Case Studies HR

8/12/2019 Case Studies HR

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CASE STUDY - I

PRATHAMESH STEEL (PVT.) LTD.

Prathamesh Steel (Pvt.) Ltd. founded 15 years before by Mr. A.M. Bapat was havin

boomin time. At that time! Mr. Bapat! wor"ed both in the offi#e and in the fa#tory and"new his men and they "new him. Produ#tion standard were always maintained and

labour turnover was pra#ti#ally non$e%istin. As the business mushroomed! the number

of employees has proressively in#reased. &hus! Mr. Bapat's reetins and #onversation

with his wor"ers be#ame less freuent. n fa#t! he had so many thins to do! that he #ouldno loner supervise the fa#tory. &hus! he hired another man! Mr. *odse as a plant

supervisor. As this time thouh the number of wor"ers in#reased to about 5++! labour

turnover and absenteeism in#reased alon with the labour #ases. &he only thin thatde#reased was produ#tivity. n order to meet the situations! Mr. Bapat ranted substantial

in#rease in waes whi#h were already hih and made some arranements for in#rement

earnins based on merit ratin on seniority. ,et labour turnover and absenteeism#ontinue at a hih rate. -n investiation! it was found that the new plant supervisor

la#"ed the patien#e and understandin whi#h is ne#essary for dealin with the employees.hen somethin was found wron! he was s#oldin the employees but no attempt was

made to find the #ase of faulty wor". Meanwhile! labour unrest developed. &he !or"erbean to #omplain about wor"in on Saturdays and not havin either time or fa#ilities

#hane from wor" #lothes to oriinal dresses after wor"! about toilet fa#ilities et#. Some

of the #laims were' not found suffi#iently /ustified or easy to meet. Mr. Bapat offered towor"ers as #ompensation! a new rise in waes with more liberty in allowin va#ation

time all of whi#h the #ompany #ould well afford.

Questions

1. ere the steps ta"en by Mr. Bapat riht0

. hat do you thin" he should have done in order to improve the situation0

CASE STUDY - II

A STUDY OF PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT

-ne of the wor"ers! Sunil Pawar is a wor"er in the Produ#tion 2epartment and wor"s as

a driller. 3e is in the #ompany for past five years and all the while he has been wor"in

as a driller only. 3e re#ord of servi#e has been enerally ood! e%#ept for one warnin for

remainin absent for two days without permission. n the early years of servi#e! he usedto be rude to his superiors and uarrelsome with his #o$wor"ers. But there is nothin

about this on the re#ord! be#ause no serious view was ta"en about this by the superiors. n

the past eiht months! sin#e the new manaement too" over the #ontrol of 4eptunenineerin 6ompany! there is a #hane in the poli#y. &he new manaement has ta"en a

stri#ter approa#h in enfor#in dis#ipline.


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-ne day! at 7.++ p.m.! at the time of startin of the shift Sunil went to his supervisor

sayin that some uests has arrived une%pe#tedly at his house in the mornin and he

wanted leave for that day. &he supervisor told him that sin#e few more wor"ers werealready absent in the 2epartment he #ould not rant him! leave. nstead he as"ed Sunil to

wor" on the press ma#hine. -n that day be#ause the reular press operator had not #ome

and there was a lare ba#"lo whi#h must be #leared today. Sunil de#lined to obey theinstru#tion. 3e said! 8 will wor" on my ma#hine only and not on any other ma#hine8!

and he went to his usual drillin ma#hine. After some time he left a leave appli#ation on

the supervisor table. 3e was not seen on the shop floor throuhout the day.

&he supervisor had reported the #ase to his manaer and the manaer wants your opinion

as the Senior 6onsultant to the #ompany.

Questions

1. 6omment on the events that have ta"en pla#e.

. Suest the #ourse of a#tion.

CASESTUDY - III

SONA AND RUPA COMPANY

&he Sona and 9upa 6ompany manufa#tured wooden toys of various "inds: wooden

animals! pull toys! and the li"e. -ne part of the manufa#turin pro#ess involved sprayin

paint on the partially assembled toys. &his operation was staffed entirely by women. &he

toys were #ut! sanded and partially assembled in the wood room. &hen they were dippedinto shella#! followin whi#h they were painted. &he toys were predominantly two

#oloured: a few were made in more than two #olours. a#h #olour reuired an additional

trip throuh the paint room.

;or a number of years! produ#tion of these toys had been entirely and wor". 3owever! to

meet the tremendously in#rease in demand! the paintin operation had re#ently been re$enineered so that the eiht operators (all women) who did the paintin sat in a line by an

endless #hain of hoo"s. &hose hoo"s were in #ontinuous motion! past the line of operators

and into a lon hori


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By the se#ond month of the trainin period. &rouble had developed. &he employees

learned more slowly than had been anti#ipated! and it bean to loo" as thouh their

produ#tion would stabili


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&he operators maintained that the time study man had them at an unreasonably fast speed

and that they would never be able to rea#h the oal of fillin enouh of them to ma"e a

bonus. &he turnin point of the dis#ussion #ame when the roup's leader fran"lye%plained that the point wasn't that they #ouldn't wor" fast enouh to "eep up with the

hoo"s! but they #ouldn't wor" at that pa#e all the day lon.

&he foreman e%plored the point. &he employees were unanimous in their opinion that

they #ould "eep up with the belt for short periods if they wanted to. But they didn't want

be#ause if they showed they #ould do this for short periods they would be e%pe#ted to doit all day lon. &he meetin ended with an unpre#edented reuest> 8Let us ad/ust the

speed of the belt faster or slower dependin on how we feel8. &he foreman areed to

dis#uss this with the superintendent and the enineers.

