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Volume - 6, Issue - 3, July - September 2013 ISSN 2277-2189
Tete-a-tetewith
Chairman, BBMB
Competence Negates
Gender Bias
Implementationof ERP in Delhi TRANSCO
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www.pfcindia.com
Power HR Forum welcomes its new Chief Patron Shri Pradeep Kumar Sinha who has
taken over charge as Power Secretary on July 01, 2013. He succeeds Mr P. Uma
Shanker.
Shri Sinha is a 1977 batch IAS officer of UP cadre. Earlier, he was Secretary in the
Ministry of Shipping. He also served as Special Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum
and Natural Gas.
Power HR Forum looks forward to receive his blessings, guidance and support to
realize the vision of Forum “Serving Indian Power Sector through Excellence in HR”.
Chief Patron, Power HR Forum
Sh. Pradeep Kumar Sinha
Welcome
Welcome
In the current business scenario we need to update our knowledge and skills on a
regular basis. Things are rapidly changing and to keep pace with the time philosophy
of learning, relearning and unlearning demands. We, at Power HR Forum believe on
the theory of Knowledge shared is knowledge multiplied…!
Further, there is always a scope of improvement in whatever activities we are
performing. Improvement is a continuous process. The Japanese word “Kaizen” also
refers to continuous improvement or philosophy of improvement. We, therefore,
solicit your valuable suggestions as to how this Forum can serve you in a better way!
Power HR Forum, apart from promoting diffusion of knowledge in HR, also provides
opportunities by organizing competency development and skill building
development training programs. It also allows and offers openings for showing talent
and latent potential by participating in business simulation games, quizzes and case
writing events.
The quarterly journal ‘Power People’ is another arena where it promotes and
provides platform to sharpen your writing skills and to make the best use of your
knowledge by inviting to contribute article in your specialized area or the area of your
interest for the benefit of esteemed readers. I am glad to see the encouraging
response to the Forum’s quarterly journal.
The current issue of ‘Power People’ is in your hands now which besides the routine
corners - management quiz, management books, cartoons, news of interest for HR
fraternity and book review, also include articles on different topics from HR
professionals, leading experts and employees of member organizations.
Hope the current issue would also receive your continued adoration as in past.
Happy Reading!
R S MinaDirector (Personnel), NHPC &President- Power HR Forum
From the Desk ofPRESIDENT
POWER HR FORUMCHIEF PATRON
Sh. P. K. SinhaSecretary (Power),
Government of India
PATRONS
A. B. AgrawalChairman,
Bhakra Beas Management Board
R. N. SenChairman,
Damodar Valley Corporaion
P. C. PankajChairman & Managing
Director, NEEPCO Ltd.
G. Sai PrasadChairman & Managing
Director, NHPC Ltd.
Dr. Arup Roy ChoudhuryChairman & Managing
Director, NTPC Ltd.
Satnam SinghChairman & Managing Director,
Power Finance Corp. Ltd.
R. N. NayakChairman & Managing
Director, Power Grid Corp.
of India Ltd.
Rajeev SharmaChairman & Managing
Director, Rural
Electrification Corp. Ltd.
R. P. SinghChairman & Managing
Director, SJVN Ltd.
R. S. T. SaiChairman & Managing
Director, THDC India Ltd.
MEMBERS OF GOVERNING BODY
PRESIDENTR. S. MinaDirector (Personnel), NHPC
VICE PRESIDENTS• S. B. Agarkar Director (HR), NPCIL
• U. P. Pani Director (HR), NTPC
• Ravi P. Singh Director (Personnel), POWERGRID
HONORARY SECRETARYVinod Behari Executive Director (HR), REC
HONORARY TREASURERNand Lal SharmaDirector (Personnel), SJVN
MEMBERSBalbir SinghDirector (HRD), BBMB
Ankur GargDirector (HR), Delhi TRANSCO
A. MallikDirector (HRD), DVC
I. P. Barooah Director (Personnel), NEEPCO
M. S. J. SinhaExecutive Director (HR), NHPC
A. C. ChaturvediExecutive Director (PMI), NTPC
Santanu K. RathDirector (HRD), OPTCL
M. K. Goel Director (Commercial), PFC
I. R. KidwaiExecutive Director (HR),POWERGRID
S. K. Biswas Director (Personnel), THDCIL
S. K. SharmaDirector (HR), PTCUL
Sharad KrishnaDirector (HR), UPCL
POWER HR FORUM MEMBERS ORGANISATION
NEEPCO
www.powerhrforum.orgNo part of the journal may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher.
No responsibility is accepted for any accuracy of information contained in the text, illustrations or advertisements. The opinions expressed in the articles are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher.
Published by:
Power HR Forum SecretariatAt : Power Management Institute,
Plot 5-14, Sector 16A, NOIDA -201301Telephone : 0120 6496197,
Fax : 0120 2416860 e-mail : powerhrforum@gmail.com,Website : www.powerhrforum.org
During the last decade, large scale changes have necessitated out-of-box thinking. These changes have
taken place in every aspect of power sector, whether it is HR, commercial, external competition,
technological up-gradation or business environment in the country. ‘Power People’ has created a niche for
itself by bringing innovative changes in its lay-out to remain relevant. As the name of the Journal suggests,
it should be people oriented and hence the Forum has been bringing the view points of senior professionals
of power industry, including our Patrons. They provide us with business perspectives and help us understand
its challenges and their solutions for the present day business scenario. These insights have provided new
ideas to the professionals for a better solution and have been liked by our valued readers. Continuing with
the interviews of senior women executive of member organizations from previous issue, we are once again
producing the experiences of other senior women executives who shaped their career in power sector.
These life accounts are important, since they provide value to the others who are treading the same path.
The article on compassionate employment and judgments of our Apex court dealing with labour laws are
informative and would be useful for the practicing HR professionals. Article on the success story of Delhi
TRANSCO in implementing ERP in their organization in the shortest possible time is shared for other
professionals to learn and emulate. Integration of workplace commitment and employee empowerment could
be like bringing heart and soul together in an organization. Article on this aspect of motivation is
enlightening.
There is a perception that the “yes men” always achieve what they want, but the constructive disagreement
can bring efficiency in an organization. The article on this can start a debate on this issue. Survey helps as a
catalyst, in improving the performance of any organization. It is the way questions are framed, helps the
individuals to do some soul searching and improve. ‘Management by asking question’ gives us the broad view
on this subject. Article on empathy is very informative.
Apart from these the regular features, book review and Forum in frames have their place in this issue as
well.
Best Wishes!
Power HR Forum
From Editorial Desk :
02 Tete-a-tetewith Chairman, BBMB
A. B. Agrawal
11 Management by askingQuestions (MBAQ)
04 Interview
Kalpana Kaul
05 Competence Negates Gender Bias
22
26
06
A. Sathyabhama
31
34
38Management Quiz
CONTENTS
42
39
Cartoons
Management Books
Authored by: Stephen R Covey
Constructive Disagreement can bring EfficiencyShivani Zakarde
Vandana Chaturvedi
13 What Drives Me Drives You Too - Aligning Employer - Employee Motivations in MSME's
Sumeet Varghese, SPHR
16 Human Resource &Importance of Empathy
Ashutosh Kr. Anand
Implementation of ERPin Delhi TRANSCO
Prafulla Mallik
Judgements which have shaped our understanding
of Labour Law
Sanjiv Narang
Book Review:Global HR Competencies
News of Interest for HR Fraternity
CompassionateEmployment
P. Sreenivasan
18
36Glimpses of Events in POWER HR FORUM
1. What are some of the most critical business challenges for
organizations in the power sector? How can HR help?
I have always believed that when a power company fails, it is
because the non-technical functions in the company have
failed. This clearly underscores the centrality of HR and other
service functions in our organization.
In many ways, HR is the backbone of an organization. It is
responsible for proper Selection, Deployment, Career
Progression and Welfare of employers. However, there is a
tremendous scope for it to shape up further.
I have worked as an HR Head for over 9 months in NHPC and
have a strong belief about how HR can greatly enhance the
employee experience. One such thing it can cultivate
significantly is the “human touch.” There are all kinds of
policies, rules and regulations to govern employee; but that
should not prevent HR from providing a human touch. For
instance, when someone is sick, it is one thing to throw the
rulebook and another to call on the person and make him/her
feel comfortable. The rulebook will help, no doubt, with Sick
Leaves and Medical Benefits, but it is an altogether different
feeling when a senior person calls on a sick employee.
One of the other challenges HR will have to shoulder even more
is taking care of the external environment. Nowadays, the
external environment affects the internal environment even
more. Also, CSR activities do not amply cover the external
environment. Interestingly, successful Project Managers have
always entertained various external stakeholders. I
particularly remember my experiences in the North East
Region. In one area, we set a tunnel excavation record only
because of the local support we enjoyed. I could ensure this
local support because of the CSR activity we initiated with the
help of the local DC.
Handling external contractors is another hot potato for HR. I
remember walking into one well-known external contractor’s
canteen when visiting their installation. Incidentally during
my visit, I found the quality of food served in the canteen to be
quite poor. I asked the gentleman accompanying me to provide
the same meal to me. The Senior Officer said they had arranged
a special meal separately for me. I was insistent and sat down
to finish a meal that others with me could not. At the end of it
all, I gave them this advice: how can you expect any progress
from a workman who consumes this kind of food? This
experience proved to be a signal for all the contractors. The
quality of the food served in the canteen went up and the
workers began to respect us even more.
HR can also drastically improve the functioning of the
Pe r fo r m a n c e M a n a g e m e n t Sys te m . Pe r fo r m a n c e
Management, as it has been conceived, is highly scientific and
people-oriented. But we are failing with regard to
implementation. For instance, KPAs should be finalized before
the start of the Financial Year. But in how many organizations is
this happening?
02 Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose. - Bill Gates
Sh. Agrawal is 'First Class First' Mechanical Engineering graduate and
an MBA in Finance. He is a very versatile hydropower professional with
multi-disciplinary experience of over 31 years in NHPC Ltd., a most
reputed Central Public Sector Organization of India in the field of
hydropower development having capabilities from concept to
commissioning of the projects and Operation & Maintenance of Power
Stations. Excerpts of interview with Sh. A.B. Agrawal, Chairman,
BBMB.
Tete-a-tetewith Chairman, BBMB
An Interview of Sh. A. B. AgrawalChairman, BBMB
POWER PEOPLE
03Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one. - Bill Gates
2. What are some of the unique challenges before BBMB?
At BBBM, it has a unique and complex organizational
structure that poses one of the biggest challenges for HR.
Interestingly, four state governments co-own BBMB while
the Central Government controls it. While employees are
deputed from Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Himachal,
the CMD is appointed by the Central Government. Also,
though no resource is provided by the Central
Government, we are answerable to the Central
Government for our performance.
With most of the employees representing a multitude of
State Departments, we have had our challenges in working
together as a team. Some feel we are an organization
where people work for their own interest based on
directives from their respective State Department. When
our employees have strong ties with their parent
department back home, they look for every possible
opportunity to join the State Departments. Interestingly,
even employee Performance Appraisals and Promotions
are handled by the respective State Departments. If we
find an employee to be quite good, we send a
recommendation letter to the State Department with a
request to retain him/her. If an employee feels he/she is not an
employee of BBMB, it can be very difficult working with such a
person. To an extent, we take care of engagement issues by
providing timely incentives. But recognition and incentives
can help drive workforce integration, only to a limited extent.
Since this state of affairs is quite challenging to manage in the
long run, we took some steps to form our own cadre.
Fortunately, the State Governments are aware of our
predicament. They have approved the formation of a BBMB
specific cadre. The arrangement is that the State Governments
will initially take them on their rolls but post them
permanently to BBMB. We will do our quality checks during
induction.
I am implementing an Integrated Management System. A
Social Accountability System will also be put in place soon. All
of this will require wider and greater HR support. We are
sending more people for training these days. I expect our
employees to keep themselves busy in learning new things.
On the operational front, BBMB has no new projects. We are
expected to maintain power plants - some of which are over
Tete-a-tete with Chairman, BBMB
100 years old - by renovating them and managing their
availability, efficiency and effectiveness with the help of an
ageing and depleting manpower. It is imperative therefore, to
deploy the best available manpower to these power plants so
that the design, repair and maintenance of these plants are in
safe hands.
3. Do you have any special advice to offer to HR
professionals?
HR professionals / personnel in an organization should always
be available to people. Suitable recognition and reward is
necessary for continued motivation of employees. Image
building of the organization before stake holders is very
important. I expect them to carry out more Public Relations
work and network with various agencies on the ground. And
over all, change in the mindset is required and senior
management must think out of the box to make all these a
reality.
04 If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure. - Bill Gates
thereafter made a career move to REC as recently as 2012.
Coming back to work place issues, she alludes to the efforts of a woman to a swan. A swan, majestic from outside, has to paddle furiously under water, to give that smooth gliding motion. A woman too has to work that extra bit, managing the many fronts that she is required to handle both at work and at home. At work, she is often called in to play the role of a counsellor, coach, friend, and very often, a sympathetic colleague. The strength of a woman at the workplace is her unique ability to empathise easily, lead employees in an effortless manner, read body language, thereby avoiding the unnecessary frictions while at the same time achieving the desired results.
While she misses her earlier organisations, she enjoys her current stint the most. As she mentions, REC is poised for a major growth trajectory and it is both exciting and challenging to be at REC as on date. REC is one of the oldest PSUs under the Ministry of Power and thus has its own place of pride. Being an old organisation it has its own set of challenges and she loves facing challenges and turning them around and hence the choice to come to REC.
Her message to women members of the work force is very simple. She emphasises to never give up; enjoy all stages of life be it of motherhood, bringing up a family or anything else. At times, it may seem that the problems are insurmountable, but she firmly believes, ‘This too shall pass. She firmly believes that everything comes with a sacrifice and therefore we have to choose carefully about what we really want!
We wish her all success.
