MBA 204 18 Human Resource Management A NAMRATA BHALLA

PCTE GROUP OF INSTITUTES
COURSE: Human Resource Management

SUBJECT CODE: MBA- 204-18
SEMESTER: Second Semester
COURSE INSTRUCTOR: Namrata
Email: namrata@pcte.edu.in
COURSE OUTCOME
Vision: To Shape innovative and Sharp Professional and Entrepreneurs who have the ability to
transform business systems, ethics, and management excellence through academics.
Mission: To inculcate ethical and progressive management skills and traits, such that our graduates
take head on global business competitive environment and excel in life.
Program Educational Objectives
Management professional will be able
1. To solve management problems through innovative methods.

2. To head global business organisations catering to the needs of international markets
3. To develop socially responsible and ethically sound organisations.
4. To provide Strategic Direction for long run survival of business.
5. They will able take up initiatives as entrepreneurs and professionals.
6. To research and provide consultancy on various complex management issues.
Program Objectives
Graduate Management student will be able
1. To apply management tools in managing business operations and systems.

2. To analyse marketing, financial and human resource management problems from multiple
perspectives and design a roadmap to solve them.
3. To conduct market research and use findings to take decisions.
4. To evaluate and map strategic position of companies vis-a vis competitors.
5. To lead teams towards successful achievement of organisational goals.
6. To develop Strong Organisational Cultural for its overall growth.
Department of Business Management Page 1

7. To negotiate business deals for organisational success

8. To design and implement activities in accordance with organization’s legal and
environmental framework.
9. To work in multicultural environment by fostering bonds within and out the organisation
Course Outcomes
At the end of this module the student will be able to:
1.Students will be able to possess the skill set required by today’s HR professionals
2.Students are enabled to make an appropriate staffing decision which includes recruitment and
selection globally.
3.Administer and contribute to the design and evaluation of the performance management
program.
4. Apply critical thinking skills in analysing theoretical & applied perspectives of strategic HRM.
5. They will be able to design, implement and evaluate training programmes
6.Students are able to understand HR compensation plans including employee benefits, incentives
and regulations governing.
7.They will be able to apply the policies and practices governing the undertaking
8.Research and analyse information needs and apply current and emerging information technologies
to support the human resources function.
9.Manage own professional development and provide leadership to others in the achievement of
ongoing competence in human resources professional practice.
10.Facilitate and support effective employee and labour relations in both non-union and union
environments.
11.Investigate & communicate the professional values of HRM including ethical problems inherent in
employee relations in cooperate environment
12.To demonstrate the application of problem solving & evaluation skills in HRM through exercises &
case study work.
PEO Relevant to Course

1. To solve management problems through innovative methods.
2. To develop socially responsible and ethically sound organisations.
4. To research and provide consultancy on various complex management issues.

PO Relevant to Course
1. To apply management tools in managing business operations and systems.
2. To analyse marketing, financial and human resource management problems from multiple
perspectives and design a roadmap to solve them.
3. To conduct market research and use findings to take decisions.
5. To develop Strong Organisational Cultural for its overall growth.
6. To design and implement activities in accordance with organization’s legal and
environmental framework.
7. To work in multicultural environment by fostering bonds within and out the organisation
Related PEOs Related Program Outcomes Related Course Outcome(s)
1 1 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,10,12
2 1-4,6,8,12
6 8,10,11
8 7,10
9 4,11
3 6 11
8 7,9,10
9 4,11
4 4 4
6 3 4,7,11
8 10,12

SYLLABUS
Unit I
Human Resource Management (HRM): Nature, Scope, Objectives and functions of HRM. Evolution
of HRM, HR as a factor of competitive advantage. Organization of HR department, Line ad staff
responsibility of HR managers, competencies of HR Manager. Personnel Policies and Principles.
Strategic HRM: Introduction, Integrating HR strategy with Business Strategy, Difference between
SHRM and HRM. HRM Environment and Environment Scanning. Human Resource Planning:
Meaning, Process and importance, factors affecting Human Resource Planning. Job Analysis: Process,
methods of Job Description & Job Specification.
Unit 2
Recruitment & Selection: Meaning & Concept, Process & Methods Recruitment & Selection,
Induction & Placement. Training & Development: Meaning & Concept of Training & Development,
Methods of Training & Development, Evaluating training effectiveness. HRM vs. HRD. Career
Planning & Development: concept of career, career planning, career development, process of career
planning and development, factors affecting career choices, responsibilities of Employers / managers,
organization and employees in career planning and development, career counseling. Internal Mobility:
Promotion, Transfer, Demotion, Separation, downsizing and outplacement.
Unit 3
Performance Appraisal: Meaning & Concept of Performance Appraisal, Methods & Process of
Performance Appraisal, Issues in Performance Appraisal, Potential Appraisal. Compensation
Management- Concept and elements of compensation, Job evaluation, Wage / Salary fixation,
Incentives Plans & Fringe Benefits. Quality of work life (QWL): Meaning, Concept, Techniques to
improve QWL. Health, Safety & Employee Welfare, Social Security. Quality Circles: Concept,
Structure, Role of Management, QCs in India.
Unit 4
Industrial Relations: Government’s concerns, Union’s concerns, Management concerns; Approaches
of IR; Dispute Resolution Machinery. Collective Bargaining: Meaning, Scope, Objectives, Issues and
Strategies, steps of collective bargaining, negotiation skills. Participative Management, Grievance
Handling, Disciplining and Counseling of employees, HRIS, HR Audit. Ethical Issues in HRM.
Human Resource Management practices in India.
Suggested Readings:
Dessler, Gary, “Human Resource Management”, New Delhi, Pearson Education Asia. 2017 15th
Edition
Aswathappa, K.. Human Resource Management, Text and Cases (7th ed.). McGraw Hill. Flippo, E.
Human Resource Management (5th ed.). McGraw Hill.
Ivancevich, J. Human Resource Management (12th ed.). Tata Mc Graw Hill.
Dale Yoder, Personal Management & Industrial Relations, Tata McGraw Hill

EVALUATION CRITERIA
Evaluation Parameter
Parameter weightage In internals
MSE1
MSE2 24
MSE3 Two out of three of 12 marks each
Presentation
Project 10
Any Other parameter
Attendance 6
40
Attendance:
75%------01
75-80-----02
80-85----03
85-90----04
90-95----05
95-100----06
PRESENTATION DETAILS
Guidelines :
Students will be divided into groups of 2 members each at random by the instructor.
They will be allocated the topics as defined. It will be a powerpoint presentation with more emphasis
on Practicality of training.
Synopsis (Content Inclusion )must be presented by the student atleast 3 days before presentation to
deliver the same.
PRESENTATION TOPICS
S.No Topics for Presentations(Types of Training)
1 Personality Development
2 Essential verbal communication skills
3 Resume Building
4 Email & Telephone etiquettes

5 Dining Etiquettes
6 Non Verbal Communication
7 Soft Skills Training
8 Business Etiquettes
9 Basic computer skills
10 Marketing Gimmicks
11 Gender Sensitivity
12 Advanced PowerPoint
13 Induction & Orientation training
14 Mentor (Buddy) & Coaching
15 Introduction to business writing
16 Stress management
17 Time Management
18 SWOT Analysis
19 Cross cultural communication
20 Data Gathering for Problem Solving
21 Motivating By Appreciation
22 IT - Be Smart & Be Secure
23 Sexual Harassment
24 Review & Reconciliation of Financial Statement
25 Working With DATA
26 Change In Mindset
27 Living the Code( of Conduct)

28 Cooperate Finesse
29 Recognition Programme
30 Performance Appraisal Overview
31 Interview skills
32 Sales(Tricks of the trade)
PRESENTATION DETAILS
Guidelines :
Students will be allocated the topics as defined. It will be a powerpoint presentation with more
emphasis on Practicality of training.Synopsis (Content Inclusion )must be presented by the student
atleast 3 days before presentation to deliver the same.Students will be including management
games (activities) related to their training topic.
ACTIVITIES/ MAJOR PROJECT