&he rea#tion of the enineers to the suestion was neative. 3owever! after several

meetins it was ranted that there was some latitude within whi#h variations in the speed

of the hoo"s would not affe#t the finished produ#t. After #onsiderable arument with the

enineers! it was areed to tryout the operators' idea. ith misivin?! the foreman had a#ontrol with a dial mar"ed 'low! medium! fast' installed at the booth of the roup leader:

she #ould now ad/ust the speed of the belt anywhere between the lower and upper limitsthat the enineers had set.

&he operators were delihted and spent many lun#h hours de#idin how the speed of thebelt should be varied from hour to hour throuhout the day. ithin a wee" the pattern

had settle down to one whi#h the first half$hour of the shift was run on what the operators

#alled a 'medium' speed (a dial settin slihtly above the point mar"ed 'medium'). &he

ne%t two$and$a$half hours were run at 'hih' speed the half$hour before lun#h and halfhour after lun#h were run at 'low' speed. &he rest of the afternoon was run at 'hih speed'

with the e%#eption of the last @5 minutes of the shift! whi#h was run at 'medium'.

n view of the operators' reports of satisfa#tion and ease in wor"! it is interestin to note

that the #onstant speed at whi#h !the enineers has oriinally set the belt was slihtly

below medium on the dial of the #ontro that had been iven to the women. &he averaespeed at whi#h they were runnin the belt was on the hih side of the dial. ;ew! if any

empty hoo"s entered the oven! and inspe#tion showed no in#rease of re/e#ts from the

paint room.

Produ#tion in#reased! and within wee"s (some months before the s#heduled endin of

the learnin bonus) the operators were operatin at + to 5+ per #ent above the level that

had been e%pe#ted under the oriinal arranement. 4aturally their earnins were#orrespondinly hiher than anti#ipated. &hey were #olle#tin their base pay! a

#onsiderable pie#e$rate bonus! and the learnin bonus whi#h! it will be remembered! had

been set to de#rease with time and not as a fun#tion of #urrent produ#tivity. &he operatorswere earnin more than many s"illed wor"ers in other parts of the plant.

Questions


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1. ;rom the anle of /ob nri#hment! whi#h #ore /ob dimension or /ob #hara#teristi# was

most influen#ed by new system of roup reulated speed0 valuate the reported su##ess

of the #ase aainst the prin#iples of ob nri#hment.. 6omment on the method of payment to the operators. 3ow ood do you thin" su#h a

system is0

. ould you #onsider the initial dis#ontent of the operators as a ?rievan#eC0hy orwhy not0

@. 3ow would you #hara#teri


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re#ruit youn persons as trainees! either under the Apprenti#es A#t or as #ompany

trainees and then train them as #raftsmen. Most of these trainees were absorbed to meet

the rowin needs of the #ompany! and Mr. Shah used to personally involve himself inthe pro#ess of re#ruitment and trainin of #raftsmen. Mr. &ha"ur was dire#tly reportin to

Mr. Shah! despite the vast ap in the hierar#hy. Mr. &ha"ur was promoted to the ran" of

trainin Superintendent in 1D7+! thouh there was not mu#h #hane in his /ob #ontent.&he rowin phase of the #ompany was pra#ti#ally over by that time! and the Apprenti#e

trainin be#ame a mere statutory a#tivity. &he #ompany did not have the va#an#ies to

absorb the trained apprenti#es! and therefore! Me. Shah's involvement in apprenti#eshiptrainin also re#eded. &he trainin a#tivity be#ame a subsidiary a#tivity and was not

iven mu#h importan#e.

&he winds of #hane were blowin throuh ML also. Mr. Anil Shah! the son of the

founder industrialist too" over as the Manain 2ire#tor of ML in 1D7! whereas Mr.9amesh Shah #ontinued to be the 6hairman of the #ompany.

&he youn M2 was full of new ideas. 3e wanted to revitalise the #ompany from all

aspe#ts and diversify into hih te#hnoloy areas. 3e wanted to modernise the presentplant and #hane the manaement style from the traditional dire#t #ontrol approa#h to a

systems #ontrolled approa#h. A modern #omputer was bouht and #omputerisation wasintrodu#ed.

&he #ompany had to fa#e many problems while introdu#in these #hanes. -ne of thema/or hurdles was the problem of a number of senior employees! who were not

adeuately ualified or developed! but had rown into senior positions. arlier the

tou#hstone was loyalty and hard wor" rather than #ompeten#e. n the liht of this

situation! new #ompetent professionals had to be hired to introdu#e the #hanes.

ML was well$"nown for its aressive personnel poli#ies. Anyone who /oined the

#ompany had to strule hard for his survival as the #ompany was ruthless in sa#"inthose who were not meetin the reuirements. t was parti#ularly so in #ase of the new

appointees! whi#h in turn ne#essitated them to be ruthless in their wor" &he older

employees felt threatened and resented the #hanes and the #onseuent pressures.&herefore! they #olle#tively approa#hed the 6hairman and reuested him to intervene and

safeuard their interests. &he 6hairman! who was not himself happy with all the #hanes!

issued instru#tions to the M2! to the effe#t that no old employee be dislo#ated. &he new

M2 had no other option but to #omply with the order.

&he M2 was interested in tryin out the 392 approa#hes to train all the employees!

parti#ularly employees who were turnin out to be deadwoods. 3e hired Mr. Eumar in1D7@ as a &rainin Manaer. Mr. Eumar was basi#ally an enineer but had #onsiderable

e%perien#e with a multinational #ompany in the field of 392! parti#ularly in &rainin

and Manaement 2evelopment. 3e reoranised the trainin set up by indu#tin twoAssistant Manaers. Mr. &ha"ur was ne%t to the Assistant Manaers in the hierar#hy 'and

reported to Mr. Eumar dire#tly and #ontinued to manae the affairs related to

apprenti#eship trainin.


