Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Human Resource Strategies
Human Resource Strategies
Human Resource Strategies
Abstract
The concept of sustainability comes from considering the context of the organi-
zation. Leadership sustainability is not just what the leader does but how others
are impacted by the leader’s actions. We judge ourselves by our intentions, but
others judge us by our behaviors. It is imperative that the human resource devel-
opment (HRD) perspectives along with human rights initiatives (HRI) in the plan-
tation sector are of utmost importance in the direction of workers’ participation
in management, their promotional scopes, the welfare measures, and the fatigue
study to enhancing productivity.The role of government and the positive attitude
of corporate sector are to be initiated in tandem for ushering their sector into a
new dimension, which is but compulsory and nevertheless challenging.
Keywords
Working conditions, sustainability, tea workers, ABO model, way out, way forward
Introduction
The discovery of the tea bush in Assam by Robert Bruce inspired the colonial
capitalist to make large-scale investments in it. The availability of suitable land
and thin population were favorable conditions for growing tea in Assam, so was
the climate of Assam. The Brahmaputra Valley is perhaps the best tea-growing
area of the world with favorable soil, climate, and topography. Once the problem
of land was over, the planter had to manage necessary capital. To attract the inves-
tors, the colonialist enacted many laws in their favor. Within two decades, many
more companies with British capital made their entrance in different parts of
1
Professor (HRD-Area), Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Jnana Bharathi Campus,
Bangalore, India.
Corresponding author:
Ananda Das Gupta, Professor (HRD-Area), Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Jnana Bharathi
Campus, P.O. Malathalli, Bangalore–560 056, India.
E-mail: anandadg06@gmail.com
Gupta 105
Assam (Nag, 1990, pp. 51–52). Between 1859 and 1866, the British Authority
cleared the hills of Assam for new tea gardens and tried to attract huge invest-
ments for the industry. Within a few decades, tea manufacturers in Assam had
covered 54 percent of the market in the United Kingdom and had outstripped
China (Fernandes, Barbora & Bharali, 2003).
Faced with labor shortage, the planters had to get workers from other sources.
That is when they began to recruit workers from other parts of India, mostly
present day Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and so on, as indentured laborers in
slave-like conditions. This class of people was uprooted from their land and liveli-
hood by the Permanent Settlement 1793 meant to ensure regular tax collection for
the colonial government. Impoverishment was the consequence. So they had no
choice but to find other sources of livelihood. In the absence of other alternatives,
they were forced to follow the labor contractor and become indentured laborers on
the land that Assam’s indigenous communities had lost under the same colonial
processes to the tea plantations. Their initial recruitment was done through profes-
sional contractors who were notorious for abuses and exploitation. The tea garden
community folk songs have passed details of such exploitation down from one
generation to another (Gupta, 1990, pp. 51–53). This labor force has been popu-
larly called the “tea tribes” and “ex-tea tribes,” and there is debate about this
nomenclature, but we shall not enter into this debate. In 1997, a total of 0.59 lakh
laborers along with their dependents were working in 1,012 registered gardens
spread in an area of 0.232 lakh ha, which is 2.9 percent of Assam’s landmass
(Sagar, 2002, p. 1).
The role of the trade union is important. The emergence of trade unions is
recent in the tea industry of Assam. As late as 1946, the planters recognized them
on a differential basis. They identified the ones with whom they could negotiate.
But the planters were well organized from the beginning of 1879. Because of their
poor organization, the workers are dissatisfied with them. It also results in unrest
from time to time, for example, the killing of managers that one has witnessed in
recent years. One sees two main tendencies among the workers. One is their sudden
outbursts and the second, an organized and protracted struggle. One saw the first
type in the case of the Victoria Jute Mill workers in West Bengal in 1993 and the
second by the Kanoria Jute Mill (Debnath, 2003, p. 34).
