Challenge for HR - National HRD Network
Transcription
Challenge for HR - National HRD Network
| HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 2| Conference Color Photographs | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 3| Conference Color Photographs | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 4| Conference Color Photographs | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 5| 11th National Conference Kolkata played host to the The 11th National Conference of the National HRD Network that was held from November 29 th to December 1st, 2007 at the ITC Sonar. The theme of the Conference was “India’s Century: The Challenge for Indian Business Leadership.” Mr Sar thak Behuria, Chairman, Indian Oil Corporation was the Conference Chairman. 725 delegates attended the Conference including 100 students from various Management Institutes from all over the country. impact that macro economic, political and social-cultural trends would have on shaping the future environment for business. Ms Madhabi Puri-Buch, Executive Director of ICICI Bank, addressed the delegates on “The Challenge of Diversity” and emphasised the need for corporates to look beyond traditional sources of talent supply to build more inclusive and diverse groups of employees. The highlight of the first day’s proceedings was the address by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India. Dr Kalam spoke about his Vision for India, the need for compassionate and creative leaders, the special role that youth has in shaping the destiny of the country and the need to build appropriate management structures and systems for effective execution. He had a special word for the students present at the Conference. Dr Kalam’s session was followed by a module on “The Empolyee of the Future” with Dr (Ms) Sujaya Banerjee, Chief Learning Officer of the Essar Group speaking on “The New Employee Profile” and Mr Pratik Kumar, Executive Vice Preident, Group HR, Wipro Corporation, speaking on “The New Employment Contract.” The Conference kicked off on the morning of November 29th with an impactful audio visual on the theme of the Conference, the recitation of the Code of Professional Conduct of the National HRD Network followed by the Jan Gan Man. The traditional lamp lighting ceremony followed. with the lamp lit by Mr Sarthak Behuria, Chairman Indian Oil and Conference Chairman, Mr Y C Deveshwar, Chairman of ITC, Mr Nandan Nilekani, Co Chairman of Infosys, Mr Aquil Busrai, Executive Director HR of IBM and National President, National HRD Network, Mr Sourav Daspatnaik, Director HR & Strategy of the Apeejay Surrendra Group and President of the Kolkata Chapter of the National HJRD Network, Mr B Santhanam, Chief Executive of St Gobain and Chairman of the HR & IR Sub Committee of the CII and Dr A K Balyan, HR Director ONGC and President of the National Institute of Personnel Management. Day I concluded with the Conference Dinner hosted by Mr Sarthak Behuria. Day 2, November 30 th , began with an address by Mr Debu Bhattachar ya, Managing Director of Hindalco and Vice Chairman of Novelis, who spoke about the “Challenge of Overseas Acquisitions” on the context of the acquisition of Novelis by the Aditya Birla Group earlier this year. He shared his insights and learnings from the acquisition process with the delegates. His session was followed by a Panel Discussion on the Global Survey on Talent Retention conducted by Summit HR, USA. The session was anchored by Mr Ranjan Sinha, CEO of Summit HR USA. He shared the findings of the Research Study and the implications for talent retention arising from this Study. In his address as Chairman of the Conference Mr Sarthak Behuria spoke on “The Role of Industry in National Building”, Mr Y C Deveshwar delivered the Inaugural Address on the theme “Creating a More Secure and Sustainable Future” and Mr Nandan Nilekani as the Key Note Speaker spoke on “Vision 2025” and the rolw that “ideas” will play in shaping the future. The Inaugural Session was followed by a module on “The Emerging Environment for Business” that was moderatedby Mr Govind Ethiraj, Editor in Chief of UTV News. Speakers at this session included Prof Amitav Bose of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, Prof (Ms) Nandini Sundar from the Delhi School of Economics, Mr Baijayant Panda, Member of Parliament and Mr Ramesh Vangal, Chairman of the Katra Group of Companies. This session explored the | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 This session was followed by a very interesting Panel Discussion on “The HR Challenge of Building a World Class Enterprise” brilliantly moderated by Dr Santrupt Misra, Director of the Aditya Birla Corporation. Panelists included Mr G K Agarwal, HR Director of NTPC, Mr Rajeev Dubey, President HR and Corporate Services of Mahindra & Mahindra, Mr Steve 6| Correa, HR Director of Vodafone Essar, Mr Udai Upendra, Managing Director of The HR Company and Mr T V Mohandas Pai, Director HR of Infosys. The Panel explored what world class organizations really are, how they are built and what are the HR challenges that need to be addressed in this process. The afternoon session on day 2 dealt with the Sunrise Sectors of Media and Modern Retail with the delegates addressed by Mr Rajdeep Sardesai, Managing Editor of CNN IBN and Mr Bijou Kurien, President of the Lifestyle Division of Reliance Retail. The opportunities opening up in these sectors, the impact they would have on the business environment and the new challenges arising form the opening of these sectors were discussed. Mr K V Kamath, Managing Director and Chief Executive of ICICI Bank addressed the delegates on the theme “Building a World Class Enterprise” and emphasized the need of focusing not only on human capital but on speed capital and innovation as well. This session was followd by a Panel Discussion on “Entrepreneurship” moderated by Mr Sanjeev Bikhchandani, CEO of Naukri. The other panelists were Mr Sanjeev Agarwal of Helion Ventures, Mr Mohan Reddy of Infotech Enterprises and Mr R Sashikant of Subiksha. What inspired them to take the road less traveled, the unique challenges of building entrepreneurial organizations and the HR role in such organizations were discussed. Day 3 started with an address by Ms Poonam Barua on the “Role of Women in Providing Leadship to Business and Industry in the Future.” This was followed by Mr B Muthuraman, Managing Director of Tata Steel, addressing the delegates on “Building the Indian MNC.” Mr Muthuraman spoke about the experience of the Tata Group in acquiring enterprises across the globe and how important it was to allow the manmagements of these enterprises to continue managing their enterprises within the overall policy and values framework of the Tata Group. Two sessions on the “HR Implications of Mergers and Acquisitions” and the “HR Challenge of Managing Across Borders” followed. These session were addressed by Mr Marcus Banfield, Chief Executive of Typhoo Tea which has recently been acquired by the Apeejay Surrendra Group and Mr Inder Walia, Group HR Director of the Bharti Group who spoke about his learnings whilst managing the HR responsibility at Arcelor Mittal. Prof Peter Cappelli of The Wharton School, who directed the Research Study jointly undertaken by The Wharton School and the National HRD Network, on “The DNA of Business Leadership,” presented the findings of the Study and released the preliminary report of the Study to Mr Aquil Busrai, National President and to Mr Vivek Paranjpe, HR Advisor of Reliance Industries. Reliance Industries had sponsored the Research Study in which over 100 Chief Executives of Indian corporations participated. Dr Pallab Bandyopadhyay, Mr R Vidyasagar and Prof Premrajan of XLRI presented the salient features of CompMode to the delegates. A unique feature of the Conference was the session on social entrepreneurship which aimed to enable delegates learn from the experience of social entrepreneurs working in the non-corporate sector. Speakers included Mr Vishal Talreja of the Dream a Dream Foundation and Gargi Banerjee of Pragya. These sessions were truly exhilarating. The Valedictor y Session brought the curtains down on the National Conference. Mr S K Roongta, Chairman of SAIL delivered the Valedictory Address and Prof Jitendra Singh, Dean and Shaw Professor of the Nanyang Business School, Singapore and Paul Steinberg Professor of Management at Wharton was the Chief Guest. He spoke on “How will we make this India’s Century.” The Eastern Region of the National HRD Network honoured four social entrepereneurs for their unique service to society and for choosing the road less traveled. They were Mr Vishal Talreja of Dream a Dream Foundation, Ms Gargi Banerjee and Mr Sunil Pillai of Pragya and Sr Cyril Mooney of the Rainbox Education Project working with street children in Kolkata. Mr Roongta presented the “Most Promising Chapter Award “ to the Nagpur Chapter and the “Best Chapter Award” to the Delhi Chapter. The curtains came down on the 11th National Conference at 6.30 pm on Saturday, December 1st, 2007. We now look forward to the 12th National Conference to be held in Chennai in 2008. The delegates carried away with them “saplings” as mementoes that they will plant and nurture and as these saplings grow they will serve as a reminder of the Conference and in the process help in a small way in greening our environment. The baton has now been passed on from Kolkata to Chennai. UDAIPUR DECLARATION - November 3, 2007 Second International Dialogue on “Economics of Non-violence: Cultural Values & Ethics” was held at Pragya Shikar, Mahapragya Vihar, Bhuwana, Udaipur, during November 1-3, 2007. The dialogue concluded: 1. The present day Economics emphasises largely materialistic development; in its place, it is necessary to develop a new economic concept which is based on balanced cultural, social, spiritual and material development in society. 2. In order to keep social, political and economic aspects of life free from problems, it is necessary to connect development with the element of "transformation of consciousness” so that greed, selfishness, impertinence, etc. can be curbed and minimized. 3. A new concept of Relative Economics is being developed so that people at large can be benefited by the economic development and ultimately the chasm of disparity between the rich and the poor, between rural and urban areas, between different regions of a country and communities is reduced through a process of inclusive development of all. 4. The "Corporate Social Responsibility” should be borne by big business houses and industrial groups so that none should remain bereft of basic needs. Government should also perform its role of social responsibility. 5. The elements of non-violence, compassion, sensitiveness etc. should be strongly cultivated in the consciousness of people so that violence, cruelty, callousness etc. in human relations and behaviour may be curbed and consequently, a new society infused with amity, cooperation and peace may be constructed. 6. Without controlling tendencies of individual accumulation and consumerism, it would not be possible to curb acts of violence, killings, crimes, terrorism etc.; keeping this in view, the consciousness of non-possessiveness or limitation of wants needs to be developed and the trend of voluntary "visarjana” (sharing with others) needs to be emphasized. Giving & caring for others is a must for building a happy and congenial social order. 7. "Roti" (i.e. bread), Ahimsa, Spirituality and Morality—all these four dimensions are to be considered simultaneously with respect to their development and for that the technique of “Training-inNon-violence” should be administered. The entitlements for the poor should be stressed in this regards, so that their concerns are properly taken care of regarding food, shelter, education, health and other basic needs of life. 8. Making a total change in the system of education, the technique of "emotional control” should be included in curriculum from the very beginning so that inspite of the growth of intellectual and economic competence, it can be put under control through the consciousness of Viveka (prudence) & children start imbibing the noble spirit of truth and non-violence from the early stage in life. 9. To save the individual as well as society from the dreadful consequences of the lopsided material prosperity, giving rise to the internal restlessness, tension, conflict, environmental pollution etc., a paradigm shift in the development requires to be developed so that peace, true happiness, relaxed life and conservation of environment is guaranteed for all human beings. 10. The Relative Economics should be centred round "human being” and not "matter”. 11. Economic rationality needs to be extended to include cultural and ethical rationality. In fact, there should be complete convergence between economics, culture and ethics for building a sustainable society. The necessary details should be worked out in this regard through further surveys and studies by exper ts in their respective fields. Ashok Bapna Convener | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 7| Articles Features Vol - 23 December 2007 Issue - 9 3-7,18-20,57 & 58 ......... 11th National Editor C. Balaji, 506, Sai Siri Sampada, 7-1-29/23 & 24, Leela Nagar, Ameerpet, Hyderabad - 500 016. Email - balaji.chetlur@symphonysv.com 21 ...... Thinking 'Integrated Space' -TQM and HRM Conference 27,32-35 .. Udaipur International Conference Publisher, Printer, Owner and place of Publication with address K. Satyanarayana Hon. Executive Director On behalf of National HRD Network 506, Sai Siri Sampada, 7-1-29/23 & 24, Leela Nagar, Ameerpet, Hyderabad - 500 016. Mobile: 94406-65375 Tel: +91 (40) 2374-2429, Fax: +91 (40) 2375-3191, Res.: +91 (40) 2711-2212 Email: ksnhrd@gmail.com Office Administration V. Mayan Mobile: 094901-18810 e-mail: nhrdhyd@eth.net Organizations 10 ......................... President’s Message 12 ....................................... Editorial 51,53-55 ............... Chapter Photographs 45 ............................. Fascinating Facts 49 ... Resolutions for Managers-Monster Article 52 ................. HR Competency Certification 50, 56 ........................... Chapter News 56 ............................... Cartoon Corner –– M. Sreenivas For Advertising in HRD News Letter Please Contact: K. Satyanarayana Executive Director, National HRD Network Mobile: 94406-65375 Email: ksnhrd@gmail.com Column 14 ....................... Artist and the Audience –– Madan Srinivasan Board Members AQUIL BUSRAI, National President DWARAKANATH P, Immediate Past President ANAND NAYAK, Regional President (East) GOPAL KRISHNA M., Regional President(South) SATISH PRADHAN, Regional President (West) RAO G P, Regional President (North) VARADARAJAN S. (Raja), National Secretary ASHOK REDDY B, National Treasurer SATYANARAYANA K, Executive Director SANTHANAM B, Co-opted Member CASMIRA RAJ FR, Co-Opted Member HARI HARAN IYER, Elected Member PRAVEEN KUMAR K, Elected Member RAMCHANDER M, Elected Member NAGARAJ D R, Nominated Member VERMA K.K. Dr., Ex-officio member 16 ................ Educating Facts and Factoids –– Thothathri Raman Case Study 46 ............... 24 .......... HR Managers & a Green Industry ? –– Capt A Nagaraj Subbarao 26 ... The Fundamentals of Effective Employee Satisfaction Mapping –– Hari Nair, Abhishek Gavane 28 ....... 7 Steps to Implement Balanced Score Card Concept –– A Ajaya Shankar Gupta 36 ............... Facelift To Human Resourcees 9 ................. Chatur Knowledge Networking 11 ................ Suryadatta Group of Institutes 13 .......................................... Crisp 15 ................ Sona Koyo Steering Systems 17 ........ Alphastars Tap New Age Foundation 25 ...................... Globarena Technologies 30,31 .... Asia Pacific Institute of Management 48 ................................. Monster Jobs Proof Reading Araman Shahi Plant Manager, Radiant Consumer Appliances Mobile: 99512-23782 Email:araman.sahi@rediffmail.com 22 ............... Learning and Failure in Human by Jaipur Chapter Advertisements Design Advisor A.Thothathri Raman Consulting Editor, Business India, New Delhi Mobile: 098112-97249 Email: atraman@gmail.com –– P. Vijayan Accounting- Liabilities Approach –– L.Shankari 38 ........... Knowledge Manager and Tools for Excellence –– Dr. Gunmala Suri 39 ............ Defying the Workplace Difficulties: Dealing with Boss –– Mr.L.K.Jena 40 ............ Virtual Teams - Challenge for HR –– B. Sivarama Krishna & Perni Srinivasa Rao 42 ....... Quality Function Deployment (Qfd): An Alternative Context –– Sumathi Annamalai 43 ............... Holistic Assessments - A Three Dimensional View –– G Ravi Kumar 44 ............ Employee Commitment A Way To Bosco, What Is The Solution? Renaissance Management –– R. Dharmarao –– P Gowri Kusuma © copyright of the articles published in HRD Newsletter will be with National HRD Network SUBSCRIPTIONS RATES FOR HRD NEWSLETTER 1 Year Rs. 300/2 Years Rs. 550/3 Years Rs. 800/5 Years Rs. 1,200/10 Years Rs. 2,000/Life Rs. 3,000/Contact: ksnhrd@gmail.com Printed at: Kala Jyothi Process P Ltd. 1-1-60/5, RTC ‘X’ Road Musheerabad, Hyderabad - 500 020. This journal is on our Website: www.nationalhrd.org & www.nhrdn.org ADVERTISEMENT TARIFF Gate Fold – (Color) 35,000/Double Spread (Colour) 25,000/Inside Covers 20,000/Double Spread (B & W) 18,000/Inside Pages Full Page (Colour) 15,000/Full Page (B & W) 10,000/Half Page (B & W) 7,500/For other details Please contact: ksnhrd@gmail.com A/C Payee DD in Favor of “National HRD Network” payable at Hyderabad is to be sent | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 8| Cent ACS/Chatur Colour Add | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 9| President's Message with the values, culture, processes and the core business of each individual organization. While an accounting group might focus on integrity, confidentiality and obligations to its clients, a baby food or toy manufacturer might emphasize safety of its product. Most organisations will, however, define expected behaviour around financial and personal integrity. ETHICS AT WORKPLACE The single most important business imperative A ll seemed to be going well for this 22,000 strong, over $110 bln revenue, blue chip organisation. But then suddenly, everything started crumbling - overnight - Stock price fell to near zero, senior management went behind bars and it seemed that all 'energy' had been sapped out of this once giant organisation. What went wrong ? Simple, top leaders had crossed that thin distinguishing line of ethics. This story has been repeated often and with one certainty - world does not forgive any institution that mistakenly believes of escaping consequences after infringing ethical standards. Maintaining high ethics is becoming a single most important business imperative. Workplace ethics is a set of ideal and principle that an organisation commits to and ensures that all its constituents adhere unfailingly. This then becomes a set of formal or informal standards of conduct that guides behaviour at workplace. These standards are partly based on core values such as honesty, respect, and trust often reinforced or demonstrated by the actions of organizational leaders and co-workers. If embedded strongly into the DNA of the organisation, they can help guide high-performance organizations through the stormiest of ups and downs. While there are certain values that are essential to furthering ethical actions, there is no one magical 'code of conduct' document that applies to all businesses. Ethical guidelines will vary | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:8 10 | An organization culture that encourages employees to raise issues and show courage in confronting unethical or illegal practices without fear of personal consequences builds faith in its uprightness and prevents any suspicious activities from going unnoticed. Progressive organisations provide a forum to employees to safely report violation of law or organisation norms. Given many names like "Speak up", "Whistle Blowing" etc they uniformly ensure confidentiality. Some organisations also appoint independent, external ombudsman. Organizations that maintain strong ethical practices invariably attract higher degree of employee loyalty, tending to attract better talent and have higher retention record. A study by Hudson Institute found that 55 percent of employees who describe their workplace environment as ethical are more likely to stay with the same organization for a longer period. Ethical failures are rooted in leadership failure. Leading to lack of a corporate culture in which ethical concerns have not been given due importance or, worst still, where these have been compromised for some immediate business gains. Most often under the mistaken belief, that these infringements will be covered up and will not be unearthed. A standard of ethical behaviour has to be set and displayed at the top most level in the organisations. Employees are perceptible enough to distinguish stated ethical aims and those actually practiced by the organisation leaders. How these leaders 'walk-the-talk' decides how much adherence to ethical standards gets permeated in the organisation. Corporate leaders have a professional obligation to build and foster a valuesbased culture that nurtures high ethical standards. Only by instilling these values, will they be able to ensure long term sustainability of the organisation. Thus it is by their own conduct that they demonstrate the extent of their commitment. In Indian scenario, some large and reputed organisations have had close brush with ethical violations. In most cases where these organisations have been exposed the negative impact has been immediate and lasting. Though in a few cases, unfortunately, by their mega growth some organisations have even managed to gain legitimacy and obliterate their past reputation. Increasing number of companies, in the last decade, have adopted and enforced codes of ethics and on-going educational programs to help combat ethical breaches. Clearly employees have an inherent desire to work in a clean work environment and if they are made aware of the organisations commitment and also the processes of escalation they would rather resort to compliance than turn away from reporting an infringement. Educating the workforce therefore is critical, if a culture of high ethical standard is to be evolved. Organizations known for non ethical practices not only find themselves in legal entangle sinking millions of funds, but also face challenges in recruitments, employee productivity and loyalty. Ethics matter in business because all internal and external stakeholders stand to gain when individuals, organizations and employees seek to do what is right. A clean image attracts both customers and investors. Though it does not appear on the balance sheet, good corporate ethics are huge assets to any organization. Conduct of senior management and direct supervisors, coupled with positive reinforcement for ethical behaviour, are major factors for promoting ethical standard amongst the workforce. Zero tolerance policy towards infringement further reinforces the seriousness of intent. At the end of the day, it all boils down to sincere intent. If the intent is really to be ethical, people will sense it. Even value it. - Aquil Busrai Suryadatta Colour Add | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 11 | Editorial I have a couple of points to write about in this editorial. Firstly, the number of ar ticles that we receive for publication appears to have reduced. I am told that one possible reason for this is the 'stringent' criteria we apply not to accept articles that do not seem to be original. Now, there is nothing 'stringent' about this! We simply cannot accept materials that are possibly plagiarized! I have no doubt at all that there are so many people who have thoughts and practices of theirs to share about. I am re-appealing to such people to kindly share these with the fellow professionals. The HRD Newsletter was started as an organ of the National HRD Network, whose purpose is to learn from each other. And the Newsletter is a platform for that. The second point that I wish to touch upon is based on written material that I came across in the recent past materials about the role of conversations in organizational change, many of which can be found in www.laurieford.com. I want to refer to the paper titled "Resistance and the background conversations of change" co-authored by Jeffrey Ford, Laurie Ford and Randall Mc Namara (Journal of Organisational Change Management, Vol 15, No 2, 2002, pp. 105-121.). In this paper, the authors take a post-modernst, constructivist perspective and consider that there is no singular, objective reality of phenomena, but is "interpreted, constructed, or enacted through social interactions'. Proceeding from this premise, the authors consider that resistance to change is to be found in the constructed social reality: there is a conversation in the social system that is at the 'background' of change efforts. Attempts at change that ignore to alter this background conversation are not likely to succeed. The authors identified three such resistance-to-change backgrounds: complacent, resigned and cynical. These three are created and sustained by three different sets of conversations. The authors propose 'reinvention' as a way of dealing with these background conversations: reinvention "is not about changing what is, but undoing what is and creating something new." Readers who are interested to delve deeper into this matter will benefit hugely from going through this paper, and others the website I had mentioned above. - C. Balaji Best Chapter Award 2006-07 - Delhi Chapter The Delhi Chapter of NHRDN established during 1985-86 has been attaining a multi-fold growth in size, contribution to the profession and service to members. During the period 2006-07, the membership of the Chapter has grown considerably including the growth of Life membership to 1500 plus, which is commendable. Besides organizing regular monthly/special meets with outstanding speakers, the Chapter has organized a number of special events during the year. The Chapter successfully organized the 10th National Conference which became the biggest conference in terms of revenue and profits in the history of NHRDN. The Chapter has shown innovation in the way they have organized a couple of very interactive sessions : 'HR in action' which is organized on the lines of a Town Hall where any participant in the event is free to share his/her thoughts on HR with the rest of the group. Recently, the