Thursday, 28 February 1985

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY MR.CHANDRAKANT KIRLOSKAR

Synopsis: Communication For Productivity

Letters written to some 7500 Workers / Managers / Union Leaders, following a period of strike / Go slow / Murders (1979 - 1987), at Mumbai factory of Larsen & Toubro Ltd. This direct / open / honest communication led to a remarkable atmosphere of trust between Workers and Management, which, in turn, increased productivity at 3% per year (ave).

28 Feb 1985

To:

Dear Friends

Almost 2 months ago, I presented to you PART-1 of an article written by Shri Chandrakant Kirloskar.

Today I present to you PART-II - the concluding part.

In this part, Mr. Kirloskar asks, "Why have we fallen behind the advanced countries ?"

Is it because,

u we are fatalist by nature?

u instead of getting rid of our 10,000 year old social caste-system, we have extended it further into the fields of education and industry?

u we always look-up to either America or Japan for answers to all our problems and have nothing in our own civilization and culture to provide such answers?

u instead of being result-oriented we have become procedure-oriented? (operation successful but the patient died ! )

Mr. Kirloskar has provided some answers (to his own questions) in the-following article.

If you too have some answers, please do write to me soon, because time is running out !

But while suggesting solutions, try the following approach :

"Dear Mr. Parekh,

From today, I will do the following :

1.________________________

2.__________________________

etc. etc.

H.C.PAREKH

Thursday, 21 February 1985

INSTANT INDUSTRIAL- RELATIONS !

Synopsis: Communication For Productivity

21 Feb 1985

To:

Dear Colleague

These are days of "instant-everything" - instant coffee, instant music (computer - created), instant baby (test-tube version ?), instant health (Sheri-Louise), instant death (Bhopal) and even

Instant Industrial – Relations ! .

That is the feeling I got the other day when I was one of 13 speakers at an Industrial Relations Seminar (they always have "new dimensions" - I wonder what happens to the old dimensions ?). Were it not for the thoughtful absence of some of the speakers, the remaining speakers would have got only sufficient time to say,

"It is good to have industrial-relations and it is better to have good industrial-relations. Thank you !."

But then there are sufficient people (with more than sufficient company-money) in a city like Bombay, who are all too eager to listen to a lot of jargon in the fond hope of becoming instant IR experts in the course of one day !

What a sharp contrast to know that the personnel managers of Toyota company

"began a pilgrimage in 1952, to talk with employees in small discussion-groups, at their homes, after work-hours, in an attempt to re-establish mutual dialogue.

On an average, they made three visits a night, coming home after nine o'clock, six days a week ...... The two managers had to continue their itenerary for ten years, before they were convinced that their mission was finally completed".

Ten years, 9000 families, one hour with each family '. - all to re-establish mutual dialogue !

Is it any wonder that the country with the least labour-laws has the most harmonious IR climate ?

In the enclosed article on

"Industrial Relations in Japan" ,

you will come across many examples of the Japanese tenacity when it comes to building trust between groups of employees - by whatever name called.

A few months back, MR. MISU, one-time director of HITACHI, said,

"As individuals, Japanese people are not very brilliant. We have won only 4 Nobel-prizes in all these years against 109 won by the Americans. But when it comes to working collectively as a team, we are almost unbeatable !"

I would request you to pass-on this article to as many supervisory persons in your department as you can - just anyone who says he has not read it. Some of them, who might still be around in Powai, in the year 2001 A.D., might want to start their own "pilgrimage" now !

H. C. PAREKH

Wednesday, 20 February 1985

DEAR COLLEAGUE

Synopsis: Communication For Productivity

20 Feb 1985

To:

Dear Colleague

Recently you participated in a brain-storming exercise to make out a list of "Issues before the organization".

Having identified and prioritized the issues, unless we now move forward to find "solutions", it would be a waste of time !

But more than that, would it be "lack of maturity"? In the enclosed article, Ashok Malhotra writes,

"Rarely do Indian managers show the maturity of using their negative feelings as a "resource" for themselves and for the system".

