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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).
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18 Jun 1984
To:
Dear Friends
Mr. Sethna (GM - Gr.II) has
written to me (see
enclosed note). Mr. Sethna is a man
of few words and normally
he prefers to say those few words
face to face - and without mincing I
He
could have simply walked into my room and said those few words.
But he chose
to write. That could mean two things:
ONE
His message is not meant for me alone but for all 10,000 odd people in
the
Company.
TWO
The message is grave.
And what is
the message ?
Simply
stated, it says,
"If we
don't take serious notice, get-up and fight back like hell, the flood of international competition which is about to submerge Gr.II, may drown the rest of Powai as well, before long !"
In a
recent letter to the
shop representatives, I have narrated how the Rising Sun (Japan) is about to wipe-out the
American Car industry -
and how American
Workers are fighting back like
hell 'to
save jobs'. Borrow this letter from
your Shop Rep. and read it.
Then compare
the situation in Group II with the American
car Industry and ask:
Will we be
able to save our jobs ?
In the past,
when we were
literally driven out by the
competition from the manufacuture
of drilling a chinery (Madh)
and packaging machinery, we somehow
saved the jobs of some 400 employees
- redeploying them in other units which did not need
them - even though this
meant lowering the productivity
of those units and increasing their
costs. And one such unit was Group II !
And
next time when the catastrophe strikes, what
shall we do? or better yet, is
there anything that we can do NOW to prevent the occurrence of "next
TIME"?
We can
certainly do something (provided it is very soon) to prevent the "NEXT
TIME " .
u We can increase our productivity
u Produce faster by working harder
u Thereby reduce costs
u Challenge Japan
u Get orders
u Keep busy
u Save jobs
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