MARKS : 80COURSE :MAPM

SUB : HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

N. B. : 1) Attempt any Four 2) All questions carries equal marks.

NO. – 1

ENRICHING JOBS AT STANDARD DECOY

Standard Decoy in Witchell, has been making traditional wooden hunting

decoys since 1927. Cyrus Witchell began the business by carving a couple of

ducks a day by hand. Demand and competition have long since driven the

company to use modern machinery and assembly-line techniques, and they

now turn out two hundred ducks daily even on the slowest days.

When Steward Alcorn, Cyrus Witchell’s grandson, took over the

business, he knew things needed to change. Output had not fallen, and the

company was surviving financially despite competition from what he called

“plastic ducks” from the Far East. But Alcorn noticed that the productivity

per worker had stayed the same for ten years, even during the period since

the company had bought the latest equipment. While touring the plant, he

noticed many employees yawning, and he found himself doing the same. No

one quit. No one complained, They all gave him a smile when he walked by.

But no one seemed excited with the work.

Alcorn decided to undertake a survey. He appointed a respected

worker at each step in the production process to ask each of his or her co-

workers questions and to fill in response sheets. One conclusion emerged

from the survey : The “fine-tuners”, as Alcorn thought of them, were the

most content ones. That is, those who used fine tools and brushes to get the

ducks’ heads, expressions, and feathers just right seemed to enjoy their

work most. In contrast, the people who planed and cut the wood into blocks,

1

rough – cut the body shapes, spray – painted the body colour, and applied

the varnish were all pretty bored.

Alcorn had heard about a technique called “job rotation” and decided

to try it out. He gave all workers a taste of the “fun” jobs. He asked for

volunteers to exchange jobs for one morning a week. The fine-tuners were

skeptical, and the other workers were only slightly more enthusiastic. The

whole programme turned out to be a disaster. Even with guidance, the

planers and the spray – painters could not master the higher – precision

techniques, and the fine-tuners seemed to give them only limited assistance.

After one trial week, Alcorn gave up.

During a lunch break that Friday, Alcorn was wandering outside around

the plant bemoaning his failure. Then he noticed one of the rough-cutters, Al

Price, whittling at something with an ordinary pocket knife. It turned out to

be a block of wood that he had cut incorrectly and normally would have

thrown in the scrap heap. But as Price said, “It kind of looked like a duck, in

an odd way,” and he had started whittling on it in spare moments.

Alcorn liked what he saw and asked Price if he would be willing to sell

him the duck when he got through with it. Price looked surprised, but he

agreed. The following week, Alcorn noticed that Price had finished the

whittling and was getting one of the fine-tuners to help him paint the duck in

a way that made it look even odder. When it was finished, Alcorn offered it

to one of his regular customers, who took a look at it and said, “You’ve got

this hand made ?” and asked if he could order a gross.

By the middle of the next month, Alcorn’s “Odd Ducks” programme

was in full swing. Workers were still responsible for producing the usual

number of conventional ducks, but they were allowed to use company tools

and materials any time they wanted to work on their own projects. There

were no quotas or expectations for the Odd Ducks. Some employees worked

on for weeks. Others collaborated and produced one or two a day.

Some wouldn’t sell their ducks but crafted them to practice their skills

and brought them home to display on their mantels. Those who would sell

them kept half the selling price. That price usually did not amount to more

2

than their regular hourly wage, but no one seemed to care about the precise

amount of income.

The response to the Odd Duck programme was so great that Alcorn put

up a bulletin board he called “Odd Letters, as a place to post appreciative

notes from customers. Most of the customers, it seemed, had no interest in

hunting but just liked to have the ducks around. And when Alcorn learned

that some of his customers were in turn selling the ducks as “Cyrus

Witchell’s Olde Time Odd Ducks,” he did not complain.

Questions :

1. How: did the “Odd Ducks” programme enrich the jobs at

Standard Decoy ?

