CRITICAL

THINKING
PROBLEMATIC-THEMATIC
What, why , n how of CTW

■ Writing is Critical thinking and articulation in practice

■ Encourages one to read widely, think strategically and write with a coherent structure n
focus!!
■ Thoughts have orientations of :
■ Everydayness; commonsense;
■ Deeply introspective, reflective and critical
■ Could be transcendental
■ EX: problematizing “globe” n “planet”
Fabric of thoughts: multiplicity n layers

■ Being Humans, We think as; it is our nature to do so. The quality of our life and that of
what we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought
■ Our thoughts are based on everydayness, common-sensical and at times, reflective,
imaginative n innovative etc.
■ thinking, left to itself, is sometime biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or down-right
prejudiced. Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life.
■ Excellence in thought needs systematic cultivation n deeper training.
Different ways of being human: A
Heideggerian perspective
■ Different ways of being human and diverse ways of thinking
■ Modern conception of ideas of “work’ n “idleness”, “discipline” and the conception of
adda
■ “Adda – n. a dwelling-place; a haunt; a (fixed or permanent) meeting- place, a
rendezvous; a place or institution for practising anything (ganer adda: [adda for
musicians]); a club; a company of idle talkers, their meeting-place or talk; a place for
assemblage, a station or stand (garir adda [adda for vehicles]).”
■ adda mara – v. to join in an assembly of idle talkers; to indulge in idle talk with others.
fond of indulging in idle talk with others or of haunting clubs where such talk is
indulged in
Socrates: “an unexamined life is not worth living”:

■ Critical thinking...the challenge n rise of the intellect to think through itself

■ Traced to Socratic / Platonic thoughts 4th century BC;( 470 to 399 BC; Plato: 428-348).2,500
yrs. Ago
■ The dialogues are also a form of dialectical reasoning, a branch of focusing on reasoning in
philosophical matters where absolute certainty may be unattainable but where truth is pursued
to a high degree of probability
■ Socratic dialogue involves participants who speak about their lifeworld and its experiences. It
begins with a question famously said as part of an universal question: ''What is sadness?''
Then, the first participant might say, ‘ on occasion "a”, I felt sad n upset”…
Thinking through Thoughts

■ Mode of thinking about any subject, content, or problem - in which the thinker improves
the quality of his or her thinking by thinking through the structures inherent in thinking
and imposing intellectual standards upon them
■ It is deeply loaded n provocative concept whose history is traceable to the times of
Socrates and his teaching practices n vision
Knowledge forms, theory of knowledge
and being: shifting focus
■ As a term, it dates back of late mid-20th century
■ Episteme/Epistemology/Ontology remain core to the idea of critical thinking
■ It has evolved through its embedded, and trans-disciplinary character thereafter
■ As we pass through the present time with unprecedented changes the binary or
divisions so carefully developed between between natural sciences/ human/social
sciences since 19th century stand contested and challenged
■ This entails new meaning and implications for Critical Thinking
A Normative and standardized Discourse
th
since mid-late 20 century
■ National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking, 1987
■ Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skilfully
conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information
gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or
communication, as a guide to belief and action.
■ Roots in Age of Reason (18th c.); Post-enlightenment tradition( 19th.c.), that valued
or privileged natural and individual rights, scientific thought; n separation of
power; church and the state; knowledge forms based on reason and evidence of
senses, liberty, freedom, pjustice, progress n fraternity
Beyond Disciplinary Practices! An
indispensable calling
■ It illuminates universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions
■ Critical thinking remains responsive to varied themes, issues, methodologies and
perspectives
■ Across Disciplinary Practices,
■ Normative horizons
■ Thinks through Interwoven modes of thought: ‘scientific’, ‘anthropological’,
‘philosophical’, ‘mathematical’, ‘historical’, ‘ moral’, ‘economic’
A critique on subtle elements of thought
process
■ Emphasis on elements of clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency,
relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness.
■ It Critiques structures or elements of thought implicit in all reasoning:
purpose, problem, or question-at-issue; assumptions; concepts; empirical
grounding; reasoning leading to conclusions; implications and
consequences; objections from alternative viewpoints; and frame of
reference
CT ideally conflicts with

■ the mere acquisition and retention of information alone, because it involves a particular
way in which information is sought and treated
■ the mere possession of a set of skills, because it involves the continual use of them
■ the mere use of those skills ("as an exercise") without acceptance of their results.
Thinking of “being” ; the embedded
'Self’
■ CT can be grounded in selfish motives, it is often manifested in the skillful
manipulation of ideas in service of one’s own, or one's groups’, vested interest.
■ As such it is typically intellectually flawed, however pragmatically successful it might
be.
■ When grounded in fairmindedness and intellectual integrity, it is typically of a higher
order intellectually, though subject to the charge of "idealism" by those habituated to its
selfish use.
No one is a critical thinker per se
journey through individual and professional life
■ Critical thinking of any kind is never universal in any individual; everyone is subject to
episodes of undisciplined or irrational thought.
■ The nature and extent of CT in one’s life is about a matter of degree and dependent on,
among other things, the quality and depth of experience in a given domain of thinking or
with respect to a particular class of questions.
■ No one is a critical thinker out n out; but only to such-and-such a degree, with
such-and-such insights and with certain specificities n limitations, subject to
such-and-such tendencies towards self-delusion.
■ For this reason, the development of critical thinking skills and dispositions is a
life-long endeavour.
Linda Elder’s definition(2007)
Educational psychologist, author of Liberating the Mind: Overcoming Sociocentric Thought and
Egocentric Tendencies n President Critical Thinking Foundation)

■ Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest
level of quality in a fair-minded way.
■ People who think critically and consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably,
empathically. They are keenly aware of the inherently flawed nature of human thinking when
left unchecked. They strive to diminish the power of their egocentric and sociocentric
tendencies.
■ They use the intellectual tools that critical thinking offers – concepts and
principles that enable them to analyse, assess, and improve thinking.
■ They work diligently to develop the intellectual virtues of intellectual
integrity,
intellectual humility, intellectual civility, intellectual empathy, intellectual
sense of justice and confidence in reason.
 Egocentrism

■ Egocentrics are selfish, self-absorbed people who view their interests, ideas, and values
as superior to everyone else’s.
■ There are two forms of egocentrism such that the first one is self-interested thinking. It
is the tendency to accept and defend beliefs that harmonize with one’s self interest.
■ The other one is self-serving bias which is the tendency to overrate oneself such that to
see oneself better in some respect than one actually is.
Unexamined life: Making n Unmaking

■ They realize that no matter how skilled they are as thinkers, they can always improve their
reasoning abilities and they will at times fall prey to mistakes in reasoning, human irrationality,
prejudices, biases, distortions, uncritically accepted social rules and taboos, self-interest, and
vested interest.
■ They strive to improve the world in whatever ways they can and contribute to a more
rational, civilized society. At the same time, they recognize the complexities often inherent in
doing so. They avoid thinking simplistically about complicated issues and strive to
appropriately consider the rights and needs of relevant others.
■ They recognize the complexities in developing as thinkers, and commit themselves to life-long
practice toward self-improvement. They embody the Socratic principle.
■ The unexamined life is not worth living, because they realize that many unexamined lives
together result in a uncritical, unjust, and dangerous world.
■ It is important to recognize that on this view, persons are critical thinkers, in the fullest
sense of the term, only if they display this ability and disposition in all, or most, of the
dimensions of their lives (e.g. as a parent, citizen, consumer, lover, friend, learner, and
professional).
■ Those who think critically in only one dimension of their lives, may not qualify as
critical thinkers. We do so because the quality of one’s life is dependent upon high
quality reasoning in all domains of one’s life, not simply in one dimension.
 CT: A Stadial notion? Or overlapping
layer n embedded structure
■ Stage One: The Unreflective Thinker
Stage Two: The Challenged Thinker
Stage Three: The Beginning Thinker
Stage Four: The Practicing Thinker
Stage Five: The Advanced Thinker
Stage Six: The Accomplished Thinker
Linda Elder’s definition(2007)
Educational psychologist, author of Liberating the Mind: Overcoming Sociocentric Thought and
Egocentric Tendencies n President Critical Thinking Foundation)

■ Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest
level of quality in a fair-minded way.
■ People who think critically and consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably,
empathically. They are keenly aware of the inherently flawed nature of human thinking when
left unchecked. They strive to diminish the power of their egocentric and sociocentric
tendencies.
■ They use the intellectual tools that critical thinking offers – concepts and
principles that enable them to analyse, assess, and improve thinking.
■ They work diligently to develop the intellectual virtues of intellectual
integrity,
intellectual humility, intellectual civility, intellectual empathy, intellectual
sense of justice and confidence in reason.
CT and digital turn

■ Critical thinking and creative thinking have surfaced as essential skills for all students,
regardless of level or ability, to possess in order to position them to address the complex
needs of the 21st century.
■ These priorities are evidenced in changing educational standards, such as those defined
by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).
■ The new, revised version of the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS)
for students, teachers, and administrators "define what students need to know and be
able to do with technology to learn effectively and live productively in an increasingly
digital world" (ISTE, 2003a, inset).
■ As such, the National Educational Technology Standards for Students emphasize
■ (1) creativity and innovation;
■ (2) communication and collaboration;
■ (3) research and information fluency;
■ (4) critical thinking, problem- solving, and decision-making;
■ (5) digital citizenship; and
■ (6) technology operations and concepts.
■ These standards are quite different than those established in 1998, which had an
emphasis on
■ (1) basic operations and concepts;
■ (2) social, ethical, and human issues;
■ (3) technology productivity tools;
■ (4) technology communication tools;
■ (5) technology research tools;
■ (6) technology problem-solving and decision-making tool
Reflexive thinking: Multiple Layers

■ It is problem-solving by opting out for not-so-obvious choices when faced with

unusual scenarios
■ We tend to naturally n obviously look for “tried out” and “safer” options.
■ Leaders think critically by reflecting on the context of an issue
■ Rather than only focusing on its analysis aspect.
PART II