Major Project:
The student shall select an organization for the project, which shall then be conducted in the
following phases:
 Phase I: The students shall design the Job Description for 2 different positions (in different
departments) in the selected organization, after studying the required details of that
position. The students can choose any of the methods of collecting job data.
 Phase II: Design a suitable recruitment & selection process for the two selected positions.
Including detail of interview questions , various tests conducted etc
ACTIVITIES
Activity 1: Visit your organization & identify the different Job positions & no. of people working in
the same and find H.R problems in their Business Organization.
Activity 2: Students will be divided in the groups, they will allocated different industries and they have
to start a new company. They have to do Human Resource planning for the business like how will they
calculate how many employees they require and at what positions. A rough budget will be given and
assumptions they can take

Activity 3: Students have to write the job specification and job description for any 2 assigned person
required and present in the class with respect to their allocated business.
Activity 4: Students needs to bring Wednesday HT/Tribune newspaper select a job opening
advertisement or any other source and shall discuss and do job analysis for the same.
Activity 5: Role Play on selection interviews
Activity 6: Students are expected to bring the offer letter for the two selected job positions and classify
the various compensation components.
CLASS ROOM POLICIES

1. Attendance Criteria – 75%.
2. You’re welcome in class on/before scheduled time.
3. Projects will be acceptable only when it is submitted in appropriate form & as well as
on time. Copied assignments got zero marks. Late submission will get deduction in
marks accordingly. Well prepared for discussion because we are going to discuss every
detail of the project in the class.
COURSE PLAN
Subject: Human Resource Management Code: MBA 204-18
Class: MBA Semester:2
No. of Lect.: 40 Theory + 8 Presentation Credit:4
Name of Instructor: Namrata
No of Lectures :40 Theory + 8 Presentation
Le Topics Discussion Articles/Activities /Case

c Studies
Ice breaking  What is Business Activity name: Truth and

Lies/ Life Highlights Game
1 o Resources of Business (Best moments lived till
o Humans as resources for Business now)
Introduction: Visit your organization & identify the different Job

2-
Meaning positions & no. of people working in the same and https://hbr.org/2015/07/reth
3 find H.R problems in their Business Organization inking-hr
Scope of

HRM HR is a series of integrated decisions that form the Activity 1 to be given for
employment relationship; their quality contributes to the next class: The Ordinary
Nature of ability of the organizations and the employees to achieve
Heroes of the Taj Hotel:
HRM their objective. Rohit Deshpande at
TEDxNewEngland : HR
Employee hiring, Remuneration, motivation, INTRO CASE:
maintenance, and industrial relations.ADMM Model https://youtu.be/vQGz1YR
qBPw
Functions Legal Compliance, Union management relations, HR CaseStudy1:HiddenBattle

planning, selection, training, placement, assessment, ground
compensation and appraisal
4- Organizing Management department in the organization.
6 the Human
Resource Various Forms of HR structures like Line, Line and Staff
Importance Evolution of HRM and its progressBest employers by an A Day in The Life of HR:
of Human acknowledged survey will be discussed. https://youtu.be/UKqpSngo
Resource K7E?list=TLPQMjgxMTI
Managemen wMTnYB_gVKCCsKA
t
https://hbr.org/2015/07/peo
ple-before-strategy-a-new-
role-for-the-chro
HRM & A comparative analysis The Future of HR:

HRD a https://youtu.be/57PmDk7
comparative Article: Flipkart Maternity Benefits 3u7I?list=TLPQMjgxMTI
analysis wMTnYB_gVKCCsKA
Video Clip: Introduction to

Human Resource
Management
Human Definition https://hbr.org/2015/07/why

Resource -we-love-to-hate-hr-and-
Planning: HRP is the process of forecasting a firm’s future demand what-hr-can-do-about-it
and supply of the right person at the right place.
Objectives Activity 2 will be done in
Future personnel needs, Part of strategic planning, are
7- Class:
HRP process creating talented personnel, International strategies.
-9
Activity 2 will be done in Class: The Workplace HR The
Useless Department :
Students will be divided in the groups, they will allocated https://youtu.be/hQZlmR5
different industries and they have to start a new oQpo?list=TLPQMjgxMTI
wMTnYB_gVKCCsKA
company. They have to do Human Resource planning for

the business like How will they calculate how many

employees they require and at what positions. A rough
budget will be given and assumptions they can take
Job analysis, Job Analysis is the process of studying and collecting Activity 3 will be given:
description, information relating to the operations and responsibilities
specification of a specific job. Indra Nooyi: Truths from
&job the Top:
10 evaluation Activity 3 will be given: https://youtu.be/AS_THnm
- aQ7I?list=TLPQMjgxMTI
11 Students have to write the job specification and job wMTnYB_gVKCCsKA
description for assigned person required.
Recruitment involves attracting and obtaining as many https://youtu.be/SWjN3s

Recruitment applications as possible from eligible job seekers. VNwMQ: Jack Ma’s
hiring tip: ‘If you think he
Sources Internal and external Sources
will be your boss in five
Recruitment years, hire him’
12 process
- Case Study 3: Orion (Live
13 discussion)
Activity 4 will be conducted
RESUME:
https://youtu.be/jiDQDL
nEXdA
Selection Is the process of differentiating between applicants in Case Study 4: Which
order to identify and hire those with a greater likelihood candidate is right?
Selection of success in job.
Process Selection Process :
Preliminary interview, Psychological test, Employee https://youtu.be/6PnFt-
14 interview, Reference check, selection decision, medical PboxA
- exam, job offer, employment contract. Activity 5 will be
15 conductedVideo Clip: How
Article: India can be Human Capital of the World
to get hiredResearch
Article: CV Fraud- Senior level
Article: Hiring Secrets
Placement Induction is the systematic and planned introduction of http://economictimes.indiati

16 and employees to their jobs, their co workers and the mes.com/small-
induction organization. biz/startups/startup-brings-
next-generation-of-job-

process. Formal/ Informal, Individual/collective, interviews-to-

serial/disjunctive, Investiture/Divestiture. india/articleshow/53275295
.cms
Employee Is the process of teaching new employees the basic skills Steve Jobs talks about
17 training they need to perform their jobs. managing people:
- https://youtu.be/f60dheI4A
18 Methods On the job training, Apprenticeship, Simulated, Rg?list=TLPQMjgxMTIw
Electronic MTnYB_gVKCCsKA
Career Making career choices and decisions – the traditional Case Study 5: Career
Planning & focus of careers interventions. The changed nature of Planning
Developmen work means that individuals may now have to revisit this
19 t process more frequently now and in the future, more than Career Development :
- in the past https://youtu.be/7UOdqmi
20 . Coxk
Article: Career Changes
Video Clip: Introduction to
Career Planning
Is an objective assessment of an individual’s performance

Performanc against well-defined benchmarks Awkward Performance
e Review:
managemen Objectives of performance appraisal, establish job https://youtu.be/gdp4sPviV
21 t: expectations, design a programme, and appraise 74?list=TLPQMjgxMTIw
- performance review MTnYB_gVKCCsKA
22
Video Clip: How to do effective Performance Case Study 6: Bharat
Appraisal. Hospitality
Process
Video Clip: What are 360 degree surveys
23 Methods of Rating scales, Checklist, Vestibule, Simulations,

- Performanc https://hbr.org/2016/09/yo
Field Enquiry, Forced Distribution, Critical
24 e appraisal u-cant-delegate-talent-
incident, Behaviourally anchored rating scales
management-to-the-hr-
Essay method, Ranking method, Paired comparison. department
Potential Article: Snadeal
25 appraisal Performance Trimester
Appraisals
Is the administration of the hourly rates of pay, Video Clip: Microsoft

irrespective of the number of hours put in by an
Wage Incentives
26 employee.
administrati
on -Monetary and non-monetary benefits.