Ans: Enriching Jobs at Standard Decoy

I found this case to be very interesting. Enriching Jobs at Standard Decoy was about

improving and motivating the employees at a specific company. Standard Decoy was a

company that made traditional wood hunting decoys for years. Although they definitely

made profit and it was a fairly successful business, the employees seemed happy yet bored

and not completely satisfied. The owner's grandson, Alcorn, decided there needed to be a

change. After surveys and talking to the employees, he came up with a new approach. He

decided job rotation. However, this was not successful because no one could master their

new jobs. Finally, Alcorn came up with a completely new approach. This was to create a

brand new program, called Odd Ducks. Workers were still responsible for producing the

usual number of ducks, as they were now allowed to use company tools and materials any

time they wanted to work on their own projects. Employees were now creating their own

ducks, in different shapes and styles.

I found the Odd Ducks program to be an excellent idea. This seemed to be successful

because the employees were more than just workers on an assembly line. They were now

personalizing their work. They were being creative and actually enjoying their job. This

definitely motivated the employees because they now felt that they were making a

difference in the company.

3

Enriching Jobs at Standard Decoy      In this case, it was not merely money that motivated the employees; instead job enrichment motivated them.  Prior to this program, the employees were getting bored with their work and didn't take much pride in it because their tasks weren't very meaningful and they were not even creating a whole product.        The "Odd Ducks" program enriched the jobs at Standard Decoy in several ways.  It gave them a chance to express their ideas and creativity about their work and gave them more autonomy by allowing them to create their own pieces of work.  This gave the workers a sense of pride and accomplishment, thus improving motivation.  The success of the "Odd Ducks" program can be explained by the Job Characteristics Theory discussed in our book.       This program demonstrated the five characteristics of jobs that enable the three psychological states that lead to greater worker outcomes.  First, it demonstrated skillvariety; by creating their own ducks, the workers were able to use a variety of different skills and activities instead of simply working on just a small part.  This also prevented the workers from getting bored from performing the same monotonous tasks over and over.  Second, the program demonstrated task identity by allowing the workers to create a whole, tangible, identifiable piece of work that they could be proud of.  Third, the program demonstrated autonomy because it allowed the workers to work on their own individual projects and at their preferred pace.  Fourth, it demonstrated task significance because it created a market for odd ducks and the workers could sell them and collect half of the money.  Many of the workers also collaborated with others to make the odd ducks.  Lastly, the program demonstrated positive feedback from the managers, buyers, and fellow workers.       As the job characteristics theory points out, the existence of all five of these dimensions allows for the three critical psychological states: experienced meaningfulness of the work, experienced responsibility for outcomes of the work, and knowledge of the actual results of work activities.  Since all 5 core job dimensions were present in the "Odd Ducks" program, the workers were able to experience these psychological states, thus resulting in higher motivation, higher quality work performance, higher satisfaction with their work, and probably lower absenteeism and turnover.

Question No 1

How did the "Odd Ducks" program enrich the jobs at Standard Decoy?

Answer: Alcorn was the man who Odd Ducks program enrich the jobs at

standard decoy. When alcorn take over the business from his grant father it not

very good position so he take some changes that are very much impact on

4

standard decoy. He knew things needed to change. Output hadn’t fallen, and the

company was surviving financially despite competition from what he called

"plastic ducks" from the Far East. But Alcorn noticed that productivity per

worker had stayed the same for ten years, even during the period since the

company had bought the latest equipment. While touring the plant, he noticed

many employees yawning, and he found himself doing the same. No one quit. No

one complained. They all gave him a smile when he walked by. But no one

seemed excited with the work. So Alcorn first try to change working condition

and environment so he uses job rotation technique. He gave all workers a taste of

fun jobs but after one trial week, alcorn understand it not working some were

not responding so alcorn gave up but alcorn innovation some new thing after his

change he notice one of the rough cutters whittling something this look like Duck

