XLRI, Jamshedpur

Pranabesh Ray
ZORRO ENGINEERING LIMITED

In December 1992, Mr. Ashok Dayal, Factory Manager of Zorro Engineering

Works, Faridabad, was reviewing the performance of. Mr. Aseem Bose,
Personnel Officer in his factory. Mr. Bose had joined Zorro in January 1992,
and was completing the one year probationary period on January 1, 1993:
Zorro Engineering Works was set up in 1948 for the manufacture, sales and
service of diesel pump-sets for agriculture use. In spite of a promising start,
the growth of the company had been slow, and in recent years, the unit had
been besieged by acute financial and labour problems. This had resulted in
losses during, the period 1976-90. As a result, in April 1991 the previous
Factory Manager had resigned, and Mr. Ashok Dayal, a qualified Mechanical
Engineer with 10 years line experience in shop floor production management,
had been recruited as the new Factory Manager.
On joining, Mr. Dayal set about reorganising the internal working of the unit
and introduced new reporting and control procedures. The production,
commercial and administrative functions were placed under the charge of
three experienced officers all reporting to Mr. Dayal, so that each could be
given full responsibility for the departments under his control. As a result of
these and other similar efforts, the company had begun to turn the corner by
the middle of 1992, and was now showing signs of recovery both in profits
and the internal working environment.
During the process of reorganisation, Mr. Dayal had noticed that a number of
changes were required in the administration and personnel work. The factory
did not have a Personnel Officer and most of the personnel work of
recruitment, promotions, transfers, and salary administration of workers and
staff was being shared between office superintendents in the Production and
Commercial departments and the Administrative Officer.
Since Mr. Dayal wanted to introduce a more scientific and centralised system
of personnel management, a new post of Personnel Officer was created and
Mr. Bose, a young diploma holder in Personnel Management, recruited. Mr.
Rajesh Kumar, the Senior Administrative Officer was elevated to the position
of Administration Manager, with the Personnel and Administrative Officers
reporting to him. A partial organisation chart of Zorro Engineering Works as in
December 1992 is shown in Exhibit-1.
During the course of the one year that Mr. Bose had been working in Zorro, he
had been in very close touch with the, Administration Manager. However,
since Mr. Dayal had been very busy looking after the production and financial
problems, he had not been able to give his full attention to personnel,
administration, and industrial relations matters. His contact with Mr. Bose had,
therefore, been somewhat infrequent.

By the end of 1992, production problems had been overcome and Mr. Dayal
began giving more attention to the commercial and administrative functions.
The previous wage agreement with over 1,500 workers and 450 staff was due
to expire by March 1993, and there were already signs of growing unrest. The
number of complaints and grievances regarding partiality, injustice and
nepotism, in the recruitment, promotions, transfers, incentive payments, and
pay scales areas were again increasing. Mr. Dayal expected that inter-union
rivalries, and the resultant pressures on management, would soon increase.
He was, therefore, anxious that the internal functioning, of the personnel,
industrial relations and administrative sections be geared immediately to take
care of the expected increase in workload.
In order to help in the review and streamlining of work being handled by the
Administration Manager, Mr. Dayal requested that the personal files of officers
working under Mr. Kumar be sent to him, along with their duty lists. The first
officer whose case came up for review was Mr. Aseem Bose, Personnel
Officer. Along with other papers, Mr. Bose's file contained his performance
evaluation report for.1992. Mr. Dayal was surprised to find wide disparities
between the self-appraisal report submitted by Mr. Bose, and the detailed
assessment done by Mr. Kumar. (See details given in Exhibit-2.)
It appeared to Mr. Dayal that the appraisal system and form used did not help
him to make an independent assessment of Mr. Bose's work. He, therefore
sought the "informal" opinion of the Administrative Officer, and Mr. Bose's
subordinate officers, in order to get a clearer picture. The "general
comments" of these four officers are given in Exhibit-3.
Mr. Dayal was keen on improving the appraisal system being used in Zorro.
He was also wondering what actions he should take on Mr. Bose's
performance evaluation report for 1992.

Exhibit-1
Partial Organisation Chart of Zorro Engineering Works Ltd.
Factory Manager
(Mr. Ashok Dayal)

Production
Manager

Commercial
Manager

Production
Supdts.,
Foremen and

Office Supdts.,
Assistants and
Clerks

Administration
Manager
(Mr. Rajesh Kumar)
Personnel
Administrative
Officer
Officer
(Mr. Aseem Bose)
Staff

Enquiry
Officer

Labour
Officer

Enquiry Clerk

Asst. Lab. Officer

Medical
Officer
(Part-time)

Office
Clerk

Exhibit-2
Zorro Engineering Works Limited
Performance Evaluation Report-Commercial Officers
PART A
Personal Data (To be filed in by the personnel department)
1.
2.
3.
4.

Name
Age
Qualifications
Experience

:
:
:
:

5.
6.
7.