■LESSONS FROM
INDUSTRY
 Lessons from Industry n Enterprise

■ Biocon example; an enzyme company

■ Biocon India was established in 1978 by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the Managing Director, as a joint
venture with Biocon Ireland to bulk manufacture enzymes. Mazumdar-Shaw had begun her studies
planning to become a master brewer like her father, an unusual occupation for a Brahmin family from
the alcohol-prohibiting state of Gujarat.
■ But after graduate school, when she found that the industry wasn’t ready for the first woman master
brewer, Mazumdar-Shaw turned to business opportunities using fermentation processes to produce
enzymes for various purposes.
■ From a shed in an undeveloped part of Bangalore, she began producing mass papain and isinglass, two
enzymes that used raw materials which were already abundant in India and necessary for the production
of beer.
■ In 1989, Biocon Ireland was acquired by Unilever. As part of Unilever, Biocon began producing
enzymes for Unilever’s food business. In 1998, Biocon India bought out Unilever’s share in the
company and became an independent, privately owned entity.
■ The way Biocon pivoted its technology is a case in point:
■ After 10 years of Biocon’s (an enzyme company) existence, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
reflected on growth options.
■ The company had begun with a conventional technology (called solid state) that suited
local conditions of water and power availability.
■ An alternative was sophisticated (called deep tank). Biocon’s leadership team faced this
choice one decade after starting.
■ Should the company be a big fish in a small pond (solid state) or be a small fish in a big
pond (deep tank)?
■ Deep tank would require new skills, but could facilitate entry into the much bigger
biopharma market.
■ Biocon’s 10-year association with Unilever had transformed the management mindset
from a lenient enzyme business to a quality-driven pharma business.
■ Kiran took a dramatic decision in 2006: to sell the company’s foundational enzyme
business to a top-class Danish company, Novozyme—which still operates the same
technology.
■ Biocon embarked on the risky journey of biopharmaceuticals, a bit like a bird trying to
fly with its newly blossomed skin and then flying into the skies with a new skin.
From Value to Volume

■ Kiran wanted to fight cancer through breakthrough drugs based on monoclonal antibodies (MAB),
but the technology was closely guarded by the Americans. An opportunity arose after she met a
scientist from the Department of Molecular Biology of Cuba at a conference. Most would have
ignored technology from Cuba, a country not known for pharmaceutical innovation. Kiran visited
the Cuban laboratory. The Cubans expressed great interest to enhance the value of their MAB
technology. Biocon signed an agreement and, over the next decade, produced many novel drugs.
■ When Biocon embarked on the capital-intensive biopharma business, Kiran chose the model of
business partnerships, whereby Biocon tapered the risks and enhanced the rewards.
■ The focus on ‘value’ over ‘volume’ was another conscious choice that Biocon made.
The TATAS

■ In 1978, Tata Sons formed a joint venture with Burroughs, US. The then CEO F C Kohli
had two choices: TCS could either merge with MNC company Burroughs or develop as
an independent start-up. F C Kohli decided that TCS should continue as a separate
entity.
■ In doing so, TCS had to learn to operate in a competitive environment with freedom and
creativity and work in foreign markets. The Burroughs arrangement had a clause that
prevented TCS from seeking India-based clients.
■ F C Kohli de-risked TCS by retaining key talent. His successor, S Ramadorai, initiated a
participative model of leadership and grew the company dramatically by embracing the
challenge of Y2K.
Project Lakshya

■ A Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry sponsored programme to reduce waiting time
for delivery of LPG cylinders and track duplicate connections, by enrolling the
assistance of the National Informatics Centre (NIC)
■ Started by A M Naik at L&T with a prospective plan for 10 years. The top 300 people in
the company had to decide where the firm wanted to be in the future?
■ Project Lakshya focused the energies of management on mega projects with a timeframe
of five years. The vision for these years was broken into yearly targets and further to
quarterly targets as an important exercise.
Demands of CT

■ excellent listening skills, engaging with ideas, process of ideation, forming new and
alternative imaginaries and making arguments.
■ Inferences are drawn with inductive and deductive thinking with a long-term perspective.
■ It is about connecting the dots and constantly setting the contours of one’s thought
processes.
■ Inputs from:
■ R Gopalakrishnan
Author, Distinguished Professor at IIT Kharagpur & Corporate Advisor
Sushmita Srivastava
Associate Professor, People & Performance, SPJIMR, Mumbai
■
MAPPING CT QUOTIENT IN HRM:
STRATEGIC POLICIES N DECISIONS
■ Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI), a wholly owned subsidiary
of Honda Motor Company Ltd., Japan, was established in India in October 1999
with a capital of Rs.300 crore and an installed production capacity of 200,000 units
per year.
■ It was embroiled an industrial issue in July 2005
■ The case deals with (mis) handling by the Indian auto
major issues such as new-generation workers,
industrial relations (IR) dynamics, regional realities
and cross-cultural HR.
HONDA MOTORS LABOUR
UNREST/MANAGEMENT CRISIS
2005
■ Perceiving harsh work environment, Gen Y workers of the new plant decided to form an
independent trade union, which led to bitterness and grave tensions in IR. The emerging
dynamics culminated in bubble burst when unexpected violence led to the tragic burning
of the otherwise popular plant HR chief.
■ The shocked management declared a month's lockout, and terminated the services of
more than 500 core workers.
■ The lockout caused production losses of Rs. 25 billion. Workers in general continued to
remain disengaged due to large number of termination cases of their colleagues and
seeing 147 of them behind the bar during murder and violence trial.
■ Two years after the violence incident, the parent Suzuki tightened its control on this
Indian subsidiary and took away executive powers from three top Indian executives,
holding them responsible for the fiasco.
■ Five years after the incident, the trial court sentenced a dozen union leaders to life
imprisonment for the murder, and set free more than one hundred workers who had been
charged of violence.
■ The union was asking for their jobs back, which led to added complexity. Several
strategic HR interventions taken by the management to contain workers' disengagement
proved only partially effective. Management is in a dilemma about the using appropriate
HR strategy for managing the situation.
■ The human resource (HR) policies of HMSI were in alignment with the philosophy of its
parent company, HMCL, which included two fundamental beliefs:
■ 1) respect for individual differences; and 2) the three joys: the joy of buying; the joy of
selling; and the joy of manufacturing.
■ HR policies, among others, included constituting some committees by management
consisting of workers and management representatives.
■ The company’s three-monthly quarterly newsletter focused on targets, safety,
achievements concerning quality, safety and training programmes on defensive and safe
driving of two-wheelers.
The genesis