Salary Factors affecting employee remuneration like Labour Activity 6 will be conducted
administrati markets, Going rate, Productivity, Cost of living, Labour
27 on Unions, Labour Laws, Society.Students are expected to
bring the offer letter for the two selected job positions and
classify the various compensation components
Incentive Group and Individual Incentive Plans. Article: Why Employee

28 plans
Stays with organization
Fringes embrace a broad range of benefits and services

that employees receive as part of their total compensation
Fringe package pay or direct compensation.
29 benefits
Principles of
Fringes
Promotions Means improvement in pay, prestige, position, and
responsibilities of an employee within an organization.
Types of Means decrease in pay, prestige, position, and http://economictimes.indiati
promotions: responsibilities of an employee within an organization mes.com/jobs/ericsson-
30 handing-out-plum-global-
Horizontal, jobs-to-indian-managers-
Vertical and to-retain-
Dry talent/articleshow/4823057
Demotions 4.cms
Involves a change in job along with it a change in place

without change in pay, position or responsibilities.
Transfers Production, Replacement Versatility, shift Remedial.
Types:
31
Layoffs, resignations and dismissals separate
Separation employees from the employer.
Refers to the failure on the part of employees to report to

Absenteeism work though they are scheduled to work.
& turnover.
Causes of Absenteeism
32 Turnover
Causes of Absenteeism in India
Causes of
Turnover Refers to employee leaving the organization and the need
to be replaced.

Quality of QWL: Meaning,- is ensured when the important personal

work life (] needs of employees are being fulfilled through their
experiences in the organization.
33 Origin of
QWL Factors contributing towards QWL.
Development and various approaches to QWL.
Quality concept – is the group of persons within the same work

circles: area in an organization who meet frequently to discuss and
34 Structure, analyse quality related problems.
Job Job satisfaction has been defined as a pleasurable

satisfaction emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job
an affective reaction to one’s job and an attitude towards
Employee one’s job.
35 Morale.
Affect Theory
Dispositional Theory
Two-Factor Theory
Health, Refers to all those factors of employers, trade unions,

Safety & voluntary organizations and govt. agencies which help
36 Employee employee feel better .
welfare.
Employee welfare in India.
Employee Refers to any conflict between the employees and

grievances employer
37 Causes of - Collective Bargaining

- dispute
- Code of Discipline
38
Settlement
of - Grievance procedure
Grievances - Conciliation
Employee participation is the process whereby employees Demonstrate You Value

Participatio are involved in decision making processes, rather than People
n & simply acting on orders. Employee participation is part of
Empowerme a process of empowerment in the workplace. Share Goals and Direction
39 nt, Trust People
Principles of Delegate Authority and
empowerme Impact Opportunities, Not
nt Just More Work

Is a process by which representatives of employees meet

the representatives of management in order to determine
Introduction wages, salaries and other issues Case Study 5: Maruti
40 to collective Udyog Limited
- bargaining
41 Process of
collective
bargaining
HR Audit. Is a tool which helps in assessing the effectiveness of HR

functions in the organization.
Approaches - Outside Authority Approach
to HR Audit
42 - Statistical Approach
- Compliance Approach
- MBO
Refers to good and bad, right and wrong, just and unjust
Introduction actions of the business people.
to Business Religion
43 Ethics
Culture
Sources
Legal System
https://hbr.org/2014/07/its-
time-to-split-hr
Communication Lectures
S.No Communication Lectures
1 Say your heart out:This will be an activity in which students have to feel there heart
out about the campus, the class and what changes they possible think could help
them
2 Mock Interview Session(Set of questions given to the students & basically leading to what
their aim is)
3 Students will be asked to make an recruitment advertisement of the previous activities

and explain in class how this advertisement would be attracting more applicants
4 Induction & Orientation Program to be designed by students & then enacted upon
about how companies communicate their policies & procedures to their new
entrants.
5 Role Play on various situation in organisations

S.No Role Plays (Situations)
1 Performance Appraisal Overview

2 Salary Negotiations
3 Recognition
4 Communicating a Promotion
5 Communicating a Transfer
6 Interdepartmental Conflict
7 Interdepartmental Communication
8 Female Boss
9 A Day in the life of HR
10 Discussion on Sales Target
11 Revised Salary for Employees vis a vi HR
12 Promotion justifications
13 Conflicts
14 Power & Politics
15 Sexual Harassment
16 Me Too Movement
17 Whistle Blower
18 Downsizing
19 Justifying a layoff
20 salary negotiation
21 Trade Union & Management negotiation
Case Study 1: Maruti Udyog Limited: Industrial Unrest of 2000-2001
January 09, 2001: The top management team of Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) were relieved and happy at the
end of a long agitation of employees. Their managerial abilities had been put to an extreme test during the last
four months of labour agitation.
MUL could boast that nearly three-quarters of cars on Indian roads originated in its factories. However, it faced
an unenviable labour situation by mid-2000. Along with continuously having to fight against competitors in the
market, the company was becoming embroiled in a dispute with its employees.
Agitation was taking place at a time when MUL's market share had declined fast from 82.8 percent in 1996-97
to 61 percent. While the employees were agitating for increased compensation through an incentives scheme,
the company's profitability had considerably reduced in the last few years. Its PBDIT had declined from 13.6
percent of sales in 1996-97 to 7.6 percent of sales in
1999-2000.

Company Background: MUL was incorporated in 1981 as a joint venture between the government of India and
Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) of Japan. Its initial brief was to produce small, fuel-efficient cars. Production
for its most popular small car - the Maruti 800 began in 1983. It has been consistently growing since then. MUL
introduced many new models in the Indian market. Its market share was 82 percent in 1997. However, the
Maruti 800 has remained the company's mainstay product even after 17 years of its launch.
Among different models, MUL launched an all-terrain vehicle, the Gypsy in 1985; the Maruti 1000 in 1990 and
the Zen in 1993. Since 1993, the company has added the Esteem, Alto, Baleno, WagonR, and Omni CNG cab
to its product profile. The company started exporting cars in 1986.
MUL employs more than 5,500 employees. Out of them, nearly 4,500 employees are engaged in production
activity at the Gurgaon plant. The average age of workforce was just under 36 years.
The Management: There had been a consistent struggle for management control and equity control in the
company between the two partners owing to its monopoly status and high profitability (until recently). SMC
could exercise significant influence over MUL management through a negotiated transfer of technology.
MUL upgraded its technology from time to time with the help of SMC. The productivity of the plant went up
to 70 cars per employee per year in 1998-99 from 25 cars per employee per year in 1988. In the process, SMC
could bargain for 40 percent equity up from 26 percent in 1987. It further went up to 50 percent in 1992.
The two partners have seen some of the worst conflicts over the appointment of managing director of the
company. The current managing director, Mr. Jagdish Khattar, took over from RSSLN Bhaskarudu in 1999 as
a compromise between two partners. Bhaskarudu was made to retire from the company on 31st December 1999
instead of 2002. Bhaskarudu was appointed as the member of the Public Enterprise Selection Board.
Competitive Situation: MUL was the largest car manufacturer in India. It was exposed to serious competition
in the late 1990s from new entrants such as General Motors, Daewoo, Hyundai, Ford, Mitsubishi and TELCO.
Daewoo, Hyundai and TELCO introduced cars in the small car segments, up till then a segment in which MUL
had enjoyed a monopoly.
Very few models in the Indian car industry have made a significant positive contribution. Smaller vehicles
dominate the Indian roads. Historically, the small car segment is price sensitive. Simultaneously, the Indian
passenger car industry has over-capacity. While the domestic market was hovering around half a million units
per year, the built in capacity of the industry was more than one million units per year. Worldwide, too, firms
are cutting down production and reducing manpower.
MUL had installed a capacity of 320,000 units per year. Its manufacturing plant was located at Gurgaon, one
of the prime industrial belts in North India. Daewoo, the company's competitor was located at Surajpur, nearly
75 Km from Gurgaon. Hyundai Motors, another major competitor had its plant at Chennai. The car plant of
TELCO was located at Pune, in western India.

