NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

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).

3 May 1980

To:

Dept. Heads (PGM-Group)                  

SUB : NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

For  us the  time  is April.   (But  it is  better  late than never !. )

And it is serious business deciding

-    Where we are (data-base)

-    Where we wish to go (direction/objective)

-    Which path do we take (strategy)

-    How do we go (Tactics/Action plan)

-    When do we reach (Time/Target)

-    What shall be the guide posts  (Monitoring Progess)

But decide we must.

So how do we go about it?

STEP - I

Decide what is "our job" The job of the department (function - description) The job of an individual (job description)

Before  the  departments  can write  their  own  "function  -description", we must know the  "group functions" - the group under  GM(P).  What  is  the  "raison  d'etre"  (reason  for existence) of this group?

You will find this in Annexure A.

This  should  enable  the  department  heads  to   write  the departmental "function - description".

Dept. Heads will  meet me on  27.05.80 morning at  10.00 a.m. (C-4 Conference room) to discuss these.

Each dept.  head shall present  to the group,  the "function-description"   of  his   own   department   (use  O/H   Slide Projector).  After  all the  presentations have taken  place, we will discuss and decide if these descriptions are:

       -  Synergic     

-  congruent     

-  complimentary     

-    supportive

or

-    discordant

-    opposing

-    neutralizing

-    negating

STEP - 2

Department Heads  circulate their  function-description among the  Supervisory  Staff of  the  department, asking  them  to write down  their own  individual job-descriptions.  By  10/6 each Supervisory Staff to present  his own job-description in a  departmental meeting.  Once  again  decide if  we are  all pulling in the  same direction.   (If invited, I will  try to make myself available as an "observer").

Also use the departmental meeting to determine (write down)

CRITERIA               -   what  criteria (measurable)  would you  like others 

(mainly our  customers)  to use  for  evaluating departmental

Performances. -

DATA-BASE      -   what  data-base  exists   (or  needs  to  be created) for

Performance measurement.

objectives              -   in  light of  the foregoing  what should  be the

departmental   objectives  for   April  80-March 81.

At this stage,  you may wish to debate whether  the prevalent atmosphere  in  the dept.  is  "open"  enough for  the  staff members to  settle their individual  "objectives" right there in the meeting.  If not, in  the departmental meeting itself, draw-up a time-schedule for  individual staff members to meet you separately for settling his own objectives.

STEP – 3

Meet the  staff member to  settle his objectives.   To ensure that   the   objectives  are   less   "subjective"   &   more "objective", send out  the work-sheet (enclosed)  in advance. This is  the ACID-TEST.  For  practice, ask  your man  to rewrite  last year's  (79-80) objectives on  the sheet  and see for himself  how many  of  these withstand  this  test.  Only thereafter,  let  him  write  proposed  80-81  objectives  on another work-sheet and bring both sheets to the meeting.

STEP-4

Having settled  the objectives,  let your man  meet you  once again within a week.  This time ask him to bring with him:

A.   DATA-BASE

The  onus of proving  ACTUAL vs.  target performance  is his.   Right at  the  beginning  of  the year,  he  must convince   you,   regarding   the   existence   of   the INFORMATION  SYSTEM  and  the starting  DATA-BASE  (over which  improvements are  planned).  There  is no  way we can measure progress without co-ordinates!

And you must carry your  own navigation-instruments.  Sure, a Satellite  can track  you in  the middle  of Sahara  desert -while you  are going in  Circles all the time!  This  is what generally   happens  when  you   depend  upon   the  Computer department or the Accounts department  or the Costing Section or some such external agency  to tell you that your assistant is  "off"  his  target.   Remember   that  keeping  you  well informed   every  morning  about  the   performance  of  your subordinates, may not be one of their objectives!!

B.   ACTION-PLAN

Many Soul-satisfying  Objectives have turned  into pious platitudes  for   want  of  an   action-plan'.  Planning Commission will tell you  NOW, where we ought to reach by 2000 A.D.  - without having  the faintest clue  of where we will be  at the end of 1980!   But then Policy-makers cannot  be  bothered with  trivial  details  -  like the Harvard  Professor who  advised  the  cat-scared  rat to become  a  dog  and  got  angry   when  the  rat  asked, "but-how"?