■ Workers’ perceived unfair treatment for the first time in November, 2004, which got
accentuated with other acts of arbitrariness and nepotism practiced by Indian managers
in HMSI. They also felt aggrieved at the idiosyncratic attitude of a Japanese manager.
■ So workers started a campaign for registering the union, and made “exorbitant
demands” by submitting a demand charter. The management tried in vain its level best
to stop union formation and registration.
■ The union registration took place in May, 2005; it was affiliated to AITUC (All India
Trade Union Congress)––a trade union wing of the Communist Party of India (CPI).
■ Its management pursuing new vision and philosophy tried to discourage labour/
employee unionism.
■ But it lacked relatively a sound HR management principles to handle issues and
aspirations underlying evolving people-management relationships.
■ The underlying tensions snowballed into a crisis of sorts when disgruntled employees
formed a union ( Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangha) aided by a political party.
■ The management failed to divide the workers, an usual strategy resorted to by
management.
■ Some usual industrial relations (IR) tactics were adopted by both sides, which
heightened the tension in IR relations climate. There were also some cases of minor
violence by workers.
■ The worst happened in the short IR history of HMSI when a violent battle was fought
between the HMSI workers and the local police on 25 July, 2005 at the office of the
Chief of civil administration of Gurgaon district
■ where workers had gone to protest against the alleged highhandedness of the HMSI
management in what they described as, collusion with the state agencies; this resulted
in severe injuries to some 70 workers
■ Due to workers representatives’ pressure on the government, the Congress (the ruling
party) President Mrs. Sonia Gandhi intervened to facilitate a settlement between HMSI
management and its workers.
■ On July 30, 2005 an agreement was arbitrated by the state govt., which provided that
the striking workers would resume duty from 1st of August 2005, suspended workers
would be taken back on duty, and that workmen would not raise any new demands
during the next one year.
 the post-July 25 scenario,

■ the management allowed several concessions to workers on many fronts. None of the
office bearers actually worked after the July 25 incident; they were doing full-time union
work. Despite the losses, workers could secure an impressive amount of money from
management as bonus for the year 2004-05.
■ the management started sending managers to attend management development
programmes (MDPs) in areas such as inter-personal skills; team-building, negotiation,
and conflict management.
■ It decided to appoint a Senior Manager–IR. Union office-bearers were given training by
the HR department on building cooperative industrial relations.
Challenges of New Economic zone or a
mere labour-management issue?
■ Did the Management critically reflect on
the the following scenarios and think of
their associated problematic and
questions??
■ Scenario1.
■ The conflict at Honda threatened to become a spark in a generally tense atmosphere within
India’s modern international industry. Therefore the police brutality against the workers can’t
be understood as a mere response to a single workers’ struggle, but must rather be explained by
the general situation in the new investment zones.
■ Scenario2.
■ Gurgaon is situated in the state of Haryana, close to New Delhi, a town in a rural area without
any tradition of workers’ struggles. The new town centre is characterised by modern office
blocks and shopping malls. Companies such as Microsoft, IBM and Nokia have their
headquarters here. The government of Haryana implemented strict anti-union labour laws in
order to attract further foreign investment.
■ Scenario3:
■ The industrial zone mushroomed during the last five years and comprises 90 factories, with a
large share of companies in the automobile sector. About 70 percent of all motor-scooters
produced in India are said to be produced in this region. Japanese companies play an important
role, given that Japan is India’s fourth biggest foreign investor and about three quarters of all
Japanese companies in India are situated in Gurgaon.
■ Scenario 4:
■ The AITUC is the most important union in Gurgaon, it is supported by the CPI(M). The
Communist Parties of India have a difficult role to play. On the one hand, they have to make an
effort to appear to support the workers, including by ”patriotic propaganda” against foreign
investors.
■ Scenario 5:
■ The struggle in Gurgaon took place against the background of various conflicts within the
modern industrial sector which often resulted in significant wage improvements for the
workers. At HMSI the management claims that the workers already received a 100 percent
wage raise in the previous year. In June 2005 the workers at Toyota in Bangalore demanded a
100 percent wage increase. The management promised 25 percent and was able to avoid
industrial action.
■ Scenario 6:
■ The factory is modern, only four years old. The plant churns out 2,000 scooters per day and
employs about 1,900 to 2,500 workers. In 2004 HMSI is said to have sold 550,000 scooters in
India. Scooters and other two-wheelers are still the most important means of motorised
transport in India.
■ Scenario 7:
■ Most of the workers are hired by subcontractors or only get daily contracts. The wages are poor,
securing mere survival. A number of workers come from the surrounding small villages or even from
other states and they rely on the company’s bus service.
■ Scenario 8:
■ The conflict began in December 2004 after a manager allegedly hit a worker, who was said to be
engaged in organising a union within the plant. Another four workers were sacked after they expressed
their solidarity with their workmate.
■ Scenario 9:
■ The official justification for the dismissals was "undisciplined behaviour in the factory”. The whole
situation came to boiling point when the management sacked another 57 workers and nearly all the
workers in the factory reacted by going on strike in June 2005. At the end of June 2005 the management
replied by officially sacking 1,000 workers and locking out the strikers.
■ Scenario 10:
■ 25th of July:
■ Between 2,000 and 3,000 workers of the Honda plant demonstrate in Gurgaon, supported by family
members and employees of other factories. Near the factory some initial scuffles break out, but the
demonstration continues. Workers are said to have tried to occupy the nearby Highway 8. Allegedly
without warning the police attack the protestors with long bamboo batons, tear gas and rubber bullets.
The television shows pictures of policemen hitting already unconscious workers. One worker is said to
have died right on the street.
■ Scenario11:
■ The reported number of injured people varies between 300 and 800 and a lot of them have serious head
injuries and broken limbs. The fights continue, people start to riot, burn police cars and buses and loot
shops. There are pictures on telly showing groups of women chasing policemen with their own batons.
About 300 workers are arrested, about 60-80 are still in custody at the end of August, some charged
with attempted murder.
■ Scenario 12:
■ 26th of July Indian newspapers announced that 28 workers were still missing. More riots broke
out which continued the following day.
■ Scenario 13:
■ 28th of July: A solidarity strike takes place in Gurgaon, called for by left parties. The
participation is low. An India-wide day of protest is announced for the 1st of August.