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Fntil Mr. Eumar #ame alon! Mr. &ha"ur had en/oyed the position of the head of the

trainin division! thouh there was no other trainin a#tivity apart from apprenti#eship

trainin. 3e was operatin independently and was reportin dire#tly to the M2. 3e#ontinued to do so even after the oranisation had rown in proportion. Mr. &ha"ur felt

demoted in the new set up. ;ie lost his position and individuality in the oranisation! and

his pride was seriously hurt. 3e was not prepared to a##ept Mr.Eumar as his boss .and hestarted behavin in an irrational manner. 3e resented the vast ap #reated between him

and the top man in the new stru#ture.

Mr. Eumar tolerated him with the hope that Mr. &ha"ur would re#on#ile himself to the

#hanes! in time. Fnfortunately! he #ontinued to behave in the same way and there was

no improvement even after one year. hen Mr. Eumar tried to #ounsel him! Mr. &ha"ur

demanded to be promoted to the level of Assistant Manaer! as he happened to be thesenior most person in the department.

Eumar promised to loo" into his demand. -n a #areful analysis of the personal do#"et of

Mr. &ha"ur and all the previous do#uments! he found out that Mr. &ha"ur was overpromoted and also over paid for the /ob that he was doin. Leave alone bein entitled for

further promotion! Mr. &ha"ur was not even fit for his present position.

&he #ompany did not have a formal performan#e appraisal system. t's produ#ts were

sellin well! the profitability was ood and a##ordinly all the employees were rewardedwell. Promotions and e%tra in#rements were iven arbitrarily based on the personal li"es

and disli"es of the top man! rather than on any ob/e#tive analysis of performan#e or

potential of an individual. 4o formal manpower plannin or oranisational plannin

e%isted. 4o efforts were made to fore#ast impli#ations of su#h a system in future. -n thewhole! the #ompany did not have any formal pro/e#tion for the future.

&he #ompany followed the pra#ti#e of ivin lon servi#e .#ertifi#ates and awards to allthose who had #ompleted + years of servi#e in the #ompany. Mr. &ha"ur had ot his

#ertifi#ate only re#ently. &here were several employees belonin to Mr. &ha"ur's

#ateory. All of them united and met both formally and informally to dis#uss theirstrateies and demands. &hey used to put up their rievan#es to the manaement

#olle#tively. &hey had established a very stron rapport with the 6hairman! Mr. Shah.

Mr. Eumar presented all the fa#ts to Mr. &ha"ur to #onvin#e him that his promotion was

not possible. As the latter was not used to the "ind of loi# presented by Mr. Eumar! hedismissed all his aruments as sophisti#ated /aron! irrelevant to the #onte%t of his

#ompany. 3e was parti#ularly bitter about the fa#t that his promotion was turned down

whereas there were several people with similar ba#"round who have ot theirpromotions. &herefore! there was further deterioration in his behaviour. 3e started

inorin the dire#tions of Mr. Eumar and wor"ed as per his own whims and fan#ies!

behavin arroantly. 3e even went to the e%tent of #hallenin Mr. Eumar that he #ouldneither promote him nor demote him in the prevailin situation. So lon as he was

prote#ted by the 6hairman of the #ompany! there was nothin for him to worry about and

his /ob was pra#ti#ally se#ure.


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Mr. Eumar optimisti#ally hoped that Mr. &ha"ur #ould over#ome his frustration and

aner over a period of time. Fnfortunately! even after another si% months there was no

sin of any proress. n fa#t! the situation deteriorated further with Mr. &ha"ur be#ominmore #onfident in his belief that' Mr. Eumar was powerless to deal with him. 3e turned

out to be a dra in the department! purposely #reatin problems for Mr. Eumar.

n ML the annual in#rements and eneral raises were iven as a poli#y to every

employee whi#h is termed as. the 8anata raise8 Mr. &ha"ur was uite sure that he would

et his anata raise and re#on#iled himself to that. Mr. Eumar tried to stop this raise but#ould not do so. &here were several bullies belonin to Mr. &ha"ur's #ateory in the

oranisation and one of the tas"s of the &rainin Manaer was to handle su#h people.

&houh he had oranised a few trainin wor"shops in the behavioural areas! it had not

brouht about the reuired attitudinal #hanes. 9iht under his nose he had a personwhose behaviour he was not able to amend. Mr. Eumar realised that the desired #hanes

were not possible! so lon as the 8flat se#urity8 was there.

2ue to a #hane in the overnmental poli#y! there were several new #ompetitors to MLand the M2 felt there was a stron need and uren#y to brin in #hanes in the

oranisation! to ma"e it more dynami# and #ompetitive. t was no loner possible to #arryon the oranisational dead woods. Mr. Eumar was under reat pressure to loo" into all

su#h #ases in the oranisation! on a priority basis. hen he e%plained his diffi#ulties! the

M2 suested that he should approa#h the 6hairman to apprise him of the fa#ts.

Mr. Eumar met the 6hairman and apprised him of the situation parti#ularly #itin the

e%ample of Mr. &ha"ur. &he 6hairman! in turn attributed the blame to Mr. Eumar

himself! uestionin him as to why a faithful and normal employee had turned into aproblemati# #ase under Mr. Eumar within one year.

Mr. Eumar is now left with no alternative but to inore Mr. &ha"ur and #ontinue in hisefforts to #hane the other diffi#ult employees. 3owever! he will not have the moral riht

to intervene in su#h #ases.

Alternatively he #ould simply promote Me. &ha"ur and buy pea#e irrespe#tive of whether

he deserves it or not.

