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Workers, Lack of Autonomy and Monotony of Work: Introduction of Execute Only concept has led to workers being dehumanized as they were not allowed to voice their opinions while performing an activity. This leads to dissatisfaction among the workers which affects the sustenance of maximum speed state. Monotonous work added fuel to the fire aggravating the level of dissatisfaction among workers. In the famous Hawthorne Experiment it was revealed that one of the main factors in productivity improvement is the autonomy allowed at workplace i.e. Involvement and Authority to take decisions in the performed activities. In the famous bestseller Maverick, Ricardo Semler Owner of SEMCO shows that involvement of workers and letting them take decisions has a profound impact on the performance of the organization. Even from my Personal Experience at Tata Group I can state that autonomy and TEI (Total Employee Involvement) is a critical success factor. When I joined my organization I was posted at one of the plant locations at Faridabad where I was supposed to take care of the operations of the plant. The output then was averaging around 1000 MT/Month which was substantially low as per the Rated Plant Capacity. I tried to figure out the reasons for the low output and came up with the factor that affected the output most Demotivated Workers which was a result of monotonous job, lack of training & development, communication and sense of involvement with the company. I then started to involve them in many activities such as TPM, 5S, Kaizens and Quality Circles, where workers took all the decision regarding the upkeep and cleanliness of the Quality Zones. I also started communicating them the monthly targets of the company and allowed them to divide the target on a daily basis. Apart from involving them in various activities I also started various reward schemes like Suggestion scheme, QC of the month, Performers of the Month, Best Kaizen of the month etc to motivate them and lure them in improved performance. This coupled with compassionate treatment and Tea Sessions with the workers started yielding results after a few months and touched the epitome when we
touched the Rated Plant Capacity (3000 MT/Month) of the plant within a short span of 6 months. The companys management felt the subtle change and many workers from other plants were asked to visit our plant and share the learning. This experience is clearly a testimony that workers are also human beings and need to be treated with dignity and should be allowed to exercise some level of autonomy at work. Since the human potential is unlimited its only the human resources that differentiate companies with same manufacturing capabilities. Hence I feel that due to excessive emphasis on automation, dehumanizing effect among the working class is evident.
Exploitation
of the Workers Strata: Although Taylor opined that breaks and higher wages were necessary for the success of Principles of Scientific Management most of the companies dont practice these in reality. In fact some workers unions claim they dont get their share of profit which is due to increased productivity of the organization. So much so that the breaks that Taylor recommended are also absent from the policies of the companies thus making them virtual slaves. In the quest of achieving maximum efficiency, organizations have treated workers pretty badly and have also undergone the repercussions. The recent Maruti, Manesar case (in which the GM, HR was burned to death by the workers, the company lost around Rs. 1000 crore on account of the lockout which followed the incident) is an outcome of the exploitative management, where the workers were given only 2 breaks of 7.5 min each in the whole shift duration of 8 hours apart from lunch time of 30 min. They had to sign a good conduct bond which did not allow them to rest/breaks and even talk to their colleagues. This type of exploitative policies result in the changed behavior of the exploited class and also leads to the deviance from societal norms by them, which to a large extent can be attributed to the management. As has been correctly pointed out by famous American Author, Rick Riordan in his famous quote: People are more difficult to work with than machines. And when you break a person, he can't be fixed. Even Taylor had himself advocated the need for better working conditions, breaks etc to succeed in achieving highest state of efficiency. The organizations need to rethink their policies of workers welfare in order to successfully sustain the growth rate.
At this juncture I would say that practicing Scientific Management is good for the company as well as the workers only if the workers interests are also kept in mind. They are essentially the most important part of the organization and need to be nurtured/ cared, treated with dignity and in return the company can expect their total loyalty, efforts and efficiency which sometimes can be beyond the rated capacities. Although any deviation would lead to serious consequences as we already have so many examples of strikes, lockouts and lynches of managers.
References
1. An overview of twentieth century Management Theories. 2. Maverick-The Success Story behind the World's Most Unusual WorkplaceRicardo Semler, 1993. 3. Elton Mayo: Hawthorne Experiment. 4. Wiley Blackwell, The Canadian journal of Economics and political Science, Volume 9, No. 2, 1943. 5. Negative Impacts of Scientific Management: http://www.eioba.com/a/8hk/scientific-management-in-21st-century
Fixed Division of Labor. Hierarchy in office assignments flowing downward and accountability flowing
upwards. Written and Inflexible Rules. Written Communication and Records called Files. Impersonality. Employment based on technical qualifications.