Ms Kalpana Kaul, is currently the General Manager of the the Human Resource Division of REC, a Navaratna PSU and one of the founder members of Power HR Forum. She brings a refreshing and candid outlook about the issues of a career women.
According to her the only real challenge that a female/women employee faces, whether in PSU or any other organisation, is in maintaining of a work-life balance. The amount of time one gives to a job and the home determines the happiness and achievement level. Balance is a myth-one can never achieve balance and one aspect has to be sacrificed for the other.
Her other concern is the amount of time one devotes to the family. No matter what the popular media claims about the quality of time, it is also the quantity of time that a family wants from a woman. Then there is the issue of quality, especially when a woman comes home tired and exhausted after a day’s hard work to a house waiting for her attention both in physical and mental terms.
The third, and to our mind, at Forum, the most significant insight, is that at the workplace, a woman needs to forget that she is a woman which in turn implies that she must not settle for any extra favour or any less of a responsibility as compared to her colleagues.
These insights are the lesson she learnt over her long career in diverse industries. She started her career right after her MBA in 1984 from Rajasthan State Industrial Development Corporation as Personnel Officer. Then in 1987 she joined ITDC, the tourism chain of hotels, duty free shops and a strong travel agency, probably one among the few organisations that was attracting women talent at that time. She joined PFC (Power Finance Corporation) in it’s formative years and literally shaped the HR function there. She
Interview
An Interview ofMs. Kalpana Kaul
General Manager (Human Resource)Rural Electrification Corporation Limited
In the 15 member organizations of the Forum, there are Eight Women Executives who are presently
occupying the position of General Manager. In other sectors, number of senior women executives
are quite high. Power People has made an attempt to capture the concerns and achievements of
these high achievers. Through one-to-one and e-mail interviews, Power People has been able to
capture the response of Ms. Kalpana Kaul, REC and Ms. A. Sathyabhama, NESCL in this issue. We shall
bring more responses from other women leader in future issues. Editor
Power People
05It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure. - Bill Gates
my parents, understanding Husband and responsible children. My
elder son has completed his engineering in computer science and is
working with TCS. My younger son has just completed his tenth std.
examination.
In my opinion, women employees can bring human touch to the
working environment; contribute greatly in resolving inter-
group/interdepartmental tussles, conflict management, handling
of emotional issues. Women can be better negotiators which can
contribute highly to the business. With 50 % population as women
they can equally contribute to the GDP growth in all spheres. The
question is can we provide more conducive environment for their
working and encourage their aspirations as well? This has to be an
on going process. Let us create gender neutral working
environments in our offices. Let us set examples for our juniors to
follow. Mentoring and training in aspects like networking,
exploring one’s professional potential, open discussions with
colleagues seniors about their higher responsibilities and rewards,
balancing of emotions, learning the tricks of trade, how to think big
etc. will help women employees to grow in their career like their
counterparts and make a mark.
Following are the points by which we can help women employees
well being in organization.1. Giving them an environment to innovate and challenging tasks
to prove their mettle and this will also uplift their morale.2. Board room should have atleast one woman director for
bringing a holistic viewpoint to the table for the organization's
betterment.3. If the women executives do not require positive discrimination
for their induction in the organization then they should not be
treated with negative discrimination while their appointment
to higher positions specially in site jobs not just corporate
offices?4. There should be objective performance appraisal.5. At the beginning of the career itself (during training) women
should be motivated and trained for taking up challenging task
in the organization and creating a work-life balance.
In its last issue “Power People” had promised to its valued readers
that the concerns and achievements of women leaders will be
captured in the future issues as well. Trials and tribulation of another
woman leader Ms. A. Sathyabhama, during her eventful journey in
NTPC are here to provide stimulus to the younger employees- Editor
In the year 1981 I joined this great Maharatna PSU - NTPC as an
Engineer Trainee soon after my Electrical Engineering graduation
and today I have reached the level of General Manager where I feel a
great professional satisfaction and a sense of achievement.
At every level, the capabilities of a female employee are assessed
more thoroughly than a male employee probably due to the
prevailing doubtful thinking about competence of a woman and her
capacity to handle tougher business conditions. So it is much more
difficult for a woman to raise her career than it is for her
counterparts. Definitely things are slowly changing resulting in
more and more women employees occupying responsible
positions. I would not call my career path as a totally difficult one
because I am a Lady. Difficulties on account of gender reason
occurred in the initial phases only due to the mindset of people.
More importantly my work areas are all unconventional ones-
Quality assurance, Inspection, Technical services at site, Field
Engineering services, Business Development for a woman
executive. Once you prove your competence, gender bias does not
come in the way of working and contributing.
In my tenure with QA and Inspection departments I had the
opportunity to explore my full technical potential and contribute to
the company’s benefit; ensuring quality compliance of equipment
to literally all projects of NTPC contributing for units reliability. It
gives me great satisfaction when people recognise me for this.
When I look back and analyse what made this possible, I feel factors
like self-belief that I can do, passion to work which came since it
was my chosen field of interest, encouragement by seniors, the
freedom to work and contribute etc. made this possible. I have the
confidence to handle higher responsibilities whatever is entrusted
to me and I have always felt there is unfinished agenda in my career
still to be accomplished. As regards work life balance I would like to
say, I have achieved this to great extent with continued support of
Competence Negates Gender Bias
An Interview ofA. SathyabhamaGeneral Manager
(BD, Project, P&M, IT, DB) NESCL, Wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC Ltd.
Top managers are often thwarted by the complications of managing
conflict. They know that disagreement over an issue is normal and
even indispensable. Realistic people, making assessments under
situations of ambiguity, are likely to have candid differences over
the best course for their company's future. Management teams,
whose members confront one another's thinking, develop an
added absolute perceptive of the choices, create a richer variety of
alternatives, and eventually make the kinds of effectual decisions
essential in today's competitive environments.
However, regrettably, healthy conflict can hastily turn infertile. A
comment meant as a substantive statement can be interpreted as a
personal assault. Anxiety and aggravation over complicated
options can progress into annoyance directed at colleagues. People
frequently become tangled with issues. Because most executives
pride themselves on being wise decision makers, they find it
complex even to admit-let alone manage-this emotional, irrational
dimension of their behaviour. The challenge is to encourage
members of management teams to argue without destroying their
ability to work together.
The tactics mentioned below are more implicit than explicit in the
decision-making of the management team; however, they are used
by companies for controlling interpersonal conflict.
Focus on the Facts
Some managers consider that working with excess data will
increase interpersonal conflict by expanding the range of issues for
debate. However, more information is better-if the data are
objective and up-to-date - as it motivate people to focus on issues,
not personalities.
In the dearth of good quality data, executives waste time in
meaningless argument over opinions. Some resort to self-
exaggeration and ill-formed speculations. People-and not issues-
become the spotlight of disagreement. The result is interpersonal
conflict!
Management teams disturbed by interpersonal conflict rely more
on premonitions and assumptions than on current data. When they
consider facts, they are more likely to look at a past measure, such
as profitability, which is both historical and highly refined. These
teams favour planning based on extrapolation and sensitive
attempts to forecast the future, neither of which capitulates current
or factual results.
There is a direct link between reliance on facts and low levels of
interpersonal conflict. Facts let people move quickly to the vital
issues surrounding a planned choice. Decision makers don't get
over-involved in arguments over what the facts might be. More
important by reliance on current data grounds strategic
discussions in reality. Facts (such as current sales, market share,
R&D expenses, competitors' behaviour, and manufacturing yields)
depersonalize the debate because they are not someone's fantasies,
guesses, or manoeuvre desires. In the absence of facts, individuals'
intentions are likely to become suspect. Building decisions on facts
creates a culture that underlines issues instead of personalities.
Multiply the Alternatives
Some managers believe that they can trim down conflict by
focusing on only one or two alternatives, thus reducing the facets
over which people can differ. But, in fact, teams with low
occurrences of interpersonal conflict do just the reverse. They
consciously develop multiple alternatives, often considering four
or five options at once. To promote debate, managers will even
introduce options they do not support.
There are many motives why considering multiple alternatives
may reduce interpersonal conflict.
One, it diffuses conflict; choices become less black and white, and
individuals get more room to diverge the degree of their support
over a scope of choices. Managers can more effortlessly shift
positions without losing face. Creating options is also a way to bring
managers jointly in a common and innately interesting task. It
Constructive Disagreement can bring Efficiency
Shivani Zakarde
06 If you can't make it good, at least make it look good. - Bill Gates
contemplates their energy on solving problems, and it boosts
the probability of attaining integrative solutions - alternatives
that integrate the views of a large number of decision makers.
In generating multiple alternatives, managers do not stop
at obvious solutions; rather, they continue generating
further-usually more original-options. The process in
itself is creative and fun, setting a positive attitude for
substantive, instead of interpersonal, conflict.
Create Common Goals
A third approach to curtail destructive conflict involves
outlining strategic choices as collaborative, rather than
competitive, exercises. Ingredients of collaboration and
competition co-exist within any management team,
executives share a stake in the company's performance,
yet their personal aspirations may make them challengers
for power. The booming groups steadily outlined their
decisions as collaborations in which it was in everybody's
interest to accomplish the best promising solution for the
collective. They did so by crafting a common objective
around which the team could unite. Such goals do not
entail standardized thinking, but they do require
everyone to share a vision. As Steve Jobs, who is associated
with high-profile Silicon Valley companies-Apple, NeXT, and Pixar -
has advised, "It's okay to spend a lot of time arguing about which
route to take to San Francisco when everyone wants to end up
there, but a lot of time gets wasted in such arguments if one person
wants to go to San Francisco and another secretly wants to go to San
Diego."
Teams shuffled by disagreement lack common goals. Team
members distinguish themselves to be in competition with one
another and, unexpectedly, tend to frame decisions negatively, as
reactions to risks.
Creating common goals build team solidity by stressing the shared
interest of all team members in the conclusion of the debate. When
team members are working in the direction of a common goal, they
are less likely to see themselves as individual winners and losers
and are far more likely to perceive the opinions of others correctly
and to learn from them. When executives lacked common goals,
they tend to be closed-minded and more likely to misapprehend
and blame each other.
Apply Humour
Teams that hold conflict well make precise - and often even
artificial-efforts to alleviate tension and at the same time
encourage a combined force by making their business fun. They
highlight the anticipation of fast-paced competition, not the stress
of competing in viciously sturdy and vague markets.
Wit works as a protection mechanism to defend people from the
stressful and intimidating circumstances that commonly take place
in the course of making strategic decisions. It facilitates people
distance themselves emotionally by putting those situations into a
broader life perspective, often through the use of mockery.
Humour, with its vagueness, can also blunt the warning edge of
negative information. The things can be said in gags that might
otherwise sound offensive. As a result tricky information can be
conversed in a more tactful and less personally threatening way.
Humour can also move decision making into a collaborative rather
than competitive frame through its powerful effect on mood.
People in a positive mood tend to be more optimistic and
POWER PEOPLE
Constructive Disagreement can bring Efficiency
07Don't compare yourself with anyone in this world...if you do so, you are insulting yourself. - Bill Gates
08 Life is not fair; get used to it. - Bill Gates
POWER PEOPLE
Constructive Disagreement can bring Efficiency
magnanimous and resourceful in seeking solutions. A positive
mood activates a more accurate perception of others'
arguments because people in a good mood tend to lighten up
their defensive barriers and so can listen more effectively.
Balance the Power Structure
Managers who believe that their team's decision-making
process is reasonable are more likely to admit decisions
without offence, even when they do not agree with them. But
when they consider the process is unjust, ill-will easily
cultivates into interpersonal conflict. A fifth tactic for taming
interpersonal conflict is to create a sense of fairness by
balancing power within the management team.
High-handed leaders who administer through highly
consolidated power structures often create high levels of
interpersonal hostility. At the other extreme, weak leaders
also stimulate interpersonal conflict as the power vacuum at
the top encourages managers to jockey for position.
Interpersonal conflict is lowest in balanced power structures,
where the CEO is more powerful than the other members of the top-
management team, but the members do exert ample power,
especially in their own well-defined areas of accountability. In
balanced power structures, all executives participate in strategic
decisions.
Seek Consensus with Qualification
Balancing power is one tactic for building a sense of fairness while
finding a suitable way to resolve conflict over issues is another -
and, perhaps, the more crucial. The teams that managed conflict
effectively all use a similar approach to resolve substantive conflict.
It is a dual-step process called consensus with qualification. It
works like this: executives talk over an issue and try to reach
consensus. If they can, the decision is made. If they can't, the most
relevant senior manager makes the decision, guided by input from
the rest of the group.
People generally correlate consensus with harmony, but
sometimes it’s the opposite: teams that are adamant on resolving
substantive conflict by forcing consensus, tend to display the most
interpersonal conflict. Executives sometimes have the impractical
analysis that consensus is always possible, but such a naive
persistence on consensus can lead to infinite haggling.
In a team that insists on consensus, deadlines can cause executives
to sacrifice fairness and thus weaken the team's support for the
final decision.
How does consensus with qualification create a sense of fairness? A
body of research on procedural justice shows that process fairness,
which involves significant participation and influence by all
concerned, is enormously important to most people.
Individuals are eager to accept conclusions they loathe if they
believe that the method by which those results came about was fair.
Most people want their views to be considered sincerely but are
prepared to accept that those opinions cannot always succeed. That
is specifically what occurs in consensus with qualification.
Apart from fairness, there are many other reasons why consensus
with qualification is an important deterrent to interpersonal
conflict:
• It presumes that conflict is natural and not a sign of
interpersonal dysfunction.
• It gives managers additional influence when the decision
affects their part of the organization in particular, thus
balancing managers' aspirations to be heard with the need to
make a choice.
POWER PEOPLE
Constructive Disagreement can bring Efficiency
09Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. - Bill Gates
paced markets, successful strategic decisions are most likely to be
made by teams that promote active and broad conflict over issues
without sacrificing speed. The key to doing so is to ease
interpersonal conflict.
