CASE I

Question 1

Discuss the long-term relevance of motivational techniques used by Baheti in the light of

prevailing environment in the organization.

Answer

Some of the most successful managers and executives have achieved their objectives by

aligning the aims of their employees with those of their organization. Once an employee is able

to understand, and empathize with the overall aims of the organization, they are generally

more motivated towards achieving them. Having ensured that the organization and the

employees are working towards the same objectives, managers can then focus on exactly which

motivational techniques can be implemented to facilitate the achievement of these goals.

It is clear that there are both positive and negative motivational factors which can lead to the

achievement of objectives. These can be summarized as either fear or reward factors. This fear

factor can indeed lead to good results in the short-term but, in the long-term; the employees

are likely to be more focused upon whether or not they will be keeping their jobs, rather than

upon fulfilling overall business objectives. Positive motivational factors are also many and

varied and, although these may lead to long-term gains, they too can have negative aspects to

them. Offering rewards and incentives is indeed motivational, but it is important to make sure

that these are deserved and that recognition is given to the right person at the right time. Also,

although some healthy competition is advantageous, it is not necessarily advisable to use

rewards to encourage employees to work against each other.

In the light of the above discussion, motivational techniques that Baheti used; those being

appreciating the operators’ good work, listening to their problems and explaining them the

importance of their jobs seems to be effective for quite a long time. Again, making the

operators understand that BSNL is into a tough competition will also help the operators to work

with more sincerity.

Rewarding the operators with the honorable mentions, appreciation letters and prizes of their

own choice are indeed motivational; but Baheti has to keep in mind the negative impacts of

these steps. These rewards may create a competition among the operators. A healthy

competition is always a good sign for the company, but one has to observe very closely so that

the competition may not encourage operators to work against each other.

Finally, we can say that the motivational techniques used by Baheti are quite long term as long

as some specific issues are looked after.

Question 2

Had you been Baheti, what other techniques you would have used to improve the special

services provided by the organization?

Answer

Baheti used some techniques, mostly motivational, to improve the special services provided by

the organization. Some more techniques which could have been used are given below:

A strict leave policy may have been introduced for the operators to stop them from

taking the frequent short leaves, extended breaks and uninformed leaves. A limit may

have been set for the number of short leaves for a month or for a year. Similar

limitations may have been set for the uninformed leaves. The extended breaks needed

to be managed strictly by the supervisor. Just making the policy will not help unless the

policy is maintained strictly.

Keeping a good relationship with the union would have helped to improve the special

services. As most of the operators are connected to the various unions that were active

in the organization, a good relationship with the union would mean a good relationship

with the operators which in turn would have helped BSNL to improve the special

services.

The process of taking complains from the customers is not very effective as well.

Previously, complaints were either directly forwarded to the district office by customers

or raised during Telephone Adalats or pointed out by correspondents during press

conferences, which were conducted quarterly. There should be a process where the

complaints can come directly to BSNL. This can be done by creating another service.

That is, a number may be fixed for this. Whenever a customer feels that a complain

needs to be raised, he/she would dial the specific number where he/she would find an

agent who would register a complaint. Then the complaint should be sent to the

superiority for action. If the details of that call can be found, then the operator

responsible for that call may be found out and marked.

It was stated in the case that The Indore division of BSNL faced competition in basic

telecom services from 1998. I would try to find out the reason which caused this

competition. If those reasons could be found out, then we may have found some more

solutions to improve the services.

CASE II

Question 1

Had you been in place of Alok Trivedi, what additional measures would you have taken?

Answer

If I had been in the place of Alok Trivedi, I would have taken the following additional steps:

I would have declared that a reward would be given to the persons who will attend all

his/her shifts for a whole year. This should motivate the workers and help the company

to lower the absenteeism rate which was 18% at the time of the research.

To reduce the lethargy among the workers, a reward can be declared for the best

worker of the month. That can be an honorable recognition. Combining all the

recognitions of a year, a monetary prize can be given to the best worker of the year.

From the case stated, we can find out that card punching system has been already

introduced to the company to maintain the timing of bus departures and arrivals. It has

been working for the drivers. I would use the electronic card identification system to

keep the workers in their working area and keep them away from the administrative

building without necessity. The workers would not have access to the administrative

section. They shall only go to the administrative section when only necessary and the

process will include taking permission of the supervisor. A register would also be

maintained electronically for the persons who are going in and out of the entrances and

exits.