What perhaps Malhotra does not say so plainly is that, the Indian managers are given to nursing their grievances (real or imagined) and sulking in a corner with a "hurt" feeling -little realising that dynamism of an organisation is built upon the "dis-satisfaction" of its managers - dissatisfaction with their own performance and the performance of the system !

As someone has said, "contented cows may give milk - but that is about all" . And in an age where we may soon have synthetic milk, even the contented cows are in danger of disappearing !.. And then, I am sure, none of us would like to be dragged to the 21st century much against our free-will, kicking and mewing !

H. C. PAREKH

Monday, 11 February 1985

CHANGING PATTERN OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Synopsis: Communication For Productivity

11 Feb 1985

To:

Dear Colleague

The Changing pattern of Industrial Relations:

I enclose herewith, a write-up on a research-study conducted by the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies.

After reading this write-up, if you start wondering whether L&T was one of the companies covered by this research, let me tell you that we did not participate in this research.

But that does not diminish the value of this research. The fact that we are able to identify some of the characters in this study in the context of L&T, only proves its relevance to our own situation here at Powai.

The researcher says,

" --------- in the name of professionalism, managements have tended to impersonalize their relationship with the work-force. "

" They (supervisors) have an authoritarian style of functioning which is not acceptable to the young, conscious and aware worker who prefers an involving or participatory type of management."

"At present the level of communication is very poor and there is lack of trust. ----- it is not enough to merely communicate with the Union leaders or Union Committee.

Sometime back, some of us met to brain-storm and identify,

" The Issues before the Organisation".

When the 'ranking' exercise is over, I have a feeling that "Developing harmonious Industrial Relations" will rank quite high on the list.

How do we go about this? A debate must ensue at all levels. So, can I request you to circulate the enclosed write-up to all officers and supervisors of your dept.?

H.C. PAREKH

Friday, 8 February 1985

ORDERS LOST

Synopsis: Communication For Productivity
Letters written to some 7500 Workers / Managers / Union Leaders, following a period of strike / Go slow / Murders (1979 - 1987), at Mumbai factory of Larsen & Toubro Ltd. This direct / open / honest communication led to a remarkable atmosphere of trust between Workers and Management, which, in turn, increased productivity at 3% per year (ave).

8 Feb 1985

To:

(Manager, Design - Gr. II)

ORDERS LOST

Talking to Mr. V.G. Desai (Divn. Mgr.) a few days ago, he told me that he has made available to you details of orders lost (by Chemical Division) during the last 6 months to competitors.

Mr. R.N. Mukhija (Divn. Mgr. - SWT Cont.) is making a presentation on "competition" during the next Powai-level Productivity Committee Meeting on 14th inst. at 9 a.m. in G-4. You may wish to attend to get an idea of the presentation. Earlier Mr. Gupta of Food Div. had made such a presentation.

I would highly appreciate if you and VGD can make such a presentation in the March Meeting.

Regards

Hemen Parekh

A SWALLOW DOES NOT A SUMMER MAKE

Synopsis: Communication For Productivity

8 Feb 1985

To:

Dear Friends

A SWALLOW DOES NOT A SUMMER MAKE

That is how they say it in America.

But in India, we could say,

"A Bulbul does not a Basant make".

Even in Bombay, we are in the middle of a winter. The nights are so cold that my thoughts turn to the poor who sleep on the foot-path.

In the middle of this cold winter-night, if I were to hear a Bulbul sing outside my window, could I confidently say that Basant-rutu is around the corner ?

Obviously no !

Just one solitary Bulbul cannot mean that Basant-rutu has arrived ! The Bulbul must have lost its way !

For Basant to arrive truely, we need many more Bulbuls -not only one who might have come perhaps by an accident/chance !

The same may be true of our profitability for the year 1983-84 !

Yes, the figures are finally published to end your anxiety" ?

Let us once again turn to our "Mount Kailash" and see what happened in 1983-84

Bravo !

Our profitability has improved by 0.3% in 1983-84 over the previous year.

Time for rejoicing ? Time to jump with happiness ?

Perhaps not yet !. Perhaps the winter is still not over. Perhaps this Bulbul has lost its way .! Perhaps Basant is still far away!

How far ?

That is upto us !

In nature we cannot order the winter to "hurry-up and get out". It takes its own time.