Building a Fighting Team
Below are the five approaches that help managers to encourage the
kind of substantive debate over issue that leads to better decision
making and generate constructive disagreement within a team:
• Keep a varied team, including diverse ages, genders, functional
backgrounds, and industry experience. If everyone in the
meetings looks identical and sounds identical, then the
chances are higher that they possibly think identical, too.
• Meet together as a team often. Team members that don't know
one another well don't know one another's positions on
issues, harming their capacity to argue effectively. Regular and
repeated communication builds the reciprocated confidence
and acquaintance that team members require while
expressing dissent.
• Push team members to think about the roles beyond their
obvious product, geographic, or functional responsibilities.
Devil's advocates, sky-gazing visionaries, and action-oriented
executives can work together to ensure that all sides of an
issue are considered.
• Apply multiple mind-sets to any issue, try role-playing, putting
yourself in your competitors' shoes, or conducting war games.
Such practices create fresh perceptions and engage team
members, prompting interest in problem solving.
• Actively manage conflict. Don't let the team comply too soon or
too easily. Identify and treat indifference early. Often, what
passes for consensus is really disengagement.
Shivani ZakardeFreelance Content Writer
She can be reached at:szakarde@yahoo.com
• It is an unbiased and democratic process of decision making
that encourages everyone to bring suggestions to the table but
evidently demarcates how the decision will be made.
• Finally, consensus with qualification is fast. Procedures that
entail consensus tend to drag on continuously, annoying
managers with what they see as protracted and futile debate.
It's not shocking that the managers end up blaming their
aggravation on the inadequacy of their colleagues and not on
the poor conflict-resolution process.
Conclusion
To conclude, it is important to note that such conflict over issues is
not only likely but also valuable within top-management teams. It
provides executives with a more inclusive range of information, a
deeper understanding of the issues, and a richer set of possible
solutions.
Without conflict, groups lose their efficiency. Managers often
become withdrawn and only seemingly in agreement. In fact, the
substitute to conflict is usually not agreement but apathy and
disentanglement. Teams unable to cultivate substantive conflict
ultimately achieve, on average, lower performance. In today’s fast-
11As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others. - Bill Gates
Recently, my six year old child asked me two vital questions. The
questions were simple- Q1. Where did the GOD originate from? Q2.
What is the end of numbers, i.e. I presumed- the biggest number?
The first to my mind still remains unanswered and a vital link to our
spirituality. The second of course was easier to answer as infinity
gives us a solace in answer, although to an untrained mind, it is
difficult answer to grasp. The end of INFINITY?
This episode sent my mind racing towards many questions. From
the childhood, when our natural curiosity is at it’s peak, we are
discouraged to ask questions, be it parents- who get irritated by
such aimless questions or be it teachers- the ones who believe in
conformity to discipline and any aberration makes the chosen one,
a useless one to the system. So at the end of childhood, we end up
being adaptable and conformist- two great virtues after all. More
often than not, by virtue of our being Indians, having served as
worthy disciplined babus under the British Raj, we are a very
adaptable race.
The similar analogy extends to our workplace too! The moment a
curious rebellious trainee joins an organization, we focus all our
energy in disciplining the person by whatever methods we deploy-
be it training or mentoring. Given our conformist background, after
spending more than five to six years, we take pride in the fact that
the person has now settled into the system. But, are we really doing
the right thing? Are we not stifling creativity? Are we not really
making a person conformist to the cost of drowning a lone voice,
which may tell us a lot about what is wrong in the system? Where do
we go wrong? Why don’t we let persons grow as individuals,
independent in thinking, brave enough to find fault with the system,
perseverant enough to implement the changes and have the
conviction to live up to their choices or decisions?
Even if we agree to all this, is it easy to do this? And even if we find
some ways to start, how do we actually go about doing it? So, let’s go
back to where all of this started. Yes, when we were six years old and
asked life defining questions in so simple a manner that any adult
would marvel at our questioning ability. Let’s become six years old
and start asking questions, relevant- irrelevant, without the fear of
being ridiculed at. I would like to call this - Management by asking
Questions (MBAQ).
So, at what level can I ask these questions? How about questions to
myself; I ask questions about my Life; Questions about the work I
do; Questions about the my company; Questions about my function
or department; Let’s pick up one of these Questions and start
asking Questions.
Let’s see what Questions can we ask that would give me a pointer to
where I am, where I want to be, how do I get where I want to be,
what do I do when I get where I want to be.
So, let us start asking Questions….
• Can we conduct a survey of our employees to show us what are
the most inefficient, in-effective practices that we indulge in
rather than asking them to rate our effectiveness? i.e. conduct
an ineffectiveness survey.
• What is it that we can stop doing today? What is it that we can
stop doing after one month or one year or after five years?
• Do we provide flexibility in jobs (job sharing, work at home or
flexible schedules) or work at home opportunity when it is
needed, especially to our women employees? Or our
employees feel that asking such concessions would label them
as non-performers?
• Does my company feature in the "Best to work for" or
employee’s choice appearances?
• Are we in the top three choices of top performers? When highly
qualified professionals are asked the names of places they
"would like to work someday," does our firm appear in the top
three most often mentioned choice?
• Where do our applications come from? Are our applicants
from the choicest of the institutes in the country? What is the
Management by askingQuestions (MBAQ)
Vandana Chaturvedi
12 Television is not real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs. - Bill Gates
POWER PEOPLE
Management by asking Questions (MBAQ)
ratio of such recruits?• Do we have processes or practices in place to identify
company’s critical position and then focus our energies on
effectively placing these critical positions? Is our people
placement by chance or do we make a concerted effort to place
the right person at the right place at right time?
• Are our company’s HR and people practices cited at least five
times a year by name in the top three (most valuable
publications) that are read by top professionals in their field or
industry?
• Are we creating enough opportunities for women and
minorities (especially at the executive and board level). What
is our diversity ratio?
• Do our employees find it difficult to maintain Work/life
balance? Are our policies tuned towards maintaining this
balance. Are they flexible enough? What about the culture in
the organization. Is the condition- All work no play-makes an
efficient employee overplayed and rewarded?
• Do we care enough for the employee dignity? Do we give an
environment to an individual to have a difference of opinion?
• Are we the pioneer in our industry by being the first to offer
unique benefits to our employees?
• Do our former employees who resigned/ left us wish to return?
• What is the turnover rate of our top performers?
• Do we reward top performers? More importantly do we
differentiate between top performers and non performers
while rewarding them monetarily or otherwise?
• Do Fortune 500 firms or firms that are crucial to our industry
benchmark us at least once a year?
• Does our Company’s CMD has a wide name recognition? The
current CMD has a positive name recognition when
professionals in our industry and are asked in surveys or focus
groups most of the time.
• Are we the leading voice in the industry when it comes to
policy formulation decisions by the Govt or decision making
authorities that would affect our profit/ turnover of
performance?
So on and so forth…..Now, what is the methodology to promote people to ask Questions?
How do we do it in an organization that is already stifling with
creativity? Do we create an e-forum, a suggestion box of a
suggestion e-mail ID promoted by the top bosses for inviting
Questions? Or do we form focused group preferably less
experienced and less conditioned where we just discuss on one
topic and let everyone ask a Questions whether relevant or
irrelevant? Or do we have to limit our discussions to a particular
topic or let employees ask uncomfortable Questions in any area?
How to reward the culture of asking Questions? Can our top
management laud persons whose difficult Questions have lead to
considerable improvement. Can we encourage two more Questions
if asked one?
So let me finish by asking a Question. Was it worth reading this
article and did it add some value to your thoughts or this is just one
of those trash management thoughts whose place is in the
computer trash bin?
Happy Questioning.
Vandana ChaturvediDeputy General Manager (HR)NTPC Limited, Lucknow
She can be reached at:cvandana_hr@rediffmail.com
13If I'd had some set idea of a finish line, don't you think I would have crossed it years ago? - Bill Gates
It is perhaps a bit challenging to figure out what existing or
prospective employees look for when seeking employment with an
MSME. Obviously, there is likely to be wide disparity here not only
with respect to various employment specific factors but also with
regard to the importance accorded to these factors by individuals
who might consider working with an MSME. In an attempt to try
and uncover some typical factors that motivate employees in MSME
setups, this author polled a cross-section of employees at a firm
trading in engineering goods. As part of the exercise, employees
were asked to rate 14 critical motivating factors* (see table below)
in order of priority.
Interestingly enough, with some exceptions the employees picked
up critical job-related factors like Adequate Salary (by far the
number one priority for most), Job Security, Opportunities for
Promotion, Interesting Work and Responsibility and Independence
What Drives Me Drives You Too - Aligning Employer - Employee Motivations in MSME's
Sumeet Varghese, SPHR
MOTIVATING FACTOR S A K P J KR H D B
Job security 1 6 5 3 2 2 1 2 4
Adequate salary 2 2 1 1 1 1 3 1 10
Fringe benefits (perks etc.) 3 13 9 13 3 10 6 14 11
Opportuni�es for promo�on 4 5 2 4 4 9 2 3 6
Comfortable working condi�ons 9 4 8 6 6 5 9 11 2
Interes�ng work 6 11 3 2 5 4 4 7 3
Sound company policies and prac�ces 10 7 10 14 10 6 10 12 9
Respect and recogni�on 5 12 6 7 7 3 7 13 8
Responsibility and independence 7 3 4 5 9 11 8 8 5
Doing something worthwhile 13 14 13 12 12 13 13 4 1
Considerate and sympathe�c supervisor 14 8 11 10 14 14 12 10 12
Technically competent supervisor 8 10 7 8 11 8 14 9 14
Restricted hours of work 11 9 12 9 8 7 11 6 13
Pay according to ability and competence 12 1 14 11 13 12 5 5 7
EMPLOYEES
(*based on an Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Inventory developed by the late Dr. Udai Pareek)
14 Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana. - Bill Gates
POWER PEOPLE
What Drives Me Drives You Too - Aligning Employer - Employee Motivations in MSME's
as the top five drivers. However, with regard to the rest of the
drivers, there appears to be a lot of variation in terms of the
priorities indicated by the employees.
Adequate Salary
For a clear majority of employees at this firm, an appropriate
compensation package held more promise than say, equally
important job-related drivers like Restricted Hours of Work or a
Considerate and Sympathetic Supervisor. While the latter would be
a bonus, there was no compromising with the status accorded to
Salary. In some ways, this implies that in order to make the
employment proposition strongly attractive, MSME owners need to
focus on salary first. However this is easier said than done. With no
job specific and industry benchmarks available in the first place,
MSMEs are prone to look for internal salary benchmarks and peg
employee salaries around a particular salary point or level relative
to the benchmark. Interestingly, this internal benchmark can
sometimes be the highest paid employee or some threshold figure
that the owners may not want to cross. Oddly, even when? market
rates for a particular position are available MSMEs may tend to
discount the information by treating it as illogical or irrational. The
sector specific exuberance in salaries notwithstanding, employees
do tend to take salary related information far more seriously than
their MSME employers. Obviously there is no one reason why small
and medium businesses may want to place a cap on the salaries
they can afford. But it is important to understand whether salary
related decisions are made rationally or irrationally. It may not be
far from the truth to claim that the strong cost-mindset or savings
habit that informs the various purchase decisions MSME owners
make on a day-to-day basis plays a large role in influencing the
salary choices that owners offer to their employees. One MSME
owner whom this author met appeared quite upset about the fact
that minimum wage rates in other locations were particularly
competitive. Apparently one of his suppliers had told him that he
offered his casual laborers barely 50 rupees and a plate of rice a day.
Without doubt, getting the employee price right constitutes
perhaps one of the most important business decisions for an
MSME. The only hitch, however, is the data inputs that feed this
decisioning process.
Job Security
Perhaps, the next most important thing that an employee considers
after salary is job security. For both semi-skilled and skilled
workers planning to join a small business, there is usually a strong
desire to learn more about the level of security the job offers.
Whereas for some, this may take the form of understanding the hire
and fire provisions that operate in the organization, for others, it
might be something as basic as understanding the sustainability of
the organization. Obviously, the manner in which employees are
terminated at an MSME communicates a lot about the level of job
security available there. In cases where expulsion is based on the
whims and fancies of the owner, jobs may appear just as arbitrary
as the measures taken to remove employees. As long as removal is
construed as fair and square, MSMEs will have to grapple with
employee disaffection and its unwanted by-product, job
disconnect. Obviously exit interviews in such a scenario will appear
meaningless and empty if there are no proper procedures in place
to expel employees on disciplinary grounds or terminate them on
performance issues. In one particular MSME, the owner made it a
point to follow a multiple warning system before asking employees
to leave. What is more he also allowed the warned employee to
submit his side of the story every time the employee was hauled up.
More importantly, the owner made sure he spoke on the basis of
facts and evidence rather than his personal perception, hearsay
and emotion.
POWER PEOPLE
What Drives Me Drives You Too - Aligning Employer - Employee Motivations in MSME's
15DOS is ugly and interferes with users' experience. - Bill Gates
Oddly to an MSME owner, a potential employee’s focus on job
security may be perceived more as a liability than an opportunity.
This is because an employee who’s more anxious of such issues
tends to come across as someone who’s there just for the job.
Accordingly, his/her interaction with others in the organization
begins to be viewed as characteristic of job-securing behavior.
While this may not be entirely untrue, MSME owners should use
this wanted or unwanted focus on job security to clarify job and
performance related expectations. In one MSME the owner made it
a point to communicate sales related turnover and business profits
every day for one whole quarter to drive home the point that
employees are equal contributors to the business. More
importantly, he also managed to demonstrate the link between
employee performance and business performance. In a sense he
was clearly communicating the fact that job security is ultimately a
function of employee performance by showcasing how employee
contributions were directly impacting business profitability and
sustainability.