Business Strategy: MUL had a stated policy of "value-for-money" and to provide vehicles to customers at the
lowest possible price. The company concentrated on large volumes in order to achieve economies of scale. It
focussed on using indigenous components in its cars to keep the prices of final products low. The usage of
indigenous components varies from more than 90 percent to 75 percent in different models produced by MUL.
The company had developed a network of ancillaries to meet its demands for different components. The
strategic outsourcing of components, along with close co-ordination with component suppliers had provided
the company with flexibility and a cost advantage. MUL had nearly 400 vendors in the country.
The other strength of the company had been its network of service centres. The company had developed a wide
network of more than 1,000 service centres across the country. MUL stated its plans to have a service centre at
25-30 kilometre intervals on all the national highways in 2001.
Industrial Relations and Conflict of 2000-2001: There had not been instances of major industrial. dispute in the
company from its inception until mid 2000. The company had good industrial relations. The President of Maruti
Udyog Employees Union (MUEU) had excellent relations with Bhaskarudu. However, some of the employees
stated that Bhaskaradu encouraged the present Union President.
All the employees of the company were represented by MUEU. MUEU was not associated with any of the
central trade unions like All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Indian National Trade Union Congress,
Hind Majdoor Sabha (HMS), Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU). Abraham Mathew, aged 40 years, was
the General Secretary. He was known for his good relations among the leaders in political parties such as the
Communist Party of India and the Shiv Sena. He had good relations with the Minister for Heavy Industries,
Manohar Joshi, who belongs to the Shiv Sena, a strong political party in Maharastra (a state in western India).
Dinesh Kumar was the president of the union.
Asim Talukdar, a management graduate from a prestigious management institute in eastern India was the head
of Human Resource Management function at MUL. He joined MUL in 1999. He had worked for a few
multinational companies before. Dinesh Kumar stated,
"He is on contract here. MUL is paying very high compensation to him but is unwilling to pay a little
more to its workers."
He stated that Talukdar had plans to reduce the workforce and impose tough working conditions.
MUL was known for its pro-employee labour practices. It was one of the best paying companies in the industry.
The company's incentive scheme that had lapsed in 1998-99 had ensured substantial incentive payment to
employees. The new incentive scheme was said to be the genesis of the conflict between the management and
the union in 2000.
The incentive scheme was revised every four years at MUL. According to the previous incentive schemes,
incentive was linked to the production level. The last scheme had lapsed in March 1999

and a new one was being negotiated since September 2000. MUEU wanted productivity norms of 1988-89 (25
cars per employee per year) to be used in the new incentive scheme while the management offered 1998-99 as
a base year (70 cars per employee per year). Further, management wanted to link incentives with revenue instead
with production.
Although union leaders and management had a conflict of interests related to the incentive scheme, the conflict
was aggravated from September 19,2000 when Mathew called his supporters to conduct a hunger strike. Some
employees resorted to an exhibition of power on company premises. Management suspended nine such
employees. Employees responded through tool-down agitation on September 26, 2000. The chronology of
events is provided in Exhibit 1.
As the events started unfolding, management put up a notice at the factory gate on October 11, 2000. It
instructed all the employees to sign an undertaking for "good conduct" on factory premises before they were
allowed entry. Most of the regular employees refused to sign the undertaking.
In its attempt to break the strike, MUL freshly employed over 2,000 temporary skilled workers. It also took the
help of its own-trained staff from vendors and apprentices. Subsequently, 1,600 employees signed the "good
conduct undertaking" by November end and started working in the plant. Average monthly production touched
1,311 units in November as against the average monthly production of 1,205 units earlier.
The Union finally singed an undertaking to follow MUL's standing orders2 on January 8, 2001.
Management's interests, actions and offerings:
1. Management was keen to reduce the labour cost per car. The labour cost was Rs. 2,696 per
car at Maruti. While, the labour cost was Rs. 1,617 per car for Hyundai at the end of 2000. MUL was
interested to invest in modernization and new models through savings.
2. Management agreed to increase the average cost to company per employee to Rs. 33,767.
This would mean an extra burden of Rs. 600 million per annum.
3. Management insisted that only those employees who signed an undertaking not to take part in
strikes or protests would be allowed entry into the factory. By October end more than 500
employees signed the undertaking.
4. MUL hired workers from some of its vendors. The company also called back nearly 1,200
apprentices. These apprentices were paid Rs. 5,000 per month.
5. MUL called back about a dozen non-production people who were sent to Suzuki's facilities in
Japan as part 0 fa 120-strong contingent for training.
The Union' interests and actions:

1. The Union demanded withdrawal of the "good conduct" notice before negotiating on other
issues.
2. The Union asked for reinstatement of all the employees who had been either suspended or
removed.
3. The Union asked for an improved incentive scheme.
Dinesh Kumar stated,
"We never went on strike. We were agitating against the high handedness of the management.
Management started calling it a strike to malign our image."
He claimed that nearly 4,000 workers sat in front of Udyog Bhawan, the office of the Minister of Heavy
Industries between December 13 and January 8, 2001 during the worst of winter cold weather.
The Union could not muster the support of local government authorities. Dinesh Kumar recalled that the State
Chief Minister went to Japan with MUL's Managing Director in October 2000. Since then, union leaders
experienced a shift in his attitude from being pro-union to either neutral or pro-management. Civil authorities
too were unwilling to co-operate with union leaders.
The Union provided financial help to those who were either suspended or were dismissed during the agitation.
They were paid their wages regularly from the Union fund. The Union found it increasingly difficult to support
the agitation after four months owing to financial constraints.
The Agreement: Finally, an agreement was signed in the night on January 08, 2001. The striking employees
returned to work on January 09, 2001. At this stage nearly 3,000 employees continued on strike. The rest of the
employees had returned to work earlier after agreeing to the "good conduct undertaking."
Under the agreement, MOOU accepted the proposed revised incentive scheme (announced on October 17, 2000)
of the management. MUEU gave a commitment to abide by the rules of the company. MUEU signed an
agreement stating that they would follow standing orders of the company. Management agreed to take back 46
of the terminated employees while legal proceedings against other employees continued. The Union continued
to provide financial support to these employees.
Dinesh Kumar stated,
. "We will continue to support our suspended and dismissed colleagues. They are paid
regularly from the union fund."

The removed and suspended employees took legal recourse in order to be reinstated in the company.
Exhibit 1 Chronology of Events
May 19, 2000: MUL decided to cut down production and initiate a five-day week in view of a major slump in
the demand for cars.
June 20, 2000: MUL restored a six-day week.
June 23, 2000: MUEU urged the government not to disinvest its stake in the company. It threatened to strike if
the government holding was reduced below the existing 50 percent. September 6, 2000: MUEU leaders
threatened to cut down production. They claimed that the revision of incentives had been due for around one
and a half years and the management had been using pressure tactics.
September 19, 2000: MUL management suspended production for two days attributing it to a high inventory
level of cars. However, Dinesh Kumar stated that management stopped the production due to labour agitation.
Some MUEU members started a hunger strike at the main gate of the plant.
September 21, 2000: Production resumed again. MUEU called off the agitation on the assurance of the
management to discuss their demands after a day.
September 24, 2000: MUEU announced one-hour token tools-down strike on September 26, 2000 to press their
demand for resumption of incentive-based production and improved pension scheme. The management moved
an application at the court of district magistrate to seek an injunction against the protests and demonstrations.
September 26, 2000: Management issued a notice, warning agitating employees that it would take 'stem
disciplinary action' unless they reported on duty by the next day.
September 27, 2000: Management suspended nine workers.
October 3, 2000: Employees at the plant went on strike for six hours (2 hours each in three shifts in different
shops) to demand higher incentives and a new pension scheme. Work was stopped at Press Shop and Welding
Shop for two hours in the morning shift, at Paint Shop and Engine Assembly Shop in the second shift and at the
Vehicle test line in the last shift. However, such stoppage of work in one shop adversely affects the work in other
shops due to on-line-production system in the company.
The management issued a notice, warning all striking employees that a tools-down strike for 2 hours would lead
to a penalty of eight days' salary being deducted.
Mathew raised the issue of suspension of nine workers in last week of September. He claimed that the' suspended
employees were not office bearers of MUEU.
October 9, 2000: Six central trade unions {AITUC, CITU, HMS, Union of Trade Union Congress (UTUC),
UTUC (Lenin Sarani) and TUCC} extended their support to the ongoing agitation of MUEU. These trade unions
sought Manohar Joshi's intervention to settle the contentious issues.
October 11, 2000: Management issued a notice and pasted it at the main gate of the plant. The notice was made
effective from October 12, 2000. The notice stated,