chapter has launched its mega web project (web 2.0) with some unprecedented and path breaking work. Chapter also hosted board meets and contributed significantly to the national activities etc. The Delhi Chapter has created a benchmark by holding regular Annual General Body Meetings and leadership renewal. AGM immediately after close of accounts, duly audited in record time. Their annual secretary report is a masterpiece and exemplary work of corporate governance. The Chapter has a clear succession plan with young talent contributing and taking charge. The Code of Conduct is consistently institutionalized and has been making highest funds contribution to the Head Quarter. The Chapter has been making contribution beyond to the non-profit organizations. Delhi chapter has also been supporting the National and Regional level activities of NHRDN. In recognition of the outstanding achievements made during 2006-07, the National HRD Network takes pride in conferring the Best Chapter Award 2006-07 on the Delhi Chapter. Most Promising Chapter Award 2006-07 - Nagpur Chapter Nagpur Chapter of NHRDN has been attaining a multi-fold growth in size, contribution to the profession & service to members. During the period 2006-07, the membership of Chapter has grown considerably including the growth of Life Membership to 68, which is commendable in smaller non-metros. Besides maintaining a continuous momentum in organizing the regular meetings, the Chapter has organized 2 special events in this year. Nagpur Chapter has also been the frontrunner for the share of membership made to the Headquarters. In recognition to the noteworthy achievements made during 2006-07 amongst the non-metro Chapters, the National HRD Network takes pride in conferring the Most Promising Chapter Award 2006-07 on the Nagpur Chapter. | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 12 | Crisp Color Add | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 13 | The Artist and the Audience n lum o C – Madan Srinivasan I nsight happens by serendipity and sometimes in the unlikeliest of places. This time, the setting was the International Children's Festival recently hosted by Delhi. Held every year for the past seven years, the festival brings together students of the Ryan group of schools from various countries to promote cultural exchange and understanding. As we walked into National Bal Bhavan, the sight of groups of students and teachers of different nationalities conversing and laughing with one another fascinated us. The feeling continued as we trooped into the auditorium for the cultural show. That evening, students from two countries Estonia and Slovania were putting up performances. The Trio of Piglets from Estonia was a delightful play of three piglets played by blonde girls in the age group of 8 - 12 supported by a quartet of musicians. The simplicity of the script and the spontaneous exuberance of the girls as they pranced about on stage and shouted their names in quick succession (Neff Neff, Niff Niff and Nuff Nuff) had the audience in splits and endeared them in a matter of moments. At the end, the audience roared in applause. A choreography item, Mikroorganisms from Slovania used the ballet dance form to render an artistic interpretation of the beginning of life in the universe. Starting on a slow tempo, the late-teen boys and girls started crossing each other in long and staccato strides in studied indifference. As the music stepped up, they writhed and convulsed to a crescendo that would have demanded a high level of raw physical strength, stamina and flexibility. The spectators went through a multitude of emotions ranging from awe and shock to confusion and admiration before settling for a big round of clapping. "Which performance was better?" Maybe it is a wrong question to ask because both performances were creative in their own way and done with loads of passion and energy. The piglets scored on their use of humor and simplicity; the organisms on their extremely well choreographed moves and haunting music score. Let's reframe the question "Which performance did the audience like better?" If one had asked this particular audience a group largely comprised of children and teens - to make a choice, my surmise would have been Advantage Piglets. At the internal level, the artist and the audience are drawn together by the internal customer-vendor relationship. Of the several types that exist, we'll explore one that's close to our hearts - the HR professional as the artist and the employees as the audience. In the artistic world, there will always be the creative license to interpret a theme or topic in a completely whacky manner. What's of essence is the artist-audience relationship. If the artist is fickle, the interplay between these two is even more so. One can safely venture that for an artist to be 'successful' (let's put it 'commercially successful'), he/ she needs to know the audience well. How else can one explain how an artist recently received Rs. 6 lakhs for a painting on a 2.5'X2' canvas that bore a striking resemblance to red blobs on a yellow sky? For the HR professional to be successful as an artist, she needs to firstly understand the needs, desires and aspirations of the audience. She needs to do market segmentation of her audience because the workforce in today's organization is heterogeneous - blue collar, white collar, knowledge worker, managers and leaders and no ONE size can fit them all. This is done through a process of exploration and discovery - two-way dialog, employee connect, pulse surveys - just like the artist uses his keen sense of observation of nature and the world around him to get ideas for his art. Is there an artist-audience relationship in the corporate world too - at our workplace where performance and results count, not merely creative ideas; where consistency and stability is valued more than eccentricity? One can say that this relationship exists in a slightly different form and at two levels - external and internal. The consolidated insights serve as the muse that inspires the HR professional to create a set of programs and initiatives that offer a relevant value proposition to the employees, just as the artist translates his imaginative and creative intent into a repertoire of work - painting, sculpture, prose and poems, etc. In the former, the ar tist is the savvy marketing professional and the audience is the target consumer. The marketer knows that his offering - product or service - is not always markedly differentiated from competition in today's business environment, hence he applies his 4 P's of Marketing to 'paint' an attractive value proposition that appeals to the mind and heart of the consumer and get deeply entrenched into her mind space. He also tries to influence repeat behavior through loyalty programs etc. The marketer is granted the creative license to the extent that his ar t (marketing communications, ads) brings revenue or profits. Thus, it is not creativity for its own sake; the art of marketing is to bring in the moolah. Haven't we heard the debate on what truly constitutes real good advertising/ copywriting and what does not? Opinion may be divided on whether winning a prestigious award can classify an ad as effective, but the final say belongs to the audience - the consumer. Madan Srinivasan is based at Gurgaon. He can be reached at: Madan_sri@yahoo.com | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 14 | The impact of the HR offerings depends largely on how well they have been received by the employees and would be measured by metrics like higher retention, greater employee satisfaction and engagement, improved performance, etc, but the greatest satisfaction that a HR person will experience is when her audience loves the HR program or initiative. The inherent nature of the HR professionalemployees relationship may not be fickle in the sense of the artist-audience pairing; but it definitely comes under a lot of scrutiny in today's job market, where the talent pool both prospective and those inside - are continuously assessing their current organization's offerings with respect to their own needs & aspirations and those in other organizations. This is where the HR person - the Artist comes in and creates and sustains a compelling proposition that fires the imagination of its audience. Whether it is the savvy marketer or the empathetic HR person, they are out to woo their audience! Hurrah for the artist and the audience! H u Sona Steering Colour Add | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 15 | Educating Facts and Factoids n lum o C – Thothathri Raman I ndia on the fast lane, "India is the next super power" "India is no pushover" …..a lot is being said and written about India. Everyone from TiE-the US based powerful NRI club-to our very own NHRDN has been mounting national and international debate to discuss on what it means to be in India now, a happening country….. Well there are facts and there are factoids according to Jug Suraya, the inimitable columnist with a sharp wit. He wrote in Times of India the other day that by repeating endlessly what is not a fact one could create an impression that it is so. India may be all that and more but let us not get mixed up about the context and timeline and end up exhausting all the accolades before time and be left with only expletives for a job not done. If one only could look at the pathetic state of preparedness of the all important human resource to make the magic of India Inc happen, one could easily see what is fact and what is not . The Indian Labour Report 2007 says that "about 90 % of employment opportunities require vocational skills, but 90 % of our college and higher education output has only bookish knowledge". A similar study conducted by Infosys, the IT major, concludes that close to 30 % of the candidates they interviewed were not employable. Coming from an employer of repute who almost exclusively recruit computer specialists or qualified engineers or MBAs, this is quite a telling comment on the state of affairs. The software association Nasscom holds a similar view about the quality of the passouts from our higher education institutions about their employability quotient. Being unemployed is no curse as there is still hope of landing a job, but to be "unemployable" a curse worse than that of the devil's own. The institutions and the system that has created these can offer no excuse for continuing with this sort of affair any more. But who is in a hurry to change things on the ground? None and ironically by the factoids that are being trotted out of India being a world beater much ahead of times, one is only adding to the laxity and worse, complicity to continuing with the inevitable. Not that the employers who are fighting with each other to offer tantalizing packages in our business school campuses are not aware of the ability of our "blue-eyed MBAs" performing in live work situations. But it is equally an open secret that blue eyed are few and increasingly rare and what is being offered in the campus today may be justified in some cases but in most it could be construed as wage inflation necessitated by lack of supply, a dangerous situation to be in where you not only end up with a substandard talent but also pay more than what you would want to pay for it. Quantity and quality The much touted Goldman Sachs study of Brazil, Russia, India and China (identified as BRIC countries) is being quoted by the factoid hunters tirelessly to say that India can very well emerge as the third largest economy in the world in 2040 and the largest economy in 2050. India has the potential to grow the fastest among the four BRIC countries over the next 30 to 50 years Such a massive growth however require a comprehensive development and planning strategy that would primarily aim at providing an appropriate talent pool and leadership talent in the country which can only happen through the education process. As a result higher education has become a focus of attention in the country. According to the Indian HRD ministry 30 new central universities would be created in the 11th plan period which is about to commence, of which 16 are to be set up in areas which don't have a central university. The rest 14 are to be model universities of world class infrastructure., each of these 16 universities would cost around Rs 1,000 crores a piece. There are plans for seven IIMs, 10 National Institute of Technology, five Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research, 20 IIITs and two schools of architecture. There will also be 330 new colleges in educationally backward districts. Well, the numbers are impressive enough, never mind that it will not add up to much as together these institutions will not add more than 20 per cent additional capacity of seats. The National Knowledge Commission headed by a die-hard dreamer, Sam Pitroda has recommended the establishment of 1500 new universities to bring at least 15 per cent of school pass outs to get a graduate degree. The numbers are fine and by repeating these in time and again one could even create a factoid that India will have met the magic numbers needed to fuel the manpower needs of the industry. But fact is, such massive outturn in university education would require a lot more nerve than what we have at present. A steely resolve is needed to pull out all stops to put together a higher education system which not only could fund itself on a massive scale using government, private and international sources, but also spruce the bottomline quality so that the curse of unemployable graduates will be ended once and for all. This would require a drastic rethink and greater participation by professionals in the education process than what we see at present. Time to mount a national action plan on what we can do to create capacity with quality than waste time waxing eloquent on factoids. Join me in sending in your opinion as to how professionals could establish institutions and companies to provide quality education. Write to atr124@yahoo.com A.Thothathri Raman, Consulting Editor Business India magazine. E-mail: atraman@gmail.com | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 16 | H u Alfastar Colour Add | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 17 | SESSION WISE SUMMARY OF 11TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF NHRD NETWORK AT KOLKATA 29TH NOV 1ST DECEMBER 07. Report by : Sourav Das Patnaik Kolkata played host to the The 11th National Conference of the National HRD Network that was held from November 29th to December 1st, 2007 at the ITC Sonar. The theme of the Conference was “India’s Century: The Challenge for Indian Business Leadership.” Mr. Sarthak Behuria, Chairman, Indian Oil Corporation was the Conference Chairman. 725 delegates attended the Conference including 100 students from various Management Institutes from all over the country. The Conference kicked off on the morning of November 29th with an impactful audio visual on the theme of the Conference, the recitation of the Code of Professional Conduct of the National HRD Network followed by the Jan Gan Man. The traditional lamp lighting ceremony followed with the lamp lit by Mr. Sarthak Behuria, Chairman Indian Oil and Conference Chairman, Mr. Y C Deveshwar, Chairman of ITC, Mr. Nandan Nilekani, Co Chairman of Infosys, Mr. Aquil Busrai, Executive Director HR of IBM and National President, National HRD Network, Mr. Sourav Daspatnaik, Director HR & Strategy of the Apeejay Surrendra Group and President of the Kolkata Chapter of the National HJRD Network, Mr B Santhanam, Chief Executive of St Gobain and Chairman of the HR & IR Sub Committee of the CII and Dr A K Balyan, HR Director ONGC and President of the National Institute of Personnel Management. DAY -1 Highlights of Speech INAUGRAL SESSION Speaker "The Role of Industry in Nation Building" - India at 60 years, If one looks back at the last 60 years it has been a difficult journey with major developments and progress made in self reliance in agriculture and industry and at the same time there remains great challenges ahead. The issues of inclusive growth, rural as well as urban infrastructure, lagging of agriculture sector, low efficiencies in farm and non-farm sector, simplification of labour laws. He pointed out that manufacturing sector would be the core sector if India has to achieve a double-digit growth. Mr. Sarthak Behuria-Chairman Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Chairman of the Conference. Mr. Y. C. Deveshwar, Chairman, ITC Limited, Chief Guest Delivered the Inaugural Address on the theme "Creating a More Secure and Sustainable Future". In his speech he highlighted the HRD role to develop ignited and brilliant mind. He also highlighted the need to build and augment the National and Social capital of the country. In his speech he highlighted the need of sustainable growth, the issue of urban and rural employment and raising of the power of income. He highlighted India has 6,40,000 villages out of which 60% has got over 1000 people, 35% having 1000 to 5000 people and 0.75% villages have over 1000 people. He highlighted the fact that there is a large population of landless labourers, which needs to be suitably employed, and productivity issues are addressed. The low productivity and farming sector is cause of concern and hence the living condition and standard of rural people need to be enhanced. He also highlighted the need of CSR integrated with business module like ITC e chaupal /chaupal sagar as well as CSR initiatives which are de-linked to business. He felt the need of Government's initiatives for CSR_____. Mr. Nandan Nilekani, Co-Chairman, Infosys The Key Note Speaker spoke on "Vision 2025 and highlighted the ideas which will play the role in shaping the future of the country. In his speech he spoke about the four ideas: -1. Ideas which become main stream 2.Ideas in execution. 3. Ideas, which are debated and implied. 4. Ideas of future.He spoke about the population burden vs. human capital akin to liability vs. asset. India is yet to reap the benefits from its demographic profile and felt rapid urbanization in India as well as technology, which can make difference to our life. He emphasized the issue of Opportunity vs. Rights, Higher Education, need for creation of jobs. He felt that idea is to think about the Indian context with clear solution are required for the following areas 1. Environment 2. High growth with low carbon 3. Health 4. Cost of Social Security Mr. Aquil Busrai, Executive Director, Human Resources, IBM India He welcomed all the delegates and pointed out the people power as great differentiators within the corporate and country at large. He also highlighted HRD has come up as a business partner but needs to ensure that quality of talent and ability to use the talent as catalyst in transformation process. Mr. Sourav Daspatnaik, Director, HRD & Strategy, Apeejay Surrendra Group He welcomed all the dignitaries and the audience at the dais to the 11th National Conference held at Kolkata. He highlighted it is a unique time in the country's history whereby growth rate has rapidly increased and at the same time grappling with basic issues. He felt HRD has played a pivotal role in achieving goal and ensure all citizens live in social and economic dignity. Post Lunch Session Module-1 The Emerging Business Environment Panel Discussion with Moderator: Mr. Govind EthirajPanelists: Mr. Baijaynta Jay Panda, Mr. Ramesh Vangal, Prof (Ms) Nandini Sundar, Prof Amitava Bose. A module followed the Inaugural Session on "The Emerging Environment for Business" that was moderated by Mr. Govind Ethiraj, Editor in Chief of UTV News. This session explored the impact that macro economic, political and social-cultural trends would have on shaping the future environment for business. Ms. Madhabi Puri Buch, Executive Director, ICICI Bank She addressed the delegates on "The Challenge of Diversity" and emphasized the need for corporates to look beyond traditional sources of talent supply to build more inclusive and diverse groups of employees. | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 18 | Special Address Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, former President of India The highlight of the first day's proceedings was the address by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India. Dr Kalam spoke about his Vision for India, the need for compassionate and creative leaders, the special role that youth has in shaping the destiny of the country and the need to build appropriate management structures and systems for effective execution. He had a special word for the students present at the Conference Module-2 The Employee of the Future Dr Kalam's session was followed by a module on "The Employee of the Future" with Dr (Ms) Sujaya Banerjee, Chief Learning Officer of the Essar Group speaking on "The New Employee Profile" and Mr Pratik Kumar, Executive Vice President, Group HR, Wipro Corporation, speaking on "The New Employment Contract." Day 1 concluded with a dinner hosted by Mr. Sarthak Behuria, Chairman, India Oil Day 2 Module-3 Mr. Debu Bhattacharya, Managing Director, Hindalco and Vice Chairman, Novelis He spoke about the "Challenge of Overseas Acquisitions" on the context of the acquisition of Novelis by the Aditya Birla Group earlier this year. He shared his insights and learning's from the acquisition process with the delegates. Panel Discussions on Global Survey on Talent Retention conducted by Summit HR- Ranjan Sinha, Summit HR, USA Mr. Ranjan Sinha, CEO of Summit HR USA, anchored the session. He shared the findings of the Research Study and the implications for talent retention arising from this Study. This session was followed by a very interesting Panel Discussion on "The HR Challenge of Building a World Class Enterprise" brilliantly moderated by Dr Santrupt Misra, Director of the Adyta Burlap Corporation. Panelists included Mr. G K Agarwal, Executive Director(HRD) of NTPC, Mr. Rajeev Dubey, President, HR and Corporate Services of Mahindra & Mahindra, Mr Steve Correa, HR Director of Vodafone Essar, Mr Udai Upendra, Managing Director of The HR Company and Mr T V Mohandas Pai, Director HR of Infosys. The Panel explored what world class organizations really are, how they are built and what are the HR challenges that need to be addressed in this process. The Audience was enthralled with the quality of discussions and was fully involved from start to finish. Post Lunch Session Module-4: The New world of Retail and MediaMr. Rajdeep Sardesai, Managing Director, CNN IBN andMr. Bijou Kurien, President, Lifestyle Division, Reliance Retail Next Session Mr K V Kamath, Managing Director and Chief Executive of ICICI Bank Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai spoke of the Media and the need for the media to be responsive as well as responsible. He highlighted thru his experiences the trends and how Indian Media has come of age. He sounded a word of caution for the media to maintain standards and purity. Mr. Bijou Kurien spoke on the Sunrise Sectors Modern Retail The opportunities opening up in this sector, the impact they would have on the business environment and the new challenges arising form the opening of these sectors were discussed. He addressed the delegates on the theme "Building a World Class Enterprise" and emphasized the need of focusing not only on human capital but on speed capital and innovation as well. Mr. Kamath highlighted that HRD was a unique capital in the sense that it can draw infinite competitive advantage with proper leveraging of right opportunities. Module-5: EntrepreneurshipThis session was followed by a Panel Discussion on "Entrepreneurship" moderated by Mr. Sanjeev Bikhchandani, CEO of Naukri. The other panelists were Mr. Sanjeev Agarwal of Helion Ventures, Mr. Mohan Reddy of Infotech Enterprises and Mr. R Sashikant of Subiksha. What inspired them to take the road less traveled; the unique challenges of building entrepreneurial organizations and the HR role in such organizations were discussed. Day 2 session concluded by a grand Dinner by NHRD Network for all delegates and speakers Day 3 Ms. Poonam Barua She spoke on the "Role of Women in providing Leadership to Business and Industry in the future" Next Session Module 6: Building the Indian MNC Mr. B Muthuraman, Managing Director, Tata Steel He addressed the delegates on "Building the Indian MNC." Mr. Muthuraman spoke about the experience of the Tata Group in acquiring enterprises across the globe and how important it was to allow the managements of these enterprises to continue managing their enterprises within the overall policy and values framework of the Tata Group. Two sessions on the "HR Implications of Mergers and Acquisitions" and the "HR Challenge of Managing Across Borders" followed. These session were addressed by Mr. Marcus Banfield, Chief Executive of Typhoo Tea which has recently been acquired by the Apeejay Surrendra Group and Mr. Inder Walia, Group HR Director of the Bharti Group who spoke about his learnings whilst managing the HR responsibility at Arcelor Mittal. Module-7: The DNA of Indian Business Leadership.Prof Peter Cappelli, Wharton School Spoke on "The DNA of Business Leadership," presented the findings of the Study and released the preliminary report of the Study to Mr. Aquil Busrai, National President and to Mr Vivek Paranjpe, HR Advisor of Reliance Industries. Reliance Industries had sponsored the Research Study in which over 100 Chief Executives of Indian corporations participated. Next session was presented by Dr Pallab Bandyopadhyay, Mr R Vidyasagar and Prof Premrajan of XLRI presented the salient features of CompMode to the delegates. | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 19 | Module 8: Leadership Learning from the Non Corporate SectorMr. Vishal Talreja, Dream Foundation and Ms. Gargi Banerjee, Pragya Spoke on social entrepreneurship, which aimed to enable delegates, learn from the experience of social entrepreneurs working in the non-corporate sector. Delegated enjoyed this session very much. The Valedictory Session brought the curtains down on the National Conference. Mr S K Roongta, Chairman of SAIL delivered the Valedictory Address. In his speech Mr. Roongta highlighted the need for equitable growth, need for social harmony and need for corporates to embrace more responsibility. He highlighted that there exists large disparity in the Indian context. Failure to do so would result in social unrest and disharmony. Prof Jitendra Singh, Dean and Shaw Professor of the Nanyang Business School, Singapore and Paul Steinberg Professor of Management at Wharton was the Chief Guest. He spoke on "How will we make this India's Century." He kept the audience highly involved with his comparisons of China and India from past to present. The Eastern Region of the National HRD Network honoured four social entrepreneurs for their unique service to society and for choosing the road less traveled. l Mr. Vishal Talreja of Dream a Dream Foundation, l Ms Gargi Banerjee and Mr Sunil Pillai of Pragya and l Sister Cyril Mooney of the Rainbox Education Project working with street children in Kolkata. Mr. Roongta presented the "Most Promising Chapter Award " to the Nagpur Chapter and the "Best Chapter Award" to the Delhi Chapter. The student Volunteers were presented with certificates and felicitated by Mr. Aquil Busrai, National President, NHRD Network and Mr. Sourav Daspatnaik, President, Kolkata Chapter. The curtains came down on the 11th National Conference at 6.30 pm on Saturday, December 1st, 2007. We now look forward to the 12th National Conference to be held in Chennai in 2008. The delegates carried away with them "saplings" as mementoes that they will plant and nurture and as these saplings grow they will serve as a reminder of the Conference and in the process help in a small way in greening our environment. The baton has now been passed on from Kolkata to Chennai. We look forward to all Members and delegates at Chennai. 