■ Scenario 14:
■ 1st of August: Production is officially resumed, but only 800 to 900 scooters were produced per
day. Arbitration proceedings took place, but no representative of the workers is admitted.
■ Scenario 15:
■ In total the company lost about 1.2 Billion Rupees due to the strike. The media
presented the result of the strike as following: All dismissed workers are re-hired, under
the condition that they sign a so-called ‘good-conduct’ declaration promising to abstain
from further demands and strikes.
■ Scenario 16:
■ The AITUC demands the release of all workers still in custody and union recognition in
the company.
The Aftermath

■ The company could not enlist support from the state agencies nor the prevailing legal system.
■ The unrest led to violent clashes leading to police intervention.
■ Company’s reputation was compromised so also it necessitated state interventionism in
defence of labour interest, a mandated constitutional responsibility
■ A case of strategic mishandling by company , tactical error, judgemental inefficiency
leading to long labour strike, recession in industrial production??
■ The aftermath of crisis witnessed emergence of a proactive and strong labour unionism.
■ Production targets achieved during the pre-crisis phase now reduced substantially after the
union came into existence following the reconciliation.
■ the strike and the police attacks got huge public attention and caused diplomatic tension
between India and Japan.
■ Prime Minister Singh met representatives of the left parties in a special session in order
to consult over the strike and its consequences.
■ On the second day of rioting the chairman of the governing Congress Party, Sonia
Gandhi, came to Gurgaon for mediation talks. The Japanese ambassador told the media
that the strike would endanger future investment by Japanese companies.
■ Managers of automobile companies operating in the region expressed their concern that
the strike could have negative effects on the production climate in their plants.
■ On television there were hundreds of SMS messages expressing solidarity with the
Honda workers. The daily newspapers and political magazines published several articles
asking whether the strike is a prelude to a wave of new struggles in the multinational
companies, after a general decline of strike activity since 2000.
■ The opposition party BJP talked about "national security”, which according to their
opinion would be harmed by foreign investment. The CP was also trying to play the
patriotic trick and announced a general strike against the changes in the labour law in
September.
■ Against the background of the strike the management was publicly discussing the need
for reformed labour laws.
■ They demanded, amongst other things, that strikes would have to be announced three
weeks beforehand and that an approval of 75 percent of all workers in the plant would
be required as the legal precondition for the dispute.
■ In addition, for each day of wildcat strike the bosses want to make the workers pay a
fine of eight days’ wages!
■ the State was quick to act to bring back the `investor confidence` in Gurgaon. The Union Industry
Minister Kamal Nath met Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Shoichi Nakagawa
in Geneva to assure that the labour unrest in the plant of a Japanese multinational company was a
one-off incident.
■ Moreover, in an unusual move, the External Affairs Ministry, Government of India issued a statement,
which said, "An isolated incident involving a labour dispute should not become a benchmark for judging
the investment climate in India". It further said that the legal interest of foreign investors would be fully
safeguarded.
■ State’s position was reflective of its capitulation to the demands of the multinational corporations, even
at the cost of the human rights of its citizens; and its refusal to accept protection of labour rights as one
of the key components of its democratic tradition, which could be its competitive advantage.
■ The conflict in Honda was not on a demand for wage increase by the workers and a
refusal by the management to increase labour cost.
■ Usually, it is argued that the ascendancy of capital over labour in India today gets
manifested by way of its refusal to increase labour cost in any case and also by asserting
the right to hire and fire. In the HMSI case, it was neither.
■ The issue was the basic right of the workers to organise into autonomous trade unions
and engage in collective bargaining with the management. The Honda management saw
this as a greater threat than an increase in direct labour cost. In fact, on 6 February 2005,
the management offered an wage increase of about Rs.2,000 per month to a section of
workers to lure them away and avoid unionisation `at any cost`.
Strategic thinking