"Only those workmen shall enter the factory who give an undertaking in writing that they will not indulge in
any activity which adversely affects the production and discipline. The workmen who do not give the
undertaking will be deemed to be on illegal strike."
Six central trade unions condemned the notice.
October 12, 2000: Maruti employees boycotted the work. However, the management claimed that 200 cars
were produced.
October 13, 2000: Union officials stated that they were demanding an increase of Rs. 1219 per month per
employee for the base year 1998-99. The union claimed that this demand would mean paying an additional Rs.
58.4 million per annum.
October 17, 2000: Management announced a new incentive scheme for employees with effect from November
1,2000. According to the scheme average monthly salary would increase to Rs. 33,767 per month against the
current salary of Rs. 22,000 per month.
October 18, 2000: MUEU rejected the proposed incentive scheme. MUEU stated that it lacked a genuine increase
in incentives. MUEU representatives claimed that the incentive scheme would improve the pay packet of workers
by only Rs.500 per month.
MUEU also rejected the associated conditions with the proposed incentive scheme. It added that agitation
would continue till the management withdrew the "good conduct undertaking" notice. October 19,2000: An
employee died in the plant. MUEU claimed that the death was due to the negligence of the management while
the management stated that he died due to a heart attack.
October 22, 2000: MUEU wrote to the state governor asking for an enquiry into the death of two employees and
requested him to cancel dismissal and suspension orders issued by the management against some employees.
MUEU also demanded reasonable compensation for the family of deceased.
An employee, who came out of the plant, stated that he had been forcibly detained in the factory and made to
work for 17 hours. He demanded legal action against the management.
October 23, 2000: MUEU announced that workers' union of nine leading MUL ancillaries would join the wage
agitation with MUEU if their demands were not met within 72 hours.
October 30, 2000: About 250 employees resumed work. They alleged that the agitation was being supported by
Maruti's competitors. The management claimed that the attendance had improved after the notification of a new
incentive and wage scheme on October 17, 2000. However, Abraham claimed that in all only 100 people had
gone back to duty and the remaining workers were still staying away from work.
November 01, 2000: Mathew Abraham stated that ~f the management did not accept their demands they would
commence picketing at Maruti dealers throughout the country. More than 4000 unionised employees would also
demonstrate in front of the company's corporate headquarters in Delhi to force a solution to the crisis.
However, Khattar reiterated that the employees would have to sign a good conduct undertaking. He stated that
1,167 unionised employees had joined duty on October 30, 2000. Over 3,600 workers were working at the plant
including the apprentices and supervisors compared to the total work force of 5,700.

November 04, 2000: The government officials stated that MUL was a professionally run company. The dispute
should have been resolved by the management itself.
November 06, 2000: Gurgaon Civil Court dismissed the MUEU petition, challenging the 'good conduct' notice.
The Union softened its stand and stated that it would withdraw the strike under the following three conditions:
1) "good conduct undertaking" would not be made compulsory for employees 2) 83 suspended workers should
be reinstated
3) employees would be paid for the strike period.
November 08, 2000: Management claimed to achieve 100 percent capacity utilization in the first week of
November. They claimed that more than 3,800 workers had resumed work and that the seven-week old strike
was fast losing ground.
November 09, 2000: Management rejected the conditions put forth by MUEU to call-off the strike.
December 5, 2000: The company reported a rise in productivity. The production was 1,432 units on December
5, 2000 with 4,035 workers working for 11 hours. Further, the average daily line run without component,
average daily hold-up, and down time for the plant decreased. December 13, 2000: MUEU started a "sit-in
Dharna" in front of Udyog Bhavan in New Delhi. Abraham requested the minister to intervene.
December 14, 2000: MUEU rejected the four-point package proposed by the management. The four-point
package included:
1. Co-operation of MUEU in restoring normalcy in production and improving production andcompetence of
MUL
2. An incentive scheme as proposed by management on October 17

3. MUEU abiding by the standing order of the company and signing the code of conductundertaking
4. The Union allowing the law to take its course in case of dismissal/suspension of 92 workers.
The Union demanded:
1. Reinstatement of 92 employees.
2. Withdrawal of the code of conduct undertaking 3. A better incentive scheme.
The Union agreed to co-operate with management to implement standing orders of the company and maintain
normalcy in factory premises.
December 18, 2000: While the Dharna continued, four union office-bearers commenced an indefinite hunger
strike.
December 22, 2000: The management sought views of SMC on the ways in which the four-point package,
proposed by them, could be altered.
December 26, 2000: The government intervened and proposed to reinstate 55 of the 92 dismissed employees
and transform the dismissal into suspension for the rest. MUEU was inclined to accept the formula. However,
the management stated that it could accept the formula once it had been cleared by SMC.
January 09, 2001: The striking employees returned to work on January 09, 2001 after a three month old strike.
An agreement was signed on January 08, 2001

Case 2: The hidden battleground: the case
Acquisition talks are at an advanced stage between two software giants when the HRD head of the acquiring
company demands a place at the negotiating table. What impact will her inclusion in the team have on the
deal?
Ashish Malhotra, CEO of Gentech Solutions Ltd and Narain Bhattacharya, CEO of Hindustan Computer
Corporation (HCC) wound up their hour-long quasi-informal discussion on the acquisition their companies
were contemplating with a warm handshake. Their faces beamed with satisfaction as they walked out of the
elegant interiors of The Oberoi's exclusive members-only executive club overlooking the Arabian Sea.
"See you tomorrow," said Ashish. "Same place, 11.00 a.m.?" Narain seemed unsure. "Excellent," answered
Ashish, suppressing his impatience as he entered his BMW. "How am I ever going to pull them away from
their public sector mindset?" wondered Ashish casting a last glance at Narain's Maruti heading the other
direction. He quickly glanced at his watch. It was already 3.45 pm. He had just fifteen minutes before a
scheduled appointment with his colleagues, Sushil Acharya, Vice President Finance, and Jacob Mathew,
Vice President Strategic Initiatives.
At Gentech Headquarters
Gentech, one of India's largest software and Services Company is close to signing a deal to acquire HCC, a
leading government owned domestic provider of end-to-end IT solutions and services. Gentech's primary
motive for this acquisition is to consolidate its market leadership in India. And the government's divestment
policy is helping Gentech realize this objective. As Ashish briskly walked into one of Gentech's conference
rooms, he was welcomed by two senior Gentechies, as all employees at Gentech are internally known.
"Did the talks go well?" Jacob asked excitedly. "Yes, they did," Ashish responded. "Our team will meet
theirs tomorrow to finalize the deal." "Good, perhaps we should now discuss ways to tighten our bargaining
position," urged Sushil. "Before that why don't we quickly update ourselves on the core strategic and
financial benefits coming out of this deal?" Ashish looked at the duo for a response. "Fine, that would serve
as a warm up too," replied Jacob as he poured freshly brewed Darjeeling tea into their cups. Jacob began
with the strategic benefits. "HCC has expertise in facilities management and also in handling large turnkey
project execution. They have a wide range of service offerings and complementary domain expertise.
Gentech can benefit from their nationwide sales and support network and also from their large domestic
client base. Moreover, their reputation with the government will help increase our market share further. The
key attraction is their strong domestic market focus and that would very much complement our international
market expertise."
Ashish nodded in agreement as he turned to Sushil. "Exactly," Sushil took over. "Nearly 80% of their total
revenue came from their domestic operations during the last fiscal and this represents 4.6% of the total
market share. The government and public sector market together accounted for nearly 51% of the total
domestic IT market last year. Maintenance and support is a Rs 4.5 billion domestic market and HCC is the
unquestionable leader there with an awesome 70% market share."
"And that surely will help us strengthen our position in the domestic market. It's a pity that we hardly have
any presence in the Rs 95 billion domestic market for IT services that is growing by 45%. Though we grew
faster than the global market, the global market grows at just under 15%. Besides, the US slowdown is
reducing it further," added Ashish. "We should strengthen our bargaining position tomorrow by
enlightening them on how they could benefit by joining our family. If we try, we should be able to sail
through the deal with a price even lower than the currently quoted price," Sushil reiterated his point.
Ashish turned to answer the knock on their door. It was Aditi Saxena, Gentech's Vice President HR. "Yes
Aditi, what's up?" asked Ashish. "Can I join you for a short while?" she sounded disturbed. "Sure, any
problems?" Ashish was concerned. Aditi is known to have her finger on the pulse of the company. "You