Opportunities for Promotion
As businesses grow, employee aspirations are bound to acquire
momentum and direction. For many MSME’s this is a conundrum
that may appear difficult to crack. However, the drive to move up in
the organization is just as basic as the entrepreneur’s desire to scale
up his/her business. Sadly, like many of their larger counterparts,
MSME’s may lack the ability to provide greater visibility on where
an employee is headed during his/her period of employment. This
is somewhat similar to driving in the dark without headlights on.
While MSME’s approach this problem in their unique way, what is
often at times missing is a simple way of communicating who is
where in the organization’s scheme of things. At one MSME the
owners recently discovered that their employees lack not just a
proper role description but also a proper organizational chart
clearly showing who is reporting to whom. Obviously the trigger for
this realization was the fact that almost all employees at the firm
barged in sometime or the other during the course of the day and
ended up distracting them for some or the other matter. To make a
long story short, no matter how chaotic organizations are, a simple
reporting chart visually captures not just who is where but
opportunities for individual growth as well. Obviously, these are
basic attempts to provide some kind of directional clarity to
employees who join and are in no way the equivalent of a
comprehensive career planning system that capture employee
transition opportunities laterally and vertically in an organization
over a period of time.
In the table shared above, a majority of employees listed promotion
opportunities as one of their top 5 priorities. The only exceptions
are KR and B. Interestingly, KR functions as the Receptionist and
Customer Relationship Management executive whereas B heads
the Finance and Accounts team. In many ways, these 2 represent
employees who are technically in the non-promotable zone – is this
why they don’t consider it a top priority? Though KR is the lone
employee looking after reception, she is one of four team members
in the CRM team. While laterally there is no position she can be
promoted into she has opportunities to move up in the CRM team
where she is currently responsible for making calls to customers
based on inputs she receives from the other 3 in the team. Whatever
the reason, perhaps both employees seem to have internalized
their present situation a bit and accordingly place more emphasis
on critical issues like Interesting Work, Respect and Recognition
and Doing Something Worthwhile. Apparently, these choices also
indicate trade-offs employees may be willing to make where
certain critical aspirations appear unrealistic.
Attracting and retaining employees in an MSME environment
particularly by focusing on employee specific motivators is today a
more complex arithmetic operation than interpreting an
organization’s annual report. However there is no gain in stating
the fact that this mathematics needs serious attention and
application. While actually mastery may take time, it may be
worthwhile to consider the fact that critical job related motivators
for an employee correspond fairly well with the critical motivators
that drive the MSME owner as well. For instance, Adequate Salary
for the employee is but Return on Investment for the owner.
Similarly, just as Job Security is the obverse of Business
Sustainability, Opportunities for Promotion on the employee side
are mirrored by the Need for Growth on the business owner’s side.
Once this connection is clear to both owner and employee their
beliefs, attitudes and behaviors around each of these factors can be
streamlined to generate greater passion and profits.
Sumeet VargheseSPHR,Founding Partner
He can be reached at:sumeet@yourhrbuddy.org
The English word was coined in 1909 by the psychologist Edward
B. Titchener. The ability to imagine oneself as another person is a
sophisticated imaginative process. However, the basic capacity to
recognize emotions is probably innate and may be achieved
unconsciously. Yet it can be trained and achieved with various
degrees of intensity or accuracy.
Empathy is a construct that is fundamental to Human Resource
Managers & leadership. Many leadership theories suggest the
ability to have and display empathy as an important part of
leadership. Empathy is one factor in relationships. The nature of
leadership is shifting, placing a greater emphasis on building and
maintaining relationships. Leaders today need to be more person-
focused and be able to work with those not just in the next cubicle,
but also with those in other buildings, or other countries. Leaders
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest
compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
Men, money, material, machine and market are considered to be
essential element of business. Of all these elements, the only
element which is living is Men and is also crucial and volatile
because on its efficient management depends the success of other
elements and business.
Humans have emotions, desires, compassion, ambition, want for
recognition, self esteem; they need love, sympathy and empathy.
It’s not only money that drives them but there are several other
factors which matter at the end of day. Many professionals get into
HR because "they like people" but they need to develop
competencies such as "empathy" to do the job well and become a
human manager/engineer in true sense. Empathy is a must for
manager but compulsory attribute for a HR Manager.
A top priority for many organizations is to look beyond traditional
strategies for management development and recruitment to create
a cadre of leaders capable of moving the company forward. With
such high stakes, talent management and HR professionals as well
as senior executives are pursuing multiple strategies for
developing more effective managers and leaders. Managers, too,
may be surprised that so many of their peers are underperforming.
It’s a smart move for individual managers, then, to figure out where
they stand and what skills are needed to improve their chances of
success. One of those skills, perhaps unexpectedly, is empathy.
Empathy is the capacity to recognize ability to experience and
relate to the thoughts & emotions that are being experienced by
another person. One may need to have a certain amount of empathy
before being able to experience accurate sympathy or compassion.
Empathy is more than simple sympathy, which is being able to
understand and support others with compassion or sensitivity.
Human Resource &Importance of Empathy
Ashutosh Kr. Anand
16 Expectations are a form of first-class truth: If people believe it, it's true. - Bill Gates
now need to lead people, collaborate with others, and be able to
manage cross organizational and cultural boundaries and need to
create shared direction, alignment and commitment between
social groups with very different histories, perspectives, values,
and cultures. It stands to reason that empathy would go a long way
toward meeting these people-oriented managerial and leadership
requirements.
Empathy is positively related to job performance. Empathic
emotion plays an important role in creating climate of support and
protection to promote successful job performance. Organizations
can encourage a more empathetic work place and help managers
improve their empathy skills in a number of simple ways:
Discuss Empathy:
Let managers know that empathy matters. Though task-oriented
skills like monitoring, planning, controlling and commanding
performance or “making the numbers” are important ,
understanding, caring, and developing others is just as important, if
not more important, particularly in today’s workforce. Giving time
and attention to others fosters empathy, which in turn, enhances
your performance and improves your perceived effectiveness.
Listening skills:
To understand others and sense what they are feeling, managers
must be good listeners. Skilled listeners let others know that they
are being heard, and they express understanding of concerns and
problems. When a manager is a good listener, people feel respected
and trust can grow. Sometimes emotion expressed nonverbally
may be more telling than the words people speak. Focus on tone of
voice, pace of speech, facial expressions, and gestures.
Encourage genuine perspective-taking:
Managers consistently should put themselves in the other person’s
place. You can never understand someone unless you understand
their point-of-view, climb in that person’s skin or stand and walk in
that person’s shoes.” For managers, this includes taking into
account the personal experience or perspective of their employees.
It also can be applied to solving problems, managing conflicting, or
driving innovation. It becomes rather more important for a human
resource manager to posses this quality.
Cultivate compassion:Managers who care about how someone else feels or considers the
effects that business decisions have on employees, customers and
communities go beyond the standard-issue values statement and
allow time for compassionate reflection and response. Remember
it is all about humans managing humans. The more you care &
overcome biasness and barriers the more valued you become and
create value for the organization.
Difference between Sympathy & Empathy
Sympathy is literally 'feeling with' - compassion for or
commiseration with another person. Empathy, by contrast, is
literally 'feeling into' - the ability to project one's personality into
another person and more fully understand that person.
Conclusion
In recent years, technology has changed the ways in which HR
people think and do their administrative and strategic work.
Machines rule our world now; we humans have put such concepts
as of love, mutual respect, sympathy & empathy on the back front
and have capitalized more on profits. We are growing passive on
feeling pain of others, responding to the agony of fellow humans,
lending helping hand in the time of need. We have started
competing with each other, pushing other to move ahead and
forgetting the very essential factor which differentiates humans
from other creatures on earth that is ability to sense the pain of
others. It’s high time that we start learning these forgotten
concepts and values that are much needed in today’s times. When
we focus on ourselves, our world contracts as our problems and
preoccupations loom large. But when we focus on others, our world
expands. Our own problems drift to the periphery of the mind and
so seem smaller, and we increase our capacity for connection - or
compassionate action. Remember intellect is insufficient without
courage, love, friendship, compassion, and empathy.”
POWER PEOPLE
Human Resource & Importance of Empathy
17Capitalism has worked very well. Anyone who wants to move to North Korea is welcome. - Bill Gates
Ashutosh Kr. Anand(Personnel Officer)
He can be reached at:anand.ahutosh7@gmail.com
When somebody loses their breadwinner and also their loved one,
it is the most difficult time for the family as it will end up in shamble.
That is the case with temporary or total loss happen to the
breadwinner also. In both the cases the financial security of the
family is jeopardized. Apart from the psychological support, the
financial support during hospital stay and thereafter is very
significant.
To take care of this exigency social security legislations like, The
Employee State Insurance Act 1948 and The Employee’s
Compensation Act 1923 (earlier known as Workmen’s
Compensation Act) facilitate health benefits/financial
compensation etc., Even the Companies have their own scheme like
Employee Insurance/Employee Personal Accident Insurance,
Hospitalization Benefits and also small Compassionate
employment as a welfare measure. Indeed certain companies are
having Economic Rehabilitation Scheme in place of compassionate
employment.
While considering for compassionate employment, the following
factors have to be considered by the Employer. 1. to whom it will apply (dependents/spouse/adopted….)
2. to apply under which condition of death (during employment/
accidental death…)
3. to which position (workmen / supervisory cadre)
4. to decide about the next kin , who will provide succor to the
family
5. to provide age relaxation , if so how many years
6. to decide about the financial condition of deceased family
7. to allow educational qualification relaxation or not
Department of Public Enterprises had earlier issued guidelines on
compassionate appointment. Later it was revised by Vital
Committee. CPSEs were given autonomy to frame their own
guidelines on compassionate appointment keeping in view of their
operational business requirements (DPE lr. No.2 (63) 07-DPE (GM)
dt 11.03.2008)
In respect of deceased family, the factors like loss of breadwinner &
financial dependency is the main reason of distress. At the same
time if the employment provided is not commensurating with the
qualification of the kin of the deceased, it will not be acceptable
proposition to the individual after initial heat is cooled off.
Questions with regard to compassionate employment like…
Whether eligibility criteria can be relaxed out of humanitarian
ground? or whether Financial position has to be taken into
account? and other questions have also been answered by various
High Courts and apex court. However some of the milestone cases
decided in the apex court are given below:
The Supreme Court has held in its judgement dated February 28,
1995 in the case of the Life Insurance Corporation of India vs. Asha
Ramchandra Ambekar and others [JT 1994 (2) S.C.183] that the
CompassionateEmployment
P. Sreenivasan
18 I believe in innovation and that the way you get innovation is you fund research and you learn the basic facts. - Bill Gates
POWER PEOPLE
Compassionate Employment
High Courts and Administrative Tribunals can not give direction for
appointment of a person on compassionate grounds but can merely
direct consideration of the claim for such an appointment.
The apex court held that the compassionate appointment cannot
be made on ‘ad-hoc basis’. It also said that the qualification of the
dependent family member is irrelevant. (Umesh Kr Nagpal Vs State
of Haryana SC 525 JT (1994) (3) )
The Supreme Court has ruled in the cases of Himachal Road
Transport Corporation vs. Dinesh Kumar [JT 1996 (5) S.C. 319] on
May 7, 1996 and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited vs. Smt A. Radhika
Thirumalai [JT 1996 (9) S.C. 197] on October 9, 1996 that
appointment on compassionate grounds can be made only if a
vacancy is available for that purpose.
The Supreme Court has held in its judgment in the case of State of
Haryana and others vs. Rani Devi and others [JT 1996(6) S.C. 646]
on July 15, 1996 that if the scheme regarding appointment on
compassionate ground is extended to all sorts of casual, ad-hoc
employees including those who are working as Apprentices, then
such scheme cannot be justified on Constitutional grounds.
In the case of Rajasthan, Petitioner son was ten years old at the time
of death. When petitioner made the application, he being minor,
was not eligible for such employment. There can be no reservation
of a vacancy till such time the minor becomes a major after a
number of years . Application made by petit ioner for
compassionate employment later was rejected. The learned Single
Judge in that case held that if the eldest dependant attains the age of
18 years after an inordinate delay from the death of the employee,
offering appointment to him at such a belated stage would not
serve the purpose of granting immediate financial relief to redeem
the grieved family from financial constraints. (Jaya Bhaduri vs State
Of Rajasthan And Anr. SC 16 October, 2000)
In 2004 it was held in the case of General Manager (D&PB) & Ors. vs.
Kunti Tiwary & Anr., (2004) 7 SCC 271 that the criteria of penury
has to be applied and only in cases where the condition of the family
is "without any means of livelihood" and "living hand to mouth"
that compassionate appointment was required to be granted.