■ What does the issue reflect ; Nature of MNCs; globalization; trade unionism culture in
south Asia; Indian state; constitutional mandates, State- industry relations; nature and
models of HRM strategies in India and elsewhere.
■ Strategic dynamism underlying HR management; Understanding the values and
mindsets of new generation of Indian labour; changing labour culture, Gen Y
sentiments; cross-cultural values; State, power struggles in IR relations; culture and
history of unionised movement.
■ MNCs ( Suzuki) lack of understanding with cross cultural issues and business
environment.
■ The Honda workers’ struggle for dignity and labour rights was largely self-initiated.
Resistance within the factory against the mighty Honda and their struggle outside against the
administration and political bigwigs were led by a leadership emerged from the ranks of the
workers. The 25 July rally was led by Honda workers.
■ The workers approached AITUC, a central trade union in India, for support when they faced
hurdles in the registration of the Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Employees Union.
■ The Honda workers explode the myth that the new generations of workers are not interested
in trade union activities. It also questions the general perception that the new generation of
workers in the high-tech industries could be enticed into an adaptable labour-management
relation in spite of gross labour rights violations.
■ It was a warning to the government that the `animal spirits` of the industries cannot be
invoked without ensuring systems to protect the principles of equity, justice and
representation of workers. It was also a warning to the multinational companies that the
Indian workers are not pushovers; and if subjected to indignity and exploitation, they
will fight back.
■
Honda workers represented a microcosm of India; they were mostly below 25 years of
age and drawn from all over India. They represented the destiny of India`s future
working population.
The Lifebuoy: Crafting Life and Health
Lifeworld of Lifebuoy : Mapping
CRITICAL TURNS “1895-2020”
■ The first container with Lifebuoy soaps landed on Indian shores in 1895 at Bombay Harbour,
when the country was in the grip of a plague epidemic.
■ With its positioning as a powerful germicidal and disinfectant, and with a strong carbolic smell,
it was what the Colonial nation was looking for. “A Mai-Baap” ideology; civilizing mission
■ But the health advantage waned over time as competitors came out with soaps that promised
both health and beauty.
■ Image shift: A soap that was everything male and sporty to a soap with
family intimacy and brand
■ Owned by Unilever Plc., ( British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in
London, UK): the parent company of Hindustan Unilever Ltd
‘Lifebuoy hai jahan tandurusti hai
wahan’
■ A pulsating and animating 1964 jingle ( conceptualised by Lowe Lintas: remember
Alyque Padamsee?
■ “Don’t smoke even if it is Capstan!”
■ 1928-2018; theatre personality; film maker; advertising professional; who headed a
wellknown ad company Lintas now Mullen Lowe Lintas since 2018
■ ‘Tandurusti Ki Raksha’ karne aaya Lifebuoy
■ Lifebuoy protects health, wherever there is Lifebuoy, there is health
■ Promise of health and hygiene to consumers and promoted it via print, television as
well and radio spots.
Beyond toilets and working class open
pipe water bath addas

■ Manoj Tapadia, creative director at Lowe India, the advertising agency for Lifebuoy:
■ The 1970s were challenging times for the brand, especially in the rural markets, its
mainstay. “The biggest challenge was to break the mould and do clutter-breaking
advertising,"
■ Arvind Sahay, professor of IIM, Ahmedabad:
■ Lifebuoy had become a family soap with hygiene as its core promise. “For a soap that
had been relegated to toilets, Lifebuoy has gathered new adherents in an age where more
consumers are getting concerned about germs and cleanliness,"
■ Srikanth Srinivasamadhavan, category head, personal wash, HUL(2008)
■ “Lifebuoy has 112 years of existence in India and has constantly reinvigorated itself. In
the last five years, it has touched nearly 100 million Indians across 44,000 villages,"
■ Right from the early days, the brand has preferred effective communication to
celebrities. An exception is its recent, limited exposure campaign with cricketer Yuvraj
Singh.
Crafting a Journey with ‘critical turns’
Lifebuoy : re-inventing a new life
■ Lifebuoy was quite literally reincarnated a decade ago, after declining sales and a disconnect
with consumers forced Hindustan Unilever back to square one.

Critical thoughts
■ How a Soap brand marketed by Unilever, Lifebuoy worked towards spreading hygiene
awareness about coronavirus in the context of COVID 19 based on its print, TVC, n digital ads
and thus succeeded to embed the substantial chunk of consumer consciousness.
■ The ads focus on the ways to prevent contracting the novel coronavirus that causes Covid 19
■ In response to Covid 19 pandemic, the brand embarked on a massive public health/ service
campaign to remind/ sensitize people about the importance of hand hygiene and how it can help
reduce the chances of spread of infection
■ Throughout its communication, the brand has refrained from a sales call to action in the
traditional sense. It has maintained the stance that any soap will do, as long as one
washes hands thoroughly.

■ ( “Don’t smoke even if it is capstan”; similarly “wash

hands whatever soap it is”)
■ In its first print ad Lifebuoy even named some of its competitors in the copy, and
stressed that the ad was not for branding or promoting sales, but to spread awareness
regarding the protection against the disease.
■ In the early Pandemic phase, it issued out an ad in public interest -- a public service
message which asked the consumers 'to prevent the spread of COVID 19 by using any
soap- Lux, Dettol, Santoor, or Godrej no.1’.
■ It followed up the ad with simple series of steps or a as a guide to fight COVID 19.
■ The TVC teaches viewers 'to wash hands from hands', making a small chore of
washing hands very interesting during this pandemic
■ Make friendship, following with fighting, making crocodile, butterfly with hands to
reach out every corner of the hand, washing out and killing all the germs.
Kajol’s redefined appeal: “Until now..

■ A video by brand ambassador Kajol famously hit ad lines:

■ "until now people have seen me promoting Lifebuoy; but now I request you to use whichever
soap you have to wash hands, because washing hands with soap can stop the spread of
COVID-19, it is the responsibility of everyone.
■ It also partnered with Saudi Arabian celebrity Yousef Al-Jarrah (Television actor and
comedian) to kick off its schools programme, educating children and their families about the
importance of handwashing with soap at the 5 key occasions during the day.
■ As part of the programme, it spun up a competition giving children the chance to be involved
in little doctors camp – that teaches children to be handwashing ambassadors.
 “Did you wash your hands with Lifebuoy?”
A Roti Reminder’ Imagery: 2013