11th National HRD Network Concluded with cocktails and Music. Carried from Page 21 Thinking 'Integrated Space' TQM and HRM fits all approach to reward and recognition is antitheses to the TQM philosophy of understanding customer needs and wantssegment wise- and the current movement in the world is to delivering mass customization with an elevating and unique experience .How many of us HR professionals are able to deliver 'employee experiences', mass customize our responses to employee needs and yet keep employee costs under control? No more do we have the luxury of anchors like 'either', 'neither', 'or ' . It is the age of AND. Let us shift gears and move to the emphasis placed by a company/ organization in ensuring that it has a robust pipeline of interesting and useful products/ services to meet customer needs of today, tomorrow and the day after. In fact, many companies are mandating that a certain percentage of their revenue should be generated from launched products/ services in recent years eg 3M(obviously this focus will differ based on the | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 20 | Technology,Market and customer t life cycles). When one looks at the products and services, we HR professionals offer, the story is starkly different. We prefer to hold on to dated policies and practices and tend to come up with new policies, which are actually patches stuck on old polices. New policies and programmes happen only when the assumptions behind existing ones are questioned. For example, how relevant is a Pension benefit to the largely emerging Gen Y workforce of today and tomorrow? How relevant is the process of continuing to give long service awards of watches/suitcases to employees? We seem to be frozen in a time warp, and the line leaders are also wary of breaking from the past.. Lastly, how many of us are aware of the TQM concept of fool proofing or in the Japanese language called Pokayoke. The principle is that , even an uniniated customer, should not make a major mistake while using a product/service. The earliest example of this is the visual control of a ' King " and a " Queen" on the doors of comfort rooms in hotels, airports etc. This is a brilliant example of how to design error proof. In a similar vein, how many of us take the pains of designing forms, policies, systems, that are well thought through for all major eventualities and would result in minimal come backs from the customers of the same. We lose a lot of good will from our internal customers because we have not idiot proofed new initiatives/supplemental ones. In conclusion, TQM constructs, philosophies, techniques, systems offer tremendous inspirational points for HR professionals to retool ourselves and the attitudes/belief systems of the leaders of those organizations, we are associated with. TQM emphasizes the 'whole', 'total' ,'whole system'and hence represents the best view of the need to lead a Total Quality Life , in simultaneity with being a Total Quality led HR professional. H u Thinking 'Integrated Space' -TQM and HRM – P. Vijayan M ost often, TQM is rarely seen as an important and integral element of an organisation's Human Resource Strategy, policies, thought processes. Most often, TQM is on the agenda of Manufacturing, Operations, and Supply Chain and at times, finds its rightful place, along side Business Excellence. HR professionals tend to possess very little appreciation of this important body of knowledge and, hence, are not at the table, regarding their organisation's Quality Strategy and integrating with the People strategies and approaches. My experiences, over time, has confirmedtime and again- that breakthroughs in thinking, frameworks and in the end superior performance of a process, system, company, industry, country happens when two disciplines meet each other creating new and unique ' space". As an eg, Employer Branding is an important example of the coalescing of Brand Management, Communications and HR. Another example is the inter disciplinary breakthrough of IT and Medicine, where many many years back, Medical transcription became an India advantage- much before the 'formal outsourcing wave' became aware to most of us. I intend exploring the space where TQM interacts with HR process/system/practice and would like to share what new possibilities could emerge. I would be exploring a couple of linkages of a TQM process/principle/philosophy with a HR process/system/practice. This by no means is exhaustive but should inspire you, the readers, to deep dive and explore more insights for common good of TQM and HR professionals. Let us kick off the exploration with Talent Attraction, a major challenge for India Inc and even the world. What does TQM postulate on a parallel process like Customer acquisition? Isn't customer acquisition and potential employee acquisition fundamentally representing the same'process' and could learn from each other? Do we, HR professionals in the recruitment and selection vertical, understand potential employee characteristics, availability pools, substitutable skills etc, as well as the organization and the Marketing/Sales professionals understand the end customer/ intermediate customers? How much research do we do to test the effectiveness of our talent acquisition strategies- in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and reinforcing the employer brand? Is our potential employee search focused on the right segments of availability? Do we know, globally, the demand supply flows of skillscurrent and likely into near future? While Product Development and Marketing professionals use advanced TQM based like Quality Focus Deployment, Taguchi experiments etc, why are HR professionals not giving more care to understanding the potential employer better- in terms of psychographic profiles, motivation to work and rewards etc? Are we in sync with changing demographics and the values of the emerging work force? Let us look at the selection process a bit more closely. Most of us, HR professionals, tend to give search assignments and we are psychologically happier when the search firm generates quantity- a number of CV's. We believe that gives us the widest choice and hence would lead to a better shortlist for initiating the testing processes. This most often is not true at all. When you study the TQM principles, it is clear that more is not necessarily good. That is why TQM treats inventory, excess production, warehouses as waste. Inventory hides inefficiencies in the supply chain in terms of demand forecasting, placing timely, the right orders with vendors and the latter's capability to deliver right numbers of first time right quality. Infact, Vendor Performance Improvement programmes almost always are accompanied with dramatic reduction in inventories, warehouses and even the ratio of vendors to components. Then, why are HR professionals, and even Line Managers, insisting on number of cv's? Why do we not transfer accountability to the search partner to do the funneling in from many to a few and we spend more time on the few candidates??? Seems elementary, however not experienced in practice. TQM has at its corner stone, the satisfaction of the customer. Whatever is done in an organization- big or small- has to result in customer satisfaction/delight, leading to loyalty which in turn leads to the organization succeeding more, vis a vis other stakeholders. In the same vein, very few organizations have the courage to measure employee satisfaction and even fewer who are ready to see employee satisfaction as one of the most important indicators of organisational success, alongside customer and financial success. Many companies conduct employee satisfaction studies but the action planning of the outcomes are weak and sporadic. There is a tendency of many organization's to believe that employee satisfaction improvement is the baby of the HRD department while on the other hand, the entire organization -rightfully so- is involved in enhancing satisfaction of the external customer. How can not so satisfied employees continue to add value towards enhancing customer satisfaction? Staying with employee satisfaction, I have observed that there is a gap between what the senior leaders of a company wants/feels is necessar y to improve employee satisfaction and the 'real' need of the employee. There is still the tendency for thinking on ' we exactly know what the employees want and what we should give/ not give." For egg, if the employee satisfaction scores around reward and recognition are low, the typical responses would be from the following set of diagnostics- market benchmarking tells us that we are paying one of the highest and/ or employees will never be happy with whatever salary and benefits that we offer etc. The 'real' voice may not be around quantum of reward but around the process, criteria, 'employee experiencies' in terms of his/her voices are being factored into Policy and programmes. The point I am trying to make is that we, HR professionals tend to over simplify when not appropriate and complicate when not needed. The one size Contd.. On page 20 P. Vijayan, he can be reached at E-mail: latika_vijayan@yahoo.com and vijayan.p@mahindra.com | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 21 | Learning and Failure in Human Organizations – M. Sreenivas Introduction: It looks at the role of learning in organizational behavior in terms of response to identified problems viewed from the perspective of action research. If normal action entails making decisions, obstacles stopping decision makers provide a learning opportunity. The reflection that results from identifying a problem facilitates the learning. Different learning strategies invoke the difference between simple and complex feedback systems with implications at the personal, as well as, organizational levels. Development of new systems therefore requires consideration of how, and where, learning is likely to take place so that adaptation in the light of problems becomes possible. Learning in Action: The continuous accumulation of knowledge and skills is conducted through the process of learning; a relatively permanent change in attitudes and behavior that results from practice. Action researchers focus on the results of action, which is viewed as decisions and learning. Ø Learning is the process of detecting and correcting error, where error is any feature of knowledge or knowing, that makes action ineffective. It is crucial to theories of action. Ø Dealing with errors results in learning, as action implies a problem with previous perceptions. Ø Learning is the act of repunctuating continuous experience. Ø Understanding of learning is fundamentally associated with detection, diagnosis and correction of errors. Ø Learning often star ts with the experience of an event or stimulus, which the individual reflects upon in trying to make sense of it. Ø Reflection enables practitioners to deal with troublesome divergent situations of practice that do not conform to normal expectations and procedures. Ø Learning takes place when a mistake or mismatch is acknowledged, its producers are identified, and it is corrected. Ø It was better to do the right thing wrong than the wrong thing right as the former led to learning while the latter simply reinforced an error. Ø Detection and correction of errors equates with learning and provides the core activity of any organization or system. Individuals engaged in that activity in an organizational capacity, become agents of organizational action and learning. l Maximize winning and minimize losing l Utilize defensive norms in order to minimize negative feelings Emphasize intellectual rationality and objectivity and minimize emotions. The value of single-loop feedback is in the immediate response that enables the system to maintain unadjusted performance levels and optimize their performance in the short-term through progression and Control the present towards an optimized (and fixed) goal. Computing technology is particularly amenable to implementing single-loop simplification, which aims to offer a satisfying alternative to radical change. Learning is limited to satisfying and the replication of previous successes and trends as control parameters. A double-loop procedure enables an organization to question the underlying goals, objectives and policies (Figure 1). Learning is dynamic and recognizes the need to alter performance norms rather than purely focus on maximizing them. It enables utilization of new ideas, exploitation of emerging opportunities and reflection about past performance. It enables the evaluation of organizational assumptions in order to improve capabilities. The values focus on: Helping to produce valid information as basis for action Making free and informed choices Combining commitment with constant monitoring of the implementation and preparedness to change. l Ø Comparing Learning Strategies Organizations do not produce the behavior that leads to learning as this is done by individuals acting as agents of the organization. Surprise or unfulfilled expectations lead to interruption of ongoing activities as part of the need to find an explanation. The move from error detection to error correction entails learning, as the sources of error must be discovered prior to action. Ø Ø Ø When the process allows an organization to maintain its current policies, the organization employs a basic, thermostatlike single-loop learning procedure. l Ø Single-loop feedback is essential for focusing on operational effectiveness, norms and performance issues. l Ø Simple learning becomes concentrated on the adjustment of parameters to correct performance without examining the assumptions and theories that underlie performance deviations. l Ø The approach relies on the assumption of rationality as the model strives for the most satisfactory solution. l Ø The four basic values shared by people operating in the mode are to: m l Achieve their purposes through controlling the environment Stimulus from Environment Governing Variables Actions m m Consequences Single Loop Feedback Double Loop Feedback Figure 1: Interpretation of Double-Loop Feedback and Learning M. Sreenivas, Assistant Professor, Alluri Institute of Management Sciences, Hunter Road, Hanamkonda - 506001. E-mail: allurimaster@gmail.com. | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 22 | Outputs to Environment Acceptance of the inevitability of change leads to realization that goals are not stable and strategies need to be continuously invented, shaped and modified. The key emphasis is on responsiveness. Monitoring environmental feedback contributes to the determination of the need to redefine rules and norms in order to cope with change and bring about adaptation and self-organization that are critical to the survival of any open system. This facilitates a bi-directional exploration capable of spotting opportunities, and actively monitoring the gap between dynamic objectives and a fast altering present. Such true learning occurs not when a problem is identified or a solution proposed, but when the solution is implemented and performs against the standard. It requires the active interaction of problem, solution and expected results ¾ a far greater challenge for developers. Selection: Many organizations apply single-loop learning procedures by focusing on the status quo and correcting serious deviations. Application of double-loop learning under these conditions will only occur as a result of: Ø An external crisis in the environment Ø A revolution from within; or, an internal crisis precipitated by management. The delay in establishing organizational response frames in response to crisis situation serves to escalate the crisis. Even following prolonged success is likely to give rise to the 'stuck ness problem', where success leads to failure as organizations get trapped by the patterns that created success in the past. Management is faced with multiple problems they need to address which enable them to ignore and suppress certain dilemmas. But, at some point when the system becomes better established, ignored problems will catch up with participants. Implications for Computer Systems: Ø Computers typically rely on single-loop feedback. Ø Computational techniques may be used to supplant human decision makers when the contextual system is relatively closed. Ø Relatively closed systems are good at ignoring the impact of the numerous environmental factors and avoiding the focus on human involvement within the system. Ø Potential inabilities of humans to disaggregate situations into components and to analyze them place severe limitations on the application of computational techniques to open systems. l Open systems, such as complex ambulance dispatch systems or air traffic control systems, with their inherent imperfections and unknown factors, need to rely on more judgmental approaches and hence the process cannot be programmed explicitly. Ø Rule based analytical approaches cannot deal as an experienced operator with the small minority of difficult cases - i.e. the exact situations that are likely to generate reflection in humans. Such approaches wrongly reduce the influence of the operator. Ø Over reliance on technology often results in ignoring the need for doubleloop learning and the ability to intervene. Ø Design, in systems involving reflection and experience, should come from the individual people outwards. l Human ability and limitations need to be understood and designed into the system as part of the learning process. l This offers the opportunity to work to the strengths of current resources, using the enabling technology to magnify these assets while taking care not to magnify the limitations so as to cripple the system. Ø Information Technology must be seen as part of the whole and adjusted to. Ø With very little time for feedback, learning, and correcting, the arrangement of information needs to be accompanied by training and experience in dealing with feedback and recovering from disaster. Ø As safety critical, mission critical and security critical systems become more common; reflection and learning considerations are likely to become more important. Ø The following implications should therefore be addressed whenever new systems are designed: l The Need for learning arises from the requirement to adjust knowledge in light of observed deviations. This should be built into systems to allow for double feedback loops. l The process that is utilized in building new systems should likewise allow for learning to take place prior to implementation so that users and operators are not forced to conduct all the learning in 'real-time' while working on the new system. l Learning often comes down to whether the willingness to learn and to dedicate resources to addressing a mismatch exists. l From an economic perspective, it makes sense to facilitate learning early on and to allocate resources to the task to reduce the need for 'emergency learning' imposing a new working environment is likely to lead to a variety of adjustment problems. l Involvement can alleviate some of the tensions while providing an early opportunity to experience some of the implications. Ø Organizational ability to learn results from individual learning. Ø Operators and users need training in how to reflect and learn effectively (rather than encouraged to hide and disconfirm and conform). Ø The culture and perceived openness of an organization dictate the type of defensive routines those are likely to be adopted. Ø To facilitate learning, an organizational attitude that is more open towards mismatches and challenges is required. Ø Reflection is the key to learning in practice. The ability to reflect is a key skill that may enable professionals to deal with challenges and improve. H u K. Satyanarayana, Executive Director NHRD Network addresses Managers of Essar, Vizag on the topic "Are you an effective Manager?" on 3rd December 2007. | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 23 | HR Managers & a Green Industry ? – Capt A Nagaraj Subbarao T hat we are destroying our delicate eco system is a truth that cannot be refuted. Only the most callous would ignore the fact that our consumption patterns have gone so far overboard that the ecological system that we dwell in and to a larger extent the earth as such cannot sustain our greed anymore. a socially and environmentally responsible way. The world over, arable land is being destroyed, forests are being denuded and animals driven to extinction. A few likely scenarios would be: There has been a volatile and long-standing debate about whether it is a corporation's duty to become more sustainable and socially responsible beyond complying with the law, or whether its sole duty is to legally maximize profit, no matter the long-term societal cost. Ultimately, the assessment drives home the point that there is little choice: either corporations become more sustainable and responsible, or the quality of life on Earth-and corporations' bottom lines-will inevitably decline. Ecosystem deterioration will intensify many of the risks and costs of doing business: it will make key resources and ecosystem services, such as fresh water and climate regulation, less available; it will heighten regulatory oversight; it will alter customer and investor preferences; and it will jeopardize the availability of capital and insurance. While the business sector must become more responsible and lead the drive to make society sustainable, without the right incentives and pressures, corporations will not do this quickly enough. Consumers, citizens, and employees must support corporate leaders who step up to the challenge, and punish those who do not. Such basic actions as deciding which bank to have a savings account in, which shoes to buy, which companies to work for, and which political efforts and candidates to support will help reshape the market. But to succeed, these incremental efforts will need to be supported by aggressive actions by NGOs, policymakers, and savvy business leaders-actions that will make all corporations recognize that their long-term financial success depends not just on pursuing the bottom line, but on doing so in How can the HR Manager contribute? Though most green industries have environmental engineers, it would be the task of the HR Manager, to facilitate, the process. l Every ton of recycled paper saves 380 gallons of oil. Think Quest, 2006 Paper and its use is one area where we can make a definite difference. Try and create a paperless office by reducing memo's and files. Use technology and archive files in a soft format. If paper has to be used use recycled paper, though in the short term, it would affect your bottom line. l Every 20 minutes, the world adds another 3,500 human lives but loses one or more entire species of animal or plant life-- at least 27,000 species per year. Overpopulation.org, 2006 Counsel employee's against having large families. Create incentives for people with only one child. l We are consuming the ear th's resources 20% faster than they can be sustained. Scripps Howard News Service, 2006 Cut the number of vehicles that your company uses. Plan better and use pool cars, to save on fuel. It could significantly add to your bottom line as well, by saving on resources. Discourage employees traveling large distances to work. l The energy saved by recycling one, aluminum can, will operate a TV set for 3 hours. ThinkQuest, 2006 Think and use recycled items. Basic things like waste bins and paper can be made of recycled board or paper. l 1/70th of a teaspoon of mercury can contaminate 20 acres of a lake, making the fish unfit to eat. Computer TakeBack, 18 Aug 2005 What industry, in most areas, does not do today is to segregate garbage. Garbage disposal is a key to pollution and can be easily done with a little discipline. It would also show clearly, as to what kind of garbage is being generated and then probably suggest a mechanism to cut this down. l If everyone in the world consumed like the average U.S. citizen, we would need at least four more planet Earths. Purchasing Power: World Watch Paper 166 Remember that in many areas our earth is non renewable, if we continue to consume at the frenetic pace that we do today. Despite our individual purchasing power and increased aspirations remember that this is a world that belongs to our future as well and we need to preserve it for our children. One area where different resources are used widely is in the field of training and development. On occasions a mass of people are moved great distances to impart training to them, utilizing resources like transport and accommodation and the logistics of moving such a mass of people. This can be dealt with by the HR Manager by using web based training, where the training material can be delivered to the trainee, at his/her door step. The idea is not simplistic but can be looked at very seriously. This is an area in India, which HR has not focused on. HR could play a major role in facilitating a greener industry and work with design and environmental engineer's in deploying technology where consumption of resources is reduced and the production process is a closed loop, where generated waste is recycled. H Capt.A.Nagaraj Subbarao is Chief Officer, Vanoord India, Bangalore and E-Maila; cap.nagaraj@gmail.com | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 24 | u Globarena Add | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 25 | The Fundamentals of Effective Employee Satisfaction Mapping – Hari Nair, Abhishek Gavane T elecom, IT, ITES / BPO, FMCG, finance, automotive, pharma, retail, heavy machinery, petroleum and now even the most prestigious power sector, irrespective of the industry domain you and your employer belong to, Millennium India is facing the highest employee turnover ever in the history of machine revolution. Employees are geared up to join any industry whether they have the related exposure in the past or not. The 30-35% score for ITES and Telecom, 15-20% for automotive and 5-10% now for oil and power sectors, the attrition has snatched away the sleep out of the eyes of HR managers and CEOs. So, what next? Of course the HR heads and the plant managers need to take a call before they end up with all their top talent drained away by their next door competitor. Employees are getting sensitive and thinskinned day by day. The trigger for the decision of hopping is as basic it could ever be. Tick off your subordinate even in an obvious tone; and be ready for a job posting to be done the very next day. The condition is even worse with the young generation. They start looking for a change on bad odour in the washroom or get irate on the security guard at the main gate who asked for frisking! Yet it's factual. We have in our organisation recorded roughly 12% of left employees quoting frisking as a factor during their exit interviews. Now how to get into the gravity of "What Employees Want"? There are three different ways that we follow at Sona: 1. EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION SURVEYS: A proactive traditional method to map the satisfaction of employees on predetermined parameters mentioned in the survey sheet. At Sona the survey sheets are revised every year with fresh parameters based on the proposals from employees. The sampling process is based on the Control Grouping with Randomized Block Design of the non-conventional human characteristics. To know more and get into the process specifications, you may get in touch with the authors. 