are discussing HCC, right?" she asked. "Yes, relax. Would you like some tea?" Jacob took up his familiar
role. "Yes please. Do you have any role for HR in tomorrow's discussion?" she asked. "Don't worry. We'll
put you in charge of integration. At least wait till we clinch the deal," Sushil quipped.
"I'm serious. We'll have to discuss this. The correct spelling of acquisition begins with HR," Aditi retorted.
Ashish jumped in to save the situation, "Aditi, what's actually bothering you?" "Are you going to discuss
culture issues tomorrow?" she looked at Sushil. "Why so early?" he asked with surprise. "I knew that culture
simply wouldn't be on your map. Not only incompatible cultures but also issues like loss of key talent and
clash of management styles will pop up one after the other as soon as the deal goes through. Don't
underestimate these problems. It's better to talk about them early on," Aditi wanted to get her point across.
"I don't want to sound like a typical HR person who lacks business breadth. I'm fully aware of the strategic
and financial benefits HCC would bring to Gentech, but I would like you to ponder over people issues too.
Lack of attention to people issues could ruin the perfect fit between the companies. Unlike in a
manufacturing company, people are the assets of Gentech and HCC. The talk about acquisition is already
having its impact on employee morale. Valuable people, especially from HCC are planning to migrate ahead
of the deal to rival companies. When we acquire HCC we buy their talent and if HCC loses its people it
loses its charm too. At our end, Gentechies are worried about losing their positions to people from HCC."
Aditi stopped to sip her tea but continued before anyone could react.
"As all of us know, they have a very different PSU culture. I still have no clue on how we could integrate
them into our fold. Our global oriented culture demands greater accountability. We will have to induce our
performance driven culture into them. Moreover, the 3,100 employees at HCC take pride in the fact that
they developed the Rs 6.5 billion company on their own. This would surely lead to inertia against any
incoming new culture. We have to talk about what people roles would be and what the reporting structure
would be, early on. We have to talk about issues of compensation, benefit shifts and so on, and communicate
the decisions to people on both sides. This would go a long way in bringing down anxiety levels and aid in
the smooth transition towards the post acquisition integration process. What do you think?" Aditi tried to
gauge their reactions.
"We'll try to get your views across tomorrow," Sushil broke the short silence. "No, I want a seat at the table
tomorrow. I believe these are important issues which have to be dealt with tactfully. Sushil, you wouldn't
want me to discuss financials and bargain on the price tomorrow, would you?" Aditi made her stand clear.
The trio anxiously looked at Ashish for a verdict. "Aditi, we'll see you tomorrow at 11.00 am," Ashish put
an end to the three hour long session. "Does Mr Bhattacharya know who would be in from our side?" asked
Jacob. "Not anymore," smiled Ashish as he switched off his Sony Vio.
… And over at HCC headquarters
Amidst celebrations on a new project completion, CEO Narain Bhattacharya, Rajiv Aggarwal, Vice
President Strategic Initiatives, and Akil Trivedi, Vice President Finance, managed to pull in sometime
together to discuss the merger deal. "Are things looking up?" enquired Akil. "Almost. We are meeting them
tomorrow to finalize a few major issues," answered Narain. "We shouldn't budge on the price tomorrow,"
stressed Akil. "Let's see," was Narain's answer. "Do we really benefit from this deal? I somehow feel that
they are better placed in the deal," remarked Akil. "I wouldn't say we are in a fantastic position," continued
Rajiv sipping his filter coffee, "but we definitely stand to gain. We could benefit from the international
market expertise of Gentech. We would be able to leverage our capabilities in the international market.
Gentech posted 31% growth over the last five years. More importantly, we'll be part of a highly profitable
giant," Rajiv commented. Narain nodded approvingly.
"Where does our independence stand? Not only that, our people are already worried about the pink slips,"
that was Pramod Jain, Vice President HR, who overheard Rajiv's comments. "Don't worry about pink slips
too much. Our 3,100 employees will easily be assimilated into Gentech's 20,000," replied Rajiv.

"Assimilated? In what positions? People are worried about this and many of our key talent are already
leaving us. They've lost the sense of belonging. Gentech or Sipron, it makes no difference to them," muttered
Pramod.
"I believe we would blend with the Gentechies very well," Rajiv held on to his point. "Forget about blending,
we would be lost," Pramod insisted. "There won't be any more celebrations like this. They would force their
tough culture onto us. Their average revenue per employee is higher by a good 20% than ours though our
billing rate is high at $73 per hour. They spend less than 20% of revenues on salaries and wages, much
below the industry average and certainly less than us. Though they talk of giving us our independence,
independence would remain in the periphery."
News about their demands is spreading like wildfire. They seem to want top line to grow at 30-35%. People
already feel they have begun bossing over us and talking of bringing about improvements in margins,
enhancing return on capital employed and many others. Our existing senior management would supposedly
continue, but there will be two managers for each post especially at the top and senior levels, and they are
bound to induct key personnel from their side. We would just be puppets in their demanding hands," Pramod
continued.
"Given that we have no choice in the merger, we have several pressing financial and strategic issues to sort
out before tomorrow's meeting," said Akil, trying to side-step Pramod. "We are being bought, gentlemen!
HR becomes more important for us. We really have to get our views across and try to get a better deal for
our people," Pramod made his final remark. "I can't think of any better buyer than Gentech. People issues
will surely be settled once the deal is signed. Stay assured," Narain tried to comfort Pramod and put an end
to the argument. Pramod was clearly unhappy. He felt the pressing need to be present at the meeting the
next day, but had no other option but to stay back. Perhaps he was not forceful enough.
The talks begin
The day began with Ashish and Aditi signing in early. By 11.00 am Sushil and Jacob joined them. It was
11.15 am and the Gentechies were awaiting the arrival of Narain and others from HCC. "Sorry, we were
caught in a traffic jam," Narain excused his side for being late. "I'm Sushil Acharya…I'm Akil Trivedi."
They shook hands one by one. When it came to Aditi, Narain enquired, "Aren’t you a new addition? I'm
Narain Bhattacharya and it's a pleasure to meet you". "Well, Mr Bhattacharya," continued Ashish "We had
a new development yesterday and couldn't find time to inform you. Aditi is our Vice President HR. We
decided to bring up some people issues as well," smiled Ashish as he turned to Aditi who in turn nodded
approvingly. "Isn't it too early for that?" Narain was taken aback. "Nothing is too early, Mr Bhattacharya,"
replied Ashish. Narain seemed surprised as he whispered something to Rajiv.
Should Narain have included Pramod in the HCC team sitting at the negotiating table? Was Ashish
wise to have brought Aditi along for the talks? What impact will the decision to include a HR head
have on the acquisition talks?