But in a business-enterprise like ours, we can come out of the winter FAST - through our own efforts. If we work hard (and smart) all the time, we can enjoy a Basant-weather all the time !

So let us not waste time in celebrating, 0.3% rise in profitability I

Let us ask of ourselves,

"What must 7000 people at Powai do during the current year (of which 4 months have already gone I ) to ensure that

our profitability rises by 3.0% in 1984 - 85?

If a direct worker of Kelvinator company in Delhi can increase his output from 8 refrigerators to 14 refrigerators/month in 5 years, (an increase of 75% in producitvity!) why cannot we ?

And to think that the average wage of our SSA worker is more than double the wages (including incentive bonus) earned by a Kelvinator worker !

And if anyone thinks that Kelvinator company may be using

u more modern machinery

u superior plant layout

u better working conditions

u greater mechanisation/automation

compared to our factories at Powai, then let him go and ask

Mr. R.B. Bhambhani (PGW)

Mr. H.M. Daga (PSW)

Mr. P.W. Karnataki (PGW)

Mr. C.T. Nakhate (PTL) ) BKS

Mr. D.M. Shinde (PSW) ) Union

and they will tell you that Kelvinator has

u a 24 year-old factory building

u a very crowded shop-floor

u 15/20 year old power-presses -

u Poor ventilation

u very little mechanization

And yet they have managed to bring about a fantastic increase in their productivity.

How ?

If someone wants to suggest that it is because of their production-incentive scheme.

he is RIGHT !

The earnings in Kelvinator are linked to group and individual performance. The employees have to

produce FIRST

earn LATER

Much the same way as in the case of the agreement in Premier Automobiles Ltd. (PAL) in Bombay - just 2 months before we signed our own agreement.

PAL workers agreed to FIRST raise car production from 75/day to 100/day.

PAL Management agreed to grant Rs. 250 per month to each worker THEREAFTER - but only as long as car production remained 100/day ! For a 33% increase in productivity .'

And if you do not take into account this incentive of Rs. 250 per month (which can go up and down with the production and will be a ZERO at 75 cars/day), the rest of the comparison between L&T and premier Automobiles looks like the following:

MINIMUM WAGE

(ALL COMPUTATIONS AT CPI 2513)

	LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED			PREMIER AUTOMOBILES LIMITED
	Before Settlement	After Settlement	Increase	Before Settlement	After Settlement	increase
BASIC D. A. MONTHLY ALLOW.	46.80 868.26 191.00	55.90 911.89 591.50	9.10 43.63 400.50	287 435 183	287 435 543	- - 360
TOTAL	1106.06	1559.29	453.23	905	1265	360

MAXIMUM WAGE

(ALL COMPUTATIONS AT CPI 2513)

	LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED			PREMIER AUTOMOBILES LIMITED
	Before Settlement	After Settlement	Increase	Before Settlement	After Settlement	increase
BASIC D. A. MONTHLY ALLOW.	426.40 2097.98 228.00	465.66 2106.89 745.50	39.26 8.91 517.50	759 435 163	759 435 735	- - 567
TOTAL	2752.38	3318.05	565.67	1357	1929	567

PAL workmen also agreed to,

u a large number of casual and contract workers to be retrenched

u a large number of workers working on truck-assembly line to be shifted to the car-assembly line.

And although you may not have friends in Delhi who can tell you what is happening at Kelvinator, I am sure you have friends here in Bombay who are working in Premier factory and who can confirm or contradict my statements.

And if you do find out, how much actually the Premier car production has gone up since signing of the agreement, please do let me know !

All I know is that the Maruti car company (Suzuki-Japan collaboration) in Delhi

produced - 10,000 cars last year

plans - 21,000 cars in current year (union's target against management target of 20,000 !)

expects - 40,000 cars during next year !

And Maruti have a total of 1900 employees (top - to bottom) at present.

You may also tell this to your friends working in Premier !

Maruti employees do not wish to keep this a TOP - SECRET !

They want employees all over India to know this !

And those L&T-ites who went and saw Maruti factory would be failing in their duty if they do not tell you what they saw and heard at Maruti !

H.C.PAREKH