So ask your man to write down  "how".

C.  THE GUIDE-POSTS

These are  all-familiar mile-stones - not  only you know that you  are on  the predetermined track  but  you also know how  well (or  well not) you  are doing.   Those of you who  are familiar  with PERT network,  know  them as "events"  (as distinct from  activities).  These  are so to  say,  "mini-destinations".   Along  your  "activity-track", have at least  2/3 of these and keep looking for them - and  looking at the calendar.  You  will know who needs more steam and when!

STEP - 5

Let your man  loose.  From this point  onwards, he is  on his own -  to be judged  solely by the  "results" and not  by the "noise".   Let him know  you are available  for  "guidance" -but only  if he  asks for it.   Your only  concern should  be with regard to use of unethical means  to achieve noble ends, - or  sacrifice  of departmental/Group objective  so that  an individual may achieve his own.  This is strictly forbidden.

I am  sure dfp (dgm-hrd) would  be only too glad  to help at any stage of the exercise.

                                                      

                                                                                           Annexure - A                   

FUNCTION - DESCRIPTION

ADMINISTRATION GROUP

(G.M. POWAI)

PREAMBLE

Let  us  not  look  upon  L&T,  as  a  mere  manufacturer  of machinery and equipment.

Let  us say,  India is  waging a  war  - war  for removal  of "wants"  - a  war  for  a  better  tomorrow for  its  teeming millions.   And better  tomorrow  means  different things  to different people.  For  a man who sleeps on the  footpath, it means being able to sleep inside the 96" diameter pipe!

Let us say, L&T is  on the forefront of this war  - right out at  the frontiers  of  "Technology".  7000  people of  Powai, constantly  learn new  technologies, and  where  to apply  it with ever-increasing efficiency to their own daily tasks.

These are

·     Designing new war-machines (the Equipments)

·     Preparing Production plans

·     Acquiring resources of Man/Material/Machine                                Buildings/Facilities

·     Utilizing these resources optimally

     (to)

@    Manufacture the equipments

@    Despatch/installing/commissioning the equipments

@    Servicing the equipment to keep them going

     (so that)

o    The war on "want" may go on & on

o    And such a war cannot be fought

o    with borrowed ammunition

o    The machines we make are

o    The muscles that matter

THE ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP

To the people of Powai we cater. We are the "logistics" people (The unsung heroes - if you like) we are "prominent" when absent and self-effacing if present

                                 

Our Job

Our  job is to  ensure that our  investment at  Powai remains fully productive  at all  times,  around the  clock, all  the days of the year.

And when I say  "investment" I mean all types of investment -including "people-investment" - the most important of all.

At Powai, the company has invested in     

Facilities             

(The land - buildings - equipments - utilities)     

Materials

Mfg. materials/W.I.P./Finished Goods/ Maintenance Materials

Information

Systems & Procedures

Organizatonal Manuals

Computer-based Data Management

Communication (Telephone/Telex/Mail/Printing )

People

How can we ensure that these RESOURCES  are kept "productive" at ail times?

Right from the  starting point where you  "Envisage" the need for a resource, all the way  to the final stage of "Auditing" whether a  given resource is being  efficiently 'utilized, you have to subject the  resource to various  kinds of treatment. This will become clear from the following matrix.

Type of Treatment	Type of Resource	Facilities	Materials	Information	People
1	Envisage
2	Plan
3	Acquire
4	Maintain -    Feed -    Transport
5	Utilize (optimum)
B	Organize
7	Develop (Train)
8	Nurture -    Physical -    Mental
9	Motivate
10	Audit

Clearly the "ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP" is     

Partly/wholly responsible     

Ocassionally/Permanently      

For a few/all of the "treatments"     

For one/more than one resource     

Individually/jointly with unit managers

And THAT is our job !