2. STAY INTERVIEWS: Yet again a proactive tool, but vir tually a nonconventional one. SI rises above the fundamental weakness of the ESS, the responses being on limited parameters. SI is an open one-to-one conversation with the new employees, ideally in the range of 18 to 36 months of service at Sona. The voice is captured on blank sheet, later used for Language Processing to identify the parameters. 3. EXIT INTERVIEWS: Exits are the reactive tool that comes into action after the employee has put in his papers. The longestablished means to get into the insights of why employees are parting. Although Exits turn out to be a major malfunction when employees wish to save their goodwill with the employer and articulate fancy words in praise of the company, thus hiding out the real cause of their detachment. Dedicated and faithful employees are the most significant factor in becoming an employer of choice, but it's no bolt from the blue that companies and organizations face significant challenges in mapping the levels of energy and engagement in their workforces. Factors such as a booming SENSEX of Indian economy is thus creating an environment where proficient employees who are discontented in their present situations can easily find a new place to "hang their hats." In fact in a study done by our 2007-08 internship batch students illustrate that only 21% of Indian employees feel fully committed to their employers and only 12% of them agree that their employers are wholly committed to them. It's not at all surprising; still, the level of commitment amid employees and employers is directly linked to the level of satisfaction at a place where they are spending more than half of their lives. The human psychology specialists lit a spark of hope to the HR Managers. It is vitally impor tant to make out that all employees normally give signals or hints, those which need to be captured at the precise time. This means that attrition can be predicted through survey measurement. This gives employers an imperative window of opportunity to foresee and address talent loss within specific departments so as to change the environment that is causing employees to leave. When two people get into a relation, let's say the marriage, trust and consideration of the needs and opinions of each other are being considered as prime traits that keep the commitment strong. At work, these qualities can be even more important than the value of monetary compensation and rewards - in fact, emotional rewards can actually have a larger impact than monetary rewards on overall employee satisfaction. You need to actually trace this satisfaction level. Employee Satisfaction Surveys provide clear data picture for problem solving. If the ES Surveys are effectively monitored, they can actually identify critical problem areas and can help to devise the most optimal path to solutions. This information provides a road map and priority list for dealing with problems in all areas. However the priority in which problems are solved is not always decided by the ones employees feel worst about. Yet, ranking the issues puts some reason into the system of designing a PDCA plan for attacking employee problems. Also, the ES survey results provide a snapshot of employee attitude. Starting from this point the company can later identify, in an objective and scientific way, whether the company is making growth or slipping back. While monitoring a survey is not the only method of providing this benchmark, the information gained provides a background with which to interpret other essential data such as attrition information. The following are few benefits of an Employee Satisfaction mapping process: 1. Employee's standpoint: Organizations attain a truthful sight of current policies and a more obvious perspective of issues that are of top priority to employees than others, such as welfare measures, career development, and compensation benefits. 2. Increased Employee Loyalty: By quantifying and analyzing employee attitudes and opinions, enterprises can identify problem areas and solutions to create a supportive work environment encouraging a motivated and loyal workforce. 3. Training Needs Assessment: Employee Satisfaction Surveys aid in developing individual goals and career potential. With more insight into their opinions and attitudes, management can establish professional development initiatives. 4. Improved Customer Service: Because motivated employees are critical to improved organizational initiatives, such as increasing customer satisfaction, enterprises that value and strive for greater employee satisfaction ultimately create higher customer satisfaction. To conclude, wide-ranging Employee Satisfaction processes can be keys to a more motivated and loyal workforce leading to increased customer satisfaction and overall profitability of an enterprise. H u Mr. Hari Nair, is Asst. VP - H R at Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd, Gurgaon e-mail-hari.nair@sonagroup.com or hari.nair69@gmail.com Mr. Abhishek Gavane, is Senior Executive - HR Strategy, Gurgaon, e-mail abhishek.gavane@sonagroup.com or abhishekgavane@gmail.com | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 26 | PR OLOGUE PROLOGUE relationship between Economics and Jain thinking, based on non-violence, nonpossessiveness, peace and prosperity for all. In a world plagued by failures and frustrations on several fronts such as Economics, Politics, Governance, Judiciary, Corporate Social Responsibility, etc., it was felt that an International Dialogue should be organized to elicit the views of eminent thinkers and experts so that a better world may be created in due course of time in which there may be greater emphasis on peace, culture and ethical values. Such Second International Dialogue was held at Udaipur on November 1-3, 2007 under the kind patronage of Acharya Shri Mahapragyaji, who has given innovative ideas on the Background The first dialogue on “Economics of Nonviolence and the Vision of a Sustainable World” was organized at New Delhi on December 5-7, 2005 under the auspices of Acharya Mahapragya and one session of the conference was addressed by the then President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at Rashtrapati Bhavan on December 6, 2007. In the conference, scholars from various parts of the world put their heads together to develop a new and deep insight into the problems of rampant violence and poverty and devise practical and workable solutions in order to establish a sustainable world order. The Second International Dialogue which was held at Mahapragya Vihar, Bhuwana, Udaipur from November 1-3, 2007 was in continuation of the first one and touched upon the various issues related to ethics, culture and non-violence in the context of an alternative model of economics which has been designated as ‘Relative Economics’ by Acharya Shri Mahapragya. Before the organisation of the Second International Dialogue, a curtain-raiser symposium was held on October 12, 2007 at IILM Academy of Higher Learning, Jaipur with Dr. Ashok Bapna, Director, IILM in the chair, where Prof. V.S. Vyas, In the vast gathering attended by people from home and abroad, particularly, from USA, UK, Canada, Sri Lanka, Singapore, etc., there was free and frank exchange of views, on the theme of conference, and there was unanimity on one fundamental issue – that is the ‘Eradication of Violence and Corruption’ should be the top-priority of all nations, and for this an alternative model of development should be devised, adopted and implemented vigorously in this new age of turbulence and torture prevailing in different parts of the world. Acharya Shri Mahapragyaji pleaded for the view that Modern Economics should change its emphasis from Absolute Economics to Relative Economics so that the disparities and divides between the rich and the poor, between the urban and the rural, between different regions of a country, between backward and forward communities, between males and females, between Shri L.N. Nathuramka, Dr. S.L. Gandhi, Prof. Dayanand Bhargava, Shri S.R. Bhandari and Dr. Vivek Bhandari expressed their views on ‘Economics of Non-violence: Cultural Values and Ethics’. There was a consensus among scholars both at the curtain raiser symposium and later at the conference at Udaipur that humanity is at crossroads today. With enormous achievements in the domains of knowledge, politics, diplomacy, economics, culture, science and technology, human beings are surrounded by the threats and problems of terrorism, insecurity in their lives, deep frustrations and lurking fears of even ultimate destruction of mankind in case the nuclear arsenal falls in the hands of unscrupulous extremists and hard-headed fundamentalists, who do not respect ‘swadharma’ or ‘adhyatma’ or ‘selfrealization’ at all. There is a growing feeling amongst the right thinking persons today that something is gravely missing in the lives of all human beings today. That sole missing factor is ignorance about ethical norms, ethical conduct, ethical behaviour and ethical principles. Ethics can be regarded as the first step towards the path of ‘spirituality’. One need not go into deep philosophical precepts to understand the ground realities literate and illiterate people and in several other possible forms, are reduced, and finally removed altogether. Yuvacharya Mahasharman gave a novel idea, related with non-violence, when he suggested that non-violence should enter not only in the domain of Economics, but should become an essential part of politics, governance, judiciary, and even war, etc. so that finally there is a total transformation of human society, but for this work, extensive and intensive studies and surveys would be needed to give a concrete shape to this new world order. It was agreed that an International Centre for Studies in Nonviolence, Peace, Ethics and Culture should undertake this onerous task of social reconstruction for the future, based on Jain Philosophy, and more such international dialogues should explore in depth, the feasibility of such vital changes for the betterment of mankind and lasting peace in the world. Ashok Bapna Convener and rules of basic moral values and moral behaviour, because normally everybody, men & women, old & young, literate & illiterate, rich & poor, rural and urban, can understand ‘what is right and what is wrong’, ‘what is just and what is unjust’, what is dharma and what is adharma’ on the basis of the prevailing good social conduct and behaviour and his/her philosophical and religious beliefs. Today, we find that modern globalised world has given rise to more problems than it has solved. The society is always in a state of fundamental disequilibrium due to the pursuit of self-interest by some groups in society. The time is now ripe to introduce ethical norms in resolving problems in various fields, more particularly, in the economic domain, which affects directly and profusely lives of the teeming millions of the people across the world. Ethics propels and promotes economic activity and economic activity reactivates and refines ethical modules & models. Therefore, convergence and confluence of Ethics and Economics alone can save humanity from impending disaster in human affairs. That is the message of Jain thinking, which has, of course, been shared by other religious as well. | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 27 | 7 Steps to Implement Balanced Score Card Concept A Ajaya Shankar Gupta BSC Concept: The Balanced Score Card is a multidimensional framework that gives top managers a fast but comprehensive view of the business. The BSC allows CEO's to look at the business from four important perspectives: 1. Financial Perspective- To satisfy shareholders, what financial objectives must we accomplish.? 2. Customer Perspective-To achieve Financial objectives, what customer needs must we serve? General mission statement on customer service to be translated into specific measures that reflect the factors that really matter to customers, like lead time measures, quality measures, performance and service measures etc. 3. Internal Process Perspective- To satisfy shareholders and customers in which internal processes must we excel? The internal measures for BSC should stem from business processes that have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction like process capability, cycle time, quality, productivity, cost, etc. 4. Learning and Growth Perspective- To achieve our goals, how must our organisation learn and innovate? Intense global competition requires that companies make continual improvements to their existing products, processes and have the ability to introduce entirely new products with expanded capabilities. Though the concept initially was talking about 4 perspectives stated above, the organisations started having 5th / 6th perspective depending on their focus/ strategy. Some companies have taken Safety, Corporate Social Responsibilty etc. as fifth perspective. Implementation: Step 1: Training and getting executive commitment: For the successful implementation of any Concept the minimum requirement is the Clear Understanding of the Concept and Top Management Commitment & Drive. If there is no proper understanding of the concept, it is implemented in wrong way and also it sends wrong signals. Many companies by modifying their PMS to cover Financial and Non Financial Measures claim that they have implemented BSC. People should understand that BSC is much above PMS and PMS is by product of BSC implementation or you can say BSC Methodology can be used to develop PMS. A Core Group consisting of Senior Executives from all Departments/ Functions to be formed with MD as Chairman and Strategy Officer/ TQM Head as Project Manager(full time initially for 1 year).This Team has to prepare the detailed plan. Step 2: Strategy Map Finalisation There is fixed structure to present Financial information/ Balance Sheet, but there is no such structure to present Strategy. This concept has provided a structure to present the strategy in one page as a Strategy Map. What ever Methodology Company adopts to develop Strategy, but it has to validate it by putting them into BSC perspectives and establish Cause and Effect relation among these Strategies. In this process company has to identify new strategies (The author has conducted more than 25 workshops on BSC in which more than 100 teams formulated strategy by doing SWOT analysis and taking into account the different Stakeholders requirements etc, but every team had to identify few more strategies and drop few strategies to Balance it and Prepare Strategy Map) Step 3: MDs Balanced Score Card Preparation The Strategies are mostly stated in the words/statements and the meaning/ intent of the strategy are not translated into operational language. Different Executives/ Employees interpret it in their own way, which may lead to miss alignment. Hence the Strategy has to be translated into operational language as Strategic Measures/ Key Performance Measures. These SMs/KPMs should become the parameters in CEOs BSC. For each SM/ KPM the organisation has to identify the Targets, Comparisons/Benchmark and the process owner. To achieve the targets the organisation has to identify the initiatives. Step 4: SBU and Deptl. BSC preparation For the successful implementation of Strategy, every SBU /Department has to align their Strategies/ Processes in line with corporate BSC. Step 5: Individual preparation Score Cards Once the Departmental BSCs' are prepared the Individual Score Cards (ISCs) of executives/officers in each department are to be prepared in line with individuals responsibilities/activities. Step 6: Gap Analysis and Stretching Targets The targets in BSCs/Individual Score Cards are to be fixed in a logical/ systematic manner. Many times it is a GOLY process (Growth Over Last Year - Production Target at 5% higher than last year/ Cost Target 2 % reduction over last year etc.). The author suggests for GAP Analysis process to stretch the targets. In this process one has to analyse different gaps like Gap Over Standard, Gap Over Internal Best Performance, Gap over Benchmark, Gap over Customer requirement etc and stretch the target around these gaps. Step 7: Review Process The effectiveness/ real benefit of BSC is achieved through efficient review process. The review process helps in fine tuning the SMs/KPMs and initiating corrective actions/ new initiatives. The author rates the BSCs/ ISCs quality at 40% to 50% in first go and the quality will improve to 60% after 3/ 4 reviews and finally to 80% at the end of the annual review. The daily, monthly and Quarterly review systems are to be integrated with BSCs/ISCs. Organisations can use BSC Softwares deveoped in line with BSC methodology. A.Ajaya Shankar Gupta is a freelance consultant based at Hyderabad. E-mail: ajaygupta@ainapur.com or ajay2521960@rediffmail.com | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 28 | A Sample BSC of a HR Department in Mines: MD's Measure BSC Perspective Strategy Financial Perspective Improve profitability ROCE Customer Perspective Increase Turnover Total Turnover Increase Exports Total Exports Increase Customer Customer Satisfaction Satisfaction Index Improve Quality Avg. Alumina Compliance content in Ore HR Departmental Measure UOM Target Bench- New HR Initiative mark Profit per employee Rs/ Emp/ Yr XX X1X1 Savings through Improvement Projects Rs Lakhs YY Y1Y1 Turnover per employee Rs/ Emp/ Yr ZZ Z1Z1 Internal Customer Satisfaction Index % 80% 90% Special Training to Sampling Team Mandays/ Emp./Yr 3 NA Availability of Skilled Manpower in QC Dept. % 95% 100% Starting Quality Improvement Projects Oversize in Despatches Internal Processes Perspective Improve Process Capability Variance in Alumina level Variance in Undersize level Enhance Overall Equipment Efficiency OEE of Plant Availability of Skilled Manpower in Operation & Maintenance Dept. % 95% 100% Reduce the Production Cost Avg. Cost of Production Wage Cost as Percentage of Turnover % C C1 Men on Roll No of Persons M NA Compliance to Statutory Training % Employee Satisfaction Index % 70 75 Employees Recognised under different Rewards and Recognition Schemes % Employee Grievances Nos Implementation of JDC Meeting Points % Executives Covered in Competency Mapping Executives Covered in Competency Mapping Training on TPM Implementation of VRS Inventory Value Learning and Growth Perspective Improve safety standards Accident Frequency Rate Implement CRM Number of Customer Meets Organised Improve Employee Satisfaction Employee Satisfaction Index Enhance employee skills andDevelop multi-skilled employees Increase Employees Participation in Continuous Improvement Revise the Rewards Scheme 0 0 % 70 100 Employees Job rotation % 5 10 Training Provided Training Provided Mandays/ Emp./Yr 6 8 Employees Involved in Improvement Initiatives Training Effectiveness Index % Employees Involved in Improvement Initiatives % 40 80 Quality Circles Active Nos 25 120 Quality Improvement Projects Nos 15 45 Implementation of Competency Maping Implementing Kirpatrix Model Level3 Methodology H u | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 29 | Centre Spread National HR Sumit 2008 | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 30 | Centre Spread National HR Sumit 2008 | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 31 | Second International Dialogue on “Economics of Non-violence: Cultural Values & Ethics” November 1-3, 2007, Udaipur, Rajasthan (India) R E P O RT A three-day International Dialogue on “Economics of Non-violence: Cultural Values & Ethics” was organized by IILM Academy of Higher Learning, Jaipur in collaboration with ICCR, SID, NHRD Network and Acharya Mahapragya Chaturmas Vyastha Samiti at Mahapragya Vihar, Bhuwana, Udaipur from November 1-3, 2007. The following is the summary report of the conference. The Second International Dialogue on “Economics of Non-violence: Cultural Values & Ethics” was inaugurated on November 1, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. at Mahapragya Vihar by Shri S.K. Singh, Governor of Rajasthan in the presence of Acharya Shri Mahapragya and Yuvacharya Mahasharman and participants and guests from India and abroad. Going into the rootcause of the issue of violence, Shri Singh said that the system of production and distribution of wealth has evolved over the centuries and its original purpose was to produce good human beings and sufficient agricultural wealth. Though the scenario has changed in the present times even now we can enrich our economy by providing good education and ensuring good health. The more love and Ahimsa and joy there is in the family unit, and respect for women in society, the more economically productive that society is likely to be. Calm contemplation and calmer non-violence calculation and the teachings of Mahavira, Budha and Gandhi are very relevant today. We need to pay heed to the message given by Gandhi about the philosophy of truth and non-violence, or nondamage and non-hurt, and therefore, nonmurder and non-hatred. That alone is the recipe for fruitful productivity, which creates joy and not merely greed in the fractioning of societies. Dr. Singh emphasized that economics is not an end in itself, but a means for building peace and a base on which may be developed a more satisfying life for peoples and individuals. Speaking on the occasion Acharya Shri Mahapragya said that just as violence and possessiveness go together, similarly, nonviolence and non-possessiveness are concomitant, the non-possessiveness being the cause and the non-violence its outcome. Acharya Shri said that present-day economics too is centered more around the prosperity of an individual rather than that | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 32 | of the society. He advocated that the principle that ‘the minimum basic needs of the entire society should be fulfilled first’ can serve as a great fundamental principle of economic system. He said we can conceive the idea of ‘relativistic economics’ or the ‘relativistic system of economics’ in which there would be scope for growth of business and industry, but at the same time the system for providing everyone the primary needs of life. Only then can we prevent the reactionary violence that erupts due to the dearth of bread for all human beings. Prof. Muni Mahendra Kumar said that nonviolence and economics may seem to be incongruous at the surface, but without the association of non-violence, cultural values and ethics with economics, we cannot have a sustainable and hunger-free society. He said Acharya Shri Mahapragyaji’s Ahmisa Yatra is a constructive step in this direction and is bringing about change in the consciousness of the people. In the beginning, while welcoming the guests and introducing the subject Prof. Ashok Bapna, Convener of the conference, said that the presence of several international delegates in the conference was an evidence of the concerns of the world society about the prevalent violence and the need for non-violent economic growth. The keynote speaker Prof. L.N. Nathuramka said that to ameliorate the situation the four basic principles of Jain philosophy can form the basis of an alternative system of economics. These principles are: 1. Man to be at the center, 2. Preservation of Environment, 3. Decentralization and, 4. Self Restraint. These principles with inclusive growth will eliminate violence automatically. On this occasion, Dr. Ponna Wignaraja from Sri Lanka, Sister B.K. Jayanti from London and Prof. Michaela Hynie from Canada also expressed their views. Dr. Wignaraja said that cultural values applicable to conflict resolution / transformation in a multicultural, multireligious and multi-ethnic societies show that political and economic democracy must go head in hand. Prof. Michaela Hynie discussed the different cultural concepts of peace from the perspective of psychology. Sister Jayanti said while money is absolutely essential, it is heartening to note that corporations all over the world are becoming aware of their social responsibility. She emphasized the need for environmental protection. She said spirituality was the answer to all our problems. Prof. Marcia Rioux from Canada pointed out that the influence of economic globalization in the subordination of social justice; equality, basic rights and human dignity to the narrow constraints of economics are quite evident in the modern societies. During the open discussion that followed a large number of pertinent questions were