Questions

1. s it riht on the part of the 6hairman to prote#t the senior employees! thereby #ausin

problem to the new M20

. s the 6hairman not over$rewardin lon servi#e0. Are the senior employees too sensitive and over rea#tin to the #hanes0

@. 2id the M2 adeuately prepare the round for introdu#in the #hanes0 as he too

hasty05. ould it not have been wise for Mr. Eumar to promote Mr. &ha"ur without botherin

about the loi# whi#h is not appli#able in ML0

G. s the assumption of the &rainin Manaer that '-ver prote#tion is the root #ause of

trouble' riht0


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CASE STUDY - V

PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR" RAM LAL

9am Lal was re#ruited dire#tly by the Eanpur &e%tile Mills as a temporary spinnin

supervisor in uly 1DGG. At the time of his appointment! he was iven a salary of 9s. ++

whi#h in#luded basi# pay and other allowan#es. 3e was then H years old! a ba#helor

with no dependants. 3e had a smart and pleasant personality. 3e had passed hismatri#ulation e%amination from a lo#al 3ih S#hool and had about one year's e%perien#e

as a spinnin supervisor in a similar te%tile mill in the same #ity. n the present /ob! he

had to wor" under the Assistant Spinnin Master and to supervise about 1++ wor"ers inthe mills. &he mills operated three shifts a day #hanin on#e a wee" in anti$#lo#"wise

dire#tion. 9am Lal's performan#e in the beinnin as a spinnin supervisor as found to be

uniformly effi#ient. 3is attitude towards the mills! superiors and #o$supervisors wasreported to be favourable. 3e was held in hih esteem by his superiors! fellow$

supervisors and wor"ers. Sometimes he used to initiate informal parties and et$toethersin the #anteen of the mills. -n the re#ommendation of his superiors the manaement

#onfirmed him in the /ob on 1st -#tober! 1DGH.

n anuary! 1DG7 there was a va#an#y in the spinnin department be#ause of the

resination of another supervisor. *irdhari who was wor"in in a neihbourin mill at asalary of 9s. +! applied for this position. &he Assistant Spinnin Master who "new him

personally re#ommended to the ;a#tory Manaer that *irdhari was a hihly s"illed

supervisor and that he miht be #onsidered for the /ob. -n his re#ommendation the;a#tory Manaer hired him at a salary of 9s. 5+. A##ordin to the ;a#tory Manaer!

9am Lal was unhappy over the appointment of *irdhari. 6onseuently! he started to

interfere in the smooth fun#tionin of *irdhari' s department.

t was noted in 2e#ember 1DG7 that the output of 9am Lal's shift was mar"edly below the

standard of the mills. 3e was freuently found to be late in attendin the mills.

Sometimes! he applied for leave while stayin at home without any prior permission. 3isattitude was des#ribed by the manaement as 'pro$labour'.

-n#e *irdhari visited the Assistant Spinnin Master (A.S.M.) and the followin#onversation too" pla#e>

*irdhari > *ood mornin! Sir.

A.S.M. > *ood mornin! Mr. *irdhari. 3ow are you0

*irdhari > &han" you Sir! am uite well.

A.S.M. > ,our output is e%#ellent in the mills. don't "now what has happened to 9am

Lal. remain #onstantly worried about the output from his department. 2o you "now whythat output is so mu#h below the standard0


10/22

*irdhari> hy not! SirI &hat is "nown to everyone in the mills. ;or e%ample! Ealu!

adish and Eirti who are supposed to be wor"in under him! do not a#tually do anywor" for the mills thouh they re#eive their full salary from the mills.

A.S.M.> 3ow is that possible0

*irdhari > Sir!9am Lal sends these men to their homes and their time #ards are always

turned to indi#ate a full day's wor". n another #ase! Manohar was #onstantly absent in9am Lal's department for a lon period of time. 9am Lal pun#hed his time #ard at

intervals so as to retain his employment in the mills. &here is more to it than this! Sir. 3e

lea"s out #ertain #onfidential information to the wor"ers. 3e is very #lever. 3e wants to

win their #onfiden#e and #reate a ood impression of himself on them.

A.S.M.> hat sort of #onfidential information has been lea"ed out0

*irdhari > 3e has told ea#h of his men that Banwari! one of my men! is oin to win a#ash reward of 9s. 1++ as the most effi#ient wor"er of the mills this year. &his is a

mis#hievous move. 3e #laims that the manaement is showin favouritism! as Banwarireally stands nowhere.

A.S.M. > -.E.! shall ta"e #are of him.

&he Assistant Spinnin Master visited 9am Lal's department on the same day in the

afternoon but he #ould find nothin wron in his department with the e%#eption that 9am

Lal was #hattin with a few wor"ers. &he Assistant Spinnin Master informed the;a#tory Manaer on the same day that 9am Lal was enaed in ossipin with a roup of

wor"ers at many times durin a day. -n the basis of several informal reports of the

Assistant Spinnin Master! the manaement formed the opinion that 9am Lal did not#ooperate with his superiors and #o$supervisors in the mills. A##ordin to the

manaement! 9am Lal be#ame an 8un#onvin#in! lethari# and arroant8 man.

&he Assistant Spinnin Master informed the ;a#tory Manaer on +th Auust! 1DH+ that

in spite of his repeated verbal warnins! 9am Lal did not #are to improve his behaviour.

After one wee" 9am Lal re#eived the followin letter from the ;a#tory Manaer.

2ated> Hth Auust! 1DH+

6onfidential

&o!

Shri 9am Lal!Spinnin Supervisor

1. ,ou were iven perfe#t doff$#ontrol settin as seen by the Assistant Spinnin Master

and the ;a#tory Manaer whi#h has not been maintained.