Social security services generally mean the basic facilities that are necessary
for the mental, physical, and intellectual development of a person. They should
include food, shelter, and health care. Carl Wellman (1985) defined social
benefits as some form of assistance provided to an individual in need. Thus
“welfare” or “social security” is the collective name for all social benefits, espe-
cially for groups that need protection to grow into better citizens. A welfare state
has a moral obligation to ensure the good of all its citizens, particularly the
weaker sections. If it cannot provide all the facilities, it can take the help of other
agencies. (Madan & Madan, 1983, p. 163). A human being can lay an ethical
claim from his/her society on the minimum livelihood in the event that he or she
lacks the means of sustaining life because of circumstances beyond his or her
control (Wellman, 1996, p. 268). Though the other welfare measures in their
narrow sense do not include education particularly of the working class, Plantation
106 Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning 1(1)
Labour Act (PLA) of 1951 makes an exception to it and includes it among the
amenities to be provided to the workers. We can, therefore, justifiably include it
among their social security provisions.
Human rights are relevant to the economic, social, and environmental aspects
of corporate activity. For example, labor rights requiring companies to pay fair wages
affect the economic aspect. Human rights such as the right to non-discrimination are
relevant to the social aspect. And the environmental aspects of corporate activity
might affect a range of human rights, such as the right to clean drinking water.
So, while the primary responsibility for the enforcement of international human
rights standards lies with national governments, there is a growing acceptance that
corporations also have an important role to play. Corporations impact on human
rights in significant ways. These impacts have increased over recent decades as
the economic might and political influence of corporations have grown and as
corporations have become more involved in delivering services previously
provided by governments. Corporations have come to recognize that part of being
a good corporate citizen includes respecting the human rights of those who come
into contact with the corporation in some way.
Over the past decade, the international community has made significant
advances in examining and clarifying the links between corporations and human
rights. A wide variety of voluntary initiatives have been developed by individual
companies, industry bodies, NGOs, inter-governmental bodies and multi-stakeholder
groups. These initiatives include voluntary guidelines and codes of conduct,
monitoring and reporting procedures, and socially responsible reporting indexes.
Under such initiatives, hundreds of corporations worldwide have publicly com-
mitted to upholding specific human rights standards. This illustrates the growing
acceptance of the need for corporations to simultaneously protect the interests
of their shareholders, employees, customers, and the community in which they
operate.
career in the secluded life of a tea garden, with problems such as providing good
education to children and job opportunities for spouses, having limited chances of
promotion and a lack of cultural/social activities, and leading a life cut off from
the civilized world. Furthermore, there is hardly any career planning or motiva-
tion. Obviously, the tea garden may have to reconcile with second class talent to
run the garden even at attractive pay scales and perks. Most of the gardens are
also facing shortage of workforce to harvest green leaf in peak seasons. There is
an attitudinal change in the workers and less number of workers are willing to do
manual jobs. The welfare measures are a major factor as far as productivity is
concerned.The laborers need to be housed well and provided with good medical
facilities and amenities. The Plantation Labor Act stipulates that a plantation with
more than 1,000 workers should have a full-fledged hospital and that the medical
facilities should be provided free of cost. This is vital because the plantation is set
up in geographically treacherous areas. The workers have to work in high altitudes
and during heavy rains. Besides this, they have to walk long distances from home
to the workplace. Transportation is difficult as vehicles cannot ply to all parts of
the tea gardens. The plantation is an outdoor-oriented work in the forests and is
highly physically demanding of the worker. Moreover, the nutritional factors are
important. The survey revealed that 100 percent of the workers in the south
took normal rice and dhal-based food while non-vegetarian food (red meat) is
consumed at a minimum of once a week and not more than twice a week. Fresh
vegetables are not available in village shops; in addition, the workers also complain
that they have no time to go to the nearest town to make any real purchases.
An interconnected aspect to this is the rest time for the workers. While they have
to leave home early so as to reach the work site in time, breakfast is not taken or
the leftover food is taken in the morning. Rest time during the working hours
came up as an important factor. Absenteeism due to laziness have been reported
by all the field officers and the managers and supervisors alike. The same has
been presented in a different angle by the male workers. They complain of lack of
rest during working hours, and they say that the real-time work is more than eight
hours a day. Mental disorientation was also noticed among all the male and
female workers. The whole lot reported that they are working just for a living,
and they do not find any happiness or pleasure or satisfaction in working in the
plantation under the present wages, housing, and other welfare measures provided.