A Bench comprising Justices A R Lakshmanan and Tarun Chatterjee
decided in favour of Union Bank of India, which had rejected the
claim of M T Lathesh for compassionate employment. It agreed
with the 2000 verdict to the extent that "law courts cannot be a
mute spectator where relief is denied to the horrendous sufferings
of a family which has lost its breadwinner". However, it also
defended why compassionate employment should be a rarity than
the rule. To determine the 'necessitous circumstances', the court
said the employer is well within his right to take into account the
net income of the family of the deceased employee to determine
whether the kin were facing penury. Fresh employment with the
bank has reduced considerably and the grant of employment on
compassionate grounds to all the cases shall shut the door for
employment to the ever-growing population of unemployed youth,
more particularly when the industry is being asked to reduce the
number of employees by offering them voluntary retirement
schemes, it said. Setting aside the Kerala High Court Judgement, the
Bench noted that Lathesh's family got a substantial amount as
terminal benefits in addition to a monthly family pension which at
present stood at Rs 5,176. Hence the family was not in a dire
situation for compassionate employment to Lathesh whose father
had died while serving as clerk-cum-cashier (Union Bank Of India
And Ors vs M.T. Latheesh 7 SCC 350 SC 18 August, 2006)
19We've got to put a lot of money into changing behavior. - Bill Gates
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Compassionate Employment
“The consequences in case of an employee being medically
invalidated on account of serious illness/accident, will be no less, in
fact more than the consequences of death in harness," said a Bench
comprising Justices R V Raveendran and L S Panta upholding a
Andhra government decision to extend compassionate
employment to the kin of officials who were forced to retire on
account of medical invalidation. The Bench explained: "When an
employee dies in harness, his family is thrown into penury and
sudden distress on account of stoppage of income. But, where a
person is permanently incapacitated due to serious illness or
accident, and his services are consequently terminated, the family
is thrown into greater financial hardship, because not only the
income stops, but at the same time there is considerable additional
expenditure by way of medical treatment as also the need for an
attendant to constantly look after him. "When compassionate
appointment of a dependant of a government servant who dies in
harness is accepted to be an exception to the general rule, there is
no reason or justification to hold that an offer of compassionate
appointment to the dependant of a government servant who is
medically invalidated, is not an exception to the general rule," said
the bench. (2006)
In one case, Arvind Kumar Tiwari's father was an ASI in Gujarat
police. After he died in 1999, Tiwari applied for employment on
compassionate grounds for the post of a peon. As he had studied up
to Class 8, his application was rejected but on the ground that his
family was not in any financial distress. However, Tiwari made a
second application to the additional director general of police, who
ordered that the same be considered ignoring the financial
condition of the family. It was again rejected in 2005 when it was
found that the applicant had only passed Class 7 as against the
minimum eligibility criteria of Class X needed for appointment to a
peon's post. But the Gujarat High Court asked the police
department to consider Tiwari's appointment on compassionate
grounds. The state appealed against the order in the SC. The bench
of Justices Dr. B.S. Chauhan and F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla said,
"Compassionate appointment cannot be claimed as a matter of
right. It is simply not another method of recruitment. A claim to be
appointed on such a ground has to be considered in accordance
with the rules, regulations or administrative instructions
governing the subject, taking into consideration the financial
condition of the family of the deceased. "Such a category of
employment itself is an exception to the constitutional provisions
contained in Article 14 (right to equality) and Article 16 (right to
equal opportunity in public employment), which provide that there
can be no discrimination in public employment. "In view of the
legal bar, it is neither desirable, nor permissible in law, for this court
to issue direction to relax the said eligibility criteria and appoint
respondent merely on humanitarian ground," the bench said. (State
of Gujrat & ors Vs Arvind kumar T. Tiwari & Anr SC Sep 14, 2012)
In 2007 the bench of apex court consisting of Dr. A.R. Lakshmanan
& Altamas Kabir ruled that bank has to consider the case of
dependent as per the laid down parameters in the scheme of
compassionate employment. It also said that financial condition is
a factor. ( SBI & ors Vs Aspal Kaur SC 409 of 1st February 2007)
Compassionate appointment is not to be given when there is no
financial hardship. Compassionate appointment, it is well settled, is
not a source of recruitment nor it can be claimed as a matter of
right," a bench comprising Justice Anil Kumar and Justice Mool
Chand Garg said. (2010)
“Appointment on compassionate grounds cannot be claimed as a
matter of right. As a rule, public service appointments should be
made strictly on the basis of open invitation of applications and
merit said the apex court while ruling against the Allahabad HC
order. A bench of Justices Dr. BS Chauhan and Dipak Misra said such
appointments were permissible only in genuine cases as per rules,
else it would violate the Constitution.(Union of India & Anr Vs
Shashank Goswami & Anr SC 23rd May 2012)
In this back drop it is advisable for a company to formulate a policy
on Economic Rehabilitation Scheme allowing the deceased spouse
and dependent kids to avail the financial benefits till the actual
retirement of the deceased by retaining the final settlement due to
the deceased.
P. SreenivasanChief Manager (HR)POWERGRID
He can be reached at:psree@powergridindia.com
20 I have an excellent memory, a most excellent memory. - Bill Gates
organization and the organization should continuously strive to
bring change instead of resisting it.
The Journey So Far
After go-live in November 2010, the project took almost six months
for stabilization in place of three months stabilization period as
was originally envisaged in the scheme. During this period some
incomplete processes of some modules were fully completed. Full
stabilization takes long time. It is observed from companies like
NTPC, Oil India Ltd and others that stabilization in ERP
implementation normally takes three to four years. Other power
companies are also taking long time to get the ERP fully stabilized.
The more the people are involved in it, the faster would be the
stabilization and the larger would be the benefits. The going
requires patience and perseverance.
Recently we have taken the ERP support services for another
contract period to stabilize the system. This is just like the second
phase of stabilization. We should make the best use of it. Each
department should work maximum with the system to make the
Introduction
In the later part of 2009, the idea of ERP was conceived to be started
in DTL. But it was only in the beginning of 2010 that the
implementation process could be stepped up. Unlike some other
Delhi Government organizations, its journey in DTL was smooth,
steady and uninterrupted. As planned, the ERP project went live on
8th November, 2010 with maximum number of eight modules. It
was a transmission specific SAP programme. Many Organizations
choose to implement ERP modules in phases. However in our case,
the Company took a bold step by choosing such large number of
modules for implementation at one go. The modules covered were
in all most all areas of operations of the company including Project,
Maintenance, Materials Management, Finance, Human Resources
and Business Intelligence.
People then were wondering whether such a big project with wide
coverage of activities would at all be successful. But with a
dedicated core team under the measured direction and able
guidance of the management, the project could achieve successful
operation on scheduled time which itself is a landmark
achievement.
Initial Resistance
Initially the project implementation received lukewarm resistance
from some quarters. Largely due to ignorance of its use and benefits
and little due to the general human tendency i.e. resistance to any
change. The people who were resisting were managed by way of
listening to their view points and making their views issue based
rather than a personality based. They were embraced by
management rather than being avoided. They were indulged more
and more in the ERP instead of being separated from it. All the
departments invariably were involved in the process. A series of
Change Management Programmes were conducted. Slowly and
gradually, the resistance disappeared. People realized that ERP
introduces organizational reform, both process reform and system
reform. It is aimed at bringing long-term benefits for the
Implementation of ERPin Delhi TRANSCO
Prafulla Mallik
22 I never took a day off in my twenties. Not one. And I'm still fanatical, but now I'm a little less fanatical. - Bill Gates
most use of the support. We should learn more about the use of the
technology through the support, rather than using the support as
the labour component.
Since technical knowledge is involved, the learning process for
non-technical people is a bit slower. Once the benchmark
knowledge is acquired, the going gets smoother and benefits for the
users stem manifold.
If ERP is the integration of different processes, activities,
departments, locations, then it may be said that we have so far
integrated all the processes, departments, locations and only some
of our activities through ERP well and a lot more is required to be
done on the activities front for making it fully integrated.
One important aspect we did focus in is the system improvement of
the company covering almost all important functional areas. ERP
related vital systems like creation of Fixed Assets Master, Material
Codification, Document Management System, Inter connectivity
with all offices and all substations across Delhi were developed.
Although Delegation of Powers in the company was codified earlier,
it was required to be synchronized and tuned with ERP system.
Many organizations implement different ERP Modules in phases.
Accordingly they develop the related systems only before
implementation. But in our case, the management decided to
implement maximum modules at a time. Therefore, lot many
module related systems were required to be developed. It was a
huge challenging task. However the ERP core team geared up and
put in all out efforts. As a result, all the required systems were
developed in time. Today all the processes with all the related
systems are in place. All that is required is the extensive use and
constant updating of the systems.
Although Maha Transco very closely followed DTL in ERP
implementation, it was DTL only as the first transmission company
in the country which implemented a very comprehensive ERP
package successfully.
The ERP project of the Company received special recognition from
SAP amongst the PSUs for the most promising industry solution
implementation award in 2012.
Benefits of ERP
Now the use of ERP and its popularity is gradually spreading out. In
the very first few months of its implementation, some major
company procedural errors that existed in legacy system and had
significant financial impact were noticed and rectified also. The
most important benefit of ERP is that accounts of the company will
be updated. Audit will be done in time. Regulatory and Legal
compliance management system would improve. Accounts
finalization in time will not only meet with the statutory
compliance, it will also attract the bankers and financiers to make
investment in the company.
Plant maintenance module of ERP will help maintain the
transmission system very systematically. Maintenance plan helps
to create preventive maintenance schedule and that can be
monitored online. Centralized Procurement System is a very highly
researched and developed system that has been introduced.
Appropriate determination of Economic Order Quantity and ABC
analysis through system has been designed. The module when fully
operational, will immensely contribute to value addition.
Availability of desired information through Business Intelligence
module to top management in time will facilitate well informed
decision making.
Myths and Realities
Everyone should endeavor to run the system rather than thinking
that those in charge of ERP should help run it. As in fact the persons
in charge of it cannot help technically to run the ERP without the
services of the core team members of the concerned departments.
ERP belongs to the company as a whole and all the departments
have the responsibility towards its success. ERP section consists of
the people selected from all the departments and is working as a
facilitator only. Responsibility to run the respective departments is
of the people working in it. Initially, members selected from
different departments were put together as a core team. The
objective was to give them comprehensive training from a
centralized location. After the training was over, half of the core
POWER PEOPLE
Implementation of ERP in Delhi TRANSCO
23We are not even close to finishing the basic dream of what the PC can be. - Bill Gates
24 People everywhere love Windows. - Bill Gates
POWER PEOPLE
Implementation of ERP in Delhi TRANSCO
team members were sent back to the respective departments to run
the ERP of their departments. After the ERP gets fully stabilized,
may be all the core team members will be required to work in their
respective departments. By the time everybody would be ERP
literate, ERP department would ultimately be a very small one,
comprising people to make administration, co-ordination work
and to provide IT services in general only.
ERP Perspectives
ERP will bring organizational transformation. It not only helps
people work faster, it also helps people work well. It enhances
corporate image and improves corporate culture. It is a tool for
value addition.
ERP is a technology which brings discipline to the organization.
Because, in ERP we bring and establish a set of procedures or
principles for the company. And everybody in the organization will
be asked to work as per the established procedures. No one
however talented, be allowed to do things his or her own way.
Everyone will work as per company’s rules.
Broad elements of Corporate Governance like transparency,
statutory compliances, and disclosures are facilitated in the
organization by ERP. System operated activity ensures
transparency. Real time operations update transactions, make
accounts on-line and facilitate timely capturing of data and
information which enable statutory compliances and disclosures.
The more you are involved in ERP, the more you learn
and the more you contribute. Originally when we
started, the benefits we visualized from ERP were a
very few. But in due course of time after seeing the full
processes of implementation and interacting with
several people in different organizations in the same
area, today we observe that this is a rare technology
which is indispensable to every organization, small or
large, private or public sector. It is for a progressive and
forward looking company like what a note pad or
laptop is today for every educated person. The
applications and operations of ERP are vast.
ERP is not a luxury now; it is a necessity for attaining
sustainable competitiveness and growth. For success
in business three things are required- class, strategy
and ethics. ERP as a tool helps achieve these three well.
Conclusion
We are in an era of profound change. Business structure, strategies
and technologies are changing very fast. For bringing competitive
strength, we need to transform our business continuously and use
the latest technology.
DTL as a corporate entity has brought in remarkable structural as
well as organizational transformation over the years. Number of
system improvement exercises has been undertaken. It has been
constantly using for a long the state of the art technology in its
business system. Implementation of ERP as a soft technology has
well begun. The journey so far is continuous and encouraging.
Some recognition and milestones have been achieved in this
regard. More vigorous, collective and team efforts need to be made
for achieving better results.
Prafulla MallikGeneral Manager(CS, HR, Legal)
He can be reached at:pk_mallik@rediffmail.com
enterPRIZEBusiness Simulation Game
Managing business is a complex activity and requires effective
decision making. The present event tests understanding and
ability of team members to take difficult decision in a timely
manner in a specific domain i.e. Managing HR Resources.
Effectiveness of various decision shall be evaluated in four areas:
1. Employee Productivity
2. Employee Cost
3. Job Satisfaction
4. Employee Retention.
For all the team decision, the key is cause - effect of all decisions
made, in areas of recruitment, compensation, capability
building, welfare scheme etc.
Power HR Forum Members Organisation
NEEPCO
EligibilityAny Power Utility can send two teams comprising
4 persons (of any discipline) in each team.
Nomination ProcessPlease contact your HR Department for details of the
selection process.
Participation Fee` 25,000/- per team.
Awards` 50,000 for the Winning team
` 40,000 for the Runner up team
` 10,000 for the Best Leader (Individual Award)
` 10,000 for the Best Learner (Individual Award)
Date & Venue
September 09-10, 2013at Power Management Institute, NTPC
Plot 5-14, Sector 16A, NOIDA.
Ms. Shailja Shrivastava Mob: 09654185205
Power HR Forum Secretariat,
Power Management Institute, NTPC
5-14, Sector 16A, NOIDA, 201301
Email: powerhrforum@gmail.com
www.powerhrforum.org
CONTACT DETAILS:
Details are available at www.powerhrforum.org
industrial dispute in relation to the said order of dismissal from
service culminating in a reference being made by the Government
of Karnataka to Labour Court, Gulbarga for resolution of the said
dispute. A preliminary issue was raised before the Labour Court
and by a judgment and order dated 30.04.1996, it was found that
the disciplinary proceedings held as against the Respondent was
not fair and legal. The parties thereafter adduced their respective
evidence before the Labour Court.
Legal Issues:• Whether the respondent should be dismissed from service?• Whether the payment of back wages should be denied from the
date of dismisssal to the date of re-instatement?
Held
Labour Court1. The respondent committed a misconduct by remaining absent
from 27.11.90 to 02.12.1993.2. Dismissal is unreasonable punishment. In a normal course the
reasonable punishment would be to disallow the back wages
and continuity of service from the date of dismissal to till the
date of reinstatement. But in this case the claimant has been
granted interim relief. If the back wages and continuity of
service are disallowed from the date of dismissal to the date of
reinstatement the punishment would be somewhat
unreasonable one. I am of the opinion that it is a fit case to
disallow the back wages and continuity of service from the
date of dismissal, i.e., 6-8-94 till the date of granting the
interim relief, i.e., 29.1.95 as a lesser punishment."