Date of joining :
Designation
:
Reporting to
:

Mr. Aseem Bose

32 years
BA, L.L.B., Dip. Personnel Management
1985-89 Office Assistant, Attendance and Pay Office,
Prima Pvt. Ltd., Ghaziabad;
1989-91, Assistant Personnel Officer, A-One
Industries, Faridabad
January 1992 to date: Personnel Officer,
Zorro Engineering Works
January 1, 1992
Personnel Officer
Mr. Rajesh Kumar, Administration Manager

PART B
Self-Appraisal (To be filled in by the officer being evaluated)
During the last one year as Personnel Officer, I have looked after the entire
labour welfare, legal and industrial relations work in the factory. The work has
been done as per the list of duties assigned to me by the Administrative
Manager. The Enquiry Officer, Labour Officer, Medical Officer and Assistant
Labour Officer have been reporting to me, and I have also been in very close
touch with the Administration Manager and other senior officers in the factory.
Direct contact with the labour unions has also been one of my important
duties.
I am happy that even though a new post of Personnel Officer was created
when I joined, have fully established the Personnel department. At the time of
joining, there was no co-ordination between officers looking after the
personnel work. As a result, the Production and Commercial Managers had
to contact the Factory Manager directly, for solving problems connected with
workers and staff. Now, however, all managers come to me with their
problems and I give them decisions. Because they know that I am in-charge
of the personnel department, and listen to their problems, even the workers
come to me when they have any problems with their foremen. I give prompt
attention, immediately ring up the foreman's manager, and get their problems
solved.

The labour welfare activities (sports, recreation, canteen, fair-price shop, and
credit society) have also been improved and all workers are happy. As a
result, the discipline within the factory has improved and the number of charge
sheets issued every month has decreased. I have also started a suggestion
scheme so that the complaints and grievance of workers can be handled
quickly.
The working of the legal department has been improved and the number of
charge sheets pending with the department has gone down from 40 in
February 1992, to only 15 now. This prompt disposal of pending enquiries has
given the workers a feeling that justice will be promptly given to them in future
also. I, therefore, expect that my close contacts with union leaders will help
the management to negotiate a suitable wage agreement before March 1993.
I am extremely thankful to my manager for his full guidance and
encouragement in my work. He has appreciated my work a number of times
and this has helped me to gain the co-operation of the Administrative Officer,
Labour Officer and other officers in the department. I am also thankful to the
Factory Manager for his guidance at all times.
I am looking forward to increased responsibilities next year. At present the
personnel work of recruitment, salary administration, promotions and
incentives is being handled either by the Administrative Officer or within the
commercial
and
production
departments,
by
respective
office
superintendents. Since this work should be the prime responsibility of the
personnel officer, I hope that the management will include these functions as
part of my regular duties. In that case, the routine work of labour welfare can
be handled by an Assistant Labour Welfare Officer recruited for the purpose.
I would like to again thank the Administration Manager and Factory Manager
for their guidance and encouragement at all times.
Signature
Name
Designation
Date

:
:
:
:

-Sd(Aseem Bose)
Personnel Officer
November 15, 1992

PART C
Assessment by immediate superior
I.
Personal Qualities
1.Integrity
2. Discipline
3. Punctuality
4. Attendance
5. Honesty

6. Initiative
7. Tact

:
:
:
:
:

Very good
Very good
Very good
Very good
Very good

Fair
Poor

8. Leadership
:
9. Personality
:
10. Health
:
11. Communication
Oral
:
Written
:
12. Relationship with
Supervisors
:
Colleagues
:
Subordinates
:
13. Cost consciousness
:
14. Ability to get work from
others

Average
Average
Very good
Very good
Average
Very good
Average
Poor
---: Poor

II.

Major Strengths
Mr. Bose is a good desk worker, and has good talking abilities. He also
has theoretical knowledge of labour welfare and personnel work.

III.

Major Weaknesses
He needs to improve his relationships with people and his ability to get
work from others.

IV.

General Remarks
I am not at all satisfied with the work done by Mr. Bose.. He gives
opinions and advice without proper study of the problem. His
relationships with subordinates and colleagues are poor, and many
officers have complained that he is impolite. The labour officer and
administrative officer who have been working in our factory for 15 -20
years, have also complained that he does not treat them respectfully.
A detailed list of duties had been given to Mr. Bose when he joined. My
specific comments against each of the duties assigned are given in the
extra sheet attached.