CCTV monitoring could have been arranged to ensure proper monitoring of the workers

for the hygiene related issues.

Question 2

Critically analyze the Employee Relations Audit in the light of its contribution to self

motivation of employees.

Answer

Self motivation is the ability to satisfy a desire, expectation, or goal without being influenced to

do so by another person. Most employers look for employees who are self-motivated and able

to work independently, with as little supervision as possible. Coupled with self-motivation is a

keenness to learn – the industry is constantly changing and more and more employers are

looking for staff with aspirations to improve their skills on the job. Basically, having a positive

attitude to the work and duty is called self motivation. The Employee Relations audit was used

to self-motivate the employees. The Employee Relations Audit is a system where everything

was to be monitored, regulated and reported on regular intervals. This audit program definitely

motivated the employees.

According to the Goal Setting theory of motivation, goal setting is essentially linked to task

performance. It states that specific and challenging goals along with appropriate feedback

contribute to higher and better task performance. In simple words, goals indicate and give

direction to an employee about what needs to be done and how much efforts are required to

be put in. For the case stated, the workers were motivated as they knew they have to score

higher. The audit was reviewed and signed by H.R. department and the higher management at

times which made it clear and transparent. The employees knew that they were monitored and

scored correctly. Their work will not go in vain. Thus they were motivated to work hard

maintaining the restrictions of regulation and time.

The audit program was introduced in 1996. In 2000, the percentage score from the audit report

was 65. Then proactive approaches were taken to improve the score. It was improved to 72% in

2001. It proves that the proactive approaches helped improve the working condition and

working facilities which increased employees’ job satisfaction. This at the end of the day leaded

to self-motivation.

With all the positive sides of this self-motivating technique, there are some negative sides

which did not occur in this case. Sometimes it may happen that the motivating goal conflicts

with the organizational goal. For example, let us think of a situation like the case stated. The

only difference with the stated case being that during the efforts to score better in the audit

program, employees started to put emphasis on hygiene rather than production. Then the

production would have dropped while the audit report would have been good. That is an

unwanted scenario.

CASE IV

Question 1

What role do the non-financial incentives play in motivating the workers and minimizing the

rate of absenteeism?

Answer

Incentive is an act or promise for greater action. It is also called as a stimulus to greater action.

It is something which is given in addition to wages. It means additional remuneration or benefit

to an employee in recognition of achievement or better work. Incentives are supposed to

provide a spur or zeal in the employees for better performance. Financial incentives involve

money payments by the employer – either directly or indirectly. On the other hand, Non-

financial incentives do not involve money payments. These are also important in motivating

employees.

Some non-financial incentives are given below which plays important roles in motivating

workers.

Job security: Nothing can motivate a worker, appointed temporarily, better than

provision of job security. Even if a temporary worker puts in greater efforts, lack of job

security will always pose a threat. If such a worker is given job security, he will be even

grateful to the management and motivated to the job.

Challenging work: Workers, who are dynamic in nature, do not show preference for

routine jobs. They are always ready to accept challenging assignments. So if a dynamic

worker is given an innovative job, he would be motivated.

Recognition: Even a word of appreciation from the manager would motivate the

employees to maintain the same level of performance or do even better. Recognition

need not necessarily be in the form of tangible benefits to employees. It may be any

gesture from the employer which should come at the right time.

Participation in decision-making: Another non-financial incentive that motivates any

employee is his involvement in certain crucial decisions.

Competition: The management can encourage healthy competition among the

employees. This would, certainly, motivate them to prove their capabilities.

Job rotation: Job rotation means that the employees will be exposed to different kinds

of job. This certainly would break the monotony of employees and motivate him/her.

Again, if absenteeism is to be reduced, the most common approaches are to

Keep a healthy relationship between manager and the workers.

Make the workplace a healthy, attractive and inviting place.

Provide a work-life balance.

Involve workers more in managerial decision making.

We can see that all of them are basically non-financial incentives which help to reduce

absenteeism. So we can say that non-financial benefits also play a very important role to reduce

absenteeism.