I  have purposely  left the  matrix  blank so  that, you  may attempt to fill it in:

1.   From the view-point of your particular section/department

2.   Using your own "self-perception" of your role

3.   Using  the  "perception" of  the  others  in Powai  (and elsewhere) as to your              

    role.                                                          

H.C. PAREKH

STANDARDISATION OF FORMATS ND PRESENTATION METHODS

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).

26 Mar 1980

ALL MANAGEMENT MEMBERS

OF PRODUCTIVITY COMMITTEE MEETING (POWAI LEVEL)

STANDARDISATION OF FORMATS ND PRESENTATION METHODS

Further  to my  Circular of  March  24, 1980,  I invite  your attention to my earlier  Circular of October 24, 1979  on the same subject, reproduced below for your ready reference:

"From  a folder  circulated by  Mr.M.H.  Pherwani,  I enclose herewith a Chapter entitled

"HOW TO START A PRODUCTIVITY  EFFORT".

I   draw  your   particular   attention   to  paragraphs   on 'Diagnosis' &  'Measurement'.  I  am fully  aware that,  in a diverse   operation  like   ours,   no   single  measure   of productivity      (output), using

(input )

identical  'units'  of  measurement   for  the  'output'  and 'input'  could serve  the purpose  of  all  the manufacturing departments.   Even for  'Production', 

different departments may be compelled to use different units of measurement.

What is however, important is     

1.                    1.                                          That all manufacturing departments/shop determine, once  for all, 

THE definitions  of - Production and  -  Productivity that  they

 would follow in  the months and  years to  come.  This             

CONSISTENCY  in the  use of  a_ definition would permit

monitoring  of productivity  improvements over the coming

months.

2.                    2.                                          That all manufacturing  departments Standardise the formats  in

which  they would publish  their monthly reports on- Production

and - Productivity.

Such  monthly reports  may  include  the monthly data  as well as

the  cumulative data  (from the base month of January  1979?) to

enable easy and quick comparisons  of the 'Actual Vs  Budget' on

both   the  parameters   viz.    Production  and Productivity.

3.                  That as far as possible, the definitions of                       

- Production and                      

- Productivity.

 Should  be in  units  of  physical outputs  (and inputs )                   

                         and  avoid  using  measures  of  'Sales  Price', 'Transfer Price'

                         etc.

                         If  for  some reasons,  it  is  not possible  to avoid   use  of  

                         'SP/TP'  etc.,  a   method  of discounting  these  for  the

                         inflation  must  be established.   The  numerator must  be 

                         adjusted using   well   known,   'Price   index'   series

                         published  by  Govt./Semi  Govt./Trade  agencies (e.g. RBI).

I have  already requested the  perspective Planning  Dept. to evolve  one  or  more  'product  Price  index'  series  using published prices  of a large number  of industrial machinery/ agricultural   machinery/electrical    machinery/construction machinery/passenger  and goods transport  vehicles/chemical -pharmaceutical machinery/consumer capital products etc.

By a  copy of this note,  I am requesting  CMS/VM to approach you to finalise

-      -         the definitions

-      -         the formats

for  your  area  of  operations.    I am   convinced  that  a consistent use  of these is  the only way  to know if  we are moving and if so, in what direction."

H.C. PAREKH

PRODUCTIVITY SLOGAN

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).

24 Mar 1980

To:

Dear friends

Did you notice anything unusual about this month's  pay-packet?

For most  of you, of course,  it must have  been heavier than ever before, due to

-  D.A.  having gone  up  (C.P.I, is  up  48 points    over December' 79

-  Overtime wages at  20% of normal wages (3.2 % in    December' 79)

However, that is not what I meant when I said "unusual".

I  meant  the  "Productivity  Slogan"  on  the  face  of  the paypacket.  The "Creative" amongst us  participated in the "Slogan  Contest".   Now  one  slogan  will  appear  on  each month's  pay-packet.   But  surely  there are  more  than  12 creative employees in the company!

And here is their chance to make the pay-packet most unusual.