V.
VI.

Overall rating : Below average

Recommendation : Not fit

Date : November 30. 1992

-SdRajesh Kumar
Administration Manager

Comments on duties assigned to Mr Bose

Sl. Duties assigned to
No Mr. Bose
.
(A) Employee Benefit
Programmes
1. Canteen

2. Co-operative Supply

3. Employees Credit
Society
4. Medical Scheme

5. Sports Club

6. Library
(B) Printing House Journal

(C) Union Relations

1. Industrial Relations

2.Grievance Procedure

Comments on performance

The unions are not satisfied. I had asked him

to get the workers involved in the
management of their canteen so that there
would be no complaints against the running of
the canteen. This has not been done
The previous manager of the fair price shop
run by the Employees Co-operative Society
had resigned 2-3 months ago. No suitable
replacement has been found yet.
The
employees are complaining.
There were complaints that the elections were
not held properly.
The part-time doctor takes leave frequently,
and no advance notice is put up for
employees.
Sometimes complaints are
received that the doctor does not come in
time.
The club was being monopolised by the
clerical staff, and workers were not able to
participate. The workers and clerks should
both get equal opportunities and should play
together. Only now a new constitution has
been approved.
However, no proper
entertainment functions have been organised.
It opens for only two hours and has a peon
who gets an additional Rs.25 for this work.
Very few new books have been added.
This is a quarterly and was under his charge
for the first 6 months, but no issue was
published. Now this work has been given to
another officer in the Public Relations Section.
The unions complain that he delays the
answers to their letters. The union leaders do
not have faith in him, and prefer to talk to the
Administrative Officer or to me directly as they
were doing earlier.
The grievance procedure has not been made
till today. An ad hoc procedure is being
followed.

Sl.
No.

Duties assigned to
Mr. Bose
3.Conciliation, Industrial
Tribunal, Labour Courts,
Arbitration, Payment of
Wages Inspector
4. Enquiries
5. Personnel Planning
and Evaluation
a) Assessment of
Strengths and
Weaknesses of the
company's personnel
policies and practices.
b) Conduct of morale
surveys, preparation
of manuals and
Organisation charts
with the detailed
duties of officers, Job
analysis and job
Evaluation.

Comments on performance
He does not provide information to the
conciliation officer, Industrial tribunal,
Labour Courts and Arbitrator in time.
The work of enquiries and charge sheets
has been improved on by the Enquiry
Officer
He should make a periodic assessment of
the strengths and weaknesses of our
personnel policies and practices and
assist in the formulation of better policies.
This is not being done.
He has not conducted any morale survey
or prepared any manuals, organisation
charts or job descriptions, or done job
analysis and job evaluation.

6.Complete guidance to all He has theoretical knowledge only.

departments regarding all
labour laws, provident
fund, and gratuity. Also
preparation of appeal
cases and subsequent
follow through.
(D)

Any other duties allotted

Since he has not done the above tasks,

the question of assigning other duties
does not arise.
-SdRajesh Kumar
(Administration Manager)

EXHIBIT- 3
General Comments of Mr. Bose's Colleagues and Subordinate Officers
1.

Administrative Officer: The A.O. had been with Zorro for over 20 years,
and had slowly risen from the clerical cadre to his present position.
According to Mr. Dayal, he was an asset to the Company. Because of
his long experience, he knew all the procedures, rules and precedents,
and could therefore handle general administration and establishment
matters very competently. His longstanding personal relationships with
workers and staff had also helped, especially in the performance of his
earlier duties of welfare, and labour relations. However, since he
seemed considerably overworked, and had a limited potential for
growth, it had been necessary to create an additional post of Personnel
Officer.
The AOs comments are given below:
"The new P.O. is doing only part of the duties I was earlier doing single
handed, and he is being paid more than I am getting. I would not
grudge him this, provided his coming here had really benefited our
factory. I, however, cannot see many improvements made. The
personnel work is still being performed in the same ad hoc manner by
various department managers, and the labour matters and enquiries
are, in any case, being handled by others officers like the L.O., A.L.O.,
and E.O. Therefore, I don't really know what keeps the P.O. busy all
day long."

2.

Labour Officer. The L.O. had been incharge of legal matters in Zorro for
about 15 years, and had also applied for the post of P.O. as an internal
candidate. His narrow specialisation in legal aspects alone had gone
against him, and even though the Administration Manager had
recommended his promotion, the Interview Committee consisting of the
Factory Manager and his three managers (I/c Production, Commercial
and Administration), had not found him suitable for personnel work.
The L.O.'s comments are given bellow:
"I am reporting to the P.O. for all legal matters, and have to take orders
from him. However, he is too inexperienced and immature, and has only
theoretical knowledge.
I have been in Zorro for over 15 years and was earlier handling legal
matters, including the work of labour courts, and industrial tribunal
independently. I would like the P.O. to handle even one case on his own
without my help."

3.

Assistant Labour Officer: The A.L.O. was a young man, recruited just 8
months earlier. According to Mr. Dayal, he was "extremely bright" and
would do well after he had gained some more practical experience.
The A.L.O. commented as under.
"I come in contact with the P.O. largely through the Labour Officer.
However, my view is that he is a capable officer, and would do well if he
got some more guidance and co-operation from other officers in our
department. I really don't want to say anything more than this."

4.

Enquiries Officer: The E.O. had been in Zorro for 8 years and was
incharge of discipline matters.
His comments are given below:
"I like the P.O. Earlier we used to have a highly legalistic approach to our
workers in disciplinary matters, and for every minor offence we would
charge-sheet the worker. Now we don't do that. We try to sort out the
matters informally, and I think this has made the workers happier. Of
course, there are other reasons also why the workers could be happy or
unhappy. Good discipline, welfare, and labour relations should really be
the responsibility of all officers and not just the P.O. or E.O., although we
officers in the Personnel Department have to give proper guidance.
Quite a lot depends on others also."

10