個案總覽

This case brings to the fore different complexities of contract labor employment by principal employers (PE) in the Indian context, including sensitivities involved in handling contract workers' union. Regency Hospital (RH), a corporate Hospital chain in India, acquired Gedex Hospital (GH) in 2005, along with contract workers employed in the latter. In the year 1983, GH's management decided to employ contract workers for operating its support services like House Keeping, etc. Two years later, some contract workers of GH became members of the All Gedex Employees' Union. Apprehending industrial relations (IR) problems, GH decided to take them on its permanent rolls. Later on, more contract workers of GH formally became members of this Union, but GH did not concede their demand for permanency. These workers continued to work at GH and later at RH under different contractors; for they were well-trained hospital workforce. When RH acquired GH in 2005, some of the contract workers were doing the same work as was done by RH's core workers, and continued to work that way. In October 2015 all contract workers of RH went on strike. Their demands included increase in wages and absorbing them in RH's core workforce. RH argued that all that was the obligation of the contractor concerned through whom they were employed. RH's HR manager contacted the local police, which eventually helped in pacifying these contract workers leading to withdrawal of their agitation. In the meantime, the management enhanced some minor welfare benefits for them through the contractor, but no substantive relief was given. RH was pondering on action it should take, and how to prevent reoccurrence of similar complex situations. It was also considering the working environment that should be made available to contract workers so as to promote their engagement, and also avoiding any possible legal lapses on its part in handling contract labor issues.

The case in intended to be used for MBA and executive education classes. It deals with (mis) handling by the Indian auto major issues such as new-generation workers, industrial relations (IR) dynamics, regional realities and cross-cultural HR. Perceiving harsh work environment, Gen Y workers of the new plant decided to form an independent trade union, which led to bitterness and grave tensions in IR. The emerging dynamics culminated in bubble burst when unexpected violence led to the tragic burning of the otherwise popular plant HR chief. The shocked management declared a month's lockout, and terminated the services of more than 500 core workers. The lockout caused production losses of Rs. 25 billion. Workers in general continued to remain disengaged due to large number of termination cases of their colleagues and seeing 147 of them behind the bar during murder and violence trial. Two years after the violence incident, the parent Suzuki tightened its control on this Indian subsidiary and took away executive powers from three top Indian executives, holding them responsible for the fiasco. Five years after the incident, the trial court sentenced a dozen union leaders to life imprisonment for the murder, and set free more than one hundred workers who had been charged of violence. The union was asking for their jobs back, which led to added complexity. Several strategic HR interventions taken by the management to contain workers' disengagement proved only partially effective. Management is in a dilemma about the using appropriate HR strategy for managing the situation.

The owner of Tesco Cranes Engineers Pvt. Ltd. was considering the impact of various issues that had led to the closure of the company's sub-assembly plant in December 2012. Despite his efforts, he had not been able to stop workers from joining a regional trade union in July 2012. Immediately after joining the trade union, workers had slowed down production and gone on strike. Later, the plant had been closed by the owner. The company had suffered a production decline as a consequence of the strike and the subsequent plant closure. In view of these unexpected events, the owner was facing a dilemma. On one hand, he was wondering whether he should take proactive action to prevent a similar situation from occurring in the other two Tesco Cranes Engineers Pvt. Ltd. plants in the future. On the other hand, he was questioning whether it had been ethical of him to close the sub-assembly plant; he knew that this decision had left all of those workers unemployed and helpless, with most of them doing menial work or returning to their villages.

The owner of Tesco Cranes Engineers Pvt. Ltd. was considering the impact of various issues that had led to the closure of the company’s sub-assembly plant in December 2012. Despite his efforts, he had not been able to stop workers from joining a regional trade union in July 2012. Immediately after joining the trade union, workers had slowed down production and gone on strike. Later, the plant had been closed by the owner. The company had suffered a production decline as a consequence of the strike and the subsequent plant closure. In view of these unexpected events, the owner was facing a dilemma. On one hand, he was wondering whether he should take proactive action to prevent a similar situation from occurring in the other two Tesco Cranes Engineers Pvt. Ltd. plants in the future. On the other hand, he was questioning whether it had been ethical of him to close the sub-assembly plant; he knew that this decision had left all of those workers unemployed and helpless, with most of them doing menial work or returning to their villages.

A very successful Indian SME manufactured furnishing textiles and was operating exclusively in the exports sector. The company had no formal human resource (HR) systems and procedures nor did it have an HR manager. The sole proprietor took his only young son, an MBA, as a partner. He had his father's consent to his ambitious plans of business expansion, including manufacturing similar products to cater to the needs of the domestic market, and in this regard wanted to cash in on the Flaxo brand that the company had built over the years in the exports market by strengthening it in the domestic market as well. Narrates the typical business strategy and people-management practices that are followed by SMEs in the Indian context and helps understand managing people in SMEs, including the employee relations situation and the whole structural and procedural dynamics that surrounds these activities. These activities at Flaxo are marked by the practice of paternalism by a caring employer, whose leadership style helps it in getting a competitive edge through a higher degree of employee commitment. Highlights certain indigenous practices of employment and work organization that have become part of the culture of this industry, and focuses on the ways in which the owner gets greater advantage by building on these practices. Raises the dilemma of the new partner (son of the earlier owner) as to whether he should establish formal HR systems and procedures in his attempt to build the Flaxo brand and thus to professionalize people management, or should he continue with the time-tested existing indigenous practices, which are cost-effective and presently working well.

Multinationals often make judgmental errors regarding cross-cultural issues and the business environments prevailing in foreign countries. Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India Ltd. (HMSI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Honda Motor Company Limited, Japan, established its plant in India in 1999 and made mistakes in handling people-management issues. It wanted to pursue a non-union model but failed to devise and implement an appropriate human resource management (HRM) strategy. Management was caught unaware when accumulated grievances led workers to turn hostile and form a union with the help of the trade union wing of a political party that was a partner in the ruling coalition at the federal level. The management failed to break workers' unity either by soliciting help from the state agencies or by using the legal system to their advantage. The subsequent power struggle led to violent clashes between the workers and the police, who had been called in for protection by HMSI management. The extensive media coverage not only tarnished the company's image, but also pressured the federal government to come to the rescue of the workers. This incompetent handling of HR issues by the company led to a long strike by the workers. The strike, besides causing substantial financial losses, also led to the emergence of a very strong union. In addition, production targets that were achieved on a daily basis before the union came into existence were seldom achieved after the conciliation came into effect. Provides insights into building and implementing a commitment model of HRM strategy, shows how employers should safeguard their interest by managing the countervailing power of workers in the Indian context, and discusses the dynamics of state power in Indian industrial relations and who can benefit from it in different contexts.