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. 9easons for brea"aes should have been investiated as the same frames numbers H! 7

and D were in perfe#t runnin #ondition in the earlier and the ne%t shifts.

. ,ou have left 1++ spindles idle for no e%pli#able reason! as reported by the supervisorwho has ta"en #hare from you.

@. vidently the wor" was not #ontrolled by you.

5. ,ou should be able to dete#t! if at all! there is any delinuen#e on the part of those whoare responsible for spoilin the wor". &he responsibility of the proper runnin of the

department is solely yours.

G. t has been found that you are not reular in your attendan#e and are in the habit ofapplyin for leave while sittin at home without any prior intimation andCor permission.

H. t has been brouht to my noti#e that you are allowin some of !your men to en/oy

leave unauthorisedly.

7. t has been reported that you are in the habit of divulin se#ret and #onfidentialinformation of the manaement to various unauthorised persons.

n future! you are e%pe#ted to maintain satisfa#tory performan#e and proper dis#ipline in

the department.

S.P. adhawa;a#tory Manaer

Fnfortunately! 9am Lal did not respond positively to the above warnins. -n the other

hand! the manaement was fed up with his arroant behavioral patterns but did not "now

how to sa#" him.

vidently! he be#ame a problem$employee. 3is behaviour did not improve despite

repeated #ounsellin by his superiors. &he manaement finally de#ided to serve him with

a #hare$sheet as follows>

-#tober 1G! 1DH+

6onfidential

&oMr! 9am Lal!

Spinnin Supervisor

;ollowin are the #hares aainst you and you are as"ed to submit your e%planation

within @7 hours of the re#eipt of the #hare$sheet failin whi#h dis#iplinary a#tion will be

ta"en aainst you.


12/22

1. Produ#tion in your shift on 5th! 7th! 1th and 15th instant has been very low in spite of

repeated verbal and written warnins

. n spite of repeated warnins you #ontinue to be unpun#tual in your attendan#e andalso #ontinue to handle the operations of the department in a 6asual and indifferent way!

2etail as follows >

(a) -n 1+th instant the reelin department was handed over without belts for si% reels andthin bobbins a##umulated near the #onditionin tan".$

(b) -n l1th instant! the spinnin department was handed over in a very bad #ondition with

overlappin and many rin frames were not aited properly.(#) -n 15th instant while you were handin over the #hare of the spinnin department! it

was also found that two rin frames were stopped without aitin and seven rin frames

were not aited properly and also there was heavy overlappin.

(d) ,ou attended to your shift duties on 1 th! 15th and 1Gth instant very late thereby#ausin dislo#ation in the arranement of the shift.

(e) n spite of repeated warnins and advi#e you failed to maintain proper dis#ipline in

the department.

n view of the above it is #lear that as a responsible employee of the mills you have

neither improved your pun#tuality nor wor" effi#ien#y. Moreover! you have also failed tomaintain dis#ipline in the department. ,ou are therefore reuired to submit your

e%planation within the aforesaid time limit as to why dis#iplinary a#tion should not be

ta"en aainst you whi#h may even in#lude termination of your servi#es from the mills.

S.P. adhawa

;a#tory Manaer

9am Lal replied to the above #hare$sheet as follows>

2ated> -#tober 1H. 1DH+&o

&he ;a#tory Manaer

9ef. > ,our letter dated -#tober 1G. 1DH+.

9espe#ted Sir!

-n -#tober 15! 1DH+ aree that #ould not hand over the #hare of spinnin departmentin a proper manner be#ause #ould not manae the wor" of the department due to various

domesti# reasons. assure you Sir that will hand over the #hare of the department in a

proper manner in future. also assure you that shall maintain my produ#tion hih infuture. 3owever! am surprised to "now from your letter that do not maintain dis#ipline

in the department and lea"$out #onfidential information to wor"ers. am sure you will

aree with me that whenever do any ood wor"! other supervisors feel /ealous andreport to you stealthily aainst me. Please do not pay heed to these rumours. Sin#e am

the senior supervisor in the mills! reuest you to "indly ive me an opportunity to prove

my #apability in the future. also assure you! Sir! that shall maintain dis#ipline in the

department. &han"in you and assurin you of my sin#ere servi#es always.


13/22

,ours faithfully!

(9am Lal)Spinnin Supervisor

&he manaement observed that in spite of his above assuran#e! he neither maintained theprodu#tion standard nor enfor#ed dis#ipline in the department. 3e #ould not also improve

his behavioural patterns in the mills.

Questions

1. hat is the #entral problem in this #ase0

. hat #orre#tive measures do you propose to solve this problem0

. Prepare a systemati# report for the manaement as a #onsultant psy#holoist analysinthe pros and #ons in detail.

CASE STUDY - VILOSIN A OOD MAN

Sundar Steel Limited was a medium$si


14/22

&he union too" the #ase to Shu"la and prevailed over him to ta"e stern a#tion aainst

6hatter/ee. Shu"la instru#ted Mu"her/ee to demote 6hatter/ee to the ran" of a wor"er.Mu"her/ee e%pressed his apprehension that in su#h a #ase 6hatter/ee will be of no use to

the department! and the demotion would affe#t adversely the morale of all sin#ere and

effi#ient supervisors. But 6hatter/ee was demoted.

6hatter/ee #ontinued wor"in in the oranisation with all his effi#ien#y! #ompeten#e! and

ability for two months. &hen he resined statin that he had se#ured better employmentelse where. Mu"her/ee was perturbed at this turn of events. hile pla#in 6hatter/ee's

resination letter before Shu"la! he e%pressed deep #on#ern at this development.

