1

Case Summary
In our case study, Infosys originated as an idea by the owners, Narayana Murthy and six
of his former colleagues. The purpose was to create a software company that was of the
professional, by the professional, and for the professional (Delong, 2006). The seven cofounders wanted a company that would be professionally managed and offered a fair deal to all
the stakeholders, including the employees. As the company grew globally, it was faced with
national and international regulations that required the owners to think creatively in order to
compete with other software companies. At the same time, they were faced with employees that
were becoming dissatisfied with what they perceived as shrinking benefits and a disregard for
their creativity and technical ingenuity. Efforts by management seemed to be hampered by the
fact that not all of the employees shared the vision. Communication did not flow freely between
managers and employees, and it was clearly an issue when paired with a high turnover rate.
Costs were being incurred because of increase recruiting efforts spurred by this rate. Various
projects viewed by management as something that could address the discontent of the employees
fell short of being successful. The management of Infosys finally realized that all of these
changes in a relatively short period of time just were not working.

Issues
This issue, as this writer has observed, are that they were unable to continue the
momentum begun in the first five years of operation. Part of the problem was the bureaucracy
they encountered as they were attempting to go global in their operations. Infosys also went
through changes in employee relations. Despite efforts to improve current employee relations
through these changes, the employees were discontent and the turnover rate was rising. The

benefits they had been able to give when the company was starting out were undergoing changes
and not as available to new employees.
In addition, the upper management was losing touch changes involving employees.
Employee development that was supposed to be provided by upper management and supervisory
employees was simply not getting done. Management was finding it difficult to be as hands on
as they had been. The rapid growth of the organization was leading the employees to feel that
the work was not as fulfilling as they had hoped it might be. And Infosys competitors, who
were beginning to branch out into India, were able to offer better compensation packages. This
turnover lead to rising employee costs because of increasing recruitment efforts.

Alternate Solutions (to the issues)

This writer feels that a solid strategic human resources plan could have avoided many of
the employee issues that Infosys was experiencing. The Human Resources department did not
seem to be in touch with the employees. In reading the material, it seemed that the management
of the company was primarily concerned (as they should be) with company growth and
expansion. In that growth, they provided what they felt were more than adequate benefits to
employees and found that most employees were becoming discontent. Management and
supervisors were not adequately providing information to employees during the changes and the
employees felt that the organization was becoming more and more impersonal.
Employees also felt that they were being deprived of the creativity they once
experienced, as well as the earlier perks of the job were being repealed. The company was
becoming more process-oriented and should have been training the employees as to the reasons
for that change and encouraging their buy-in by providing an alternative to the perk of allowing
the top performers to travel to their client locations. That perk had been inhibited by the decision

of the United States to limit the number of B1 visas. A good solution to this problem would have
been organizing an employee focus group to study what benefits were important to the
employees. This focus group would have been able to identify those areas that the employees
were experiencing discontent with and coming up with alternatives to those items.
Also, there was quite a bit of recruiting efforts that were yielding employees that did not
have a project to work on and were being benched until Infosys had somewhere to place them.
It would have been better to have let them go, as other companies had, and saved the costs it was
experiencing in trying to keep them on the payroll.

Recommendation
This writer feels that a good strategic plan by the company and the Human Resources
department would have resolved quite a few of the issues. Strategic planning involves planning
for the changes that the organization realizes and facilitate(s) the development of programs and
policies that address the critical strategic challenges being faced by the organization. (Mello,
2006) A rapidly changing environment needs more than just a department that enforces rules and
standards of behavior on the employees. Infosys should have recruited Human Resources as a
partner in their plan for expansion, thereby allowing that department to organize the employee
development process to include those activities that would build the teams necessary to work on
the various projects.
Human Resources had not been as fully involved as they should have been when it came
to informing the employees of the changes the company was experiencing and their place in the
eventual successes of that expansion. A good strategic plan would have the HR department
involving the employees and managers alike in team building and information sharing so that the
employees would buy-in to the goals and expectations of the company. By involving the

managers, all of the players would learn the various aspects of the changes and how to manage
them. The employees are a key asset in an organization. Utilizing strategic human resources to
attract the right employees that use their knowledge to bring optimum performance in managing
the companys capital resources will expand the organizations competitive advantage in the
marketplace.

Conclusion
The traditional HR role was recruiting employees, training them in the basic requirements
of the company, coordinating the benefits, resolving conflicts, maintaining personnel files and
ensuring payroll was accurate. Traditionally, HR has been perceived as a department that uses
the companys financial resources rather than a contributor to those resources. Strategic
management involves the HR department becoming a strategic business partner in the company.
It focuses on organizational transformations as well as filling the traditional role. SHR can
fulfill an important role in change management by helping upper management understand the
fear of change and the negative reactions to it, as well as ameliorate anxiety and prepare the work
force for change (Becton, 2009).
This writer feels that strategic human resources management provides the greatest
support for a company in achieving its mission and goals because it works with all levels of an
organization. Strategic Human Resources is more involved in helping the company to bring their
employees on board by employing change management techniques designed to motivate
employees, encourage effective communication, train and cross-train employees in the functions
they are expected to perform, and further the companys goals of moving forward successfully.

References
Becton, J. Brett. (2009). Strategic Human Resources: Are We There Yet. Retrieved
September 6, 2010, from http://www.allbusiness.com/labor-management/human-resourcesmanagement/11783597-1.html
Delong, Thomas J. (2006). Infosys (A): Strategic Human Resource Management. Case
presented as the basis for class discussion, Boston.
Mello, J. (2006). Strategic Human Resource Management (3rd ed.) (D. Noguera, Ed.).
Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.