Case Study 3: Orion – Recruitment
Orion was one of the world’s top Business Intelligence (BI) product companies. Its Indian subsidiary
Orion was headquartered from Mumbai. The mandate for the company was the selling &
implementing of Orion BI software .The Indian Office started in 1995 and till the year 2000 the
company was headed by expat who was given the task of setting up operations in India. In 2001,
when Subrata Das joined as the CEO of the organization it got a new impetus. The company started
doing well – every few days the company notice board had a congratulatory note for sales team for
the ‘largest order for Orion India’ With the increase in sales, the company drew out ambitious growth
plans.
In Orion, the annual planning was done in December for the coming year and all headcount budgets
were approved from the regional office (in the case of India, the regional headquarters was
Singapore). Ambitious plans to grow meant increase in sales team, pre sales team implementation
consultants and support people. The India team was not very big and constituted of few but very high
quality experts of diverse kinds. The sales team was organized in industry verticals such as Banking,
Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), Retail, Manufacturing, and the team members were usually
industry experts with good IT understanding. They were the ones who front ended sales and
maintained the relationships. The preparation of the technical proposal and the technical expertise
required to explain to the client was done by the pre sales team. They were technical experts of Orion
software with specific set of industries that they specialized in. The implementation consultants
usually played the role of project managers and sourced the implementation work hands from other
smaller software players. The rationale to not hire these people was to save the bother of keeping
them employed with projects at all times. Now they had people working only when they had projects.
When Sukanya had joined the HR team, it had been one of the happiest days of her life. She loved the
business that the company was in, she knew that the company had been on the list of Great places to
Work in America from the year the survey had started and the CEO was someone who believed in
keeping HR in the circle. For a company like this, how difficult it would be to get people?’ she had
thought to herself at the time of budgeting. She was very confident of getting people on board as per
the plan – till now, her small team had been able to service the requirements of the business really
well. However, as the years started rolling, hiring of people started proving to be a nightmare. The
more she thought about it the more perplexed she would be. Last month the pre sales head was very
upset with her and was short of calling her inefficient. He had yelled his way into HR releasing a
‘Walk-in’ advertisement in Times Ascent. He had also insisted that HR make sufficient arrangement
for refreshments for the candidate who would walk in. Sukanya knew it would be of no use, but then
she had no other way out. The day the walk INS were announced, 11 people came in. None of their
profiles were close to what they had asked for. In fact two ex-army people came thinking that
business intelligence was the same as military intelligence.
These days she could hardly get sleep, so one Sunday morning before anybody had got up at home-
she took her mug of coffee and decided put all facts on paper – may be that would help her come up
with some ways to tackle the problem. The company was international brand, but people outside of
the software world still confused it with travel Service Company with the same name. The Orion
brand magic had not worked in India. Software experts preferred to work with a service firm, which
implemented all products (different companies) and did not want to build expertise on any product

exclusively. Higher employability for an IT specialist meant knowing the products of many
companies – not just one. It had been eight months that they had been looking for supply chain
consultant – the ones they liked were not sure about joining a software product company. Their salary
was competitive with best software companies in India. However they could not offer very steep
hikes- internal parity was important. They did not want to lose what they had, all for making it easy to
get people from outside.
Placement consultants were just doing a keyword search and sending stacks of resume – shortlist was
like looking for a needle in haystack! To say the least they were not taking work off their table –
instead adding to it! Recommendations from employees were as good as the follow up effort of the
HR team – if you pestered people they did refer but not many. The recruitment process had one
element, which was proving to be botheration. Before offering to any candidate the HR in India had to
have the terms of the offer (complete with comparative salaries internally and externally
benchmarked) approved by Singapore before the offer could be made. Once the paperwork was in
place, approvals from Singapore were just an email away. Moreover the offer could be made to the
candidate immediately. Every offer was mapped against an approved head count and no offer against
the headcount could be made to anyone else. Often candidates would accept the offer and ask for a
month or couple of months joining period and then a week prior to the joining date conveys their
inability to join them. Usually their organizations had succeeded in retaining them. In such cases, the
recruitment process had to start afresh and that took the organization many steps back.
She looked at her list of woes waiting for some solution to merge
Questions
Why Orion is not able to attract people in spite of being a good company and a strong brand in BI
market?
What could Sukanya do to expand the pool of candidates for Orion?
Case Study 4: Which candidate is right?
Subhash Sane was the senior Manager-Retail Operations of a very established hyper mart. It was a
Monday afternoon as he stood by the glass door at his office, watching people coming in and leaving
the store. It was a Monday and there were not too many people other than those who want for the
weekend rush to ebb before they stopped into the store for their week long groceries. He could see one
young girl at the footwear section into the store for their week which pair to buy it seemed that she
wanted to buy one pair and could not decide which one of the two to buy Subhash could see her trying
one out, walking to the mirror and repeating the same with the other pair. Finally after the customer
service representative of that section had a small conversation with her the girl happily marched to the
till with one pair.
Subhash walked back to his chair wondering how similar this incidence was to the situation he was in.
He has interviewed three candidates in last three days for the position of customer service
representative. The three candidates did fulfil the basic requirements of the job and did seem to fulfil
all the requirements mentioned in the job description. But he could not decide which one to select. There

was no way he could try all the candidates out to choose like the girl did with her footwear and then an
idea struck him-if someone could help that girl decide I could also do with the advice from someone he
sat in his chair and called his friend Meera, who was an HR Manager in a bank?
Subhash : Are you free-can we talk for a few minutes? I need help (sounding desperate)I
Meera : yes tell me.
Subhash : I have to hire a customer service representative (CSR) for my store and I am confused
Meera : I understand it’s tricky at times. But you need to first tell me who a CSR is and what does he
or she do?
Subhash : A retail CSR or retail salesperson is someone who sells products or merchandise to help us
earn a profits. The young girls with a smile, who help you in making a decision between one sandal and
the other, either with relevant information of her opinion this is the retail CSR of a store. A CSR’s job
is to be well versed with all the merchandise in that particular department in the store and inform and
influence visitors to turn them into customers. A retail to have strong communication skills. These
communication skills have to be broad-based as they are expected to deal with everyone from
management to peers to customers on a daily basis. The ideal candidates needs to be motivated,
energetic, organized and resilient as even the most experienced CSR’s fail to make a sale and face
rejection on a regular basis. It would be an added advantage if the candidate also had an understanding
of how to operate the case register since they often accept a consumer’s payment upon making a
purchase are you there?
Meera : Yes! Yes! I am listening so have you met some people?
Subhash : Yes, I have met three candidates yesterday and all seem to be good. In their own ways!
Meera: That’s good and bad! Your HR seems to do a good job in sourcing, but has not helped you with
selection! Eh! How much are you paying for the position?
Subhash: Oh! Salary is not an issue! The position receives a base salary, along with a commission or a
percentage of what they have sold. And the package is very competitive!
Meera : Tell me about the candidates now.
Subhash : The first candidates was least experienced, but showed a great amount of enthusiasm and
willingness to go the extra mile. She was pleasant enough seemed bright and highly assertive too. The
right fit as one would call it. But there’s a problem there. Riya is the current manager to whom this
position reports to.
Meera : why is she difficult?
Subhash : No! Not exactly! But during the course of the interview the candidate did indicate that on one
of her previous assignments, she did report to a lady boss and found her being highly partial towards
her male colleagues. In fact she also indicated that there were a couple of altercations between the two
and that provoked her to search for another assignment so I wonder whether she would be able to gel
well with Riya.

Meera : Have you done a reference check about this candidates your opinion cannot be just based on
the information she gives you! What about the other?
Subhash : The second applicant has the relevant experience but I feel that he would never do anything
beyond what is expected of him. He seemed mild and focused though and definitely did not reflect
qualities of a team player but you know Riya—she is good, but then she can’t handle aggressive people
so he should have no trouble reporting to Riya! The third applicant had the right kind of experience and
exposure and did demonstrate a good understanding of the assignment. She seemed the right fit where
the job was concerned. She had spent ten years at the organization and three years in the same role. But
then I doubt her potential and eagerness to learn more. She has been in the same job so long—I wonder
whether she would be able to adjust easily. We can’t afford to have someone with a long learning cycle!
Just then Subhash’s land-line rang it was Chaturvedi at the other end asking him which one he had
decided upon. Subhash told Meera he would call back and went back to answer Chaturvedi’s call. “Your
question is a sixty-four million dollar question! Give me some time I will come back to you on this!”
Questions
1. What do you think Meera would advise Subhash when he calls back?
2. What could have helped Subhash decide whom to hire without any help?
Case Study 5: Career Management
Abhijeet Desai always thought that he was an entrepreneur at heart. However, in his working life he
was a highly successful project manager working with a top notch software development company-
Techsoft in India, based in Hyderabad. He has been working there for the last three years and his
career and compensation progression had been great too. He was a keen learner as a software
professional and a great people manager, and to build his career to where it had reached he had
leveraged all opportunities he had come by. This included a couple of corporate relocations too. In
fact, when the company was contemplating starting an office in Latin America, he was quick to offer
to move and was fairly successful in setting up operations for the company in foreign location
When he wanted to come back to India due to pressure from his family (his wife did not want her
children to grow up in foreign land), reluctantly though the company had agreed. All of it had worked
out well for him. He had acquired property at Mumbai, his home town, and staying in touch with his
friends he had managed to buy and sell property to make some money too. Life was good. His family
thought he had a brilliant career and his social standing was nothing short of being enviable!!
Abhijeet had always been an above average performer and he had done well in the couple of
organizations he had worked prior to the current one. With his career firing on all cylinders, Abhijeet
never found anything wrong with his strategy to keep his head down; he felt no need to get involved
with local professional organizations, and certainly no need to participate in networking meetings.
Instead, Abhijeet continued to handle potential job changes as he had throughout his career- wait for a
search firm to call him with a perfect opportunity, respond to monster.com email alert or listen for job
leads from his exceedingly small but tight-knit network. When he came into Techsoft, it was not a
result of an intensive job hunt, but as a reactive response to a pushy headhunter. Whoever said “a
recruiter is someone who find people who are happy with their jobs, shows them why they are
unhappy, and then makes them happy again”, could not have been more honest.