in an Odd way. Alcorn liked what he saw and asked Price if he would be willing

to sell him the duck when he got through with it. Price looked surprised, but he

agreed. The following week, Alcorn noticed that Price had finished the whittling

and was getting one of the fine-tuners to help him paint the duck in a way that

made it look even odder. When it was finished, Alcorn offered it to one of his

regular customers, who took a look at it and said, "You’ve got hand made?" and

asked if he could order a gross. By the middle of the next month, Alcorn’s "Odd

Ducks" program was in full swing. Workers were still responsible for producing

the usual number of conventional ducks, but they were allowed to use company

tools and materials any time they wanted to work on their own projects. There

were no quotas or expectations for the Odd Ducks. Some employees worked on

one for weeks; others collaborated and produced one or two a day. Some

wouldn’t sell their ducks but crafted them to practice their skills and brought

them home to display on their mantels. Those who would sell them kept half the

selling price. That price usually did not amount to more than their regular

hourly wage, but no one seemed to care about the precise amount of income. The

response to the Odd Duck program was so great and that way Odd Ducks

program enrich the jobs at standard decoy.

5

Question No 2

What motivated workers to participate in making the Odd Ducks?

Answer: When you think about it, the success of any facet of your business can

almost always be traced back to motivated employees. From productivity and

profitability to recruiting and retention, hardworking and happy employees lead

to triumph.

Unfortunately, motivating people is far from an exact science. There's no secret

formula, no set calculation, no work sheet to fill out. In fact, motivation can be as

individual as the employees who work for you. One employee may be motivated

only by money. Another may appreciate personal recognition for a job well done.

Still another may work harder if she has equity in the business.

But you can boil down employee motivation to one basic ideal -- finding out what

your employees want and finding a way to give it to them or to enable them to

earn it. Here our case we say alcorn motivated his Workers were still responsible

for producing the usual number of conventional ducks, but they were allowed to

use company tools and materials any time they wanted to work on their own

projects. There were no quotas or expectations for the Odd Ducks. Some

employees worked on one for weeks; others collaborated and produced one or

two a day. Some wouldn’t sell their ducks but crafted them to practice their skills

and brought them home to display on their mantels. Those who would sell them

kept half the selling price. That price usually did not amount to more than their

regular hourly wage, but no one seemed to care about the precise amount of

income. The response to the Odd Duck program was so great that Alcorn put up

a bulletin board he called "Odd Letters" as a place to post appreciative notes

from customers. Most of these customers, it seemed, had no interest in hunting

but just liked to have the ducks around. And when Alcorn learned that some of

his customers were in turn selling the ducks as "Cyrus Witchell’s Olde Time

6

Odd Ducks," he did not complain.

So at last we can say that this all motivated worker is the main engines of Odd

Ducks all success and those are participate in making the Odd Docks.

Conclusion

We analysis this case very carefully and fund some thing those are mainly

created problem to run alcorn odd ducks business properly. When alcorn take

this business from his grandfather, he try to make some changes because he

noticed that productivity per worker had stayed the same for ten years, even

during the period since the company had bought the latest equipment. While

touring the plant, he noticed many employees yawning, and he found himself

doing the same. No one quit. No one complained. They all gave him a smile when

he walked by. But no one seemed excited with the work and some other cases but

alcorn take some very good decision like undertake survey. He appointed a

respected worker at each step in the production process to ask each of his or her

coworker’s questions and to fill in the response sheets. Alcorn also used job

rotation technique but whole program turned out to be a disaster. But alcorn

come back very greatly and his Odd Ducks programmed was in full swing.

2. What motivated workers to participate in marking the Odd

Ducks ?

7

NO. 2

DETERMINING PAY RAISE

The Scientific Equipment Manufacturing company is a small manufacturing

unit located in Peenya, Bangalore. The company is non-unionised and

manufactures analytical equipment for hospital laboratories.

Approximately one year ago, the manager of the Component Assembly

Department established three production goals for the department. The

goals were : (i) reduce raw material storage costs by 10 per cent ; (ii) reduce

variable labour costs (i.e. overtime) by 12 per cent; and (iii) decrease the

number of quality rejects by 15 per cent. The manager told the six unit

supervisors that the degree to which each supervisor or exceeded these

goals would be one of the major inputs for their merit – pay increases for the

year. In previous years, merit increases were based on seniority and an

informal evaluation by the department manager.