asked and a lively interaction was generated. Prof. Udai Pareek, Prof. Dayanand Bhargava, Prof. Ezra Zubrow, Dr. Arun Chaturvedi, Manish Tiwari and several other scholars par ticipated in the discussion. Summing up the discussion, Dr. Ved Prakash, Consultant, IILM said that we need to bring about a quick shift in our economic system, policy and perception and think in terms of happiness for all human beings. The International Dialogue on the “Economics of Non-Violence: Cultural Values and Ethics”, continued on the second day in the Prangan of Acharya Shri Mahapragya, Vihar, Udaipur. The first session of the day was on Cultural Values, Ethics and Peace which began with the blessings of H.H. Acharya Mahapragya. He expressed the need for intellectual and spiritual consciousness for human and related economic development. He suggested that Non-Violence is an effective medicine for deadly prevailing disease of consumerism. Dr. Ashok Bapna, Chaiman of ICENS and Director of IILM Academy of Higher Learning, Jaipur, presented the theme of the conference and welcomed the guests. He told that values identify our deeds and acts. He stressed on the fact that values are required to become good human beings. Prof. A. K Sinha of IILM Academy of Higher Learning introduced the speakers of the session. Prof. Dayanand Bhargava said that giving and sharing and caring are the whole essence of qualitative life. He reiterated what was said by Acharya Shri Mahapragya that “Man Can Change” and become a better human being. Mr. N.K. Singhi of Indian Economic Service, while speaking on the theme, said that there is a need for incorporating religion in economic development and the principles of Jainism of non-possessiveness and compassion should be included in the concept of economic development. He also stated that there is a need for research as to why Jains are more developed economically. One factor that he identified was their adherence to Mahavira’s principles of Jain Culture. A copy of the translation of the book written by H.H. Acharya Mahapragya, titled “Philosophical Foundation of Jainism” was presented by Prof. M.P. Lele. Prof. Lele also narrated the basic contents of Jain Philosophy highlighting the virtues of Ahimsa, Anekant and Aparigraha. Prof. Prem Suman Jain also presented a book “ Bhagwati Aradhna” to Acharya Shri. In the end of this session, H.H. Acharya Mahapragya gave his blessings by giving the eight fundamentals of Non-violence, Peace and Relative Economics. He said that there is a need for training in Non-Violence, mere intellectual deliberation would not be enough to provide the solution. In the next session, Prof. Ashish Bose, an eminent demographer and Advisor to the Prime Minister wished for more participation of political leaders in such conferences so that issues concerning development provide practical solutions. Sister B.K. Jayanti, in her key presentation, told that there is a need for value education in schools. For this, they have started a project named “Touch the Light”. She also emphasized the need of Holistic Development and for that they have started “Sampurna Gram Vikas Project” with the objective of imparting education and all round development. Professor Michaela Hynie, York University, Canada, stressed on the need for research in the domain of peace. She talked about peace in terms of never-ending and multidimensional aspect starting from within and flowing outside. She gave a definition of peace in terms of Non-Violence, absence of war or conflict, central positive values and inner harmony. Professor Ezra Zubrow, renowned Anthropologist from USA, spoke about two views of cultural values, one as an individual or as private right and the other as a group or community right. He also said that in many countries ethnic groups dominate the cultural heritage of their regions, which becomes the major cause of conflict. Prof. Arun Chaturvedi, while speaking on the theme of the session expressed that the position and place of peace studies in Indian Universities are ignored to a great extent. He said that there is a need for peace studies for greater development and peace action should become an essential part of education. He stressed that Non-violence and peace will start by inculcating emotions and feeling of understanding in society. The theme of the next session was “Corporate social responsibility and Ethics – Dialogue with Acharya Mahapragyaji”. While speaking on the theme, Mr. Anupam Martin, from Singapore, spoke about ethical consumerism, decentralized economy, sustainable growth and explained the concepts with examples. He defined success, not only as attaining power and money, but also as happiness, appreciation by the critics and the ability to appreciate beauty. Prof. Ezra Zubrow, from USA, explained the principle of Equity, and suggested that companies should understand the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and not as Corporate Social Charity. This was followed by an interactive open discussion on the theme. Summing up the discussion, Dr. Ved Prakash, Consultant, IILM Academy of Higher Learning said cultural values and ethics can act as a bridge for materialism and spiritualism. The vote of thanks was presented by Dr. Y.S. Kothari. After this, Dr. G.L. Jain conducted a session on Preksha meditation. In the slide show, he explained the steps of meditation and the advantages of practising it. It was followed by a 30-minute practical session. In the end, a short film produced by IILM Academy, Jaipur entitled “Towards a Nonviolent Model of Development” was shown. The programme was coordinated by Mr. Sudhir Upadhyay and Mr. Rustam Bora, Faculty, IILM Academy and was compered by Sunil Devjani and Amoli Mehrotra, students of IILM Academy, Jaipur. The International Dialogue on the “Economics of Non-Violence: Cultural Values and Ethics”, concluded on its third day in the Prangan of Acharya Shri Mahapragya Vihar, Udaipur. The first session of the day began with a Business session chaired by Prof. Muni Mahendra Kumarji. The session began with a Presentation on “Poverty Reduction and its impact on Non-violence” by Mr. B.Raj Bhandari from Geneva. He defined poverty not only in economic terms but also in terms of Non economic factors like denial of services like health, education, infrastructure and medical facilities etc. While throwing light on world poverty reduction he said that only certain counties like China have succeeded in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). He also tried to relate poverty reduction with economic development. On speaking in the context of India he said in absolute terms, pover ty has been reduced but the distribution of people below poverty line in different states is not proper. He also related poverty with globalization which has resulted in increasing our needs and also resulted in increasing violence in society. He said that globalization has not increased poverty, but it has increased inequality in income distribution. He also wished that the conference would make substantial contribution towards reduction in violence. The session was followed by open discussion by the panelists. On this occasion, a ten point Udaipur declaration was proposed based on new Non-violent economic concept on balanced spiritual and material development, new concept of relative economics, corporate social responsibility, change in education system including Spritualism, Morality, development & society, emotional control for saving the society from conflicts, tensions, protection of environmental pollution. The detailed ten points, which were proposed, are enclosed with the report. In the valedictory session, Prof. Ashish Bose, an eminent demographer and Advisor to the Prime Minister, said that the conference has helped the students of IILM Academy of Higher Learning, Jaipur in becoming value added managers. He identified two problems that are present in the world as Fundamentalism and Corruption. The solution to these problems lies in Non-violent economics as a new model of economics. The chief guest of the valedictory session, Mr. Gulab Chand Kataria, Home Minister, Government of Rajasthan, said that in India Ahimsa is in our culture. He identified the root cause of violence in our society as growing disparity between the rich and the poor. The solution to the problem is that those who are rich should spend a part of their income in reducing poverty. The conference was formally concluded with the blessings of Acharya Mahapragya. He expressed the need for practicing spiritualism in our life. He said that one should work with inner-consciousness and one should curtail needs. He stressed the need for training in Non-violence for intellectual and spiritual consciousness for human and related economic development. He suggested that Non-Violence is essential in the making of a good human being. The valedictory session was compered by Sunil Devjani and Amoli Mehrotra, students of IILM Academy, Jaipur. | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 33 | Glimpses of Udaipur | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 34 | Glimpses of Udaipur | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 35 | Facelift To Human Resourcees Accounting- Liabilities Approach – L.Shankari FACELIFT TO HUMAN RESOURCEES ACCOUNTING- LIABILITIES APPROACH Abstract In the 21st century, HR has undergone paradigm shift and new and sensitive issues such as competency mapping, emotional intelligence, and talent management have been dominating the current scenario. Despite HR's renaissance, HR researchers have not still convinced the accounting professionals and researchers that spectrum of issues can be recorded in finanancial statements adopting accounting principles. There is still a bone of contention regarding Human resources accounting models propounded by the researchers based on the assets approach due to the fact that measurement of human resources continue to pose a challenge. Moreover, these models do not meet the some of the accounting parameters set by the accounting professionals. In this context, Professors Herman A. Theeke and Mt Pleasant of USA have made an innovative attempt to record HR based on liabilities approach. This article details HR accounting using three methods i.e. Demand deposits liabilities method, lease method and contingency liability method. The researchers are of the opinion that contingent liability method might be accepted by the accounting professionals. Shankari Parivallal, Faculty, Sona school of Management, Salem. Introduction For a few months I have been just reading, browsing through different spectrums of accounting such as Environmental Accounting,HR Accounting and Forensic Accounting that are emerging as new areas in the field of accounting. All of a sudden I started to show keen interest in reading research articles related to HR accounting. All these fascinated me a lot. One fine day, I accidentally came across an article which showcased a different approach to include HR in accounting records i.e. based on liabilities approach. That made my thinking hat to probe in to the details; the result is culminated in this article. In today's cut throat competitive scenario, success embraces those organizations whose employees perform excellently. There is no second opinion about this. But how many organizations are prepared to incorporate HR in to their accounting records and statements. The answer is very few because the accounting professionals have not still identified the acceptable method of recording HR. Flash back of HR accounting research Research in HR accounting has started as early as 1960s and continued in to the 21st century but no concrete methods have been designed by the researchers.Cascio(2000), a psychologist not an Accounting professional has done extensive research in this area and is of the opinion that the Historical cost model developed by Brummet,Flamholtz and Pyle, Replacement cost Method initiated by Flamholtz and Present value of future earnings approach propounded by Lev and Schwartz all have failed to consider the output of HR but solely stressed on the input , that is, the investment in HR.It is he who pioneered in viewing HR through expenses lens. He suggests this model to measure the economic effects of employees'behaviour.The assets models have been rejected on the ground that HR does not fit into accounting definition of asset. In accounting parlance, an asset is the one that must generate income streams and be owned and controlled by the organization. Though assets models meet the first part of the definition, it does not satisfy the second part that is ownership as HR can not be owned by organizations. Employees can leave the organizations at any time by giving due notice. The professor Herman A. Theeke criticized the assets models of HR remarking that they do not satisfy one of the accounting parameters namely the ownership parameter. His friend immediately quipped, why don't you find out an alternate method for this? This remark kept on ringing in to his ears and this made him and his friend to infuse new thinking in recording HR in accounting records. The professor who advocates the liabilities approach hit upon this flash of thought when he was contemplating on demand deposits of the bank. he met his bank officials and had a discussion with the accounting treatment of demand deposits. That gave him a cue with regard to inclusion of HR in L. Shankari, Faculty,Sona school of management, Saelm. | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 36 | accounts. This reminds me of the computation of ratio (ratio Analysis)ROI / return on capital employed. In this capital employed can be found out by using assets method or liabilities method. The same principle is followed even in case of valuation of shares and incase of mergers / amalgamations purchase consideration is computed using assets method/liabilities method. If the approach is quite logical and does not defy accounting principles why not consider it in case of HR also. Before delving deep in to the details of the research let us consider the meaning and definition for the term liability in accounts. The utterance of the very word results in frowning/sulking on one's face but remember it is not such a negative word/ untouchable word. It means any obligation/ promise made/created and satisfied/fulfilled by the business organization.. Making and meeting the obligations is the base on which the business is built strongly. To business people, therefore, the liability from such obligations is not good or bad - it is just a fact and a necessary way of life . (Herman A. Theeke and Mt Pleasant of USA) This forms the basis of HR accounting methods. There are 3 methods; they are 1.Demand deposit liability method 2.Lease method 3.Contigent liability method. Demand deposit liability method The primar y functions of a bank are accepting deposits and advancing loans. In case of deposits there are 2 major types: demand deposits and time deposits. Current account and savings deposit fall under the category of demand deposits and they are called so as the bank has to return the deposits as and when demanded by the depositors. Since they have to be repaid/ returned to the depositors they are treated as the liabilities in banks. Interest on deposits is treated as an expense and shown in the income statement. Though the deposits are considered as debts, the bank is permitted to use the same in revenue generating activities that is used for advancing loans. The same approach can be used in case of human capital-it can be considered as the employee loan advanced to the organization. This creates 2 types of accounts-borrowed human capital, a liability and unassigned human assets account. Entry to be made in the books is Unassigned human assets a/c Dr To Borrowed human capital a/c When employees are posted to the production process, the entry is Employed human capital a/c Dr To Unassigned human assets/c When the organization downsizes the number of employees one has to pass a reverse entry. The human capital is shown as a liability and the unassigned and employed human assets appear as assets in the balance sheet. The demand deposits and human capital are similar in respect of ownership parameter as both are not owned by the organization. But both can be used in revenue generating activities. Both differ in the following aspects. The initial amount of demand deposit is returned and the DD is easily recorded in financial statements in terms of rupees. But the measurement of HR could be difficult to compute, moreover, at the time when the employees leave the organizations one has to take in to account the earning potential of the employees, health and pension benefits etc and it is a very tough and complex process to determine the repayment value of the human capital .As far as this method is concerned, accounting professionals may not find this approach a viable one as this method also suffers from the following limitation, that is ,difficulty in expressing HR in terms of monetary values. The basic accounting rule is that only those transactions which are capable of being measured in financial terms can find place in accounting records. Lease method In case of lease method, there are 2 parties invoved, one is called the lessor (owner) and the other one is known as the lessee (Tenant/Hirer). It is an agreement whereby lessee gets the right to use lessor's asset. The lease agreement makes the borrower to enter in to a liability legally in the form of periodic payments and the return of the asset in a specified condition at the end of the lease period. Sometimes the specified condition might be stated as, "The asset must be returned in its original condition, Carried from Page 38 with allowances for normal wear." For example, with auto leases some mileage amount could be stated and appearance, damage to the paint and glass may be specified. The arrangement about the condition of the returned asset is significant to the lessor because it helps him determine how much he must charge to make a profit on the asset leased. The value of the asset at the end of the lease period is called the residual value. If the residual value is zero then the lessor had received enough amounts from the lessee to buy a new one. If there is some residual value then the payments received should only have compensated the lessor for the reduction in value. In case, the lessee wants to make improvement in the asset, the cost will be borne by the lessee which he could recover from the owner during the lease period itself/ before the expiry of it. Claims cannot be enforced after the expiry of the lease period. But if the agreement does not permit such improvement and contains a condition that it should be returned in original condition that might result in liability on the part of the lessee. Most of the lessees claim that they can not claim ownership over the asset and some times can not even sublease the asset. Most of the companies prefer using lease method because they can use the asset without paying the full cash price of the asset. Accountants are of the opinion that lease involves future payments for a specified period and it is mandatory for the organizations (lessees) to disclose the same in the financial statements but generally lessees do not do it. Not reporting this information in the balance sheet might result in overstatement of return on assets or understatement of liability which is against the accounting convention of disclosure and materiality. In case of human capital, one can not claim ownership over them as in the case of lease. Residual value of the human capital can never be equal to zero but can be more or less than the human capital borrowed. Residual value is real but determination is a difficult process. Even this method would be discounted by the accounting professionals due to this reason. Contingent liability method In accounting language, contingent liability is an anticipated liability that may or may not become real and it depends on the occurance of a particular event. Accountants classify the possibility making such payments: l l l Probable-The future event is likely to happen. Reasonably possible-the chance of occurance of the event is more than remote but less than likely. Remote-the chance of the occurance of the event is almost negligible. "The accounting standards say a liability should be recorded and charged to expense if two conditions are satisfied: There is information that makes it probable that a liability has been incurred; and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. For example, a wrongful death suit of an employee has been filed against your company and you know that your policies and practices for safety were not safe enough such that you would have difficulty defending against the suit, then you will need to estimate the total value of that employee, which will include the employee's earning potential, the value of lost emotional relationships and guidance, and report that as a liability. The so called Best HR practices" are crafted in such a manner to shift the contingent liability from a classification of probable to remote. The method for determining the amount of human capital loaned to the company and the method for calculating the borrowed human capital liability account will be determined by accounting convention The imputed amount of human capital that the employee loans the employer could be used to calculate the potential amount of the contingent liability in many cases. Proper HR programs for recruitment, training, safety, compensation, adaptation, termination and benefit administration are not prevalent in the organization, the classification of the contingent liability moves from remote to probable. Better HRM practices are designed to move the contingent liability toward the remote or zero probability. In the absence of excellent HR management programs, an accountant should be forced to establish and report some contingent liability. H u Knowledge Manager and Tools for Excellence Internet and its tools have had a significant influence in the way business is done through out the world. It ahs brought inefficiency, proper utilization of resources, quick and better decision making. It has opened new ways for the business to reach the customer which is significantly cheaper, but it ahs also shifted the balance of power in the hands of customers, as these tools give them the ability to interact, have information, instantly to the customer. times choices have to be made from among the least worst of the options available. These tools give minority, though how small in number an equal footing, which theoretically should lead to a better world and better decision making. But we have to also live by the fact that every individual can not possess complete knowledge, some The answer lies in the ability of human race to transform it self to the next level, the level of objective thinking. So these are not tools for freedom or for spreading anarchism. They are simply tools how we use and H respond to. u | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 37 | Knowledge Manager and Tools for Excellence or Wikipedia, Blog, Social book marking, IM, RSS and Podcasting: Are they tools of freedom or anarchy for Managers? Dr. Gunmala Suri A fter the invention of the transistor, the world has moved at a very fast pace. We humans have discovered more about our self's in the past half a century, than we did in the thousand years of our existence on this planet. Computers today play a far more critical role in our life's, and internet or the world wide web (a network of computers on the world wide scale) is playing even a more critical role. Life today runs on 1 and 0. Bits running at the speed of light, from one computer to another, from one memor y device to another, an endless run that seems to stretch to infinity. The various sciences now seem to be combining more frequently than ever before. The concept of quantum computers, at least in theory makes redundant today's security algorithms. The task that seemed impossible yesterday would become a child's play for these machines to solve. A single desktop quantum computer would pack in more power than the power of many supercomputers combined. The internet today is no longer a combination of computers; it has taken a life of its own. Scores of coders are writing applications that are changing our life dramatically. Programs today enable us to access information from remote locations, applications that are getting more and more artificially intelligent. The world is getting more and more wired and interconnected. Knowledge and information sharing applications are making us share information and question the very foundations of the so called modern world. Keeping the context in mind we will try to understand the concept of some of the latest knowledge and information sharing applications and how are they shaping applications are making us share information and question the very foundations of the so called modern world. Keeping the context in mind we will try to understand the concept of some of the latest knowledge and information sharing applications and how are they shaping the future our civilization and making us question the fundamentals themselves. Before we discuss it is impor tant to understand what these terms are, they techniques, algorithms, software's or a combination. Wikipedia: Wikipedia is the world's newest, largest, most varied, most participatory, and most controversial encyclopedia. It is composed and edited entirely by volunteer netizens Wikipedia was co creator by Larry Sanger, a professional epistemologist. The site's massive archive, including 380,000 ar ticles in English alone, puts even Britannica to shame. Blog: A weblog, which is usually shortened to blog, is a type of website where entries are made (such as in a journal or diary, displayed in a reverse chronological order. Blogging indirectly star ted when Tim Berners-Lee at CERN begins keeping a list of all new sites as they come online. Social book keeping: The general idea behind social bookmarks is that rather than saving a bookmark for a web page in a browser such as Internet Explorer, users instead save the bookmark to a publicly accessible web site. Other people can then see your bookmark and ideally be exposed to something that you wouldn't otherwise encounter. IM: Instant messaging or IM is a form of realtime communication between two or more people based on typed text. The text is conveyed via computers connected over a network such as the Internet. RSS: Defined in XML, the Rich Site Summary (RSS) format (aka "Really Simple Syndication"), previously known as the