Shu"la #alled 6hief of Personnel for advi#e on this deli#ate issue. &he 6hief of Personnelsaid! 8 thin" the in#ident should help us to appre#iate the essential ualifi#ation reuired

for a su##essful supervisor. An honest and hardwor"in man need not ne#essarily prove

to be an effe#tive supervisor. Somethin more is reuired for this as he has to et thins

done rather than do himself.8

Mu"her/ee said!8 have a hih opinion of 6hatter/ee. 3e proved his te#hni#al#ompeten#e and was sin#ere at his wor". *iven some uidan#e on how to deal with the

type of persons he had to wor" with! the sad situation #ould have been avoided.8

Shu"la said! 8 am really sorry to lose 6hatter/ee. 3e was very Jhonest and pain$sta"inin his wor". But do not "now how #ould have helped him. wonder how he always

manaed to et into trouble with wor"ers. e "now they are illiterates and some of them

are touh. But a supervisor must have the ability and presen#e of mind to deal with su#h

men. have numerous supervisors! but never had to tea#h anybody how to supervise hismen.8

Questions

1. hat is the main problem in the #ase0

. 2o you thin" the de#ision ta"en by Shu"la is in "eepin with the faith! trust and

#reatin developmental #limate in the oranisation! #riti#ally evaluate0. hat would you have done! if you were in pla#e of Shu"la0

@. 2o you aree with what 6hief of Personnel has said0 hat is he pointin towards

sayin that somethin more is reuired to be an effe#tive supervisor! e%plain0

5. Mu"her/ee is pointin towards 8uidan#e8 s he indi#atin' towards enhan#in#ompeten#ies of the employees to perform their /ob more effe#tively. 2o you aree0

G. 2o you thin" #ounsellinCmentorin may help improvin rouh and touh

employees0H. s the present situation li"ely to affe#t the wor" motivation0 392 systems have reat

relevan#e to employee motivation. As *.M. what developmental interventions would you

re#ommend to improve wor" motivation and dyadi# relationship.

CASE STUDY VII

SHARMA ASSAULTS MAHTO


15/22

Bharat Steel Stru#tures Limited was a lare publi# se#tor underta"in havin @+!+++

employees. tKs ;abri#ation Shop fabri#ated stru#tures and paired various euipments.&he shop was headed by the 2eputy or"s manaer (Me#hani#al)! who reported to the

or"s Manaer (Me#hani#al)! who in turn reported to the *eneral Manaer (or"s).

Sharma /oined the #ompany in 1D7+ as a ;abri#ator *rade ! whi#h was a s"illed /ob. 3is/ob was to fabri#ate and repair different euipments under his supervisor's uidan#e.

nitially Sharma was sin#ere! well behaved! and dedi#ated. Soon he be#ame one of the

best wor"ers in the shop. After some time! however! Sharma started losin interest in his/ob and radually be#ame indifferent.

;reuently he pi#"ed up uarrels with his fellow wor"ers on trivial issues. Mahto!

Supervisor of Sharma's shift! reported aainst him to the 2eputy or"s Manaer.Mahto #omplained that most of the time Sharma was not available at his wor" pla#e! and

even when he was available he was found ossipin with other wor"ers. &he 2eputy

or"s Manaer orally warned Sharma and told him to improve his performan#e:

otherwise suitable a#tion would be ta"en aainst him.

-n une 17! Sharma and Mahto were in the mornin shift (G a.m. to p.m.). At 1.+p.m. Mahto left the shop and went to the Administration Buildin! whi#h was outside the

plant premises to enuire about a file. Mahto informed the 2eputy or"s Manaer

before leavin the shop. At 1.@+ p.m. Mahto was assaulted and manhandled on the road/ust outside the main ate. Mahto was ta"en to the hospital by some wor"ers. Mahto

loded a #omplaint that Sharma had assaulted him.

Sharma was subseuently #hare$sheeted by the 2eputy or"s Manaer for mis#ondu#tand was as"ed to reply within seven days. &he #hare$sheet said>

1. 8-n une 17 at 1.@5 p.m. you assaulted Mahto on the road outside the main ate whilehe was oin out of the plant. 2urin the previous wee" he had reported about your la#"

of interest in wor" and freuent absen#e from wor" pla#e without permission. nstead of

improvin your performan#e! you assaulted him! apparently be#ause he had #omplainedaainst you.8

. 8,ou were absent from your duty without permission between 1.+ p.m. and 1.@+

p.m. on une 17.8

n his reply of une D (within seven days as reuired) Sharma alleed that the 2eputy

or"s Manaer had #ertain mali#e aainst him as he had not oblied him by

manufa#turin and supplyin a #upboard for his household use. &he manaer had#on#o#ted the #ase to vi#timi


16/22

&he #ommittee held Sharma uilty of the mis#ondu#ts mentioned in the #hare$sheet.

&he or"s Manaer was thin"in about the a#tion to be ta"en aainst Sharma and how

to avoid su#h situations in future.

Questions

1. dentify the problem in the #ase.. 3ow do you see the a#t of Sharma0 6riti#ally evaluate with referen#e to his reply to

the enuiry #ommittee.

. 3ow would you ta#"le the problem to avoid re#urren#e of su#h in#idents! if you werethe or"s Manaer0

@. 2o you see any role of orani


17/22

,ou are hereby reuired to submit your e%planation to the above said a#ts of mis#ondu#t

within @ hours of the re#eipt hereof as to why you should not be dismissed from theservi#e of the #ompany. (;or #hare$sheet see Anne%ure )

t was stated in the #hare$sheet that Shri P.6. *upta! the leal advisor of the #ompany!would hold the enuiry on the #hare$sheet at 11.++ a.m. on 1+th May! 1D7 in the

6onferen#e 9oom of the fa#tory.