They also add that it is out of financial compulsion.
In spite of the sporadic efforts being made to improve labor conditions during
the pre-independence days, certain appreciable changes in the condition of planta-
tion workers took place only after Independence. The first and foremost step in
this direction was the enactment of the PLA of 1951. This Act is a very compre-
hensive document and its provisions extend to the health, housing, education,
social welfare, leisure, recreation and working conditions, and so on, of plantation
workers. The Act also intended to bring about uniformity in all matters concern-
ing plantation labor and, improves their quality of life in all spheres. It provides
safeguards for them against exploitation by regulating their hours of work, rest
intervals, minimum age of employment of children and adolescents and provides
for annual leave with wages, and so on.
Gupta 109
Wages
The most striking feature of the Northern and Southern gardens is the difference
in wages. While average monthly wages of the workers in Assam and West Bengal
figured at around `48 per day plucking, in Tamil Nadu they were around `81 per
day plucking.
The only difference between Tamil Nadu and the two northern states (Assam and
West Bengal) is that workers in the latter are given a part of their wages in kind.
They are given rations of 2.25 kg of rice and wheat per week at a subsidized rate.
Workers in Tamil Nadu are given rations at rates, which are slightly below market
rates, but the quantity is more. The subsidy worked out to be around `5 per day.
Housing
While comparing the housing conditions in Assam, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu,
we find that there are similarities between the two former states and differences
with the latter state. It gives a picture that had the employers adhered to the PLA
(1951), all houses would have been made permanent in Assam and West Bengal
by 1969. In Tamil Nadu plantations, however, the houses meet the specifications
of the Act.Again, in terms of sanitation and water, Tamil Nadu plantations
have adequate sanitary facilities.Where each house has a toilet or two houses are
provided with a common toilet, the labor lines in Assam and West Bengal do not
have these facilities.Barring a few gardens maintained and owned by the corpo-
rate groups, access to health services in the gardens in Assam, West Bengal and
Tamil Nadu is not adequate because, by and large, the requirements of the PLA
have not been met. The ill-maintained creches, barring Tamil Nadu, where a better
record is available in maintaining creches, are also a factor in contributing to the
welfare of the plantation laborers.
Women Workers
Women workers, in general, are agitated over their harsh working conditions.
During the plucking seasons, they are forced to work for more than 8 hours—
either late into the night or start very early in the morning. Lactating mothers face
a lot of inconvenience. Even pregnant women are forced into deep hoeing.
Women, who join after maternity leave are not given light work, and the planters
do not care a fig about their health conditions. Subharani, a permanent worker in
Baishahabi tea estate, developed complications immediately on joining work.
She could not work for the next few months. Finally, her job was terminated.
Lack of women supervisors is also a source of trouble for women. Women
workers get apprehensive and work amidst constant fear of sexual harassment
and assault, especially when working in secluded areas or in bungalows of the
management staff. The workers of Baishahabi estate alleged that two girls,
Durga and Mani were raped by the manager in 1996. Durga committed suicide,
110 Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning 1(1)
and Mani is still missing. The two families have been denied any justice there-
after. Casualization of the work force is on the rise in the tea industry. Through the
decades of 1950s and 1960s, the number of permanent workers in the Assam tea
plantations was reduced by a staggering 25.61 percent. Within a short span of
seven years, between 1984 and 1991, the temporary labor force increased from
170,495 to 268,450 and has almost touched the 0.3 million figure. Majority of
them are women. Women workers have been gradually shifted to the temporary
labor category. According to a member of the State Women’s Commission, who is
a tea worker herself, the planters have resorted to this ploy “primarily to deprive
the women workers of their basic rights as enshrined in the PLA, such as mater-
nity benefit and medical benefit.” “Many of us are thereby denied housing, subsi-
dized food grains, provident fund and bonus,” she says.
Medical Facilities
Health and medical care of tea garden workers has been a very controversial topic
mainly because of lack of uniformity. This has invited sharp criticism in the case
of some gardens and appraisal for others. It was only after the passing of the PLA
of 1951 that a uniform Medicare format for tea plantation labor was worked out.