The six supervisors worked on separate but similar production lines. A

profile of each supervisor is as follows :

Amitha Aged 28, single; three years with the company after receiving her

degree from the Bangalore University. Has a job offer from another

company for a similar job that provides a substantial pay increase over her

present salary. The scientific Equipment does not want to lose Amitha

because her overall performance has been excellent.

8

Shindhe Aged 32, married with three children; three years with the company,

high school education. One of the most stable and steady supervisors.

However, he supervise a group of workers who are known to be unfriendly

and uncooperative with him and other employees.

Anandan Aged 34, married with four children; high school equivalent

learning; one year with the company. Came to Karnataka six years ago from

Tamil Nadu. A steady worker, well-liked by his co-workers, but has difficulty

in learning the local language. He has, therefore, problems of

communication within his group and with others.

Hemalatha Aged 29, divorcee with three children, two years with the

company ; high school education. Since her divorce one year ago, her

performance has begun to improve. Prior to that, her performance was very

erratic; with frequent absences. She is the sole support for her three

children.

Eshwar Murthy Aged 27, single ; two years with the company, college

graduate. One of the best liked employees at Scientific Equipment.

However, he has shown a lack of initiative and ambition on the job. Appears

to be preoccupied with his social life, particularly around his recently

purchased house.

Cheriyan Aged 24, married with no children ; one year with the company

after graduating from a local college. First full – time job since graduation

from college. He is liked by all employees and has exhibited a high level of

enthusiasm for his work.

Exhibit 11.3 presents summary of the performance of the six supervisors’

during the past year. The data include the current annual salary, the

performance level on the three goals, and an overall evaluation by the

department manager.

The new budget for the upcoming year has allocated a total of Rs.

1,40,000 for supervisory salaries in the Component Assembly Department,

Rs. 40,000, increase from last year. The management has indicated that

salary increases should range from five per cent to 12 per cent of the

supervisors’ current salaries and should be tied, as closely as possible, to

their performance.

9

In making the merit-pay increase decisions, the following points should

be considered.

1. The decisions will likely set a precedent for future salary and merit

increases.

2. Salary increases should not be excessive, but should be representative

of the supervisor’s performance during the past year. It is hoped that

the supervisors develop a clear perception that performance will lead

to monetary rewards and that this will serve to motivate them to even

better performance.

3. The decisions should be concerned with equity, that is, they ought to

be consistent and comparable with each other.

4. The company does not want to lose these experienced supervisors to other firms. The

management of this company not only wants the supervisors to be satisfied with their

salary increases, but also to further develop the feeling that Scientific Equipment

Manufacturing is a good company for advancement, growth and career development.

Exhibit 11.3Superviso

rCurren

t Salary (Rs.)

Storage

Costs (10%)

Goal Labou

r Costs (12%)

Attainment Quality Rejects (15%)

Effort Manager’s Cooperativene

ss

Evaluation Ability to

work Independentl

y

Knowledge of job

Cherian 23,000 12% 12% 17% Excellent

Excellent Good Good

Amitha 24,000 12% 13% 16% Excellent

Excellent Excellent Excellent

Shindhe 24,000 6% 2% 3% Good Excellent Good GoodAnandan 22,000 4% 4% 12% Excellen

tGood Fair Fair

Hemalatha

23,000 11% 10% 10% Fair Fair Fair Good

Eshwar Murthy

24,000 8% 10% 3% Fair Fair Fair Fair

Instructions for the exercise

1. Each person in the class should individually determine the Rupee

amount and percentage increase in salary for each of the six

supervisors, Individual decisions should be justified by a rationale or

decision rule.

2. After each individual has reached a decision, the group will convene

and make the same decision as noted in (1) above.

10

3. After each group has reached a decision, a spokesperson for each

group will present the following information to the full class :

a) The group’s decision concerning merit pay increase for each supervisor

(rupee and percentage)

b) The high, low and average individual decisions in the group.

c) A rationale for the group’s decision.