9am/as refused to a##ept the #hare$sheet. &herefore! it was sent to him by reisteredpost on the same day and a #opy thereof was displayed on the noti#e$board of the

#ompany. &he reistered #over was re#eived ba#" with the remar"s 8refused to a##ept8.

9am/as! however! appeared for the enuiry and as"ed in writin that he be permitted to

be defended by a lawyer or alternatively by Pritam Sinh! the *eneral Se#retary of theunion! who was not an employee of the #ompany. &he reuest of Shri 9am/as was turned

down by the enuiry offi#er. 9am/as wal"ed out from the enuiry room statin that he

#ould not e%pe#t /usti#e from the leal adviser of the #ompany who was biased in favour

of the manaement and that he was not bein iven proper opportunity to defend himself.&he enuiry offi#er re#orded the statements of the manaement witnesses and #on#luded

the enuiry pro#eedins. 3e found 9am/as uilty of all the #hares levelled aainst him.3e submitted his findins to the wor"s manaer. &he wor"s manaer referred the same to

the se#retary of the #ompany at the head offi#e for advi#e. &he se#retary wrote ba#" that

9am/as should be dismissed. A##ordinly! the wor"s manaer issued a letter to 9am/asterminatin his servi#es with immediate effe#t statin that all the #hares levelled aainst

him were found proved and that he was uilty of mis#ondu#t for whi#h dismissal was the

proper punishment.

&he punishment infli#ted upon 9am/as was assailed by the union on the followin

rounds>

1. &he #hare of insubordination and subversive of dis#ipline in passin resolution#ondemnin the wor"s manaer was not a mis#ondu#t and! as su#h! no enuiry #ould be

held aainst him.

. &he #hare$sheet was invalid inasmu#h as the manaement bein biased aainst himhad already made up its mind to dismiss him and that holdin of the enuiry was /ust a

leal formality.

. 4o opportunity was iven to him to defend ?imself.

@. &he pro#eedins of the enuiry re#orded in his absen#e were not bindin on him andno punishment #ould be awarded on the basis of the same.

5. &he appointment of the leal adviser of the #ompany as the enuiry offi#er was illeal

and aainst the prin#iples of natural /usti#e.G. &he wor"s manaer! bein himself involved in the in#ident! was interested in the

out#ome of the enuiry and #ould not a#t as the punishin authority.

H. &he wor"s manaer in the #ir#umstan#es #ould not and did not apply his mindindependently in de#idin the uantum of punishment.

7. 3e was vi#timi


18/22

A44F9

@. (a) ilful insubordination or disobedien#e alone or in #ombination with another orothers of any lawful and reasonable order of a superior.

(#) Stri"in wor" or in#itin others to stri"e in #ontravention of the provisions of any

statute or the standin orders.() nterin or leavin or attemptin to enter or leave the fa#tory e%#ept in a##ordan#e

with these standin orders.

(") &hreatenin or intimidatin any offi#er or employee on the fa#tory premises.(p) 2eliberately ma"in false! vi#ious! or mali#ious statements! publi# or otherwise!

aainst any offi#er or employee of the #ompany.

A44F9

&o!

Shri 9am/as!;itter! nineerin 2epartment!

&o"en 4o. 1HG+

hereas on +th April 1D7 you alon with other + of your #olleaues went to the

offi#e of the wor"s manaer Shri 9andhir Sinh and on his de#linin your reuest tode#lare 1st May 1D7 as a eneral holiday! you entered into heated aruments and used

undesirable lanuae aainst him!

and whereas on the evenin of the same day! i.e.! +th April! 1D7! you oranised and

spo"e at a meetin outside the fa#tory premises where a resolution #ondemnin the wor"smanaer was passed.

. hereas on the mornin of 1st May! 1D7 you alon with other wor"men of the fa#tory

moved from department to department and in#ited the wor"ers to stop wor". &his resultedin wor"men wal"in out of the fa#tory premises for the day. &he above a#ts of omission

and #ommission on your part amount to mis#ondu#t under Se#tion @(a)! (#)! ()! (")! and

(p) of the Standin -rders.,ou are hereby reuired to submit your e%planation to the above said a#ts of mis#ondu#t

within @ hours of the re#eipt hereof as to why you should not be dismissed from the

servi#e of the #ompany.

Please ta"e note that an enuiry under the provisions of the Standin -rders in thematters of the above #hare$sheet will be held by Shri P.6. *upta! Leal Adviser of the

6ompany! at 11>++ a.m. on 1+th May 1D7 in the 6onferen#e 9oom of the fa#tory.

,ou are hereby reuired to present yourself for the enuiry on the aforesaid date! time!and pla#e.

n view of the ravity of the mis#ondu#t mentioned above! you are also hereby pla#edunder suspension with immediate effe#t.

Questions


19/22

1. as 9am/as /ustified in raisin the demand for May$2ay holiday on the +th April!

and ettin the wor" stopped on 1st May0

. as manaement /ustified in ta"in dis#iplinary a#tion aainst 9am/as. f so! was the#haresheet drafted and served on him properly0

. as the enuiry #ondu#ted in #onformity with prin#iples of 4atural usti#e0 f not! on

what rounds it #an be de#lared vitiated.@. s the punishment of dismissal in proportion to the offen#e #ommitted0 hat is the

possibility of its bein set aside or redu#ed by the Labour 6ourt! or the hiher #ourt.

CASE STUDY -I#

A DEFIANT $OR%ER

Mr. aed 5! who had been wor"in in a lare s#ale te%tile unit in Madurai was

referred to the So#ial or"er by the Labour 9elations 2epartment for a so#ial

investiation of the defiant behaviour e%hibited by him in the wor" pla#e. 3e hadabsented from wor" many a time due to #ertain disturbin habits.