According to the PLA (1951), every tea plantation, employing not less than 1,000
workers is required to maintain a hospital or have a lien on a certain number of
beds available at the hospital on the nearest neighboring plantation. Basic first aid
kit and medicines should always be there even if it cannot provide a hospital or
dispensary. Tea estates must employ necessary qualified staff who work under the
supervision of a medical officer in the hospital of the nearest tea garden. For every
thousand workers, the estate hospital must possess at least 15 beds. Such estates
are required to have a full-time medical officer, a nurse, a midwife, a health assis-
tant, a compounder (paramedical staff), and a dresser. These hospitals have to be
equipped with an operation theatre, a delivery room, an outdoor patient consulta-
tion room, and a kitchen.Other necessary equipment such as oxygen cylinders
must also be there. There should be a separate ward for female patients and one
isolation ward has to be provided as well. The hospital should be equipped with
basic and necessary medicines.
Some small tea estates, especially in Darjeeling Hills, do not have resident
medical officers but they usually have ad hoc arrangements with outside doctors
who visit on fixed weekly intervals. But this is not a very suitable solution because
sometimes for serious and emergency cases it becomes difficult to shift patients to
hospitals, and lack of timely attention can be quite dangerous. Often female
patients suffering from complications during delivery have died because no doctor
could be contacted in time to handle such cases. Hence the government and the
industry should find some better alternatives. The district medical centers and
government dispensaries should be located near such tea estates because there is
often a high concentration of resident population on plantations, including many
who are not workers or direct dependents of workers. Such people often have no
access to any medical facilities, hence both workers and non-workers of such
Gupta 111
far-flung estates could benefit if such facilities were provided.Each estate is also
required to have at least one ambulance for sending patients to district hospitals.
Now almost all tea gardens have acquired ambulances.
As in the case of other amenities, the quality of medical facilities and hospitals
in tea gardens differ from estate to estate. Some well-run tea gardens are maintain-
ing very decent, neat and clean, and well-equipped hospitals with proper build-
ings and compounds, whereas there are some where medical facilities are nothing
but a sham. This was the case in the early days as well. Some hospitals were just
temporary sheds without even a qualified doctor. In those days it was quite com-
mon for pioneer planters and managers to treat tea garden patients themselves.
However, with time, there was gradual improvement and very soon the native
“doctor babus” appeared on the scene.
Sources of Data
Primary data have been collected from sample tea gardens. Required data have
been obtained from personnel records, drawn from supervisor entries, taking
worker day as unit of analysis. Observations include the number of kilograms of
tea leaf plucked by each worker.
This one number is our measure of productivity.
Literature review
Data collection
Box 1. Methodology
Source: Field Survey, 2015.
112 Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning 1(1)
Attention was restricted to only those days on which pluckers participated and
were assigned to plucking duty. The reason for such focus on actual plucking days
is twofold. First, on days when the worker is absent, there are no means of knowing
to what activity she would have been assigned. That will compel us to assign a miss-
ing value for productivity, rather than a zero, to such an observation. Second, when
workers are assigned to non-plucking activities, there is no comparable measure of
productivity. The tea plantation is made up of a number of fields on which tea
bushes grow in rows. The production of tea leaves—fresh, unprocessed leaves—is
labor intensive. Flushes, each comprising three leaves and a bud, are plucked from
tea bushes manually, either by hand or with metal shears. For the purpose of our
study, this is the final output.
Nature of Data
The basic objective of the study is to examine the impact of social security on the
productivity of tea garden workers. To achieve this objective, five variables had
been taken. Labor productivity is the dependent variable and health security,
employment, financial security, and educational status of workers are independent
variables. On the basis of the survey of literature, the information on various
aspects collected are: composition of household, educational background, employ-
ment profile, financial access, and production data of the workers. To estimate the
livelihood condition of the worker, a “social security score” has been calculated.
The basic idea of “social security score” has been taken from (Sarma, 2015).