Question 2

What innovative solutions would you suggest to minimize the rate of absenteeism?

Answer

To minimize the rate of absenteeism, some suggested solutions are given below:

The company can introduce a transportation system of their own instead of the

conveyances paid. If a bus or two are introduced to pick up workers from the remote

areas, it should reduce the absenteeism rate a lot.

The company can provide quarter for those workers whose families live away. If the

workers can live with their families, they would not have to be absent from work just to

be with their family. The rental cost of the quarters can be cut from the workers’ wages

in a suitable rate.

A big percentage of absenteeism is caused due to alcoholism. So counseling sessions can

be conducted for the workers so that they are discouraged from being drunk. Less drunk

workers would mean lesser rate of absenteeism due to hangover.

A health insurance plan for the family can be started from the company. It will not only

cover the worker, but also cover his family if any medical emergency occurs. This

insurance plan may help with the rate of absenteeism if it is declared that only those

who are regular at work will get this facility.

A day care center can be started near the factory. This will help the workers to attend at

work more as they can find a safe place to keep their child while they are at work. Also,

it will be suitable for them as the child will near in case of any emergency.

Conveyances for festivals can be arranged so that the workers can be motivated to work

on the festival days.

Improving the working condition is one of the most important factors for motivating the

workers to be regular. If the workplace is messy, no one would want to work there.

Cleanliness, canteen facilities should be developed at the workplace.

CASE V

Question 1

Discuss merits/demerits of the role of strike, agitation and legal approach in union¬

management relations.

Answer

The principal engagement of Union with management is through their actions like lobbying,

politics, and affecting the community which extends to strike, agitation and legal approach.

Strikes first became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labor became

important in factories and mines while legal approach is the latest trend which is picking up at

faster pace.

Here are some merits of actions of role of strike, agitation and legal approach on union

management relations:

One of the positive effects can be increase in productivity as apart from lower quit rates,

existence of union (thus, strike, agitation and legal approach) ensures better

management accountability. As the management always has to keep in mind the

welfare of the workers so that it can avoid strike, agitation or legal approach.

Unions can improve efficiency by putting pressure on management to tighten job

production standards and accountability in order to preserve profits in the face of

higher wages.

The strike could lead to immediate realization of demands of the laborers as when the

strike begins, the owner primary focus is to discuss and settle those demands.

Management strategy to improve organization performance such as creating ‘learning

organizations’ found genuine union involvement crucial to achieving outcomes. The

existence of strong independent representation of employee interests reduced mistrust

and skepticism that could otherwise undermine management strategy.

Besides owning the advantages, the labor strike, agitation and legal approach also has

disadvantage:

Unions appear to insist on promotion-from-within and the related use of internal

recruiting and nepotism. This, in turn, causes management to limit its channels of

external recruiting.

The company incurs losses because it cannot produce its goods during the period of

strike which also makes the relationship between management and unions a bitter one.

A strike is never guaranteed to end positively for the employees. It can last an extended

amount of time and the union may never get what they wanted from the employer.

Also, employers are permitted by law to take the necessary steps to continue their

business during the strike. Replacement employees can be hired and once the strike is

over the union employees' jobs may not be available. A strike always has the potential

to be financially devastating to the individual employees, even if that employee was not

in favor of the strike. On the other hand, the management loses expert workers.

Question 2

What role does mutual trust play in building union-management relations?

Answer

While most organizations perceive the Union and Management relationship to be adversarial in

nature, the reality is that both have a common set of desired goals.

Mutual trust between the Union and management creates a situation where the union believes

that the management would not do anything to jeopardize the welfare of the employees and

the union. Similarly, the management of the company believes that the union would not do

anything that would harm the production or profitability of the company. It is this relationship

that builds the relation between union and management.

This trust keeps the unions from calling a strike or taking a legal action if there is a mistake in

the management. The Union hopes that the management would soon provide amendments for

the mischief done. Similarly, from the management’s point of view, if there is a problem

relating to employees is going on within the industry, management hopes that they can solve it

through the union and does not take any negative step.

As long as this trust is between the two parties, they can rely on each other and maintain a

healthy relationship which causes further investment and expansion of the business.