Sugandha Singh- Maruti Case Analysis

Manesar Case Analysis:

It is a thought-provoking case to study from the Industrial relations view point. The consequences that resulted from the entire event were tragic and no one has expected that the strike and anger of employees will transform into violence and result in harming the HR fraternity. The workers were full of pain, distrust, anger and ill treatment. There was lot of unrest and turmoil in the premises of Maruti.

The case reveals that there was a communication gap between the management and workers which was prolonging for quite some time and as a result of which there was anger, distrust, agitation and dissatisfaction among employees.

The conversation with Yogita during the session revealed that the workers were not ready to speak to consultants, each & every actions and discussion reflected the pain. There are number of reasons that led to this extreme step:

 ·  Japanese management was micro managing the Manesar plant. They were clashes in the working styles of the management. The Japanese management was result oriented & hence focused more on productivity which generated pressure on the Indian management to increase productivity and give results

·     Infrastructure design was not according to the workers need. The hygiene needs were not met: canteen and washroom facilities were far off and the breaks offered were of 7:30 minutes only which wasn’t sufficient enough to go and come back

·   Centralized union- there was no union at the Manesar plant as a result all the grievances were communicated to the Gurgaon plant where it was addressed but there was no clear communication and so the decisions were not taken

·   There was no common platform for the communication between the management and workers

·    There was communication gap between the supervisors and workers. Workers approached the management with their issues which were not getting resolved and left them agitated. Moreover the supervisors were  frustrated as they were left out

·    All he latest selling models of cars were manufactured in Manesar plant, thus causing pressure on operations & volumes. Workers enthusiastically worked overtime but they were offered lesser overtime wages in comparison to the Gurgaon plant

·    There was no internal and external equity amongst the workers in the plant. The incentives offered to them were less and there were no mediclaim facilities and felt that they were being discriminated and cheated

·    Gurgaon plant was more people oriented and Manesar plant was more task oriented

·    Less experienced supervisors – The supervisors and the workers at Manesar plant were of the same age (24-28 years) so there were a lot of personality clashes and conflicts which the supervisors couldn’t handle with maturity. The workers were not willing to listen to the supervisors because of peer age

After observing these reasons it is clear that the unrest at Maruti Manesar plant was attributed to it and led to such horrifying event on 18^th July 2012. In my opinion, to avoid such type of situations in the future, a step wise approach should be followed:

 · Timely feedback from the employees should be conducted to know the pulse of the employees

 ·  Plan course of action and  break the issue into smaller problem and address them on the priority basis from urgent to routine  

·  Detailed analysis and structured approach to solve the situation 

·  Be proactive in future and develop strategies to curb the reaction