RDF Site Summar y, has quietly become a dominant format for distributing news headlines on the Web. Podcasting: describes the process of using audio files to deliver syndicated website content to a digital audience in podcasting, you create audio files that are available on your website, which people can then download to their iPods or MP3 players. "Podcasts" are delivered through RSS (Rich Site Summar y) feeds. A podcast is distinguished by its ability to be downloaded automatically using software capable of reading RSS or Atom feeds. Before we try to analyze the impact of these applications a few examples would be worth studying: a) In India, blogger Gaurav Sabnis quit his job at IBM after his posts exposing the false claims of a management school, IIPM, led to management of IIPM threatening to burn their IBM laptops as a sign of protest against him. b) Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, was recently fined during the 2006 NBA playoffs for criticizing NBA officials on the court and in his blog. c) Blogs were an important source of news during the December 2004 Tsumani such as Medecins Sans Frontieres, which used SMS text messaging to report from affected areas in Sri Lanka and Southern India. After gaining an understanding of what the various terms stand for, it becomes clear that they are software tools that are a part of the internet itself. But are they leading to freedom or a state of anarchism, is the question that comes to our mind. As is clear the tools above give individual a power to put forth his view, and to be counted in the real sense. They have more freedom to express, shares information, distribute it, have access to information on the go, leading to a world where the concept of dynamic information becomes real. There is a natural tendency for individuals and groups to shield the world from points that are in opposition to their own. The contradiction is that those who try so hard to silence the voices opposing them wish to, at the same time, maintain their freedom to speak for their own causes. If we take into account the basic premises on which the structure of globalization stands, the idea of "free flow", whether of capital, labor, intellect, and then it can be safely assumed that this should apply to internet and its tools also. But in case of globalization the concept of nation states still stands, meaning that the government is still the enabling force. The internet instead has its roots in various places, though indirectly in hands of US government, but still it is a medium over which no single individual, or government can stake its claim. This singular fact and the various tools make internet a dark place in the eyes of the government. Here an individual has equal power to that of the government, and the various tools help spread the information with the speed of light. Dr Gunmala Suri, University Business School, Panjab University, Chandigarh, g_suri@yahoo.com | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 38 | Contd.. On page 37 Defying the Workplace Difficulties: Dealing with Boss It takes all kinds to make the world and it takes all kinds of bosses to make up the workplace. I felt bringing to the notice of the readers about the interaction with my friends working across India & Abroad working for MNCs and software firms. Other than our routine yak much of our sensitive yet grueling chat clusters around work place and the people with whom working. Astonishingly I found most of them are weary, frustrated, unhappy, and demotivated when discussion hinges on their professional caretaker. Let me share their feelings here: interaction with our boss leaves us cold. He's a bully, intrusive, controlling, picky and petty. He takes credit for our work, never provides positive feedback and misses each meeting he schedules with us. One of my expatriate friend say's, He's a bad boss, bad to the bone. importantly, jeopardize the careers of those working under him. Solution lies in Solving the Situation: From Secrets to Winning at Office Politics by Marie G. McIntyre, Ph.D says whatever it may be but the more effectively you can manage your boss, the more pleasant your days are likely to be. 1st and foremost let's see if any of these underlying statements might apply to our relations with our professional caretaker: l l l 2 Sides of the Same Coin: Discussing with my software HR colleagues; conceited yet deterministically they reiterates, the main reason organizations have some toxic managers are because they tolerate the behaviors from them. Should HR worry about bad bosses? A million dollar question and most of them says: Absolutely. Bad bosses destroy employee morale and hurt your workplace. While browsing a front page column article reflected in Careers-The Hindu June 06 Edition, surprisingly I found a similar write up where the author is trying to aware the readers to exercise a few traits you will be able to think of ways to deal with them(bosses). Let's know a few tips who are they and how they be handled. Hues & Colors of white collar Clan Boss: It has been heard about those bosses who bullies, the one who is a dictator or the one who lives in an ivory tower in grand isolation cut from his/her subordinates. There are bosses who are perfectionists and expect others to be the same. Then there are those who are inexperienced, ineffective and bad communicators. Some tend to be abusive or manipulative while others micromanage. Hope with this I am trying to unearth a brief sketch of this spectacular clan in front of you using all types of vocabulary. But after all the essence of my discussion is having an insecure boss can do more damage to one's career than anything else. With such a boss the feeling of insecurity will affect the organization's growth and, more l l l I tend to get into power struggles and control battles with my boss. I resent the fact that my boss has the power to direct my activities. I sometimes intentionally fail to do something that my boss asks or expects. I tend to feel somewhat anxious when I am with my boss. I am very hesitant about expressing disagreement to my boss. I often keep my ideas and opinions to myself instead of sharing them with my boss. Mclntyre says, If you see yourself in any of these descriptions, you may need to do a better job of managing your boss. Let's consider these suggestions for improving that relationship: 1. Accept the fact that your boss has been given the power to direct your activities. This is true even if you are much smarter than he is, even if you should have been given her job, even if he is the most obnoxious loudmouth on the planet. You are stuck with this boss for the immediate future, so becoming rebellious will only make a bad situation worse. Accepting reality and working to increase your influence will produce better results. 2. Don't expect perfection. Managers are people, not androids, so they have an endless variety of quirks and eccentricities and odd little habits. Recognize your boss' hot buttons and for heaven's sake don't push them! There's a name for people who annoy their managers on purpose - masochists. If you have a wonderful boss who is a pleasure to work with, celebrate! Be grateful every day for as long as it lasts. If not, lower your expectations. Mr.L.K.Jena 3. Study your boss' management style and figure out what makes her happy. Look for clues that tell you how he/she likes work done or how he/she prefers to get information. If you're not sure what your boss expects from you, in terms of results, work habits, communication style, or anything else, then don't try to guess - ask!. Any reasonable manager will gladly answer these questions and, in fact, will be pleased and surprised by your interest. 4. Try to make your boss look good. Produce quality results, meet deadlines, stay within your budget, respond to people quickly. Find problems that need solving and address them. Contribute new ideas and suggestions. Share useful information with your boss. And your own political power will grow when your manager tells everybody how wonderful you are! 5. Never, never, never complain to others about your boss - especially to people outside your depar tment or to your employees (if you are a manager). Strategizing with trusted peers about how to handle your manager's more challenging peculiarities is one thing - kind of like a group therapy session - but trumpeting your unhappiness far and wide will only get you in trouble. 6. Give your boss a sincere compliment from time to time. Managers hear lots of complaints, but few employees ever bother to give their boss a kind word. Unless your manager resembles Adolph Hitler, you can surely find some quality worth praising. Mention it at some appropriate point. But let's be clear - paying a sincere compliment is not the same as groveling or sucking up. Concluding Remarks: No one is perfect, and everyone is entitled to a bad day now and then. But if one has a difficult boss, he/she may feel like having to walk on eggshells every day to prevent problems. The tension of waiting for something to go wrong can sap the belief in one's own abilities -- and combined with the symptoms of mental illness, it can make every workday feel like a waking nightmare. I anticipate reader's facing similar dilemma can give a second thought through those doable advices and getting themselves in WIN-WIN. H u Mr. L.K. Jena is currently working as Personnel Officer with HAL Management Academy, the corporate learning center of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore. He can be reached at:lkjena@inbox.com | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 39 | Virtual Teams - Challenge for HR B. Sivarama Krishna & Perni Srinivasa Rao "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." - Albert Einstein G lobalization of the organizations and telecommunications revolution has enabled employees performing their job in different shifts and different time zones team up to achieve the goals. The development of faster communication systems, more powerful processors, and a new family of software has allowed organizations to enter the era of virtual connection1 enabling organizations to enter the era of virtual teams. Virtual teams allow organizations to build effective teams that might not otherwise be possible to work together due to constraints like time and travel cost restrictions, involving high costs of manpower, requirement of experts in the field, etc. Process Outsourcing has further given the boost to Virtual teams with teams from various companies work as teams to deliver the results. Virtual teams allow corporate entities to continue the work of a team 24 hours a day by crossing the traditional time barriers. Virtual teams enhance the availability of resources, the problems that can be associated with gaining access to experts or people with domain knowledge. This has created a new challenge to HR in comprehending and fostering virtual teams towards achieving the organizational goals. Responsibility lies with HR in helping the virtual teams deliver the results. Virtual team is defined as "Teams that operate across space, time, and organizational boundaries, communicating with each other only through electronic technology". 2 'A group of people geographically different brought together by a common goal that uses communication technology to achieve common goal.'3 Vir tual teamwork is opposite to the traditional teamwork lies in the large cross boundary co-operation, high flexibility of work with links strengthened by webs of communication technology. Team members have complementar y skills and are committed for the common purpose, have interdependent performance goals, and share an approach to work for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. Knowledge, skills and experience are most vital for virtual teams. Virtual teams are also called as Geographically Dispersed Team (GDT). Virtual teams are not a phenomenon but rather a permanent off shoot of the creation of technology that supports them. As the technology expands, the role of virtual team will increase. New technologies and electronic commerce are here to stay and are changing the work environment virtually in some cases. As forces of change, new technologies are a double edge sword that can be used to improve job performance or to create stress. On the positive side, the modern technologies are revolutionizing the jobs and are designed in a way that work gets done and on the otherside these teams are creating stress where employees have to work defying the biological clock. Virtual offices are mobile plat forms of computer, and the telecommunications services allow mobile workforce members to conduct business vir tually anywhere, anytime globally. This is known as law of telecosm the idea that as computer networks expand, distances become irrelevant. 4 Organizations are looking at various ways to leverage the strengths of virtual teams. AT&T has adapted Virtual Resources where there are no staffs dedicated to particular customers but employees would float from one account to another as needed.5 There are always Myths which are associated with the concepts and realities of Virtual teams are as given Challenges to HR are in terms of l As the case of any team-based organizations, Human Resource professionals are expected to provide leadership in forming and nurturing virtual teams. l Virtual team members require high degree of training on communication, since it's the key for efficiency and effectiveness of the team. Since the team members may involve people from Myths Reality Virtual teams are not as affective as traditional teams Virtual teams can be effective and has more advantages than traditional teams in terms of harnessing skills, time, technology and people. Team dynamics in both traditional and virtual teams are same Virtual teams have different team dynamics due to the nature of the team formation and the group of people associated with the team It is difficult to create trust among the team members who cannot see one to one Trust can be developed in the team since communication and interaction is of high focus. Trust is of high focus by nature in virtual teams Accountability is difficult Out-of-sight does not mean unaccountable. Achieving the goals is the prime criteria. Virtual team works on completion of tasks as per the time span and there is complete monitoring of the schedules Traditional teams are preferable over vir tual teams Corporations worldwide have to leverage on the economies of scale and competitive advantage which is difficult in the traditional teams and hence virtual teams are to stay There is no difference in roles between traditional teams and virtual teams Nature of roles of team leader and member are different like disciplined interaction, communication, etc. The skills required by team leader are different to that of traditional teams B. Sivarama Krishna, General Manager - HR, Frontline Group of Companies, Ahmedabad, email sivaramakrishnab@hotmail.com Perni Srinivasa Rao, AGM - HR & Admin, IVRCL Infrastructures & Projects Limited, Hyderabad, Email srinivas@ivrinfra.com | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 40 | across the cultures there might be issues of cross-cultural communication. l Teams must be trained to adapt to the new teams or assignments, whenever new teams are formed so as to ensure continual continuity. For example an organization serving various clients can ask the employee to switch between the teams to achieve the adhered schedules. l Right kind of empowerment to the teams to deliver the goals. l To resolve the cultural boundaries, solve conflicts, interpret outside influences and decide on consensus method with virtual team approach. l l To operate cultural differences, which range from unique communication style to complex value systems, complicated by language barriers can be worked out with virtual team. Finally, employees are under tremendous stress to deliver, adhere to schedules, adapt to the changes in the teams, learn new technologies, may involve wide traveling, work at odd hours (defying the biological clock), etc. Addressing the issues HR need to optimize the human resources to attain the organizational goals. HR cannot use the same yardstick to what it has been using for traditional teams. HR needs to strategize to address the challenges. It has to be proactive and be ready to embrace the challenge rather than wait for the situation to arise and react to it. Success of virtual teams depends on 1. Building trust: People can be trusted in a virtual environment. 2. Ground rules and norms are important for teams to establish. They are useful in determining how team members interact and what kind of behavior is accepted. 3. Adequate resources to be made available to foster the performance, if not it hinders the performance and questions the existence of virtual teams itself 4. Collaboration culture needs to be brought in as the virtual team functions autonomously and the roles are independent. 5. Agreeing on goals and schedules, project specific and performance metrics enables single platform for discussion and deliverables. 6. Encouraging participation especially during the meetings, as certain members may be reluctant to participate. Different personality types due to change in cultures and language will naturally 'speak up' in different ways, and ensure there are team members but not lurkers. Carried from Page 42 Quality Function Deployment (QFD): An Selecting the potential competencies be devised. The Performance metrics for each individual employee in line with the The HR Department uses suitable tests department's objective which will be in line and interview techniques to evaluate with the organization's vision has to be whether the potential competencies are as developed. This performance metrics will per the requirement and would fulfill the vary according to the levels and functional needs of the internal customers. Ensuring area. The performance metric system will this is very important. Though it takes lot be devised with full support from the internal of time and effort, it will help to deploy the customers. needed competencies fulfilling the needs Communicate of the internal customers. Induction and Socialization The process of induction and socialization would help the HR Department to provide the human resources as needed by all the internal customers. The cultural shocks can be avoided and it prepares the human resources to adapt to the organization's culture and value system. Ultimately the customers have to be satisfied and all the activities of the HR department would focus on that. Decide the performance metrics for different levels /functions A system to monitor whether the needs of the internal customers are fulfilled has to The performance metrics designed has to be communicated clearly to the human resources scattered in various departments. Only if this is done properly, the needs of the internal customers will be met. The system for evaluating the performance metrics, what metrics they have, who would evaluate them, what rewards would they get, etc., has to be communicated clearly. Evaluate, Provide feedback and Skill Development Periodically evaluating the performance and providing feedback has to be undertaken by the HR department. The performance management system must be in place to provide regular feedback to the employee 7. Providing a private space can be created to allow members to share thoughts outside the scope of assignment and such measures minimize coordination problems and promote social exchanges among members. 8. Coaching or helping team members to adapt to the new environment and be part of the team 9. Rewards and recognition shall be followed at every milestone being achieved, which reinforces the virtual teams. 10. Continuous Communication is vital for the success Virtual teams are effective and they achieve the difficult tasks that have been hitherto difficult to handle. Sun Microsystems developed a new electronic customer ordered system with a vir tual team composed of 15 engineers from three different companies from three different countries.6 Virtual teams may look futuristic today, they will probably common form of work in the organizations in the years to come. There is tremendous oppor tunity for HR professionals to strategically position their organization towards sustained competetive advantage and also positioning the firm for virutal team success. H u Alternative Context for improvement. Not only that, decisions regarding advancement in his/her career has to be taken at the appropriate time and evaluating the performance would help. Apart from all this, HR department has to constantly be on the vigil to satisfy the needs of the internal customers. The system of evaluation would help to identify the need fulfilled, the gap existing and the remedial measures (skill development) to be taken to further satisfy the internal customers of the HR Department. Conclusion Thus the existing functions of the HR Department can be looked from the Quality Function deployment dimension. Ultimately, it is the quality of human resources that matter for the effective operation of the organization. An organization has to give high priority to the quality of human resources who get inside the organization because they are the one who determine the quality of other components in the organization. In other words, the quality has to start from human resources. H u | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 41 | Quality Function Deployment (QFD): An Alternative Context – Sumathi Annamalai What is QFD? l QFD is used to translate customer requirements to engineering specifications. It is a link between customers - design engineers - competitors - manufacturing. There was a time when individuals could order a pair of shoes directly from the cobbler. The Cobbler by measuring the foot himself and personally handling all aspects of manufacturing could assure the customer would be satisfied. The increase in the distance between producers and users is the problem that concerns Yoji Akao, one of the founders of Quality Function Deployment. QFD links the needs of the customer with marketing, design, development, engineering, manufacturing, and service functions. It can be used for service and software products, as well. Benefits of QFD l Improved communication and sharing of information while developing a new product. l Creation of an informational base which is valuable for repeated cycles of product improvement l Product success in the marketplace, due to the precise targeting of key customer requirements l l Reduced overall design cycle time, mainly due to a reduction in timeconsuming design changes. Reduced overall cost due to reducing design changes, which are not only time consuming but very costly, especially those which occur at a late stage. Reduced product cost by eliminating redundant features and over-design. Application of QFD in HR Department Can we apply the concept of QFD in the area of Human Resource Management? This article focuses on the applicability of QFD approach in identifying, procuring, retaining and evaluating the human resources in an organization. An attempt is made to apply all the functions generally performed by the HR Department, from the QFD perspective. This helps in viewing the HR department as a resource provider and facilitator for all the other departments, who are the internal customers. Quality is the back bone of QFD concept and quality without human resource is impossible in an organization. Hence the HR Department has to take care of the quality of the human resources procured, deployed, utilized and managed in the entire organization. Four - phase QFD Model for HRM Planning Define and Determine customer needs Determine the competencies required Analyze the labour market Identify the source of recruitment Determining the metrics Deployment Selecting the potentials competencies Induction and Socialization Deployment to the internal customers Evaluating and Controlling Decide the performance metrics for different levels / functions Evaluate the human resources at their individual levels Design the Performance Evaluation System Provide feedback for Improvement Communicate to the human resources Skill Development Planning: The QFD for human Resource Management starts with planning function. This planning has to undergo the following sequence. Define and Determine customer needs Who are the customers for HR Department? Deployment of human resources has to be specific to the customer needs. All the departments which depend on the HR Department for its human resources are its customers. Specifically they are all internal customers. The need for human resources varies according to the department and the levels. Hence the customer needs have to be studied carefully before designing a system Determine the competencies required Based on the needs, the competencies demanded by the internal customers have to be determined in a clear-cut manner. Once when these competencies are welldesigned, the HR Department will be able to satisfy the needs of its internal customers. The companies adopt competency mapping to determine the specific requirements of their customers. The customer has to be involved in determining the required competencies since it is they who are utilizing the resources and the HR department would just be facilitators. Analyze the labour market A consolidated report comprising of the competencies needed versus the various sources available for procuring has to be prepared. The demand and supply position for such competencies, the problems associated with their procurement, legal proceedings, etc have to be dealt at this stage. Identify the source of recruitment After analyzing all the sources, the right source to procure the competencies has to be determined. The sources can be colleges, universities, competing companies, from the labour market, even internal from own concerns. Hence this systematic approach of meeting the needs of the customers would eradicate the problems arising of mismatch later. Contd.. On page 41 Sumathi Annamalai is Assistant Professor, PARK Global School of Business Excellence, Chenna. E-Mail: swahini_a@yahoo.com | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 42 | Holistic Assessments - A Three Dimensional View – G Ravi Kumar I ts been quite sometime that I wrote an article on assessment. My last article for NHRD magazine was the one of B-learning titled "Welcome to B-learning!". Out of the blue, this picture (see Figure 1) virtually flashed in front of me. The impulse generated inspired me to write an article on it. How is that! Here we go… Like I discussed about a new jargon called "B-learning" in my previous article, this time I have come up with another one named "3DAC". It stands for 3 dimensional assessment cube (See Figure 1). human being basically possesses seven types of intelligence components. They are linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence. The degree of intelligence on each component may vary within and among individuals. The aggregate composition determines the overall "cognitive ability" of an individual. Also, the dominant trait(s) would determine the field(s) in which an individual would excel (e.g. If a person has interpersonal intelligence as a dominant trait, it means that he can be a good marketing guy or a teacher). This should give you an idea about Cognitive Abilities. If you are curious to know more about this, there are abundant resources available on the net for your reference. Now, to Skills… 3 dimensional assessment cube Abilities and Skills - complement each other Before I explain about "3DAC", let me first give you some dope on Abilities and Skills. If you analyze, the implied meaning of the word "Abilities" translates to "Cognitive Abilities". There are many schools of thoughts on this subject and several definitions / connotations that exist for this word. According to me, one of the notable ones is the seminal work by Dr.Howard Gardner called "Theor y of Multiple Intelligences". According to him, every A Skill by definition "is something you learn or acquire over a period of time". Again Skills can be two types viz. Hard and Soft. Hard Skills pertain to something that a person can perform or demonstrate. Examples of such skills are driving a Car, flying an Aeroplane, assembling/Troubleshooting PCs, etc. Soft Skills have more to do with behavioral traits of a person. Attitude, inter-personal skills can be cited as examples for this. Of course, in a way soft skills can be considered as a sub-set of Cognitive Abilities. But you can treat it as a discipline too. Since hard skills are tangible, it is easy to demonstrate and assess. On the contrary, soft skills are more often than not dormant and also human behavioral patterns are very erratic and circumstance dependent (e.g. the way an individual behaves when he is calm is different from when he is under pressure or disturbed). Hence a soft skill is a grey area and hence assessments here are very subjective and often debatable, sometimes contentious too. Holistic Assessments - The 3DAC way Finally, let us look at ways by which we can assess abilities and skills that we discussed till now. A couple of well known tests for assessing cognitive abilities is CAT3 and CogAT. You can check their official websites for more information about these tests. There are several personality test batteries available for Soft Skills assessments or behavioral assessments. Some of the noted ones are 16PF, FIRO-B and DISC based tests. Hard Skills would mean anything from driving a car to flying a space shuttle. Here, the context is Software or Programming Skills assessments. Again here, we have Objective assessments and Performance based assessments. In objective assessments candidates are tested more on concepts per taining to software programming. Some of the renowned players in objective assessments are Brainbench, MeasureUp, QuestionMark and Professional Aptitude Council (PAC). The latter is the most effective, but the most challenging kind of assessments. Prominent companies in this area of assessments are SkillCheck and DevSquare (www.devsquare.com). H u G. Ravi Kumar is an IT professional based at Bangalore. E-mail: ravi@devsquare.com; rk1601@hotmail.com; rk1672@gmail.com Fundamentals of Non-violence, Peace and Relative Economics - Acharya Mahaprajna 1. That activity cannot attain success, which is devoid of the process of transformation of consciousness. 