"Productivity Message" Contest

1.  Within  30 days of  the appearance  of a  slogan on  the      pay-packet, send in your  "Productivity Message" on  the      same subject/theme as  the slogan,  in fact,  the slogan      should be the title of your message.

2.  The  message should  highlight  the  importance of  that      subject/theme  to   the  overall  productivity   of  the      company.   To  support  your   theme,  the  message  may      highlight  the   "good"  work   being  carried   out  by      employees  in  distant corners  of  the  company and  be      inspirational to the readers.

3.  Message  should  be typed/legibly  handwritten  and  not      more than 200 words in length.

4.  Message could be in English/Marathi/Hindi.

5.  The  author's  name must  not  appear  anywhere  on  the      message itself.  Send  a separate covering letter.   The      contest is  open only to  the Bombay based employees  of      L&T TENGL & EWAC.

6.  Message   should  be   sent   to  Mr.   C.M.  Srivastava      (Industrial Engg. Dept.)

7.  A panel  of judges will evaluate the  messages received      and  select the  best for  printing  (with  the Author's      name)  and  enclosing with   the pay-packet   2/3 months      later.

8.  The best message will be awarded a prize of Rs. 200/-.

9.  Once  an author's  message has  been  adjudged best  and  awarded the  prize, the  author will not be  eligible for another award/publication  for the following  12 months. However,  if  his/her   another  message  gets  adjudged "best",  once  again,   the   same   will   receive   a      'complimentary'  award  of  Rs.  50/-  and  the  message  displayed on  the notice-boards.  In  such an event, the    next-best  message will  get  the  rs.  200/- award  and      publication with the pay-packet.

The race is on !

The authors of L&T arise !!

H.C. PAREKH

INVOLVEMENT

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).

16 Mar 1980

Dear Shop-Supervisor:                      

SUB: INVOLVEMENT

Texas Instruments (TI) is a giant electronics-manufacturing firm in  U.S.A. and employs  41,000 people.   TI manufactures computer components.  Their latest is a computer that 'talks back ' !

(I  think  they  should  immediately  introduce  'Performance Appraisal' for the

wretched THING!)

TI  say, the  secret  of their  success  lies in  INNOVATION. They  innovate  product  designs,   manufacturing  processes, marketing  strategies and  so on.   But where  they  excel in innovating  (by their own admission) is in  INVOLVEMENT - the 'people involvement' in everything they do.

And  the results  are there  for everybody  to see  -  I mean 'hear'! (At  TI  they  have  changed  over  to   'hearing is believing'.).

Enclosed extract  from an  article about  TI, describes their PEOPLE

INVOLVEMENT.

One way of getting people motivated is getting them involved.

Another  way  of getting  them  motivated  is to  say  'HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU'.   To help you do that, I enclose  a list of your colleagues with  their birth-dates.  The list  will also tell you when  one of them completes  15/20/25 years' service with the  Company.  Both  occasions have immense  sentimental value  to an  individual.  If  you remember  these  dates, he will know you  'care' for him.  And who is above  the feeling of 'someone up there like me'?

Wishing you good-luck in your own search for 'good-will'.

H.C.PAREKH

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).

9 Mar 1980

Dear Shop Supervisor:             

HOW TO GET ALONG BETTER WITH PEOPLE

Some nineteen  years ago, Mr.  Gunner Hansen,  (the then GM -Manufacturing,   Powai)  presented   a  book   to  me  titled 'Business  is people'.   I was one  of the  20-odd people who received  this  gift.   Powai  was  a  small place   then and everyone knew everyone else.

Today, Powai has grown so big  that even people who travel by the same bus and  eat in the same Canteen for  years together do not know each other.   The problem, of 'getting along with people' has never been more acute.

'Business is  people' continues to  inspire me even  now (the book is out  of print but we  have two copies  in our Central Library).

Enclosed  find  a copy  of  'How  to  get along  better  with people'  (written by the same  author) which is  equally good and I hope it will inspire you  now and for years to come, in your dealings with people.

H.C. PAREKH