NO. 3

TRAVAILS OF A TRAINING MANAGER

Ashwin Kumar, who had recently joined System, as a training manager, was

feeling

uneasy at the end of his first meeting with Pesu Shroff, the managing

director of the company.

Systems was a ten-year old unit employing 300 people. It had a

turnover of Rs. 25 crore the previous year. The company traded in several

products – both domestic and imported. Nearly 80 percent of its turnover

came from selling electronic component products which were assembled

locally from imports of semi knocked – down kits. The landed cost of its

imports was about Rs. 10 crore last year. The products had an assured

demand in the country, with smuggled goods from Taiwan and Korea

providing whatever little competition there was. The company had been

operating in a seller’s market for years and, as a result, most of its activities

were production oriented rather than market oriented.

11

Early during the current financial year, the Government of India had

announced, as a part of its economic liberalization strategy, several policy

measures which made imports costlier. All imports had to be financed by

exports – there were restrictions on margin money and interest rates for

working capital had shot up at one stroke. With little export income in its

account, Systems had no choice but to discontinue importing SKD kits.

The company management had three option before it. First, to build up

its domestic trading activity rapidly ; second, to assemble at least a few of

the component products from raw materials sourced locally and third, pursue

after-sales service aggressively both to generate revenue in the short run

and to establish an enduring client-base for the company’s products in the

long run.

Invariably, this meant that the survival of Systems depended on how

quickly it could train its people – beginning from a handful of sales engineers

– to become market – centred and customer – friendly in their approach to

business.

“ The days of easy revenue money are over for us,” Shroff had told

Kumar, who had a formal training in HRD and had been an officer in the

training cell of a multinational firm before signing up with Systems. “ We

have to compete now in the marketplace and sell hard to be able to secure

orders. Times are changing. We have to change too. And that is where you

come in. It will be your responsibility, as the training manager, to ensure

that people here acquire marketing skills,” he said, adding, as a clincher,

“Frankly, have always felt that a salesman is born, not trained. I have had

no belief in non-technical training. In fact, have found no need so far for a

training manager at Systems. But I am prepared to do anything to get more

sales.”

That punching was what had made Kumar uneasy. But he decided to

let it pass. Over the next few days, Kumar got busy evolving specific training

packages for workers, shop – floor supervisors, administrative staff and

senior functional executives and an intensive module for field salesman.

Deciding to start with the salesman first, he met the sales manager to ask

him to depute 10 salesmen for a training session the next day. The sales

12

manager was skeptical and only half – heartedly consented to release people

for the two – day training.

The session was a disaster. No one showed any interest in the

proceedings. In fact, one of the salesmen came up to him during the coffee

break and said, “You see, all this is a waste of time. Take the client for a

drink and you get the sale. It is as simple as that. It has worked in the past

and it will work in the future.” Kumar laughed it off but the message had

been delivered.

The attendance for the second day session was thin. This lack of

interest was again obvious at the session for workers next day. The works

manager who had originally agreed to the idea was vague about the absence

of so many workers at the training session. “They are sick, I believe,” he

said, making no attempts to hide his feeling that to him to whole thing was a

big joke.

Kumar had encountered such resistance in the company where he had

worked earlier. He also knew that his training capsule was very effective.

He was aware that training needs were universal for all companies and so

were the training techniques which were also easily transferable from one

set of working conditions to another and from one industry to another. He

also knew that he had the aptitude and interest to become a professional

trainer.

But Kumar began to realize that he had made a few tactical errors in

his particular case. He should have perhaps asked Shroff to personally

inaugurate the training session to give the whole exercise an air of formality

and, more importantly, of authority. He should have perhaps started with

the module for senior executives first.

“I must find a way out of this and bring everyone round. There is

simply no way I am going to accept failure. Whatever damage there has

been must be undone. I must do something,” he said to himself. What

should he do ?

13

NO. 4

“ WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON, ANYWAY ?”

It was past 4 pm and Purushottam Kshirsagar was still at his shopfloor

office. The small but elegant office was a perk he was entitled to after he

had been nominated to the board of Horizon Industries (P) Ltd., as workman

– director six months ago. His shift generally ended at 3 pm and he would be

home by late evening. But that day, he still had long hours ahead of him.