■ A new Script:
■ Lifebuoy believes that deaths from diarrhoea can be averted by the simple act of hand washing
with soap. So at the world’s largest religious festival, Lifebuoy reminded attendees to wash
their hands before they eat by hand stamping 2.5 million chapattis (rotis) with the message:
“Did you wash your hands with Lifebuoy?”
■ Diarrhea still kills 1.1 million children annually in developing countries. Lifebuoy believes this
can be averted by the simple act of hand washing with soap.
■ The Maha Kumbh Mela India, 2013, the largest religious festival on the planet. Over 100
million people come here. To pray together. Live together. And eat together.
■ Lifebuoy Soap saw this as the perfect opportunity to convey an important message: Always
wash your hands with soap before you eat. Our medium? The roti (or Indian bread) served with
almost every Indian meal. The only way to eat it is with your hands.
■ The brand created a heat stamp capable of leaving a simple message on a roti: Did you
wash your hands with Lifebuoy? And over 30 days a team of 100 people stood in 100
kitchens stamping over 2.5 million fresh rotis. Helping us to reach out to over 5 million
visitors at the Maha Kumbh Mela.
■ So, will people remember to wash their hands before their next meal? Let’s pray they
do.
■ Business Goal: Sales
■ Cause: Health
■ Tactics: Contextual Advertising, Idea induced marketing, Hol;istic Branding Product
–CAUSE Harmony
Vipul Salvi, National Creative Director of Ogilvy Action, at 34 :
“idea needed to be big and innovative.”

■ Lifebuoy enlivened into a new moment at the Maha Kumbh in Allahabad, 2013
■ It crafted memorable ploy of embossing messages about the benefits of washing hands before
eating Chapatis and to do this tied up with some popular local dhabas.
■ "The obvious options were to put up stalls and play games around health and hygiene, but that
would have been too gimmicky," remarks Salvi.
■ Those ideas were rejected since the Maha Kumbha is a spiritual affair. The mandate, therefore,
was to look at other ways of getting the consumer in touch with the brand.
■ The ad agency deliberated over the campaign for close to eight months and came up with over
200 ideas before zeroing in on the roti campaign.
 Help A Child Reach 5; A 2013 initiative

■ In 2013, It also sponsored a thoughtful project 'Help A Child Reach 5'. It's a
multipronged initiative based upon both engaging with the brand's massive following on
Facebook as well as monitoring its significant intervention in promoting the cause on
offline mode.
■ Hindustan Unilever adopted the village of Thesgora in Madhya Pradesh, to configure
and determine n track the co-relation between hand washing and a decline in the deaths
of young children from pneumonia and diarrhoea.
 Maha Kumbha Lifebuoy : An Ad
without DOCTOR
■ It's kicked off with a three minute long film on YouTube - probably the first commercial on the brand in
over a decade to not feature a ubiquitous doctor.
■ It triggered sales: Lifebuoy's skin cleansing soaps rose from 14.7% to 15% in 2013,
■ In the smaller handwash category, it was at 18.4% in 2010 and a shift from 22.3% ( 2012) to 22.7% by
2013

■ It was historic and spectacular come back given Lifebuoy’s terminal decline a little over a decade ago
and traced to the sagging regime of Sudhir Sitapti, general manager and category head - skin cleansing,
The Changeover image game : ways of
ideating
■ Sitapati was associated Hindustan Unilever and with the brand since long
■ He famously went on record to "I was part of the sales force in 2000 and the brand was
shrinking month after month. Morale was very low.”
■ The name of the brand came from the life-saving buoy thrown out to people at sea to prevent
them from drowning, literally meaning that the brand saves lives. A global brand, it lost its
original moorings in the 50s and the 60s in many markets, except in India.
■ Sitapati (category head - personal wash, HUL) : “It was first targeted at men and masculine
health. The promise of Lifebuoy was ‘You will remain healthy if you use Lifebuoy. You will be
able to play hockey or football well’. It was sporty”
■ Jaleel ( Lintas) : “When it started, the focus was on men as the role of the man was prime. The
symbolism of health, at the time, was the huge, sporty, macho man.”
“Lifebuoy hai jahan tandurusti hai wahan’
was catchy and did the trick.
■ The jingle, “Lifebuoy hai jahan tandurusti hai wahan’ was catchy and did the trick.
■ Mother ; women and Indian domestic landscape
■ This is when the brand targetd women, especially mothers. “In the late 90s and early 00s we
realised that the consumer had changed from what he or she was in the 50s to the 70s. Women
were the decision makers, when it came to shopping, be it urban or rural.
■ The brand had to communicate to women and focus on the woman’s role in the family, The
proposition of the brand didn’t change — health was still the focus — but the advertising did.
“We changed our communication from ‘You will be healthy if you use Lifebuoy’ to ‘You will
not fall ill if you use Lifebuoy’.
Logic of conversation: From scare to empowerment
Experimenting with ideas of content and coverage

The appearance of the soap too underwent a change. Though the red bar remains, it
is now more perfumed and less carbolic. At this point, commercials directed at mothers
came on screen, a very popular one being how kids could get full attendance, thanks to
Lifebuoy

■ The brand now, wants to adopt a friendlier tone. “There are two ways to make people
aware of health. One is to scaremonger and the other is to empower.
Towards Image correction

■ (Jaleel, Lintas):
■ This is the only brand that can converse with you about health in such a manner that it won’t
scare you”, The most recent commercial for Lifebuoy was one where it was pitched as the
‘fastest soap’.
■ “It was treated in a very friendly voice. The way to go about this is that we know that health is a
serious concern, but we try not to not to treat it so seriously”, he adds.