High Court"When a worker has remained unauthorisedly absent for such a
long duration in the normal circumstances, Labour Court was not
justified in interfering with the order of punishment imposed by
the management but in the facts of the case, the workman was
awarded some interim relief in the year 1995 and by an interim
order of this court in the year 1999 he has been reinstated and has
been working.
Labour law is a continuously evolving phenomenon. Our
understanding gets shaped with every judgement of the Supreme
court. So, it is important to keep abreast of the benchmark
judgements as well as the latest judgements in order to sharpen our
perspective of labour law and its application to everyday decision
making at the workplace in HR issues.
The decisions of the Supreme Court are the Law of the land as per
Art. 141 of the Constitution of India. So if we do not know the law of
the land in reference to HR, it hampers our ability to take correct
decisions in alignment with the law of the land.
The scope of labour law is too large and the number of cases are
many. Hence, it is important to choose only those judgements
which are considered to be landmarks.
We shall examine the landmark judgements in the following areas:• Unauthorized absence is serious misconduct thereby
attracting dismissal.
• Showing own workmen as workmen of contractor is a
subterfuge.
• Application of Principles of Natural Justice to Domestic
inquiry.
Unauthorized Absence is serious misconduct:Case: North Eastern Karnataka R.T. ... vs Ashappa on 12 May,
2006
Facts of the Case
The Respondent was working as a conductor. He remained
unauthorisedly absent from 27.11.1990 to 02.12.1993. His leave
records were seen and it was found that he had repeatedly
remained unauthorisedly absent. On the aforementioned charges,
a departmental proceeding was initiated against him. He was found
guilty of commission of the said misconduct and was directed to be
dismissed from service by an order dated 6.08.1994. He raised an
Judgements which have shaped our understanding of Labour Law
Sanjiv Narang
26 Rich countries can afford to overpay for things. - Bill Gates
Taking these factors into consideration and having regard to the
long absence of the workman, it is a fit case that he should be denied
the payment of backwages from the date of dismissal till the date of
reinstatement."
Supreme Court1. The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Appellant
would submit that the Labour Court as also the High Court
committed a serious error in arriving at a finding that
absenting oneself from duty for such a long time can be treated
to be a minor misconduct and remaining absent from duty for
129 days should not have been treated leniently and as such,
the impugned judgment cannot be sustained. He also pointed
out that the finding of the Labour Court in paragraph 19 of its
award was that the absence was from 27.11.1990 to
2.12.1993, a period of three years and five days.
The charges against the Respondent were proved. Even the
Labour Court, before whom the parties adduced evidences,
found that the Respondent was absent for over three years.
The Labour Court, however, proceeded on the basis that over-
staying on leave or absence from duty partook to the nature of
a minor offence.
2. Remaining absent for a long time, in our opinion, cannot be
said to be a minor misconduct. The Appellant runs a fleet of
buses. It is a statutory organization. It has to provide public
utility services. For running the buses, the service of the
conductor is imperative. No employer running a fleet of buses
can allow an employee to remain absent for a long time. The
Respondent had been given opportunities to resume his
duties. Despite such notices, he remained absent. He was
found not only to have remained absent for a period of more
than three years, his leave records were seen and it was found
that he remained unauthorisedly absent on several occasions.
In this view of the matter, it cannot be said that the misconduct
committed by the Respondent herein has to be treated lightly.
3. "It is now well-settled that principles of law that the High Court
or the Tribunal in exercise of its power of judicial review would
not normally interfere with the quantum of punishment.
Doctrine of proportionality can be invoked only under certain
situations. It is now well-settled that the High Court shall be
very slow in interfering with the quantum of punishment,
unless it is found to be shocking to one's conscience.”
4. Hombe Gowda Educational Trust and Another v. State of Karnataka and Others [(2006) 1 SCC
430], this Bench opined:
" The jurisdiction of the labour court and the High Court to interfere
with the quantum of punishment could be exercised only when,
inter alia, it is found to be grossly disproportionate.
Assaulting a superior at a workplace amounts to an act of gross
indiscipline. The Respondent is a teacher. Even under grave
provocation a teacher is not expected to abuse the head of the
institution in a filthy language and assault him with a chappal.
Punishment of dismissal from services, therefore, cannot be said to
be wholly disproportionate so as shock one's conscience.
A person, when dismissed from services, is put to a great hardship
but that would not mean that a grave misconduct should go
unpunished. Although the doctrine of proportionality may be
applicable in such matters, but a punishment of dismissal from
service for such a misconduct cannot be said to be unheard of.
Maintenance of discipline of an institution is equally important.
5. In State of Rajasthan and Another v. Mohd. Ayub Naz
[(2006) 1 SCC 589], this Court held: "For the foregoing reasons,
we are of the opinion that a government servant who has
willfully been absent for a period of about 3 years and which
fact is not disputed even by the learned Single Judge of the High
Court, has no right to receive the monetary/retrial benefits
POWER PEOPLE
Judgements which have shaped our understanding of Labour Law
27It's really kind of cool to have solar panels on your roof. - Bill Gates
28 Microsoft is not about greed. It's about innovation and fairness. - Bill Gates
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Judgements which have shaped our understanding of Labour Law
during the period in question. The High Court has given all
retrial benefits which shall mean that a lump sum money of
lakhs of rupees shall have to be given to the respondent. In our
opinion, considering the totality of the circumstances, and the
admission made by the respondent himself that he was
willfully absent for 3 years, the punishment of removal
imposed on him is absolutely correct and not disproportionate
as alleged by the respondent”
6. For the above mentioned reasons the judgements of the
Labour court and the High Court are set aside. The order of
dismissal awarded in the departmental proceeding is
upheld.
Showing own employees as employees of the contractor is a
subterfuge
Leading Case:Bhilwara Dugdh Utpadak Sahakari ... vs Vinod
Kumar Sharma Dead By Lrs & ... on 1 September, 2011
Held:This Appeal has been filed against the impugned judgments dated
23.08.2004 and dated 21.09.2004 passed by the High Court of
Judicature at Rajasthan. This Appeal reveals the unfortunate state
of affairs prevailing in the field of labour relations in our country.
In order to avoid their liability under various labour statutes
employers are very often resorting to subterfuge by trying to show
that their employees are, in fact, the employees of a contractor. It is
high time that this subterfuge must come to an end. Labour statutes
were meant to protect the employees/workmen because it was
realised that the employers and the employees are not on an equal
bargaining position. Hence, protection of employees was required
so that they may not be exploited.
However, this new technique of subterfuge has been
adopted by some employers in recent
years in order to deny the rights of the
workmen under various labour
statutes by showing that the concerned
workmen are not their employees but
are the employees/workmen
of a contractor, or that they are
merely daily wage or short
term or casual employees
when in fact they are doing the
work of regular employees.
This Court cannot countenance such practices any more.
Globalization/liberalization in the name of growth cannot be at the
human cost of exploitation of workers. The facts of the case are
given in the judgment of the High Court dated 23.08.2004 and we
are not repeating the same here. It has been clearly stated therein
that subterfuge was resorted to by the appellant to show that the
workmen concerned were only workmen of a contractor. The
Labour Court has held that the workmen were the employees of the
appellant and not employees of the contractor. Cogent reasons have
been given by the Labour Court to come to this finding. The Labour
Court has held that, in fact, the concerned workmen were working
under the orders of the officers of the appellant, and were being
paid Rs. 70/- per day, while the workmen/employees of the
contractor were paid Rs. 56/- per day.
Application of principles of Natural Justice to Domestic inquiryS.B.I. vs Hemant Kumar on 6 April, 2011
Facts:The respondent worked in the appellant-bank as Cashier-cum-
Clerk. In January, 1994 it was discovered that the respondent had
been indulging in misappropriation of money by making fictitious
entries and manipulations in the bank's ledgers. On his
malfeasance coming to light, the respondent not only admitted his
guilt in writing vide memo dated March 3, 1994 but also deposited
the amount of Rs. 14,000/- to make good the amount earlier
defalcated by him. He was given a chargesheet detailing his various
acts of omission and commission to which he did not give any reply.
Nevertheless, before the Enquiry Officer in course of the
preliminary enquiry he expressed the intent to defend himself in
the enquiry. The enquiry was first fixed on November 15, 1994 but
on that date the respondent did not appear without giving any
intimation to the Enquiry Officer. Due to his non-appearance the
enquiry was adjourned to November 28, 1994. On that
date, once again, he did not come to participate in the
enquiry proceedings but sent a request for
adjournment on the ground that his mother-
in-law was seriously ill at Agra. The enquiry
was once again adjourned and it was fixed
for December 14, 1994. He was intimated
about the next date fixed in the
enquiry through registered
post as well as hand delivery
letters dated November 15,
1994 and November 28, 1994
respectively.
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Judgements which have shaped our understanding of Labour Law
29Energy innovation is not a nationalistic game. - Bill Gates
On December 14, 1994 the respondent was once again absent and
there was no intimation from him. In those circumstances and
having regard to the fact that the witness intended to be examined
by the management in support of the charge had come in
connection with that enquiry from Delhi to Dehradun for the third
time, the Enquiry Officer decided to proceed with the enquiry and
examine him ex parte. PW.1 happened to be the Branch Manager
where the respondent was posted at the material time and where
the misappropriation was committed by him.
After recording his evidence, the Enquiry Officer closed the enquiry
and submitted his report holding the respondent guilty of all the
charges.
A copy of the enquiry report was sent to the respondent along
with a letter telling him that it was tentatively decided to
dismiss him from service and asking him to show cause and to
appear for a personal hearing. The respondent gave his reply
to the enquiry report and after hearing him in person, the
disciplinary authority passed the order of his dismissal from
service.
Against the order passed by the disciplinary authority, the
respondent preferred an appeal. His appeal was, however,
dismissed and then the respondent raised an industrial dispute
which was referred for adjudication before the Central Government
Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court.
Held:Industrial Tribunal:
The Industrial Tribunal found and held that the domestic enquiry
held against the respondent suffered from violation of the principles
of natural justice. The Tribunal, accordingly, set aside the order of
dismissal and directed for the respondent's reinstatement with full
back-wages.The Tribunal has assigned two reasons for holding that the
departmental enquiry held in the case was in violation of the
principles of natural justice. First, it held that the respondent had
sent an application through post for adjournment of the enquiry on
December 14, 1994 on the ground that he had sustained injuries
and even though this application had not reached the Enquiry
Officer it was his duty to find out from the bank whether or not such
a letter was received and secondly, even after examining PW.1 ex
parte the Enquiry Officer should have given another opportunity to
the respondent to lead evidence in rebuttal.
Supreme Court
1. We are of the view that both the reasons assigned by the
Tribunal for condemning the departmental enquiry as
defective are completely untenable. The principles of natural
justice cannot be stretched to a point where they would render
the in-house proceedings unworkable. Admittedly, the
respondent had not appeared for the enquiry on two earlier
dates. On the third date too he was absent and there was no
intimation from him before the Enquiry Officer, yet the
Tribunal insists that it was the duty of the Enquiry Officer to
find out from the concerned department of the bank whether
any intimation or application was received from the
respondent.
2. The Tribunal's observation that it was only the third date of
hearing and hence, it could not be said that the respondent had
adopted dilatory tactics can only be described as unfortunate.
We completely reject the notion that three barren dates in an
in-house proceeding do not amount to delay. Let the in-house
proceedings at least be conducted expeditiously and without
in any undue loss of time.
3. The second reason assigned by the Tribunal that the Enquiry
Officer should have allowed the respondent the opportunity to
lead evidence in rebuttal is also without substance in the
overall facts of the case. The respondent had already tendered
two admissions of guilt in writing and one orally before PW.1
and there was hardly anything that could be said on his behalf
to repel the charges.
4. We are, therefore, satisfied that the Tribunal's findings are
wholly unreasonable and perverse and fit to be set aside. The
High Court, unfortunately, did not consider the matter as it
should have, in light of the discussions made above. The High
Court's order is equally unsustainable. We, accordingly, set
aside the order passed by the High Court and the award made
by the Tribunal.
Takeaways in the form of key learning points for the HR
practitioner:
All the judgements of the Supreme court quoted above indicate the
law of the land as well as the bent of mind of the Supreme Court in
the areas of unauthorized absence as a major misconduct, utilizing
contractor workmen as a subterfuge for own workmen and limits
30 I'm going to save my public voice largely for the issues where I have some depth. - Bill Gates
POWER PEOPLE
Judgements which have shaped our understanding of Labour Law
of the use of principles of natural justice in domestic inquiry.
This learning needs to be assimilated by practicing leaders and HR
professionals for decision making in accordance with the law of the
land in related HR areas.
The key learning points for application are as follows:1. Misconduct: There are rampant cases of misconduct in
organizations. Most of the time, the only time tested solution
which is adpted by most leaders leaders and HR professionals
in this context is to ignore the misconduct or to sideline the
individual.
I distinctly remember a case in which the branch manger of a
bank asked a clerk in the bank to do a particular task and the
clerk responded in a loud and rude tone clearly audible to
customers in the bank by saying,”I don't have the time”.
There is no need to silently suffer the humiliation meted out to
leaders by personnel who feel that they cannot be touched
because their jobs are secure.
The way out of this has been clearly indicated by the Supreme
Court in North Eastern Karnataka R.T. ... vs Ashappa as well as
Hombe Gowda Educational Trust and Another v. State of
Karnataka and Others [(2006) 1 SCC 430].
The organization is delivering a valuable product or service
and any conduct of the employee which hampers this process
can be categorized as misconduct. For serious misconduct,
dismissal after conducting an inquiry is a viable option.
The labour court shall normally not interfere with the
Quantum of punishment unless the punishment is grossly
disproportionate to the misconduct. In case of major
misconduct, dismissal is valid.