Kshirsagar had been with Horizon for over twenty years. Starting off as

a substitute mill-hand in the paint shop at one of the company’s

manufacturing facilities, he had been made permanent on the job five years

later. He had to formal education. He felt this was a handicap, but he made

up for it with a willingness to learn and a certain enthusiasm on the job. He

was soon marked by the works manager as someone to watch out for.

Simultaneously, Kshirsagar also came to the attention of the president of the

Horizon Employees’ Union who drafted him into union activities.

Even while he got promoted twice during the period to become the

head colour mixer last year, Kshirsagar had gradually moved up the union

hierarchy and had been thrice elected secretary of the union.

Labour-management relations at Horizon were not always cordial. This

was largely because the company had not been recording a consistently

good performance. There were frequent cuts in production every year

because of go-slows and strikes by workmen – most of them related to wager

hikes and bonus payments.

With a view to ensuring a better understanding on the part of labour,

the problems of company management, the Horizon Board, led by chairman

and managing director Avinash Chaturvedi, began to toy with the idea of

taking on a workman on the board. What started off as a hesitant move

snowballed, after a series of brainstorming sessions with executives and

meetings with the union leaders, into a situation in which Kshirsagar found

himself catapulted to the Horizon board as workman-director.

14

It was an untested ground for the company. But the novelty of it all

excited both the management and the labour force. The board members –

all functional heads went out of their way to make Kshirsagar comfortable

and the latter also responded quite well. He got used to the ambience of the

boardroom and the sense of power it conveyed. Significantly, he was soon

at home with the perspectives of top management and began to see each

issue from both sides.

It was smooth going until the union presented a week before the

monthly board meeting, its charter of demands, one of which was a 30 per

cent across-the-board hike in wages. The matter was taken up at the board

meeting as part of a special agenda.

“Look at what your people are asking for,” said Chaturvedi, addressing

Kshirsagar with a sarcasm that no one in the board missed. “You know the

precarious finances of the company. How could you be a party to a demand

that simply can’t be met ? You better explain to them how ridiculous the

demands are,” he said.

“I don’t think they can all be dismissed as ridiculous,” said Kshirsagar.

“And the board can surely consider the alternatives. We owe at least that

much to the union.” But Chaturvedi adjourned the meeting in a huff,

mentioning, once again to Kshirsagar that he should “ advise the union

properly.”

When Kshirsagar told the executive committee members of the union

that the board was simply not prepared to even consider the demands, he

immediately sensed the hostility in the room. “ You are a sell out,” one of

them said. “Who do you really represent – us or them ?” asked another.

“Here comes the crunch,” thought Kshirsagar. And however hard he

tried to explain, he felt he was talking to a wall.

A victim of divided loyalties, he himself was unable to understand

whose side he was on. Perhaps the best course would be resign from the

board. Perhaps he should resign both from the board and the union. Or may

be resign from Horizon itself and seek a job elsewhere. But, he felt, sitting in

his office a little later, “none of it can solve the problem.”

Question :

15

1. What should he do ?

NO. 5

THE RESENTFUL EMPLOYEE

It was a bitterly cold night, and even at the far end of the bus the east wind

that raved along the street cut like a knife. The bus stopped, and two

women and a man got in together and filled the vacant places. The younger

woman was dressed in sealskin, and carried one of those little Pekinese dogs

that women in sealskin like to carry in their laps. The conductor came and

took the fare. Then his eye rested with cold malice on the beady-eyed toy

dog. I saw trouble brewing. This was the opportunity for which he had been

waiting, and he intended to make the most of it. I had marked him as the

type of what Mr. Wells has called the Resentful Employee, the man with a

general, vague grievance against everything, and in particular, a grievance

against passengers who came and sat in his bus while he shivered at the

door.

“ You must take that dog out”, he said with sour venom.

“I shall certainly do nothing of the kind. You can take my name and

address,” said the women, who had evidently expected the challenge and

knew the reply.