Mr. had #ommitted serious a#ts of mis#ondu#t! riotous and disorderly behaviour durin

wor"in hours on 1+$1$1D7 as (1) he #ame to the Mill in a drun"en state and uarrelled

with his #o$wor"ers and() Abused the supervisor usin foul lanuae.

-n a #ursory perusal of the past re#ords of the deviant wor"er! the so#ial wor"er #ame to

"now that Mr. had absented himself #ontinually for 1HG days durin 1D71. naddition! he had availed himself of 1 days' medi#al leave and days' #asual leave. As a

result of his indis#iplined behaviour! the #ompany had ta"en the followin dis#iplinary

a#tion aainst him>

(1) 3e was suspended three times for + days by the Labour 9elations 2epartment for

absentin himself from wor" for more than si% #onse#utive days on two o##asions andon#e for #ommittin a serious a#t of mis#ondu#t.

() 3e was suspended as many as 5 times for bein absent from the wor"spot.

() -n#e he was fined half of his salary ma%imum for #arelessly allowin the #otton to

wrap on the #ylinder roll.(@) 3e was iven a final warnin on H$7$1D7 reardin his habitual absen#e.

2urin the preliminary interview the So#ial or"er had with Mr. ! he #ame to "nowthat Mr. was married and had studied upto Gthstandard. 3e had been drawin a salary

of 9s. 7++ and had put in si% years of servi#e as a 'or"er' in the Blow Se#tion. As to the

family ba#"round! Mr. is the younest son of his parents. 3e lost his father andmother when he was H years old. Sin#e then his eldest brother had been loo"in after him.

n order to "now more about the so#io$#ultural ba#"round of Mr. ! the fa#tors whi#h

had driven him to indule in al#oholism and the #auses for his indis#iplined behaviour in

the wor" pla#e! the So#ial or"er paid visits to his house many a time and #onferred


20/22

with his family members. n the #ourse of an interview he had with the eldest brother of

Mr. ! the So#ial or"er athered information about Mr. 's life history riht from the

s#hoolin. &his revealed that Mr. ! was never interested in s#hoolin and freuentlyabsented from the #lass. 3e was asso#iated with a an of friends who used to ta"e him

to films reularly 'when Mr. was in the fifth standard.

2urin his youth! Mr. seemed to ta"e a#tive interest in politi#s and ultimately fell

under the influen#e of ansters! throuh whom he had developed #ertain vi#es su#h as

#onsumin al#ohol! an/a and amblin.

Seein the deterioratin moral and so#ial life of Mr. his brother pro#ured a /ob for him

'in the lo#al te%tile unit so that Mr. #ould settle down and assume #ertain

responsibilities in life. As years rolled by! Mr. ot married but in #ourse of time hestarted developin a feelin of hatred towards his wife in as mu#h as he did not li"e her

physi#al appearan#e. 3is marital life lasted only for three months after whi#h the nuptial

bondae had bro"en! on#e and for all. 2issatisfied with the "ind of life he was leadin!

Mr. bean to #onsume al#ohol reularly only to be#ome an addi#t. 3e started playindu#"s and dra"es with all his savins and the in#ome derived from his land too. 3is

brother bean to re/e#t him for he was beyond redemption and finally drove him out ofthe house.

Mr. 's supervisor! while interviewed by the So#ial or"er! stated that Mr. 'srelationship with him and #o$wor"ers had been unsatisfa#tory. 3e was not effi#ient in his

wor". -ften times! he uarrelled with the Supervisor and other wor"ers when he #ame to

the wor"spot under the influen#e of al#ohol. &he Supervisor was of the view that thouh

Mr. has been #ounselled and punished on many o##asions! he has not repented for thea#ts of mis#ondu#t he had #ommitted.

Fnderstandably! the fa#tors #ontributin to the deviant behaviour that Mr. miht be thela#" of parental #are durin his #hildhood! his asso#iation with ansters! marital

disareement due to dissatisfa#tion in his se%ual relations! failure on the part of the

manaement to dis#over the problem at an early stae and #ontrol the same! et#.! and thismiht lead us to assume that Mr. had developed disturbin habits su#h as al#oholi#

addi#tion and #hroni# absenteeism owin to very fa#tors indi#ated above. hen the

So#ial or"er pleaded with the Labour -ffi#er to rant pardon to Mr. for the repeated

deviant a#ts e%hibited by him! the -ffi#er e%plained that thouh Mr. was iven theabsolute final warnin! the latter had absented himself for about @5 days even after

re#eivin the same and therefore! he asserted! that he had no other option but to dismiss

Mr. from servi#e.

Questions

1. s it not the moral and ethi#al responsibility of the employer to be #on#erned about theuality of life of the deviant wor"er0

. 3ow #ould the misbehaviour of the wor"er be #onstru#tively #orre#ted without

penalty0


21/22

. Suppose the deviant wor"er had been #ounselled by the SupervisorC Manaer rather

than proressively penali


22/22

found suitable for appointment. &he n$#hares #on#erned! who were non$matri#ulates!

did not apply! as they did not possess the pres#ribed ualifi#ations. &he posts were!

therefore! advertised in the press. &hree outside #andidates applied. -nly one appearedfor the interview and he was not #onsidered suitable for appointment.

&he #ase of the two surplus n$#hares did not #ome within the purview of the rievan#epro#edure in operation in the #ompany! as it involved a #hane in the minimum

ualifi#ations pres#ribed for the post of ;oreman. As! however! they were powerful

members of the Fnion e%e#utive! the Se#retary of the re#oni

Case Studies HR

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