■ The popular jingle and image of Lifebuoy and the underlying conceptual: Tandrusti, plus,
macho man and site of sports; the associated underlying conceptual imaginary
■ The thought transformed with the team at HUL that the iconic Lifebuoy campaign at the
time, driven by an instantly recognisable jingle and images of macho men sweating it out
on a sports field was way past its sell by date
Shifting Discursive imaginary of audience,
viewers, consumers
■ ‘Glocalization’; IT, new regime of TV visuals, ‘Right activism’ and ‘rational choice’
■ Both commercial and the brand positioning were holdovers from the time men made most
shopping decisions.
■ However by 2002, even in rural India and its women constituency had opened up in playing
out an increasing role in purchases. They were apparently turning their faces away from images
that sought to privilege a platform of masculine hygiene. TV
■ Enhancement of life chances individual is the basic obligation of the state as part of new
identity of biopolitics ;
■ Age of Health subsidies to Public health concerns: hence state sponsored nutrition drive to ‘one
rupee rice scheme’ to wipe out the geographies of hunger
Germ protection : reconceptualizing
Lifebuoy’s DNA
■ Besides tandurusti (or health) as previously defined by Lifebuoy was fairly amorphous
since people were unable to understand the specific impact of the brand.
■ Paradigmatic shift in product’s visual as well as conceptual representation;
■ The health axis of the brand WAS RECONFIGURED
■ Shift from 'this makes you fit' to 'this is something that prevents you from getting ill',
and “from targeting men to women."
■ Value axis was Remapped too.
■ From a low priced carbolic ( disinfectant or phenol) soap, Lifebuoy transformed into a
vegetable soap with far better aesthetics and smell, at a higher asking price.
■ Sitapati recalls mixed emotions at the sales conference where these changes were
announced.
■ "We were initially worried about the price being increased on a product where people
didn't perceive value. But then the user experience was also transformed. The essence of
the product and proposition didn't change, but everything else was done to make it more
in tune with the times."
Lintas’ critical intervention

■ A commercial about how a mother could prevent a child from falling ill was a lot
more popular than one about a bunch of jocks winning yet another round of
football
■ Lintas and the maturing of the lifeworld of Lifebuoy:
■ "It's one of the most structured brands ever. There's invariably a doctor, the
mother and a myth busting scenario." (Amer Jaleel, national creative director at Lowe
Lintas)
■ With freedom to pursue the idea, the climatic moments were witnessed.
■ Lintas experimented with insights; for instance around concepts like evolving germs
and the difference between fast and slow soaps for hand wash.
 syncing with the popular sentiment

■ What drives the team at Lowe Lintas is a constant reminder of the of the brand's humble
antecedents.
■ "At every brief, we were told 'half a bar of soap on a washbasin outside the toilet is what
this brand used to be.”
■ ( Critical reflection based on problematizing the idea of product , consumer appeal,
political economy)
■ It's not a communicator's journey but a marketer's journey where they've decided and
impacted and thus crafted its design, vision and ambition."
■ Apart from ads, HUC commenced the Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna (Health Awareness)
after it was found that many in rural India merited an education on what germs are.
■ "They thought of rats and cockroaches. That germs are invisible and infect you, is not
something many of them know." ( Sitapati)
■ Hence, the Swasthya Chetna reached 120 million consumers from 2002 to 2010 and an
additional 30 million ever since it was folded into Khushiyon Ki Doli, Hindustan
Unilever's rural outreach programme.
■ As opportunities to move up the value chain present themselves Lifebuoy has been
quick to capitalise. It's moved into the more expensive clear soaps segment apart from
new categories like liquid handwash and sanitisers
.
Lifebuoy project at Thesgora, MP

■ "The brand is in places it would not have been a decade ago. Santisiers are used in
extremely high income households, handwash in middle income and Lifebuoy in all
households." ( Sitapati exhibits a sense of satisfaction with project of rediscovery of
Life buoy)
■ A chain of innovations keeps things lively from new formulations to a colour changing
hand wash lotion that encourages children to wash for a full 10 seconds.
■ The Sitapati worked with the village panchayat and via school contact programmes He
hoped to make it a model village for hand washing.
■ Speaking of how the film was conceived Jaleel famously said,
■ "When you are living with a brand on a day to day basis trying to get market
share, worrying about competition, it's difficult to reinvent it. All credit to our
clients who made us step back and look at it in this new way."
■ Challenge n adversity are mother of invention. Without a perceptible low for Lifebuoy,
such interventionist moments might have been miss outs !
Not to Lose out on a relevant core value proposition or
not moving fast enough in new ..

■ Shripad Nadkarni, founder, MarketGate believes :

■ The brand's transformation has won it fans among the marketing community at large.
there are several pieces to the transformation - moving from young adult males to
housewives, and from functional to elegant packaging.
■ "One thing they kept constant was health. It allowed them to tweak the variables," he
says.
■ He believes the brand has avoided the common pitfalls: losing out on a relevant core
value proposition or not moving fast enough in new ..
■ Samir Singh is the Executive Vice Presidnet for Global Skin Cleansing and Oral Care,
multibillion Euro categories in Unilever.
■ In his earlier stint as the Global Brand VP for Lifebuoy, Samir Singh was
instrumental in building Lifebuoy’s social mission to change the handwashing
behaviour of 1 billion people, which is seen as a benchmark of excellence not only
in Unilever but also in the external world. He led the path-breaking and
award-winning ‘Help a Child Reach 5’ Lifebuoy campaign which marketing guru
David Aaker rated as “the best social marketing campaign ever” which was made
into a Harvard Business School case study. He has won multiple Cannes and Effie
awards
over the years.
ICONIC BRANDING BASED ON CT
MERTIS GLOBAL reach
■ Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan
■ Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan ( Harvard Business
School)