THE DABBAWALAS

OF MUMBAI
BY:
Akhil Gupta(91064)
Manvi Gupta(91089)
Subhrajit Dutt(91112)
Sucheta Sabharwal(91113)
Sumit Chandak(91114)
Tushar Taneja(91119)
 Introduction

• A Dabbawala (carrier) is one whose job

is to carry and deliver freshly made food

from home in lunch boxes.
• It started under the British rule

• Mission: To serve people on time

 Overview
HISTORY Started in 1880’s
CHARITABLE TRUST Registered in 1967
AVG. LITERACY RATE 8th grade schooling
TOTAL AREA COVERAGE Approx. 60 kms

EMPLOYEE STRENGTH 5,000

(carriers)
NO. OF TIFFINS 2,00,000 tiffin boxes
i.e. nearly 4,00,000
transactions every day
TIME TAKEN 4-5 hours
AVERAGE SALARY Rs. 1000/month
 WHY?
• Emphasis on home cooked meals
• People don’t have time
• Restaurant meals are costly
• Hygiene
• Flow of train and pedestrian traffic
Organizational Structure
 Mandal committee
• 11 elected contractors for
5 years
• Functions:
 Brokering conflicts among
contractors
 Addressing potential
contractors
 Organizing mandatory
monthly meetings
(to resolve issues)
 Trust Committee
• 11 elected contractors
for 5 yrs
• Functions:
 Look after the
operation of Courtesy
Inn in Pune
• 2 Staff members who:
 Resolve daily issues
 Enroll new customers
 Arrange and call
meetings of Trust
(social)
 Type Of Team
Self Managed Work Team
 A day in the life of Dabbawala
Collection Destination Points

Aggregation & Sorting Dabbas at Destination Station

 Return Journey

Delivering back to where they

Collecting Empty Dabbas came from in the morning
Coding System
Team Effectiveness Model
Context

Composition
Team Effectiveness

Work Design

Process
 Context
• Leadership and Structure
 Efficient leadership
 Flat hierarchy
• Climate of Trust
 Mutual feeling of trust and loyalty between carriers
and contractors
• Performance Evaluation and Reward Systems
 No performance evaluation or incentives
 Everyone within specific work group has similar tasks
to perform
Team Composition
 Work Design

• Task Identity

• Task Significance
 Process

• Common plan and purpose

• Specific goal

• Team efficacy
Values reflected by Dabbawalas
• Loyalty
• Trust
• Honesty
• Integrity
• Commitment
• Discipline
• Contentment
 Positive Perspectives from the study

• Interdependence
• Use of Human Capital
• Time Management
• Stress Management
• Money is not everything