 5. Decentralize operations and rely on self-managed teams to deliver goods in diffi cult
times e.g. Motorola is famous for short product development cycles. It has quickly
commercialized ideas from its research labs.

6. Lay off workers in a smooth way explaining facts to unions, workers and other affected
groups e.g. IBM , Kodak, Xerox, etc.

Pricol Incident brings HR Professionals’ Role to
the fore

angalore, Sept. 25 The death of Roy J. George, Vice-President - HR, Pricol, who was
attacked by company workers in Coimbatore, has brought to the fore the tightrope
Bwalking that HR professionals have to do where disputes rage between management
and unions on wages and other demands.

While such disputes are not new, only in mid-1990s, human resource development, as an

industrial practice, gained significance. Violence and assaults are not unknown but the
latest incident has sent shock waves in industrial circles.
“With improved economic and educational background of today’s second-generation
workers, incidents of this nature are coming down compared to the late 1970s and early
1980s. But events such as this one and earlier ones in Gurgaon and Assam are unfortunate,”
says Mr D.V. Nandakumar, Vice-President (Industrial Relations), Bosch Ltd.
The role of an HR executive is crucial in ensuring a peaceful work atmosphere, but when
issues do crop up, it is important to prevent escalation, point out HR experts.
There should be a fair, equitable and legal way of handling HR issues, especially when it
involves dealing with labourers. “HR professionals need not always be pro-management.
They should understand workers’ needs and advise the management accordingly,” says
Mr Ahmed Ali, Chairman – HR and Training Committee, Bangalore Chambers of Industry
and Commerce (BCIC).
Mr Nandakumar, an HR professional for 30 years, stresses the need to “have a two-way
communication.” Instead of just sending out notices to workers, the management must
strengthen the dialogue process in the organisation and “look at employees as partners in
the company’s growth. All differences can be dissolved through dialogue. If the culture of
dialogue is blocked, that can give rise to tension. Botched up feelings can lead to extreme
emotions. If management is sensitive to workers’ needs, things won’t escalate in any
organisation,” he says.
Even while dismissing an employee, the management has the responsibility to convey to
the worker where he went wrong, he adds.

Proactive Role
Some organisations play a proactive role to prevent such violence. In an attempt to
understand what the employees think, auto major Volvo conducts exhaustive employee
surveys across all its global facilities every year. Based on the feedback received, the
company conducts workshops on implementing changes wherever necessary, says Mr
Atanu Sengupta, Head – HR, Volvo India, adding, “we believe in diversity and inclusiveness
of employees.”

Contd....

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