“You must take the dog out-that is my order.”

“ I won’t go on the top in such weather. It would kill me,” said the

woman.

“Certainly not,” said her lady companion. “ You have got a cough as it

is.”

“ It is nonsense”, said her male companion.

The conductor pulled the bell and the bus stopped.

“ This bus does not go on until that dog is brought out.” And he

stepped on the pavement and waited. It was his moment of triumph. He

had the law on his side and a bus-full of angry people under his thumb. His

embittered soul was having a real holiday.

The storm inside rose high. “Shameful”, Why is not he in the army ?”

“Call the police,” “ Let us all report him,” “Let us make him give us our fares

16

back,” “Yes, that is it, let us make him give us our fares back.” Everybody

was on the side of the lady and the dog.

That little animal sat blinking at the dim lights in happy

unconsciousness of the rumpus of which he was the cause.

The conductor came to the door. “What is your number?” said one

taking out a pocket-book, with a gesture of terrible things, “There is my

number,” said the conductor imperturbably. “Give us our fares back – you

have engaged to carry us – you can not leave us here all right.” No fares

back,” said the conductor.

Two or three of the passengers got out and disappeared into the night.

The conductor took another turn on the pavement, then went and had a talk

with the driver. Another bus, the last on the road, sailed by, indifferent to

the shouts of the passengers to stop. “ They stick by each other, the

villains,” was the comment.

Some one pulled the bell violently. That brought the driver round to

the door. “Who’s conductor of this bus ?” He said, and paused for a reply.

None coming, he returned to his seat and resumed beating his arms across

his chest. There was no hope in that quarter. A policeman strolled up and

looked in at the door. An avalanche of indignant protests and appeals burst

on him. “Well, he has got his rules you know, he said generally. “ Give your

name and address,” “That is what he is being offered and he won’t take it.”

“Oh”, said the policeman, and he went away and took his stand a few yards

down the street, where he was joined by two more constables.

And still the little dog blinked at the lights, and the conductor walked

to and from on the pavement like a captain on the quarter – deck in the hour

of victory. A young woman whose vice had risen high above the gale inside,

descended on him with an air of threatening and slaughter. He was

immovable as cold as the night and hard as the pavement. She passed on in

a fury of importance to the three policemen who stood like a group of

statuary up the steel watching the drama. Then she came back,

imperviously beckoned her “Young man” who had sat a silent witness of her

rage, and vanished. Others followed. The bus was emptying. Even the

dashing young fellow who had demanded the number, and who had declared

17

he would see this thing through if he sat there all night, had taken an

opportunity to slip away.

Meanwhile the Pekinese party was passing through every stage of

resistance to abject surrender. “ I will go on the top,” said the sealskin lady

at last. “You must not.” “I will”. “You will have pneumonia”. “Let me take

it” (This from the man.) Certainly not – she would die with her dog”. When

she had disappeared up the stairs the conductor came back, pulled the bell,

and the bus went on. He stood sourly triumphant while his conduct was

savagely discussed in his face by the remnant of the party.

Then the engine struck work, and the conductor went to the help of the

driver. It was a long job, and presently the lady with the dog stole down the

stairs and re-entered the bus. When the engine was put right the conductor

came back and pulled the bell. Then his eye fell on the dog and his hand

went to the bell-rope again. The driver looked around, the conductor pointed

to the dog, the bus stopped, and the struggle recommenced with all the

original features, the conductor walking the pavement, the driver smacking

his arms on the box, the little dog blinking at the lights, the sealskin lady

declaring that she would not go on the top and finally going.

Questions :

1. Which theory of motivation do use to motivate the bus crew ?

why ?

2. If you were the conductor what would you do ?

3. If you were the lady with the pet dog, what would you do ?

4. Role play (a) conversation between the conductor and the lady

with sealskin, (b) between policemen and the fellow

passengers, and (c) between the conductor and the driver.