In the light of the above mentioned principles I shall try to analyze a few Bureaucratic Organizations with an aim to figure out whether bureaucracy is good or bad for the society and mankind. I will start off with the PSU Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), whose bureaucratic style of management, fortunately or unfortunately I was forced to experience. I call it fortunately, as I was able to figure out the complexities involved in dealing with this form of organization and unfortunately as I was on the receiving end of it. The incident dates back to my college days at BIT, Mesra in Jharkhand, when it was really an uphill task getting hold of BSNL Sim Card (Waiting period of more than 6 Months). Better connectivity (even in remote areas) and low call charges made BSNL an automatic first choice for mobile users. I was on top of the world when I found myself in the list of 20 lucky students who were selected to receive a BSNL Sim card (through a lucky draw system that was organized by BSNL in our college). But nothing could break my heart more than to find my mobile phone stolen a week after I received the BSNL sim. When I enquired I was communicated that I could easily receive a copy of the sim provided I submit the FIR of the stolen mobile phone. In haste I went to the police station to file the FIR, which I managed to do after spending the whole day with the constable and innumerable number of cups of tea (Here also I got a glimpse of bureaucracy). My joy knew no bounds after receiving the FIR copy and I hurried to the BSNL office in Ranchi. There was where I realized that I wasnt the second time lucky as I had to run from the Clerks office to the Managers office getting approvals. This went on for days (3 consecutive days) before I finally managed to acquire the approval letter. My problems did not end here as I had to run after the Sim Distributor Clerk whole day to get hold of him and get my new SIM. The
problems were amplified by the way people work in a bureaucratic form of organization out of which I am listing down a few:
Excessive Hierarchy and Division of Work make it really difficult to get approvals
within a short span of time. Rigid policies and procedures add fuel to the fire resulting in higher response time of the customer facing employees. In todays modern era where customers want fast and customized service, a delay in providing the same can be detrimental to the companys sustenance.
Shielding from arbitrary dismissal which is again one of the important aspects of
Bureaucratic form of government, creates Complacency among the employees. This is evident from the poor functioning of the PSUs in India. E.g. BCCL (Bharat Coking Coal Limited) mine at Dhanbad, Jharkhand produces only 40% - 50% of the rated capacities of imported excavators. People certainly feel that even if their performance is not up to the mark they will still retain their job. Consequences of the lackluster performance of employees reflect in the poor performance of the organizations.
Lets now take a look at the bureaucratic form of government offices in India which are in the worst possible shape. This form of governance has allowed the public servants (including IAS, IPS and other employees in government offices) to exploit the loopholes to their advantage. Answering the following few questions will allow us to understand the problems associated with government offices of bureaucratic style of management:
How easy it is to get a driving license in spite of the complete paperwork? How easily can an individual avail a loan from any nationalized bank? How easy it is to get an OBC NC certificate from the block office? How easily can we get the scholarship sanctioned by the government offices? In spite of all the aids from the central government, why doesnt it reach the actually intended user?
The answer is simple and unanimous: An Uphill Task I had a few bad experiences with the government offices which include State Bank of India - I still havent received the loan even after submitting all the required documents about a month back, Could not get my account transferred from my hometown to Faridabad, post which I stopped using the account, Block office - I was unable to get an OBC certificate even after running around their office for around 15 days, post which I had to resort to unethical activity of bribing etc and the long list continues..
The question is Why are the government officials so inefficient? The answer again is obvious: Due to Excessive Paperwork, Rigidly followed Rules and Procedures, long list of officers in the Hierarchy, Shielding from arbitrary removal from job. All the factors, in some form or the other, contribute to the inefficiency of the government employees and hence are unable to fulfill the customers (Indians) requirements. Now, because of our need to get the activities done, we start paying bribes to the officials which consequently deteriorates the value system of the individual. This give rise to corruption, bribery etc and we all know that due to high level of corruption in our country we are lagging behind in many aspects even though our country has the talent pool to excel in all the spheres. We need to find ways to tackle the issues associated with Bureaucracy (Corruption, Inefficiency, Degradation of Value Chain etc). There is a need to take some hasty steps in order to improve the already bad shape of government offices if India has to become the next Superpower.
References
1. 2. 3. 4. An Introduction to Sociology of Work and Occupations: Chapter 5. Max Weber on Bureaucracy Bureaucracy by Marius Meyer, Management Today, April 2007 Busting Bureaucracy: A Condensation, 1993 by Visionary Publications, Inc., Sarasota, Florida 5. Bureaucracy and Centralization: An Examination of Organizational Structure, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Dec., 1973) 6. http://www.bustingbureaucracy.com/excerpts/management.html
Lot has been said and written about the changing environmental conditions of the world, which has been attributed to the industrial developments in the recent times, mostly after Industrial Revolution. Corporation brings out the ill effect of industries on the nature by citing examples of DDT and waste disposal of a paper company in Monsanto. The companies, in quest to achieve more are playing with the laws of nature and thus increasing the damage to the environment. The temperature has grown considerably in the last 5 decades and is projected to rise further. The rivers are getting polluted and the available water for drinking is diminishing with each passing day. The Steel, Chemical, Paper Companies discharge wastes in the atmosphere or rivers close to them thereby resulting in increased pollution of the natural space that we live in.
Today, we are hearing and seeing dire warnings of the worst potential catastrophe in the history of human civilization: a global climate crisis that is deepening and rapidly becoming more dangerous than anything we have ever faced Al Gore
The time has come for the corporations to act, socially as well as environmentally as their inability to act now will render the mankind unavailable for their further exploitation.
I would conclude by quoting a dialogue from the movie Corporation which goes like this:-
The person going off a very high cliff in his airplane, with the wings flapping and the guy is flapping the wings and the wind is in his face, and he thinks he is flying, but in fact he is in free fall. Of course he doesnt know it as he is far away from the ground. Unfortunately the aircraft is doomed to crash.
The aircraft here resembles the corporations which is doomed to crash and face an end if not acted upon.
References
1. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5441976 2. Movie Corporation 3. Movie The Modern Times
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