The score has been calculated taking the following aspects: possession of land,
housing and other household assets, garden hospital facility, and particular benefits
for workers by garden authority and financial inclusion. So,
16
Social Security Score = ∑ i = 0 si
s1 = Insurance s9 = Blanket
s2 = Bank account s10 = Umbrella
s3 = Medical support s11 = Slipper
s4 = Housing support s12 = Domestic Animal
s5 = Land s13 = Jewelery
s6 = Rice s14 = Bicycle
s7 = Wheat s15 = Firewood
s8 = Bonus s16 = Crèche
Access to any of these benefits is given the value 1 and non-availability has been
assigned value zero. For example, if a respondent prefers to go to a garden hospital
in a health crisis then it is assigned 1 otherwise 0, S = Σsi, i = 1, 2, 3…16
Data Collection
Data Collection Tools
Interview Methods. Personal interviews and group interviews were conducted.
One group session was conducted with an average of 10–12 workers in each
Gupta 113
local events of recent history and of course cross checking from the elderly
individuals. The illiteracy and backwardness of the workers was another big
problem while collecting data.
Sr. Category
No. Name of the Gardens Ownership District Area (ha) of Garden
1 Chabua TE Amalgamated Tinsukia 755 Large
2 Glinderth Company Tinsukia 545 Large
3 Rajgarh TE Company Dibrugarh 955 Large
4 Ethelwood TE Company Dibrugarh 145.6 Medium
5 Nadua TE Private owner Dibrugarh 264 Medium
6 Muttok TE Private owner Dibrugarh 325 Medium
7 Madhuting TE Company Dibrugarh 395 Medium
8 Moud TE Private owner Tinsukia 165 Medium
9 Jalpaniya TE Private owner Tinsukia 100 Small
10 Purbipur TE Private owner Dibrugarh 100 Small
11 Hatikhola TE Private owner Tinsukia 11.52 Small
12 Madhuban TE Company Dibrugarh 100 Small
Source: Field Survey, 2015.
Gupta 115
terms of forms of ownership, industry affiliation, and size. Adequate care has been
taken to ensure that the sample includes all kinds of tea estates, that is, large,
medium, and small tea gardens. The name of the tea estates which are included in
the field survey are mentioned herein as follows:
The primary survey was done in Dibrugarh tea district (i.e., Dibrugarh
and Tinsukia administrative districts). There are 91 small-sized (10-100 ha),
112 medium-sized (100,400 ha) and 65 large-sized (above 400 ha) tea gardens in
Dibrugarh tea district. So in that ratio 4 small, 5 medium, and 3 large tea gardens
have been covered (i.e., 4.5% of each group) for primary survey of total of
112 workers. The study has covered 12 tea gardens, namely, Chabua, Glinderth,
Rajgarh, Ethelwood, Nadua, Muttok, Madhuting, Moud, Jalpaniya, Purbipur,
Hatikhola and Madhuban managed and owned by different management and
owners. Chabua is an amalgamated tea estate with highest share owned by TATA.
Glinderth Tea estate is a joint venture of an MNC and an Indian company Kothari
group of industries. Rajgarh is also jointly owned by two companies, namely,
Jindal and Co. and Bajabari group. Ethelwood tea estate is now owned by an India
tea company Jalan group. Nadua, Muttok and Moud tea estates are owned by
Indian or Assam native owners. Madhuban and Madhuting tea estates are owned
by MNC Warren but managed by Assam native management. Purbipur and
Hatikhola tea estates are owned and managed by Assam native owners, though
their head offices are in Kolkata. It is based on the assumption that pecuniary and
non-pecuniary benefits to the workers may vary in estates managed by different
managements. The gardens are purposively selected in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia
administrative districts of Assam, and workers are selected randomly. Gardens of
size 100 ha or less are taken as small-sized gardens, more than 100 ha to 400 ha
are clubbed as medium-sized garden and gardens above 400 ha are considered
large-sized gardens. The stated figures on the number of workers, including
both permanent and casual workers, engaged in the sampled tea estates reveal
the prevalence of massive casualization. Here 58 percent workers are casual,
as indicated in Table 2.