So, there is no need for leaders to put with employees who
regularly engage themselves in major misconduct with
impunity. This story of, ”better ignore the misconduct” is
repeated in organization after organization due to either
ignornace or the absence of courage of the leader.
2. Subterfuge of contractor workmen: In order to reduce the
headache of the implementation of labour laws, organizations
have been using a strategy of converting their own workmen
into workmen of the contractor. This is a subterfuge to get out
of the domain of labour laws and has been recognized as such
by the Supreme Court.
Therefore, outsourcing in the core function of the organization
is likely to attract the allegation of utilizing contractor
workmen as a subterfuge for own workmen.
3. Role of Principles of natural justice in Domestic inquiry:
The principles of natural justice have a key role to play in the
domestic inquiry which is conducted in organizations.
However, the principles of natural justice can only be applied
reasonably. Due process needs to be used so that the
PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL JUSTICE can be applied and utilized.
However if the respondent does not use the process then he
cannot take the plea of absence of the principles of natural
justice. Ex. If Audi Alterem partem i.e. opportunity of being
heard was duly provided to the respondent but he failed to use
the opportunity then the inquiry will not be vitiated. If after
giving due opportunity the respondent fails to utilize the
deployed process; the plea that the domestic enquiry is
vitiated because of the absence of the principles of natural
justice will not be entertained by the courts of law.
Sanjiv NarangCorporate Trainer andManagement Consultant
He can be reached at:sanjiv@innovativetraining4u.com
By: Dave Ulrich, Wayne Brockbank, Jon Younger, Mike UlrichPublished by: TATA McGraw-HillPrice: ` 595/-ISBN: 9781259064531
31We are in the throes of a transition where every publication has to think of their digital strategy. - Bill Gates
Casting a Wide Net
HR professionals in MNCs must sensitize the workforce to the need
to adapt to local conditions.
Truly global firms have gone through a four-step process: national
to international to multinational to global. National firms create
products and services exclusively for in-country markets. When
firms become international, they export their goods to other
countries by developing a global supply chain, manufacturing
globally, and opening sales offices or distributorships in other
countries. International firms seek efficiency as they drive costs
down through standardization so they can compete globally on the
basis of price. Firms become multinational when they tailor their
goods for different markets and build a presence in each local
market. Multinational firms seek effectiveness as they customize
service to local conditions. Truly global firms share knowledge,
capital, customers, and practices around the world. Global firms
seek collaborations with networks that take advantage of synergies
across borders.
In the future, companies will probably continue to move along this
continuum. Small-and medium-size enterprises, often in Africa and
Latin America, will evolve from national to international markets as
family businesses grow.
In particular, many local markets in the Middle East, Latin America,
Africa, and Asia Are being grouped into regional entities.
Multinational organizations will shift to becoming global networks.
Even state-owned enterprises like those in China and India are
likely to attend more to global practices as they learn from others in
similar economic conditions.
The future global orientation has a number of implications. First, a
global mindset involves more than any specific management or HR
practice. Global thinking obviously occurs when someone moves to
another country. But it also becomes mandatory for anyone in a
local market who has global customers, who relies on a global
supply chain, or who face nondomestic competition. Second, global
innovation occurs anywhere. We frequently hear people in
traditionally global companies say that their most innovative work
is being done in emerging markets that allow more flexibility and
face greater demand for change. Their challenge is to use emerging-
market innovation to enlighten mature markets. Third, in a flatter,
more global world, work can be done anywhere with relatively
similar quality but at much lower costs. Labor markets will be
increasingly global since hiring for key positions can be done
anywhere - and in many cases the work can be transferred
anywhere.
The globalization of labor markets makes it difficult to justify hiring
and locating work on the basis of mature market compensations. As
work become more global in nature, so will pay rates. Since work
can be done anywhere, a new global compensation equilibrium will
raise the standard of living in emerging markets and may
potentially lower the standard of living in developed economies. It
will cause labor strife in mature markets when pay is reduced
because it is impossible to justify being paid much more for
essentially the same work. Finally, globalization will require more
complex models of cause and effect. Political change in Europe,
social reforms in the Middle East, education investments in
Australia, and consumer demand in China all affect markets and
organizations around the world.
Book Review:Global HR Competencies
32 We are in the throes of a transition where every publication has to think of their digital strategy. - Bill Gates
POWER PEOPLE
Book Review: Global HR Competencies
To respond to these global realities, HR professionals need to
become global thinkers. They need to make their organizations
more global in mind-set, processes, and standards. At the same
time, they need to help their people and organizations recognize
and adapt to local conditions. They should help develop the
responsiveness of their companies to global happenings.
Demographically Diverse
Employee demographics have traditionally focused on race,
gender, and lifestyle. With the globalization trends, the makeup of
the workforce will shift dramatically. We often use some simple
exercises in workshops to demonstrate some of these emerging
demographic changes:• How many of your fathers or mothers worked for one
company? Generally a majority.
• How many of you will work for only one company? Generally
20 to 40 percent. How many of your children will work for only
company? None. (In three years, with tens of thousands of
seminar participants, we have never had any-one say yes, any-
where in the world.) Next generation employees will
inevitable have mobile careers.
• How many of your closest friends were born outside your
home country? How many of your children’s closest friends
were born outside your home country? We live in a globally
diverse world.
• How many of your have e-mailed or tweeted someone from
another country in the past 24 hours? Work is global.
• Who were your company’s three largest competitors 10 years
ago? Who are the big three today? Who will they be in 10
years? Industries now compete across boundaries.
• How many of you know when Christmas is this year? Most
people in Western countries will know; fewer in Eastern
countries. How many know when Hanukkah is? Fewer. How
many know when Ramadan is? Almost none out side Islamic
countries. We live in an increasingly complex world of ethnic
backgrounds and interests.
• At what age did your father or mother retire? At what age do
you plan to retire? It is almost always older. What about your
children? Older still.
While workforce demographic issues vary by region (for example,
parts of the world will soon face gender equity issues and some will
not), the faces of the workforce will clearly change as the world
becomes more of a global village. HR professional need to be more
sensitive to global demographics. They need to respect people with
difference experiences, but they also need to unite those
differences into shared organization agendas.
POWER PEOPLE
Book Review: Global HR Competencies
33I know there's a farmer out there somewhere who never wants a PC and that's fine with me. - Bill Gates
What are the future requirements of HR in the rapidly
changing competitive landscape?
We anticipate that by 2017, around 20 to 30 per cent of the 140
behavioural questions will be different. Some of the future
competencies for HR professionals might include the following: (To
what extent does your HR professional…):
Context and stakeholder changes• Help your organization become a more global organization
• Build global thinking throughout your organization
• Transfer innovative ideas or practices from one part of the
world to another
• Recognise the implications of external changes on business
processes
• Create a truly global workforce
• Use technology to collect and share information that gives your
organization a competitive advantage
HR granularity
• Tailor HR practices to employee needs• Offer local solutions to challengesTalent
• Invest in life time learning for employees
• Focus on retaining top talent
• Help employee find meaning in work and flexibility about
where and how they work
Organisation capabilities
• Create an Organisation that is flexible, collaborative, socially
responsible, can turn complexity into simplicity and has
integrity
Leadership
• Help leaders coach and communicate with their employees
• Encourage leadership sustainability
• Build leadership
Author Dave Ulrich tells Ankita Rai that HR managers in MNCs
should use technology to give organization a competitive
advantage.
Which HR competencies are more important now, given that
labour force has become demographically diverse and
technologically connected?
Our statistics show that being a credible activist helps an HR
professional to be seen as effective, and most professionals do
reasonably well at this domain. However, HR managers need to
improve on following fronts to drive success in business: they need
to become a capability builder, should be a proponent of technology
and should try to evolve an innovator and integrator. These facts are
consistent in all regions around the world.
What are the most important HR issues in countries like China
and India?
Most of the people who work in India and China recognize the
challenge of finding and retaining great talent. We, however, found
that HR professionals also have to define and create organizational
capabilities (or culture) in these countries. For example, in China,
HR Professionals are more adept and focused on the administrative
processes of HR than the business or strategic issues.
Dave Ulrich is a professor at the Ross School of Business, Dave Ulrich is a professor at the Ross School of Business,
University of Michigan, a partner at The RBL Group, University of Michigan, a partner at The RBL Group,
and executive director of The RBL and executive director of The RBL
Dave Ulrich is a professor at the Ross School of Business,
University of Michigan, a partner at The RBL Group,
and executive director of The RBL
“ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE IS IMPORTANT”
34 I read a lot of obscure books and it is nice to open a book. - Bill Gates
New Delhi, 17 April: Transfer and withdrawal of funds would be
made simpler and faster from July 1, as the Employees Provident
Fund Organization (EPFO) has set in motion a system to
streamline the process. While transfer of funds of subscribers
from one organization to another now takes months and not the
30 days it is supposed to, the new target the EPFO is trying to set
for itself is 15 days.
EPFO transformation from July 1
[Source: Business Standard, April 18, 2013]
NEWS OF INTEREST FORHR FRATERNITY
According to research by Columbia University’s Aylet Fishbach
and Stacy Finkelstein, negative feedback improved efficiency,
more so in people who had been at their jobs a long time.
Give Your Employees Negative Feedback
[Source: The Economic Times, April 19, 2013]
State-owned energy major ONGC on Thursday became the
country’s most valued company with a market capitalization of
over Rs.2.86 lakh crore, surpassing Tata Groups software services
company TCS.
ONGC Most-Valued Company
[Source: The Economic Times, April 19, 2013]
Find acceptance rates for MBA programmes at Stanford
University (7%) and Harvard University (13%) terrifying Heres a
bit of perspective: Not even 1 percent of applicants were admitted
to India’s top business school last year. The Indian Institute of
Management in Ahmedabad(IIM-A) offered spots to only 0.25%
of applicants for the 2012-14 academic years. Entry is based
heavily on their performance in Common Admission Test (CAT.)
IIM-A is Toughest B-School to get into in the World
[Source: The Economic Times, April 23, 2013]
In an unusual demonstration of attachment and gratitude,
employees are inking their bodies with logos of the companies
they work for.
Employees Get Their Body Language Right
[Source: The Economic Times, May 10, 2013]
New Delhi: The government is planning to set a minimum fixed
tenure of three years for CMDs and directors of state-run
companies in a bid to provide continuity and shore up decision
making and investment decisions.
Top PSU bosses may get fixed terms
[Source: The Times of India, May 12, 2013]
The Government is working on norms for utilization of surplus
funds with cash-rich public sector units (PSUs), estimated at
around Rs.2.8 lakh crore, with a view to boost investment and
promote growth.
Govt working on norms on investment of surplus funds
[Source: htbusiness: May 27, 2013]
New Delhi: You may end up saving more in the months ahead with
the Employees Provident Fund Organisation getting ready to re-
notify a new definition of compensation that will include all your
allowances, amid intense lobbying against the move by industry
bodies.
PF set to cover all pay, not just basic
[Source: The Times of India, May 28, 2013]
POWER PEOPLE
NEWS OF INTEREST FOR HR FRATERNITY
35If your culture doesn't like geeks, you are in real trouble. - Bill Gates
BBMB has won the 3rd Annual “Greentech HR Excellence Gold
Award 2013” under corporate category for outstanding
achievements in “Innovation in Retention Strategies”.
BBMB wins greentech HR award 2013
[Source: HRD update, May 2013]
Now, you will now have to deduct tax when you make the payment
to the seller if the cost of the immovable property exceeds Rs.50
lakh. The Central Board of Direct Taxes has notified the new
provision of tax deducted at source, or TDS, on immovable
property.
Now, Pay TDS on Property Over 50 Lakh
[Source: The Economic Times, June 03, 2013]
Amount of gratuity can be adjusted towards outstanding loan if
agreement of loan so provides. Adjustment of amount of gratuity
against outstanding loan amount is not barred by the provisions
of section 4(6) of the payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.
Gratuity can be adjusted towards loan if agreement so
provides [Allahabad High Court]
[Source: Labour Law Reporter: June 2013]
New Delhi: Employees of state-run enterprises will be allowed to
subscribe to shares in their companies at a discount following an
offer for sale, or OFS, the government said on Thursday.
PSU employees to get shares at discount
[Source: Mint, June 21, 2013]
Transfer order issued by the employer cannot be interfered by the
court unless it is mala fide or contrary to statutory rules or
regulations since the courts have very limited scope in this
respect.
Transfer of employee is prerogative of employer
[Source: Labour Law Reporter: June 2013 Mad HC]
NTPC is ranked first amongst the PSUs, in the large organizations
category (over 10000 employees) and it is also ranked first in
energy, oil and gas industry sector amongst India's Best
Companies to Work For - 2013 by The Great Place to Work
Institute. The company has been positioned sixth great place to
work for the country.
NTPC - amongst India’s Best Companies to Work For - 2013
[Source: The Times of India, June 25, 2013]
Increased salary and employee benefits take precedence over job
security, according to a Randstad surve. The survey, conducted by
staffing and HR services provider Ranstad, polled 7,000
employees and 150 large employers across India. According to
the survey, in 2013, 47 per cent of the employees preferred better
salary compensation and benefits such as flexible work hours,
and put performance-linked bonuses over job security, which was
top priority for 64 per cent of the respondents in 2012.
Salary not job security is the priority: survey
[Source: HRD update, May 2013]
An MBA is no longer a cherished degree for only professionals
from the private sector. An increasing number of employees from
state-owned undertakings are enrolling for the degree to hone
their managerial acumen, gain global exposure and fast track
their career, which would have taken much longer in the public
sector. In fact for most, It is a passport to move out of public sector
undertakings (PSUs) to private corporations or consulting firms.
PSU Execs Queue up For MBAs
[Source: The Economic Times, May 31, 2013]
New Delhi, 20 June: For the two years ended June 30, 2012,
unemployment rose across genders. In aggregate terms, it rose
0.2 percentage points during the period. Unemployment for
women was higher than that for men, according to data released
in the 68th round of the National Sample Survey.