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NO. 6

WHEN AN EMPLOYEE SAYS HE IS HIV POSITIVE

Chemtech was a chemical firm employing nearly 1,500 people. Since the

company

was operating in a sheltered economic environment, the organizational focus

for

many years was on technology and manufacturing. There was little accent

on marketing. But a liberal import regime heralded by the Government of

India galvanized the management into sprucing up its sales and marketing

team. A number of people were being hired from outside the company in a

long overdue exercise of giving a customer – oriented focus to the

company’s operations. a few employees were also being promoted from

within. In a professional career spanning over two decades in personnel

function in different companies, Aparojit Das, Vice-president (HRD), was

closely involved with the hiring interviews. And he had always chosen well

even while most of his contemporaries had been expressing disillusionment

with the interview as a medium of getting the right candidate for the right

job.

The secret of his success lay in a technique he had worked to

perfection. As a candidate walked in for an interview, Das would quickly size

him up for a first impression. Subsequently, the whole tenor of his

questioning over the period of the interview would be aimed at destroying

that impression. If the first impression was favourable and if it persisted till

the end of an interview or if an unfavourable impression turned otherwise by

the end, Das had an intuitive feeling that he had a good candidate on his

hands. Of course, the assessment already made by the concerned divisional

head regarding specific job requirements would be a major benchmark in the

final selection of a candidate.

Das knew, however, that if he had chosen people well, it was not

because of any particular skill but because he was simply lucky.

That morning, as he looked at the folder lying in his desk, Das

wondered whether he was finally running out of luck. The folder contained

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dossiers of two candidates who have been interviewed at various levels over

the previous month. As a part of the final assessment, Das himself had met

them individually an hour ago. Both were internal candidates, presently

working as sales executives and seeking promotion to the post of the sales

manager to be based at the head office of the company. Both were highly

recommended by the company’s vice – president (sales) for the post.

The first dossier was of Prem Sagar who had been with Chemtech for

five years. Sagar had worked his way up and understood the company’s

product and their markets. He was very keen to take on new responsibilities.

The second was of Arvind Vardhan who had joined the company only the

previous year. He seemed confident, sensitive to others points of view, a

self starter, and a good team player. Das’s maiden impression was that

Vardhan was a natural salesperson and it persisted, however hard he tried to

disprove himself. He was clearly in favour of Vardhan.

It was when he was about to terminate the interview that Vardhan said

“Mr. Das, there is something that I think I must mention in all fairness. But

before I do so, I need to have your word that what I tell you will remain

between the two of us.” You have my word,” said Das. “ I have been

declared HIV positive,” said Vardhan, “the tests came last week.

If Das panicked, he did not show it. “ I don’t see how it can affect your

chances of promotion,” he said, in a voice that, much to his own surprise,

lacked conviction. “ I think we should talk about this separately,” he

continued, trying hard to retain composure. “ I will get back to you. In the

meantime, take care.”

Later, alone in his cabin, Das found the burden of having to make a

decision lying heavily upon him. The company’s standing orders stated that

no physical disability or even a chronic health problem should come in the

way of a promotion as long as it does not interfere with a performance

directly. But there were two major issues, as Das saw them. First, although

the HIV infected people were known to work productively for years, the risk

of developing active AIDS at any point of time was real. Recovery from even

a temporary about of illness such as pneumonia for example, would be

longer, reducing the pace of work and affecting performance on the job. This

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was an angle which had to be borne in the mind while giving a promotion.

Second, could the confidentiality of the information given by Vardhan be

retained at all for long ? It was important that two other persons be

informed quickly – the company’s managing director because this was the

first – ever case of its kind in the history of the company, and the vice-

president (sales) because he was Vardhan’s functional head.

Das further thought that once it was leaked, everyone in the company

would know quickly enough. Although there was no danger of contagion

from casual contact, people would surely be prejudiced against Vardhan

which in turn would affect his ability to deal with them. Das wondered

whether in such a scenario Vardhan could be entrusted with a responsibility

which in its very nature involved greater interaction with people and higher

pressure of work. On the other hand, Vardhan deserved the promotion on

sheer merit. To deny what was due to him would be unfair.

Question :

1. What should Das do ?

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