2. The system for controlling possessiveness or individual ownership cannot attain success because it lacks in the technique of transformation of consciousness. 3. The mission of non-violence can become successful only when it is infused with consciousness of spirituality or consciousness of emotion. consciousness and spiritual consciousness are developed in a balanced manner. 4. If only intellectual consciousness is developed and if only economic development takes place, then bread cannot go together with non-violence and peace. 7. Stopping the reactive violence is possible only when the disease of consumerism that grows with the economic development is treated and consciousness of self-restraint reaches the higher level. 5. If mere consciousness of spirituality is developed, then both Ahimsa and bread cannot go together. 6. Ahimsa, peace and bread can go together only when intellectual consciousness, economic 8. The solution to this problem is Training in Non-violence; mere intellectual deliberation would not be enough to provide the solution for human problems. | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 43 | Employee Commitment A Way To Renaissance Management – P Gowri Kusuma A new revolution: What employees hear is that "people are our most important asset," what they see is that people are the most expendable asset --- Gary Hamel & C.K..Prahalad (competing for the future -Harvard Business Review, July/August 1994) The renaissance is about re-discovering the values - energy, innovation and responsiveness. An organization can achieve these values by allowing itself to EXCEL in every aspect. Here the acronym EXCEL refers to E---Empowerment X---eXperience C---Customer focus E--- Enterprise L----Leadership Renaissance is about the rise of the individual and developments in learning. The same factors apply to renaissance in organizations - individuality will be an increasing exception within a work force and learning will be a key process. Employee commitment is key factor of renaissance. Employee commitment embraces both motivation and selfmotivation or empowerment. Key questions to check employee commitment: Organizations reflect the societies and markets in which they operate. As these evolve, so should organizations. The situation in which many organizations find themselves might be called the consistency/ inconsistency dilemma. CONSISTENCY Control Integration Centralization Roles Function-led consequent need to balance more successfully the forces of integration and diversity, consistency and inconsistency, control and autonomy? INCONSISTENCY Autonomy Diversity Localization Individuals Customer-led 1. Are your employees directly involved in the important decisions that affect their jobs? 2. Have they the knowledge to do their jobs properly? 3. Is two-way communication between management and your workforce as effective as possible? 4. Are your people excited about their futures within your organizations? 5. When formulating a new strategy, do you consider the needs of your people? Ten don'ts of employee commitment: Every dimension of this dilemma requires an organization to find its own place in response to the market conditions it faces and its strategic response. 1. Don't forget that your employees are human beings with feelings. Monday morning', - Ricardo Semler The organizations will need to examine closely the basis of the relationship that they have with the individual's who work for them. The impact of change driven by technology will almost undoubtedly require continuous development from a workforce and as organizations change and development there will be a far higher degree of mobility between jobs. It means your current organization will be actively helping you get a job in your next one. Organizations need to examine other hidden clauses that are often not aired. These expectations will include the following: l l l All the above will make people inspired and proud of the organization for which they work. Organizations are therefore facing a number of related drivers for change to which they must respond if they are to survive. l They have to respond to an increasingly competitive and uncertain market place with brilliant positioning achieved led by innovation and responsiveness. l They have to find a way of balancing the opposing forces for consistency and inconsistency if they are to maximize their impact in their market places. 2. Don't ignore people - listen to their options. 3. Don't be racist Organizations are no longer able to tell people what to do - people have to do what the market tells them rather what a particular part of the organization expects and predicts what sort of people are needed to work in organization? For a start, they are unlikely to be blindly complaint, working to tightly defined role specifications and job descriptions. The need for integrated diversity makes impossible Taylor's vision and instead requires a very different sort of individual who is prepared to commit a lot more of him or herself to work. 4. Don't automatically blame the workers What are organizations doing to cope better with these levels of change and the 'The single hardest thing to do is to make people interested in coming to work on 5. Don't underestimate people's potential 6. Don't be secretive 7. Don't rely on your position for authority 8. Don't believe there is one rule of 'us' and another for 'them' 9. Don't break the link in people's minds between reward and effort. 10. Don't forget the equation: Performance = Ability * Effort (motivation) A new relationship: Being treated with fairness, individuals need to feel that their views and opinions have been heard. Feeling fulfilled and motivated about the current job, as well as being prepared for the next one. Being trusted and respected working in an environment in which the individual can express him or herself without fear or threat. The cleverest organization will not try to resist this tide of change but will find the value and potential in it. They will be those organizations that realize that an increasing individual contribution gives them powerful strategic options. It builds responsiveness to market conditions and taps into a reservoir of creativity and energy and this contribution allows for true strategic differentiation. H Mrs. P Gowri Kusuma is Faculty at Bharat P G College, Hyderabad E-Mail: kusumajana@yahoo.co.in | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 44 | u Fascinating Facts – K. Satyanarayana 189. Battle For Civil Birmingham In 1963 Rights In Birmingham in the state of Alabama was the most segregated city In U.S in the year 1963. Dr. Martin Luther King, the civil rights leader of U.S. was unable to cajole more than 20 adults to volunteer into his no holds barred campaign of civil disobedience on the lines of Mahatma Gandhi's struggle for Indian independence. It was mostly children as young as 6 years old that marched, picketed, jammed the jails and juvenile halls, shut down the city's shopping district and at last broke the back of the segregation in the city. Around 2,000 children of 1963, now in their 50s are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the epochal battle they fought in the civil rights movement. For the children of the protests, now grown up, looking back remains a source of pride. Most of them feel that their children and grand children do not understand or appreciate enough the sacrifices of so long ago to get where we are today. Most of the elders did not take part in the movement for fear of losing their jobs but the children had their strong reasons for taking active part. One lady recalled, "I wanted to know why I could not ride the train, why I could not see a duck in a park, why I cannot drink water from a fountain, why I cannot try an outfit before buying it or why I could not eat from a lunch counter." (Source: The New York Times, May 2, 2003) 190. Graduate Students Reject The Idea Of A Union At Yale University The group of graduate students under the leadership of Ms. Anita M Seth, seeking to unionize 2,100 graduate students at Yale University faced a stinging defeat with 594 votes against and 651 in favor. Labor experts said that this vote would send signals nationwide that graduate teaching and research assistants would not necessarily flock to join unions. In a similar vote during 2002 at Cornell University, graduate students voted 1,351 against and 580 in favor of unionizing. The reasons given by those opposing are that the union leaders are too aggressive, its leadership too undemocratic and some said they had developed negative feelings about unionization because Yale's main unions had engaged in so many strikes and fights with the university affecting the reputation of the institution and also the quality of education. Several graduate students voiced fears that if GESO became their union, it would be dominated by Yale's two other union locals, which helped finance the drive for unionization drive. Those locals represent 2,900 clerical workers and 1,200 cleaning, dining hall and maintenance workers and are par t of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union. Yale, Columbia and Brown Universities are seeking to over turn a two-year old labor board ruling that graduate students at Private Universities had the right to unionize. This vote and vote at Cornell last October supports their contention. (Source: The New York Times, May 2, 2003) If similar fair polls are held at Indian Universities, most of the students may oppose unions in educational institutions including teaching hospitals. 191. Nestle Closes Its 104 Year Old First U.S. Factory In Fulton, New York State Way back in 1899, leading citizens of Fulton, north of Syracuse in New York State raised $2,700 (no mean sum at that time) to buy a chunk of land that Nestle could use as a site for their chocolate factory. The incentive and the fact that there were so many cows around proved irresistible to Nestle. Over the next century, it grew to cover more than 30 acres. But on May 2, 2003, the company closed its plant, the chocolate works, as the locals call it, the birthplace of Nestle's quik, the home of the crunch bar, the maker of mountains of morsels for chocolate-chip cookies. Despite all the incentives offered by the city or state or anyone else, the company would not change its mind and is not even prepared to discuss it with any one. 467 employees are losing their jobs including the mayor's wife, daughter and son-in-law. The average age of the plant's workers is 52 and the average tenure is 27 years. It is a heartbreak for the community as it is worried that if Nestle with more than $50 million investment in the last decade won't stay in Fulton, who will? Fulton was one city that missed the great depression according to a 1936 headline in The New York Sun. But during the last 50 years many big factories were closed. In 1952, a big woolen mill was closed, putting 1,500 out of work. Later on paper plants, gun works, brewing factories, bottle manufacturers, can factories were all closed one after another. The final blow came when Nestle sold its bulk chocolate business to Cargill. Rather than spend a fortune renovating the Fulton plant, the company decided to move most of the production to another underutilized but younger plant in Wisconsin and a fraction of the Nestle's crunch business is going to Brazil. There is no fault of the people who live there or people who worked so hard for generations. Production workers earning as much as $20 an hour are finding it difficult to find jobs at half or one third of that rate. (Source: The New York Times, May 2, 2003) 192. Close Link Between Fat And Cancer Researchers for the American Cancer Society after spending 16 years evaluating 900,000 people who were cancer free when the study began in 1982, concluded that fat is linked to cancer more convincingly than ever before and that losing weight could prevent one out of every six cancer deaths in U.S. more than 90,000 each year. This study and earlier studies have found that excess weight contributes to cancers of the breast, uterus, colon, rectum, kidney, esophagus, gall bladder, cervix, ovaries, multiple myeloma, non-hodgkins lymphoma, pancreas, liver and in men, the the stomach and prostrate. The researchers have however found that there is no link between fat and cancers of the brain skin and bladder. (Source: The New York Times, April 24, 2003) K. Satyanarayana, Hon. Executive Director on behalf of National HRD Network. He can be reached at: ksnhrd@gmail.com | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 45 | Bosco, What Is The Solution? se Ca dy u t S 24 – R. Dharma Rao O ne day, in the Hospital of the Company, John Bosco, Executive Assistant, was waiting anxiously outside the Labour Room. He identified the voice of his wife shouting for help. She was awfully crying. Bosco immediately rushed inside the labour room. Mrs.Bosco was admitted into the hospital for her first delivery two days before. Inside, two more women were also suffering with their advanced pains. The Sister-in-Charge objected Bosco and shouted at him to go out immediately. Otherwise, she would call the Security. As he was not going out, she called a Security Guard who whisked him away. Bosco rang up Viswanath, Manager (HR & Administration), his boss, and informed him in an angry tone that a Sister insulted him and told him to come down immediately to the Hospital. Viswanath reached there and found Bosco sitting on a sofa in a happy mood. He was blessed with a son. He received Viswanath with an unusual and blissful face and gave him the good news. Viswanath congratulated and asked him why he was called. Bosco said that the Sister in Charge created a problem for him in the labour room and had therefore called him. After two days, Viswanath received a letter from Hospital authorities complaining against Bosco and demanded a severe action against him with intimation to them. The hospital staff unanimously condemned the ugly behaviour of Bosco. Viswanath went to the Hospital and explained his difficulty to take any action against Bosco as his appointment was a special nature. In Maharastra, there is an engineering industry performing excellently well. For the last over six years, their turnover was very remarkable, breaking their own previous records. The CEO decided to improve further and applied to the Ministry of Commerce to sanction an export permit for some of their products, which had a high demand abroad. After sending the prescribed application, he started going to Delhi for follow-up with the concerned officials. During that time, one of the top Officials requested the CEO to employ his only son, John Bosco, who passed MBA. The CEO said that there was no immediate vacancy but would accommodate him. Bosco was employed with a good salary as an Executive Assistant. He was also allotted a small bungalow, reasonably furnished. He was posted in their Head Office under Viswanath, a strict disciplinarian and Manager (HR & Adm). Bosco, without any previous experience, had least interest in his job. Fur ther, his behaviour was unbecoming. Viswanath requested the CEO to transfer him to some other department as he was wasting his time on Bosco. The CEO, in his next trip to Delhi, informed the Official about Bosco's bad conduct and behaviour. The official gave a detailed account of his son who was a spoilt child. He was involved in a bad association and completed MBA some how or other. He thought Bosco might change if he was married. The wedding took place last year. There was no any remarkable change in Bosco. The Official therefore requested the CEO to employ and transform him as a good person. He also told the CEO to bear with him and excuse him for any misbehavior. The CEO narrated all these points to Viswanath, on whom he had full trust, and told him further that he promised the official that Bosco would change himself after adjusting with Company's culture. On another occasion, Bosco was found in his room drinking liquor. Viswanath telephoned to CEO and informed on this matter. The CEO suggested closing the door silently from outside and asking every one not to go to him until evening. After 6 p.m., Viswanath opened the door and found Bosco in deep sleep. He woke him up and sent to his house in a car After managing Bosco for three months, Viswanath phoned to the CEO and requested him to listen to him patiently as he felt that there were some delicacies and difficulties if he expressed in person. He told him "Sir, I have lost my fortitude and tolerance. Not all my counseling sessions brought any fruits. I silently swallowed many insults created by Bosco. The discipline that I impar ted for last several years is deteriorating due to Bosco. Only one thing I have gained is an experience on how a problem employee can generate innumerable worries to the Management. I tolerated his late coming, indiscipline in the office, shabby and ugly dress, misuse of telephones, irregular attendance, insubordination, etc. Of late, I have not been getting good sleep. When you introduced Bosco to me, I accepted him as a challenge for the progress of our Company. I now admit that I have failed. Sir, I request you to grant me one month leave or transfer him to some other department. Excuse me for reading this note on phone." Once there was a party in the Officers' Club. Bosco, Viswanath and other colleagues were enjoying with some foreign liquor. Another person, nearby to Bosco's table, After listening to Viswanath unwearyingly, the CEO told him that he had no choice and Viswanath as an experienced HR professional should manage Bosco. H R. Dharma Rao, Head, HR, ICBM. He can be reached at: ravidharma_icbm@yahoo.co.in | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 46 | fully drunk and laughing loudly, was noticed. Bosco asked him to shut up and not to disturb them. Viswanath and others pacified Bosco not to interfere with him. When, in the meanwhile, that person laughed like a thunder, Bosco went to him and roughly punched him. In his anger, he took a chair and lifted it to beat him. Viswanath pulled him back and all of them went to another spot. Within a short time, a police jeep came to the Club. The drunken person was the son of a Police Officer. The police started searching for Bosco whom Viswanath advised him to hide somewhere. The police then said that if Bosco was not found, the entire group would be taken to the Police Station for interrogation. Viswanath, however, with folded hands tactfully handled the situation and avoided a grilling by police. u Two Great Stories - BOTH TRUE - and worth reading! STORY NUMBER ONE Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder. Capone had a lawyer nicknamed 'Easy Eddie.' He was his lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time. To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big , but also, Eddie got special dividends. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block. Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to th atrocity that went on around him. Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object. And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was. Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example. One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done. He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al 'Scarface' Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great! So, he testified. Within the year, Easy Eddie' life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street. But, in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine. The poem read: The clock of life is wound but once, And no man has the power To tell just when the hands will stop At late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still. STORY NUMBER TWO World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific. One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gage and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet. As he was returning to the mother ship he saw something that turned his blood cold: a squadron of Japanese aircraft were speeding their way toward the American fleet. The American fighters were gone on a sor tie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring the back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet. Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 calibers blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent. Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible and rendering them unfit to fly. Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction. Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier. Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from th gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft. This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal of Honour A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man. So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honour. It's located between Terminals 1 and 2. SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER? Butch O'Hare was 'Easy Eddie's' son Contributed by Naren Ayyar, CEO, Globarena Does Management know their Staff? On walking into the factory, the MD noticed a young guy leaning against the wall, doing nothing. He approached the young man and calmly said to him, "How much do you earn?" The young man was quite amazed that he was asked such a personal question, he replied, none the less, "I earn $ 2 000.00 a month, Sir. Why?" Without answering, the MD took out his wallet and removed $6000.00 cash and gave it to the young man and said, "Around here I pay people for working, not for standing around looking pretty! Here is your 3 months salary, now GET OUT and don't come back" The young man turned around and was quickly out of sight. Noticing a few onlookers, the MD said in a very upset manner, "And that applies for everybody in this company". He approached one of the onlookers and asked him, "Who's the young man that I just fired?" To which an amazing reply came of, "He was the pizza delivery man, Sir...!" Contributed by Naren Ayyar CEO of Globarena Technologies, Hyderabad | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 47 | Monster Jobs | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 48 | Monster Article | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 49 | HR Thought Leaders’ Symposium by Delhi Chapter T he “success” of any business relies on its execution. Organizations, in the past, looked up to functions like sales, marketing, R&D, etc, to foster the growth of the company, but today, they are also looking at HR for the same. It is the creative thoughts, approaches and experiments that have led the transformation of HR function from being a time keeping function to a key strategic contributor to business. It was NHRDN Delhi Chapter’s November Special Event on the special theme ‘HR Thought Leaders’ Symposium’, held on Friday, November 2, 2007 at PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry, New Delhi. This novel initiative was well attended by a huge 250+ participants and good blend of audience from members of academia, young professionals to many eminent Chief of HR. Enormous participation from a diverse audience clearly showed enthusiasm and high sprit that prevails in all events of the Delhi chapter. The session was convened by N.S. Rajan, President, Delhi Chapter and Partner Human capital, Ernst & Young, which commenced with the welcome note and recitation of our code of conduct. This was followed by the presentation “Road Show to National Conference” by Mr. L Prabharak, Corporate HR Manager – ITC, showcasing The 11th National Conference of the National HRD Network will be held The Conference will have as its theme “India’s Century: The Challenge for Indian Business Leadership”. The focus of the Conference will be on understanding what successful Indian industry leaders have done in the past to transform their organizations and make them globally competitive and what they see are the challenges for Indian business and industry in the years ahead. Web Launch – The new 2.0 version is up! Pankaj Bansal, VP, Delhi Chapter and CEO, PeopleStrong facilitated the launch of the Delhi Chapters new website. He unleashed the new avatar for the website and also explained how the web-2.0 would integrate the HR fraternity and add value to all members. Web launch was followed by Panel discussion “Evolution of HR”. With the presence for eminent HR thought leaders, it indeed proved as an immense knowledge creation session for the audience. This had a positive contribution as a mixture of experiences, thoughts and learning were brought forward that indeed enlightened everyone. l Aquil Busrai, Executive Director HR, IBM India l Madhukar Shukla (Prof.), XLRI God is Merciful WAQT NAHI Whatever your cross, whatever your pain, there will always be sunshine, after the rain .... Perhaps you may stumble, perhaps even fall, But God’s always ready, To answer your call ... He knows every heartache, sees every tear, A word from His lips, can calm every fear ... Your sorrows may linger, throughout the night, But suddenly vanish, in dawn’s early light ... The Savior is waiting, somewhere above, To give you His grace, and send you His love... Whatever your cross, whatever your pain, “God always sends rainbows .... after the rain ... “ To get out of difficulty, one must usually go through it! Har khushi Hai Logon Ke Daman Mein, Par Ek Hansi Ke Liye Waqt Nahi. Din Raat Daudti Duniya Mein, Zindagi Ke Liye Hi Waqt Nahi. Maa Ki Loree Ka Ehsaas To Hai, Par Maa Ko Maa Kehne Ka Waqt Nahi. Saare Rishton Ko To Hum Maar Chuke, Ab Unhe Dafnane Ka Bhi Waqt Nahi. Saare Naam Mobile Mein Hain, Par Dosti Ke Lye Waqt Nahi. Gairon Ki Kya Baat Karen, Jab Apno Ke Liye Hi Waqt Nahi. Aankhon Me Hai Neend Badee, Par Sone Ka Waqt Nahi. Dil Hai Ghamon Se Bhara Hua, Par Rone Ka Bhi Waqt Nahi. Paison ki Daud Me Aise Daude, Ki Thakne ka Bhi Waqt Nahi. Paraye Ehsason Ki Kya Kadr Karein, Jab Apane Sapno Ke Liye Hi Waqt Nahi. Tu Hi Bata E Zindagi, Iss Zindagi Ka Kya Hoga, Ki Har Pal Marne Walon Ko, Jeene Ke Liye Bhi Waqt Nahi....... Always keep smiling and be happy.Life is too small to complain. Naren Ayyar | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 in Kolkata from November 29-December 1, 2007. 50 | Jamshedpur l P. Dwarakanath, Director - Human Capital, Max India l S. Y. Siddiqui, Executive Director HR, Maruti Udyog l T. V. Rao (Prof.), Chairman, TVRLS - Eminent participants of the panel discussion Many speakers consistently reiterated the importance of understanding the people. “For managing attrition understanding people is very important and People are getting complex” said T. V. Rao (Prof.), Chairman, TVRLS “HR lacks to study people’s mind and what they want” he added. “HR has to work towards strategy as well as HR transactions. We need to learn to strick a balance of the two” Said Madhukar Shukla (Prof.), XLRI Jamshedpur “HR as a function is respected more now” he added. A medley of thoughts was contributed on certain desirable attributes of HR people who represent the HR function, like compassion, confidence and courage. HR function is about giving, mentoring and growing its people, being an HR professional we give life to others. The program was well received by the participants and they congratulated Delhi chapter for its constant innovation and creating a difference. The Publisher HRD Newsletter I thank you very much for publishing continuously 24 of my case studies in our esteemed magazine which are mostly my own experiences. I started writing these on the inspiration extended to me by Mr.S.zarar, principal of my institute, and Mr.K. Satyanarayana garu, Hon. Executive Director. Iam also thankful to Dr.Mathew M.Monippally, IIM Ahmedabad, who had guided me on how to write correctly the case studies and their approach. On the suggestions made by our valuable readers, if you approve, I wish to give suggested solutions without claiming that my solution is the best and wish to start from case study 11, (from where I stopped) from next month. Thanking you, R.dharma rao Response from publisher Thank you for your valuable Case Studies. You are welcome to give solutions. Publisher Delhi Photographs | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 51 | HR Competency Certification: Assessor Development Programme The four th program of the series of workshops on National HR Competency Model was held on 22nd to 24th October 2007 in Mumbai. Dr. Premarajan, Professor OB & HR, and XLRI Jamshedpur facilitated these three-day programs. Mr. G P Rao, Vice President HR, Reliance and Mr. Aquil Busrai President NHRDN addressed the participants on the first day and highlighted the importance of CII, NHRDN and XLRI to work as a team for developing the HR Competency Assessor Model. . Mr. Arvind Agarwal President HR, RPG shared his experience with the participants. The competitive pressures in the environment have radically altered the context in which Human Resource services are delivered in Indian Organizations. With the focus moving towards integrating HR into strategic planning of the organization, the challenges before the HR profession have become even more daunting as neither the tools/techniques of HR nor the profile of the professionals who deploy these, have undergone a Corresponding transformation. The HR Competency Model captures the range of competencies required to play the multiple roles of HR. These have been organized in terms of Technical vs. Behavioral and Functional vs. Generic classification. There are 17 Competencies and these are classified as shown below: Functional Technical Having developed a model consisting of competencies required transforming the HR Function; the next critical step is to evolve a comprehensive mechanism to assess these competencies. It is imperative for both the HR professionals as well as their HR organization, to know where they stand in terms of the necessary HR competencies required for organizational effectiveness. Based on this analysis, competency gaps will be identified and practical recommendations will be made so that the individuals as well as the organizations can assess their own situation, take corrective actions and better Prepare to meet the future challenges that the profession will face. Students from Welinker Institute of Management joined on first day. HR professionals from Crompton Greaves, RPG and Reliance joined as Assesses on the 2nd and 3rd Day of the programme. This special set of assesses comprising HR executives and students were put through an extensive three-day assesses program. Mr.Vivek Pranjape Advisor, Reliance Industries ltd. formally closed the program by presenting certificates to the participants. A special dinner was hosted for the faculty and participants and joined by Mr.Arvind Mehta. The dinner provided a platform to the participants to interact at an informal level with senior members from the committee. The workshops proved extremely successful as a step towards the overarching vision of this association is to raise the standard of HR profession in India in the lines of work by the Management Charter initiative (MCI) or the National Council for Vocational Qualification (NCVQ) in the UK and the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) or the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) with the help of University of Michigan, in the USA. For more information on assessor programs for HR Competency Model watch out this space in forthcoming editions of our Newsletter. List of Participants of HR Competency Model – 4th Batch S.No. Name Designation Organization 1. Mr.Marcel Parker President - HR Raymond Ltd l HR Planning and Staffing 2. Mr.Balaji Ganapathy Asst Mgr-HR TCS l Performance Management 3. Mr.Vikas Kaul HR Partner-GBS IBM l Training and Development 4. Mr.Vijay S Karkare MD Cornerstone India Consulting l Talent Management 5. Mr Sanjay Ghanghaw Sr.Mgr-Corporate Crompton & Greaves l Compensation and Benefit 6. Mr.Ramesh Kumar Head HR NTF India Pvt Ltd 7. Mr.Avijit Roy Dy GM Mahindra & Mahindra 8. Mr.Deepak A Deshpande Sr. VP & Head HR Century communications ltd. 9. Ms.Rekha Hari Sr. Manager Mahindra & Mahindra 10. Ms.Sonali Gaikwad HR Manager L&T Finance Ltd. l Managing Culture, Design & Change l ER and Labour Laws l Building HR Strategy l International HRM 11. Ms.Nisha Verma HR Manager Accenture Functional Behavioral 12. Mr.Smitha Kumar HR Manager Accenture l Service Orientation 13. Ms.Diana Nariman Asst Manager-HR GlaxoSmithline Healthcare l Personal Credibility 14. Ms Ujjwala Singh Sr. Manager TCS l Execution Excellence 15. Mr. Harish Purandare HR Manager ITC Grand Maratha Generic Behavioral l Strategic Thinking & Alignment l Change Orientation l Networking Management Globarena Partners with BIMTECH Insurance & Risk Management program of Globarena Technologies Hyderabad in partnership with Birla Inst of Technology & Management (BIMTECH) was launched on 22 nd November 2207 at Hotel Ramada Manohar. The inauguration by Shri. N. Rangachary, IRS, Former Chairman, IRDA. Generic Technical l Business Knowledge l Financial Perspective | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 52 | Mumbai / Nagapur Photographs | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 53 | Bangalore / Hosur Photographs | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 54 | November at Chennai The Chennai Chapter had a unique double-header in November. The first event was an evening meeting with Mr. S.V.Nathan, Senior Vice President Human Resources, of Deliotte, on November 16, 2007, at Hotel Savera. A packed hall greeted Mr. Nathan, who was speaking on his experiences in Talent Management at Deloitte. Over the past 3 years, Deloitte has moved from being an 'India story' to being 'The Deloitte Story', by consciously creating specific differentiators. Leveraging both on technology and on globally available platforms, Deloitte offers over 32,000 courses of various duration for their employees through their online university. Though many of the courses are instructor-led, there are still a variety of courses available for employees to be able to customize their learning. commitment is the Communication Gym at Deloitte. Building on the premise that 'working out' includes exercising one's skills, the Communication Gym provides employees with various tools to develop those skills at a pace set by individuals. While trainers are available to help, there is no compulsion to use them, or indeed, to use the Gym at all. But where Deloitte has been successful is in creating a 'pull' factor for the Communication Gym - it Ramachandran, a senior HR professional and a member of the Chennai Chapter, presented a memento to Mr. Nathan. It was probably the first time that a Chapter meeting ended with music from Aerosmith - 'Sweet Taste of India' was the theme song that Mr. Nathan had chosen!! The 60-odd members of the Chapter who came for the second meeting, on November 23, found a refreshing change: instead of having a guest speaker, the audience was divided into small groups and each group was tasked with setting the agenda for the Chapter's activities in 2008. The ideas that were thrown up included HR Skill workshops, Industry Specific success stories of various HR practices, Corporate Governance & CSR, Book is now seen as something that is personally beneficial and not something that is being forced upon the individual. Mr. Nathan answered a wide range of questions during the interactive session that followed his presentation. He also picked the lot for an audience gift, which went to Mr. Govindaraj Ramachandran of RR Donnelley. Mr. Kasinath Deloitte has deliberately chosen this 'Customized Learning' to be the key differentiator for their employment experience. Around this has been built a constant messaging that 'Total Rewards' at Deloitte includes the best of opportunities for both working and learning. One of the visible manifestations of this Reviews and ongoing research topics. The lively debate and ideas that have emerged from this meeting have provided significant inputs for the Chapter to form the calendar of activities for 2008. On this occasion, the audience gift went to Mr. Umapathy from Tata Teleservices. | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 55 | Chapter News BANGALORE Career Management System'workshop: The full day workshop on 'Career Management System' was held in Ista Hotel, Bangalore on 27th October 2007. Dr.Pallab, CPO of Cambridge took the session, which was attended by representatives from IT and Non-IT organizations. The participants found the workshop valuable through understanding the entire Career Management model from concept to implementation level. Dr.Gopal Mahapatra and Gopal Gubbi organized the workshop for NHRD, Bangalore chapter members. Monthly Evening Lecture Program October 25, 2007- 6:30 PM @ Hotel Chancery Mr Ravi Dasgupta, Head – Group HR, Biocon Limited made a presentation on HR Challenges in the Biotech Industry. He started from the basics like: HOUSR NHRD HOSUR CHAPTER organised Monthly meet - cum - Talk on 11 Nov 2007 at Ashok Leyland Management Development Centre. Mr. Halasya Sundaram, the OD consultant and behaviour trainer spoke on the subject, "Era of Change and HR role in it". The saying goes that the only thing permanent in the world is change. The change is very omnipresent in the 21st century and how to cope with the change, more particularly the HR professional role in the process is important. Mr. Sundaram's talk was research based and he brought out significant differences in people attitudes and behaviour prevailing today than in olden times. He emphasised that it would no longer be possible for HR managers to manage and develop human resources in traditional manner. No 'one size fit all' solution or HR model can be applied in all situations. On observation by the Chapter President that the new generation appears to be team oriented as compared to the older one, he opined that appears to be the case, but only for the duration of the Project. Mr. KS Sridhar of TITAN Industries introduced the speaker. Mr. R. Rajaram Chapter VP proposed a vote of thanks. A meeting of the Chapter executive committee followed the talk and it was unanimously decided to appoint Mr. KS Sridhar as the Chapter secretary. It was also | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 56 | decided to hold the chapter annual meet during last week of Dec 2007. Prof. Janakiramudu offered that Alliance Business Academy, Bangalore would host this meet. INDORE Dr. I. C. Gupta, Director of the Prestige Institute of Management and Research, Indore has been unanimously elected as President for Indore Chapter of NHRD on 28th November 2007 evening. On the occasion, apart from life members, Shri Ashim Dutta Gupta Asst. Vice President NHRD Chapter Indore and Dr. N.K. Totla treasurer of the Indore chapter and Prof. R. Jangalwa Secretary were present. In his maiden speech as President Dr. I. C. Gupta thanked the members and discussed about the activities and action plan for the chapter. MUMBAI 26th October 2007 was an unforgettable evening for NHRDN, Mumbai Chapter Members and Non- Members. Dr. JAMSHED. J. IRANI ( Director on the Board - Tata Iron and Steel Limited )was invited to speak for their Monthly Evening Lecture Meet as a guest speaker. Dr. Jamshed J. Irani is a renowned personality in the Indian Industry. He is a Director on the Board of Tata Steel, besides being Director on the Boards of several Corporates. He is a Council Member of the Indian Institute of Science ( Banglore), Member of the Advisory Council of Citigroup India and a Trustee of the World Wild Fund for Nature - India ( WWF - India ). Dr J. J. Irani is one of the most respected, almost revered, Icons of the Indian Industry. NAGPUR PEOPLES' STRATEGY FOR CHANGING BUSINESS SCENARIO During November month event Nagpur Chapter has organized a lecture in association with Ispat Ltd on topic "Peoples Strategy for Changing business Scenario" by Mr. Prabhat Dhadiwal, Managing Director, Consumer Packaging Services (I) Ltd, a third party Logistics to Hindustan Lever Limited. Mr. Prakash Dhadiwal was welcomed by Mr. Manoj Sharma Vice President HR Ispat Ltd. Mr. Ramesh S Iyer Addl Gen. Manager (HR) Sunil Hi Tech welcomed Mr. Yoginder Kumar Sr. Vice President (Operations) Ispat Industries Ltd. Prof Rajiv Khaire of Kavi Kulguru Institute of Technology & Science Ramtek proposed the vote of thanks. Mr. Prabhat Dhadiwal who has been associated with last 17 years with HLL with an investment of Rs. 2.5 Crore & above and involved with the business of processing & packing of detergents & other consumer products from 20gms sachets to 500 gms pouch has brought out that in this time of changing business scenario, organizations has to transform their Peoples' Strategy. Women have to be part of the todays' business. CARTOON CORNER And this is the final slide ladies and gentlemen. Please spell my name, Sinha, this way, 'S' for Sincere, 'I' for intelligent, 'N' for net savvy, 'H' for hotshot and 'A' for assertive, whether or not you have a offer from a job site... Dr. Irani gave conceptual inputs on the subject "AFFIRMATIVE ACTION" . He also shared his experiences on the subject from TISCO. The session was very enriching, lively and was a treat for the HR professionals. The program was attended by more than 200 HR and Non - HR Professionals. Mr. Rajeev Dubey, President of NHRDN, Mumbai Chapter, introduced the Guest Speakr and at the concluding session Mrs. Sujatha Patel, Exec. Committee Member proposed the Vote of Thanks. Mr. Prakash Kunte, Executive Committee Member, coordinated the program. Col. P Deogirikar, Indore p_deogirikar@ruchigroup.com Citations of Awards by Eastern Region of National HRD Network Introduction to Awards Speaking at the Harvard Commencement earlier this year, Bill Gates remarked that he had one big regret... He said, “I left Harvard with no real awareness of the awful inequities in the world - the appalling disparities of health, and wealth, and opportunity that condemn millions of people to lives of despair. 1 learned a lot at Harvard about new ideas in economics and politics. 1 got great exposure to the advances being made in the sciences. But humanity’s greatest advances are not in its discoveries - but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity. Whether through democracy, strong public education, quality health care, or broad economic opportunity - reducing inequity is the highest human achievement. I left campus knowing little about the millions of young people cheated out of educational opportunities… And 1 knew nothing about the millions of people living in unspeakable pover ty and disease in developing countries.” Extraordinary stories highlight the massive social change that is taking place around the world today. Millions of ordinary people in the non-profit sector are increasingly stepping in to solve problems which governments and bureaucracies have failed to address. What business entrepreneurs are to the economy, social entrepreneurs are to social change. They are the driven, creative individuals who question the status quo, exploit new opportunities, refuse to give up - and remake the world for the better. Along with business entrepreneurs, policy makers, investors, academics, and journalists, social entrepreneurs and their innovations are inspiring a new generation of changemakers to create positive social change. With determination and innovation, even a single person can make a surprising difference. Today, the Eastern Region of the National HRD Network is proud to honour a few such extraordinary individuals, who through their passion, commitment and concern have creatively impacted the lives of the dispossessed to build for them a new world of dignity and economic independence. Vishal Talreja Though the number of literate people in India has increased over the years, our country still has the largest number of uneducated children in the world. The pitiable conditions of child labour and street children, coupled with child abuse and poverty, paint a dismal picture. Data shows that every second child in the country suffers from malnutrition, and almost 60,000 children are born with HIV each year! Basic health care is a distant dream for most of our people. The condition of India's youth population is no less pitiable. A large number of the nation's youth do not have the privilege of making education, career or lifestyle choices due to lack of finance and opportunities. For most of us these are alarming statistics; troubling perhaps and worrisome maybe. But for a group of exceptional people these facts and figures called for fundamental and far-reaching change. With belief in the power to transform lives, and the vision to empower and integrate vulnerable children within communities, 'Dream a Dream' was born in November 1999 when Vishal Talreja quit the comfortable life of an Investment Banker and chose the road less travelled. For encouraging children with HIV and cancer; for integrating disadvantaged children within communities and enhancing public awareness around children's needs and issues; for contributing to the welfare of the disabled and the elderly; for creating awareness on . healthcare, human rights and environment issues; but most of all, for having the courage to dream big; the Eastern Region of the National HRD Network is proud to honour Vishal Talreja, co-founder and Director of 'Dream a Dream'. Gargi Baneriee and Sunil Pillai The phenomenon of dispossession is neither new nor uncommon. It prevails in every state, every society and in every strata. The fortunate view the dispossessed with compassion and sometimes extend a helping hand; others choose not to acknowledge this dark presence. Only a handful of people have the ability to take compassion to a far higher plane; marry it with committed concern, address the state of dispossession as a solvable problem and then proceed to deal with the problem professionally. They are driven not by the desire for fame or fortune; they are driven by the finest spirit that humankind can demonstrate: the spirit of humanity. The severe deprivation of the indigenous communities living in the Indian Himalayas, the fast depleting natural wealth, the eroding culture and neglected conservation and development needs gave birth to the vision of Pragya. By applying modern, technical and managerial knowledge to development issues, Pragya stepped into unchartered areas, not only inspiring the local people to address these issues, but also drawing the world's attention to the problems of the Himalayan region and its peoples. Pragya's innovative projects include setting. up cooperatives for Himalayan medicinal plants, providing electricity in remote villages through the first-ever Solar Wind Hybrid system, establishing snow reservoirs to address the crisis of receding glaciers and establishing rural museums and education facilities in remote areas. For forsaking successful corporate careers to 'Contribute to the concerns of the dispossessed Himalayan mountain communities; for adapting management systems to create effective grassroots institutions; for literally moving mountains to show the world how a committed group of people can revolutionise mindsets and lifestyles in the remotest of areas; for making change happen where it is needed the most; and for demonstrating the most laudable entrepreneurial spirit, the Eastern Region of the National HRD Network is proud to honour Gargi Banerjee and Sunil Pillai of Pragya. Sister Cyril Moonev Possibly the most beautiful of God's creations; but also the most abused, the Indian girl child is fated at conception for infanticide, abandonment or utter neglect. Only a small percentage of girl children are welcomed to a life that cherishes them and empowers them to achieve their full potential. It is to this world that Padma Shri Cyril Mooney, a Sister of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loreto), brings hope and faith. Picking them up from pavements or from poverty stricken homes, she gives them a life of security, warmth and happiness; restoring childhood into their dismal lives. The lady behind this massive mission of providing education and shelter to countless girls of Kolkata has effectively used children as agents of change - thus transforming the lives of the underprivileged and enriching the lives of the privileged. The spirit of empathy that she has instilled in young students from schools and colleges motivated her to to go a step further - to village outreach programmes and to slums - to identify' and teach children who do not go to school. For her legionary contribution to making children agents of change; for her creative Rainbow Educational Programme to create an education system that is impactful, child focused, simple and sustainable; for creating an army of Barefoot Teachers to provide appropriate education to the deprived; for her helping hand in attacking Hidden Domestic Child Labour; for bringing street children into the security of school buildings at night; for her Child to Child programme; and for many other path-breaking measures across the country that are transforming and enriching the lives of our underprivileged children, the Eastern Region of the National HRD Network is proud to honour Sister Cyril Mooney. | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 57 | 11th National Conference News Coverage | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 58 | | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 59 | | HRD News Letter | December 2007, Vol.23, Issue:9 60 |