Unemployment rises across genders
[Source: Business Standard, June 21, 2013]
36 Me and my dad are the biggest promoters of an estate tax in the US. It's not a popular position. - Bill Gates
Glimpses of Events inPOWER HR FORUM
15th GBM & 8th AGM at NHPC, Khairi held on 8-9 June, 2013
Programme on Disciplinary Proceedings in NHPC (29 April, 2013)
POWER PEOPLE
Glimpses of Events in POWER HR FORUM
37The general idea of the rich helping the poor, I think, is important. - Bill Gates
Sh. Satnam Singh, CMD-PFC, and Patron-Forum Releasing Journal during Review Meet in PFC held on 23 April, 2013
CMOs Meet in PMI, NOIDA held on 29 May, 2013
Management QUIZ9. Which of the following Acts is related to training in some ways? • The Factories Act, 1948 • The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 • The Apprenticeship Act, 1961 • None of the above
10. A probation period for new joinees is mandatory as per which
Act? • COBR Act • FML Act • The Industrial Disputes Act • None of the above
11. Increase in which Allowance suggests that groceries and other
consumables, have become costlier?: • special allowance • house rent allowance • dearness allowance • technical allowance
12. Name at least 4 of the 10 ways in which vacancies can be
created in an organization: - transfer, promotion, death, termination (performance,
behaviour, abscondment & disability), resignation and
retirement
13. Emotional Quotient is based on a theory propounded by: • Galileo • Oscar Wilde • Daniel Goleman • Thomas L. Friedman
14. What is the rate at which Gratuity (as per statutes) is paid in
India, per year of service, after completion of certain specified
period of service?: • (12X30X House Rent Allowance)/ 100 • (15/26)XBasic Salary • Equal to employer contribution to Provident Fund • (Dearness Allowance/ Basic)X100
15. Which one is a Quality Standard only dedicated to HR systems/
processes?: • COPC • ISO • BS • PCMM
1. Eric Berne exactly knew what games people play. In the
process he developed a concept known as______ • Critical Analysis • Concurrent Analysis • Performance Analysis • Transactional Analysis
2. Dave Ulrich forced HR professionals worlwide to think
differently about performance management. What did he
create? • Work-life Balance • Automated Scorecard • HR Scorecard • HR Automation
3. Which one is the largest payroll outsourcing company in the
world? • Employease • Payroll • Paychex • Payregister
4. This report talked of the globally outsourced HR Services
business for the first time. Which one was this? • Gartner HR Report 1978 • E&Y HR Outsourcing Report 1984 • NASSCOM-McKinsey ITES Report 1999 • Forester HRO Report 2010
5. This test is not about one PF but about 16 of them. What are we
talking about? • A Pychometric Test • A Motor Skill Test • Provident Fund • An HR Software
6. The classical training game "Moonlanding Experience" is
related to • Leadership Skills • Negotiation Skills • Team-Working • None of the above
7. This model is the mother of all Job Evaluation models. Which
one is this? • Hewitt's model • Mercer's model • BCG model • Hay's model
8. Which one is the largest jobsite in the world? • Naukri • Timesjobs • Monster • Careerbuilder
1. Transactional Analysis 2. HR Scorecard3. Paychex 4. NASSCOM-McKinsey ITES Report 19995. A Pychometric Test 6. Team-Working7. Hay's model 8. Monster9. The Apprenticeship Act, 196110. None of the above 11. dearness allowance12. Performance, Behaviour, Abscondment & Disability13. Daniel Goleman 14. (15/26)XBasic Salary 15. PCMM
Answer:
39We should all grow our own food and do our own waste processing, we really should. - Bill Gates
Management Booksby: Stephen R Covey
Title Cover Author Publisher Price in ` Why you should read this
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Running Press Book Publishers
341 The book is full of advice on taking control of your life, teamwork, self-renewal, mutual benefit, and other paths to private and public victory.
Stephen R Covey
The 8th Habit from effectiveness to greatness
475 How to go from what the author calls a 'want to' person to a 'can do' person and how doing so can completely transform people and organisations.
Stephen R Covey Simon and Schuster
Principle Centered Leadership
Simon and Schuster
475 The key to dealing with the challenges that face us today is the recognition of a principle-centered core within both ourselves and our organizations. It is a long term, inside – out approach to develop people and organization.
Stephen R Covey
The 3rd Alternative Stephen R Covey Simon andSchuster
499 This book presents a new and practical, but incredibly effective and eye-opening, way to reachre solution through using the 'Third Alternative’.
First Things First Stephen R Covey Simon and Schuster
475 It asserts the importance of prioritizing and the realization of “first things” that need to be taken care of first. Instead of focusing on the ‘time’ or ‘things’ to do’, it focuses on ‘outcomes’ and relationships.
40 The world has been very careful to pick very few diseases for eradication, because it is very tough. - Bill Gates
POWER PEOPLE
Management Books by: Stephen R Covey
Title Cover Author Publisher Price in ` Why you should read this
Living the 7 Habits Simon and Schuster
475 Real people living their lives? Living the 7 Habits presents more than 70 little stories of people as they meet challenges and practice the 7 habits. A must for those who strive to live the 7 Habits.
Stephen R Covey
Portable 7 Habits CHOICE – choosing the Proactive life you want to live
125 This book shares the 1 Habit: Be Proactive, this book will help you turn proactively into a habit for life, whether you are a beginner or a veteran.
Stephen R Covey Magna Publisher
Portable 7 Habits PURPOSE – Focusing on What Matter Most
Magna Publisher
125 This book shares the 3 Habit: Put First Things First, and teach us How to rise to new levels of self discovery and to define what need to happen today in order to realize the vision of the future.
Stephen R Covey
Portable 7 Habits ABUNDANCE – Fulfilling your Potential
Stephen R Covey Magna Publisher
125 This book shares the 4 Habit: Think Win - Win and teach us how to resolve conflicts and create happier relationship in life.
Portable 7 Habits VISION – Defining your Destiny in Life
Stephen R Covey Magna Publisher
125 This book shares the 2 Habit: Begin with the End in Mind, and defines the purpose of doing any activity and importance of choosing outcome over activity.
POWER PEOPLE
Management Books by: Stephen R Covey
41I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it. - Bill Gates
Title Cover Author Publisher Price in ` Why you should read this
Portable 7 Habits TRUST – Sharing Idea, Insights and understanding
Magna Publisher
125 This book shares the 5 Habit: Seek First to Understand, and Then to be Understood, and helps to build listing skills and thus communication.
Stephen R Covey
Portable 7 Habits SYNERGY – Connecting to the Power of Cooperation
125 This book shares the 6 Habit: Synergize, Connecting to the Power of Cooperation will help you to understand the power of working together to achieve more.
Stephen R Covey MagnaPublisher
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families
Simon and Schuster
295 It shows why and how to have family meetings, importance of keeping premises, balancing needs of self and family and moving from dependence from independence. It is a individual guide to the welfare of family.
Stephen R Covey
The 7 Habits Journal Stephen R Covey FiresideBooks
490 This book increases self-awareness, provides an opportunity to ask yourself meaningful questions, and helps you keep track of your progress toward your goals.
Portable 7 Habits RENEWAL- Nourishing Mind, Body Heart and Soul
Stephen R Covey MagnaPublisher
125 This book shares the 7 Habit: Sharpen the Saw, this book gives the motivation one need to renew self on a regular bases for life.
The Wisdom and Teachings of Stephen R. Covey
Stephen R Covey Simon and Schuster
499 It covers the author’s most impactful topics: time management, success, leadership-including principle-centered leadership- all of the 7 Habits, love, and family.
42 Climate change is a terrible problem, and it absolutely needs to be solved. It deserves to be a huge priority. - Bill Gates
Cartoons
43I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act. - Bill Gates
Cartoons
44 Digital reading will completely take over. It's lightweight and it's fantastic for sharing. Over time it will take over. - Bill Gates
Cartoons
Give Your Ability and Experience a Chance to Reach Out
BackgroundPower People is a leading management journal published by Power HR Forum with the objective to share the unique and embedded knowledge of management professionals in every walk of life to improve the competitive position of both professionals and organizations.
The journal publishes:• Practical articles that describe effective practices of leading companies;• Reports on new theories that have the potential to advance strategy
development and implementation;• Interviews with corporate leaders about their view point in new
developments and on issues/tools related to better corporate performance;
• Case studies in dealing with any HR problem in any organization;• Review of leading literatures/best sellers;• Management quiz, humor; and• New developments / happenings that are a source of concern or learning.
The Journal shall be published four times a year.
Author RequirementsThe editor requires articles to be submitted initially via e-mail to powerhrforum@gmail.com. You can also submit your articles to: Power HR Forum Secretariat, At: Power Management Institute, NTPC, 5- 14, Sector 16-A, NOIDA 201301
While submitting the article please ensure the following:• Please categorize your article under one of these classifications: Research
Paper, View Point, Concept Paper, Case Study, Literature Review, Survey Reports.
• Your articles should be between 1000 and 3000 words for concept papers, research papers, view points, case studies, and survey reports and between 350-1000 words in case of Literature Review.
• All authors should mention their e-mail address and contact details including telephone number plus a professional biography of 30-40 words.
• Authors should submit an abstract structured into six sub-headings: Purpose, Methodology, Approach findings, Research limitations/ implications if applicable, Practical implications, if applicable and the originality and value of the paper. Maximum words for this section shall be 250.
• In addition, please provide up to six key words that capture the principal topics of the paper.
• The article's sub-heads should be short. Only the first word should be capitalized.
• Please present each figure and table on a separate sheet of paper, gathering them together at the end of the article. Distinguish between figures (diagrams) and tables (statistical material) and number them in separate sequences, i.e., ̀ Figure 8' and ̀ Table 8'. Please use short and crisp titles and headings in tables and figures. The units used should be stated and the source should be stated at the foot of the table. Notes relating to the table should be placed after the source. Give reference of each figure or table in the text itself (e.g., `as shown in Figure 2'), as well as indicate the margin where the figure or table should go (`Fig. 2 near here'). Ensure that all words, place names, etc. in the tables and figures are spelt in exactly the same way as they are in the text. Lay out parallel tables in similar ways using similar wording. Ensure that the units of measurement are stated and check any totals or averages.
• Exhibits should convey important information that is not duplicated in the text of the article. They should be in black and white with minimum shading and numbered consecutively with succinct captions. The exhibits should be provided electronically and their proper place in the text should be indicated, i.e Exhibit 1 goes here. Artwork should be either copied or pasted from the original software into a blank Microsoft Word document or saved and imported into a blank Microsoft Word document. Artwork may be submitted in the following standard image formats: .psd, .pdf, and
.ai. If it is not possible to supply graphics in the formats listed above, authors should ensure that figures supplied as .tif, .gif, .jpeg, .bmp or in any other format can be converted to above mentioned format and should be of at least 300 dpi and at least 10cm wide. Further, it is crucial that all text in the artworks corresponds to the text of the article in spelling and style.
• Please obtain permission to reproduce any figures or photographs that are not your own copyright. Similarly, permission may be required for quotations beyond the limits of ̀ fair dealing'.
• References embedded in the text or in the anthropological style for example `(Moon 1994)' or `(Moon 1994: 45)' (Note: page numbers in the text are necessary only if the cited portion is a direct quote). Citations should be first alphabetical and then chronological, for example `(Moon 1994; Sandee 1995, 1997; Zander 1993)'. More than one reference of the same date for one author should be cited as ̀ (Moon 1994a, 1994b)'.
• Book reviews must contain the name of the author and title/sub-title of the book reviewed, place of publication and publisher, date of publication, number of pages and price. Please follow the style: Stephen R. Covey, Principle-Centred Leadership: London: Simon and Schuster Ltd., 1992, 326 pp., $29.95. The text of the reviews should also be typed in double space. Books reviewers must also provide their affiliation and designation and complete mailing address.
• Endnotes should be used where necessary and must be identified in the text by consecutive numbers, and listed at the end of the article.
• Article for the Journal should be original contributions and should not be under consideration for any other publication at the same time.
• Authors submitting articles for publication warrant that the work is not an infringement of any existing copyright and will indemnify the publisher against any breach of such warranty.
The Reviewing ProcessThe editors of Power People have extensive experience in the field of management. The submitted articles will be reviewed by a team of top level industry practitioners/senior academicians at prestigious business schools and other authorities. The final decision whether and when to publish is at the discretion by the editor.
Copyright PolicyPrior to publication authors may provide the Managing Editor of Power People written permission to copyright their article. The author provides this permission to Power People by signing the Journal Article Record form available in www.powerhrforum.org. This enables the publisher of Power People to distribute the author's published research via a number of means to a wide range of readers to take advantage of new technologies as they rise, to distribute and store the author's work and to protect the authors from copyright and moral rights violation.
Power People does not restrict the author's right to reuse or distribute their own work. Authors who assign their copyright to Power People retain unlimited free reproduction rights for their own work. Authors do not give up their rights to use, republish or reproduce their work for course notes in another journal or as a book chapter, or electronically include in their own/institutional website subject to acknowledging first publication details. Authors who publish their article with Power People are not required to seek its permission with regard to subsequent use of their own work.
Final Publication of the ArticleOnce an article is accepted, a final version of the manuscript will be prepared for publication. The Managing Editor will supervise the editing process in coordination with the author. In order to be published each article must be accompanied by a completed and signed Journal Article Record Form available online at www.powerhrforum.org or on request from the editor. The final manuscript prepared by the editor and shared with the author will be considered to be the definitive version of an article. Before final publication the author, if desires, will have an opportunity to review it to ensure that it is complete, grammatically correct and without spelling or typographical errors. For a detailed guideline in this regard please visit.
www.powerhrforum.org
Your article in “Power People” shall now reach an audience covering all employees in Indian Power Sector, leading PSUs in other sectors, students and faculties in reputed business schools.
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