It is discovered that the large-sized holdings depend more on casual workers
(59.25%) and that the intensity of permanent workers is relatively more in
medium-sized holdings. A reasonably larger concentration of casual workers in
the smallholdings is due to the fact that more workers are used to clear the flush
during the peak plucking season. Large gardens have ample spaces and plenty of
abandoned workers in coolie lines. Tea gardens not only differ in their sizes and
volume of leaves produced; they also differ in terms of location. Relatively large
gardens are located near National Highways and more integrated with local econ-
omy. So they have more access to outside workforce. This flexible use of labor is
possible because the labor supply is not constrained in Assam. These linkages are
relatively weak in remote gardens with poor connectivity status.
Despite the poor provisions at work and poor conditions of the workers, the tea
plantation sector of Assam still enclaves the workforce. Most of the workers were
in destitute condition as 49.07 percent workers (53 in numbers) were indebted
(see Figure 0.6).
A total of 15 percent of the workers even sell family assets such as animals,
jewelry, or other household products. Field interactions revealed a casual worker
or an unemployed person in the tea plantation area aspires to become a permanent
worker in the estates. A permanent job in the plantation estates provides a regular
source of income and some non-pecuniary benefits. In relative terms, in tea plan-
tations areas, a job in the sector is still considered as the only possible opportunity
for better livelihood. Figure 0.6 reflects how opportunities for decent alternative
jobs in plantations areas are limited and how even with a certain level of attain-
ment of education it is impossible for them to move out for a decent job.
But a simple one way ANOVA result only shows the existence of difference in
means. To know which group is statistically different a Post Hoc test, Tukey
Homogeneous Group test has been done.
H0 = Large and Small garden = Medium Garden
H1 = Large and Small ≠ Medium.
Means for groups in homogeneous subsets are displayed.
The results show that mean labor productivity of medium-sized garden is
significantly different from other two. So null hypothesis is rejected, which is
evident because mean labor productivity in medium-sized garden is 6.9 kg per
worker/hour. And that of large-sized garden is 5, 2 kg per worker/hour and
5.0 per worker/hour. Table 5 shows that in this sample, permanent workers are
proportionately higher in medium-sized gardens.
So higher the permanent workers, higher is the average labor productivity.
Wage has not been taken as independent variable nor included in social security
score. Many times money that permanent workers receive is marginally lower
than casual workers. This is because permanent workers very often take loans
from garden authorities, which is taken off at the time of payment. Moreover,
casual workers are more prone to overtime work, so finally receive more money.
So inclusion of wage could give us a misleading result.
Empirical Analysis
Regression model:
Yi = B0 + B1X1 + B2X2 + B3D1 + B4D1 + Ui
Yi is Labor Productivity
Xi is Social Security Score
X2 is Experience in years worked as plucking worker i is no of Respondent,
that is, I = 1, 2, 3, …62
Ui = Well-behaved error term
This model has been used for all three categories of workers
Standard
Variables Observations Mean Deviation Minimum Maximum
Labor productivity 29 5.068966 1.250262 3.125 7.5
Social Security 29 7.758621 3.661139 2 15
Score
Experience 29 13.16667 6.475861 2 30
Source: Field Survey, 2015.
Variable Coefficient
Constant 3.399*** (0.520)
Experience 0.057 (0.03)
Social security score 0.117* (0.064)
N 29
R2 0.3170
F-value 6.03
Source: Field Survey, 2015.
Notes: *** Significant at 99% confidence level, * Significant at 90% confidence level (Figures in
bracket are Standard Error).
Gupta 119
Small Garden
Dependent variable: labor productivity
The regression results show, contrary to anticipation, experience hardly has
any significant impact on labor productivity. But social security has significant
impact on labor productivity. For any increase in social security score labor
productivity goes up by 0.12 kg per worker/hour.
Medium Garden
Dependent variable: labor productivity
In medium-sized gardens, experience is also has a significant impact on labor
productivity, but its effect is less than social security. Another notable point is
R2 of the regression result. As we moved from small gardens to medium gardens,
the R2 became smaller. That will became further less in large gardens.
Variable Coefficient
Constant 4.57*** (0.74)
Social security score 0.005 (0.092)
Experience 0.026 (0.05)
N 26
R2 0.021
F-value 0.25
Source: Field Survey, 2015.