But now he felt that he was trapped in a large organization and he was one among the many. He came
to know through one of their common friends that one of his batch-mates (IIT 2001), Kishen, was
staring an IT firm and had already received funding for the same. One late evening, Kishen bumped
into Abhijeet at a Barista outlet and the conversation drifted towards discussing their entire career
progression since the time they had passed out. Kishen was impressed with Abhijeet’s success at work
and made an open offer to Abhijeet to join his new venture, as Vice-President-Projects. Abhijeet felt
that this was an opportunity he was waiting for. Not only was the offer lucrative (he would be entitled
to share in the company when it would go public but), it also whetted his appetite for taking risks and
challenges.
He jumped at the offer and that was a terrible blunder. Due to global financial crisis the funding
stopped and they had to wind the company with in a year of commencement of its operations. Being
out of a job was not something he had ever imagined would happen to him and made him very
restless. At one point of time he started contemplating starting something of his own, but was afraid to
take the plunge. Instead, he started scouting for a job and appeared for six interviews at different
companies and got just one positive reply from a small time company as a project manager and a 40%
cut in compensation. He felt he was left with no choice, so he decided to take it up.
Questions
1. Did Abhijeet make the right career choices? Justify your answer.
2. What advise would you give him?
Case Study 6: Performance Management
Bharat Hospitality Ltd (Bharat) was in the business of hospitality. The eleven workers, whose regular
increment was stopped made a representation to the management of Bharat that the action taken was
not justified and that they wanted to know what their fault was. The management which acted upon
the recommendation of the department head concerned, Mr. Desouza felt guilty because such an
action was taken for the first time in the history of the company.
Bharat was a large hospitality group. They had several properties all over India. HR was a
decentralized function and each property had their defined HR practices. Apart from the support
function, the major departments at the property level which were a part of operations were:
1. Food and Beverages: Responsible for all the restaurants and also room service.
2. Banquets: Responsible for all parties and banquets
3. Kitchen: Responsible for all menu and cooking innovations as well as management of
kitchen.
4. Guest Relations: Responsible for extending hospitality to incoming and outgoing guests.
5. Housekeeping: Managing cleanliness, Hygiene and Décor.
Twenty eight workers worked in Housekeeping department in four groups, with each groups attending
to designated floor or areas. The nature of the work was such that all the seven workers had to work as
a team. Since no individual task could be specified the group was responsible for work turned out by
them. All the workers working in the housekeeping department had been with the company for over
ten years.
The company did not have any incentive wage system for any class of its employees. They were all
given straight salaries with normal annual increments. The annual increments were sanctioned each

year in a routine way. It was the policy of the company that the increment should not be stopped
unless the department had concern recommended such an action.
Desouza was placed in-charge of the Housekeeping department a year ago. Though he was a new
comer in the organization, he proved to be a very competent man. The management noted that he was
very aggressive and enthusiastic and that he knew his job well. At the end of the year, when
increments were to be sanctioned, he recommended to the management that the increments due to the
eleven employees (both men and women) in his department should be stopped, for, in his opinion they
were lazy and inefficient. The eleven employees concerned belonged to all the four groups working in
the department.
The management though puzzled about the action recommended by Desouza acted upon it and
stopped the increments due to eleven employees concerned. The management was aware that such an
action was the first of its kind in the history of the company. Most of the employees were with the
company for a fairly long period and there was never an instance of strained relations between
management and the employees.
Soon after the action was taken, the eleven employees concerned made a representation to the
management requesting them to let them know what was wrong with their work as to warrant
stopping of their increments. The management was in a fix because they didn't have specific reasons
to give, except Desouza’s report in which he simply mentioned that the eleven employees concerned
were lazy and inefficient.
The management was naturally concerned about the representation and therefore they tried to
ascertain from him the detailed circumstances under which he recommended the stoppage of
increment. When he could not pinpoint the reason, the management suspected that his representation
was based on impressions rather than facts. They therefore advised him to maintain a register from
then on noting the details of day to day incidents of lazy and inefficient workers and obtain the
signatures of workers concerned. He was to make the final appraisal of each worker in his department
on the basis of this register and recommend each case giving specific reasons about why increments
should be stopped.
Desouza started maintain a register as suggested by management, but he found it difficult to report
satisfactorily any case of laziness or inefficiency for want of specific reason.
The management was convinced that their action for stopping increments of the employees on the
strength of Desouza report was not a proper one. They realized that no similar action in future would
be taken based on inadequate information. However they were wondering whether suggestion made to
Desouza was the proper course of action to prevent the occurrence of similar situation.
Questions:
1. Whose at fault – Desouza, the eleven employees, or the management?

2. What should Desouza have done to avoid this embarrassment to himself?

MBA 204 18 Human Resource Management A NAMRATA BHALLA

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MBA 204 18 Human Resource Management A NAMRATA BHALLA

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PCTE GROUP OF INSTITUTES

COURSE: Human Resource Management

Program Educational Objectives

Management professional will be able

1. To solve management problems through innovative methods.

Graduate Management student will be able

1. To apply management tools in managing business operations and systems.

Department of Business Management Page 1

7. To negotiate business deals for organisational success

At the end of this module the student will be able to:

5. They will be able to design, implement and evaluate training programmes

PEO Relevant to Course

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Related PEOs Related Program Outcomes Related Course Outcome(s)

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S.No Topics for Presentations(Types of Training)

2 Essential verbal communication skills

4 Email & Telephone etiquettes

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6 Non Verbal Communication

7 Soft Skills Training

9 Basic computer skills

13 Induction & Orientation training

14 Mentor (Buddy) & Coaching

15 Introduction to business writing

19 Cross cultural communication

20 Data Gathering for Problem Solving

22 IT - Be Smart & Be Secure

24 Review & Reconciliation of Financial Statement

25 Working With DATA

27 Living the Code( of Conduct)

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30 Performance Appraisal Overview

32 Sales(Tricks of the trade)

ACTIVITIES/ MAJOR PROJECT

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CLASS ROOM POLICIES

Subject: Human Resource Management Code: MBA 204-18

Class: MBA Semester:2

No. of Lect.: 40 Theory + 8 Presentation Credit:4

Name of Instructor: Namrata

No of Lectures :40 Theory + 8 Presentation

Le Topics Discussion Articles/Activities /Case

Ice breaking  What is Business Activity name: Truth and

Introduction: Visit your organization & identify the different Job

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Functions Legal Compliance, Union management relations, HR CaseStudy1:HiddenBattle

HRM & A comparative analysis The Future of HR:

Video Clip: Introduction to

Human Definition https://hbr.org/2015/07/why

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the business like How will they calculate how many

Recruitment involves attracting and obtaining as many https://youtu.be/SWjN3s

Activity 4 will be conducted

Placement Induction is the systematic and planned introduction of http://economictimes.indiati

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process. Formal/ Informal, Individual/collective, interviews-to-

Is an objective assessment of an individual’s performance

23 Methods of Rating scales, Checklist, Vestibule, Simulations,

Is the administration of the hourly rates of pay, Video Clip: Microsoft

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Incentive Group and Individual Incentive Plans. Article: Why Employee