Notes: *** Significant at 99% confidence level (Figures in bracket are Standard Error)
Large Gardens
Dependent variable: labor productivity
In case of large gardens, our previous results and conceptual anticipations
became reverse. There is no significant effect of social security on labor produc-
tivity. Large tea gardens in the study also have some other peculiarities also.
All three large gardens are owned by multinational companies. That may be the
reason average social security score in the large garden category is highest.
They have better supervisory system. Their location is also not so remote. But why
this result is different for them and what are other factors that affected the
results is a matter of further research. Moreover, in terms of total area coverage,
number of workers engaged, and capital deployed, our sample for large garden
is quite small
Combined Multiple Regression
To overcome the limitations in case of large gardens and to grasp overall picture,
a multiple regression can be done introducing three categories of gardens as a
dummy variable. For this multiple regression data for labor productivity, social
security score and experience for all three categories of gardens are combined.
Regression model:
Yi = B0 + B1 X1 + B2 X2 + B3 Dj + Ui
Yi is Labor Productivity
Xi is Social Security Score
Way Out
Human right is a multifaceted concept. While production is the actual output, human
resource development (HRD) with an accent on human rights is only a means of
achieving the output. It is concerned with an effective and efficient utilization
of resource capital, material, energy, information and humans. Factors affecting
Variable Coefficient
Constant 3.551*** (0.371)
Social security score 0.924** (0.035)
Experience 0.042** (0.017)
D2 1.781*** (0.260)
N 112
R2 0.4827
F-value 24.96
Source: Field Survey, 2015.
Notes: *** Significant at 99% confidence level, ** Significant at 95% confidence level (Figures in
bracket are Standard Error).
122 Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning 1(1)
productivity may be (a) technology (b) capital (c) labor quality (d) economies
of scale and (e) resource allocation. Some definitive action plans should now
be chalked out for workers to face the challenges of the millennium in the
plantations:
In ABO approach, the objectives are handed down with no spirit of authoritari-
anism and as a tool for self-appraisal and self-development.It moves toward
self-reliance, which is having four components: (a) self-confidence, (b) better
understanding, (c) team spirits, and (d) excellence in work. The whole process
increases the credibility of the review results and performance levels in the partici-
patory approach under the “bottom-up” theory, under which “Processing” is guided
by ABO objectives.
The concept of ABO is basically based on five principles:
Reviewing and
renovating
strategies
Job-improvement
plan & congenial Self-confidence
work-environment Better
Present and Job understanding
ABO
potential improvement Team spirit
performance
Excellence
review in a
in work
systematic way
Strengthening
the ability &
enriching the skills
1. Produce performers
2. Set personal examples; are visible and accessible on the move
3. Find ways to overcome obstacles and
4. Manage them.
i. Direction setting
ii. Resolution of conflicts and
iii. Team spirit.
These three factors culminate ultimately into ultimate goal achievement, that is,
the self-reliance, the center of a halo from which the following four result-
oriented factors are being diffused:
1. Knowledge-based performance
2. Value-based management
3. Development forward excellence and;
4. Shared goals.
Finally, the work culture dynamics of the HRD depends upon two major factors,
namely:
Key Issues
1. Inadequate or poor facilities of housing
2. Poor facilities of drinking water
3. Lack of communication among the workers
4. Interference of belligerent unions for vested interests and not linking wage
increase with productivity
5. Influence of outside agencies (like local political parties to woo votes)
6. Increase in incidence of theft (particularly green leaf) and general rowdiness
due basically to unemployment
7. Insurgency problem
8. Malaria-prone areas
9. Proper implementation of PLA and Factories Act
10. The disproportionate increase in workers’ family population.
Gupta 125
Way Forward
• Community Relations,
• Training and Development, and
• A Cohesive Global Corporate Social Responsibility Platform
The working part of a tool should be designed for efficient performance of a job.
The handle is important as it determines position of worker and method of doing
work. It has been experienced that drudgery and physical exertion are main features
of Indian agriculture, which adversely affect man’s intelligence and ability.
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