9.10 CASE STUDY
Manish Sharma is the CEO of Adarsh Ceramics Ltd. The company manufactures sanitary ware and other ceramic products. Manish manages a staff of 146 people spread in its offices across 3 metros: Mumbai, New Delhi & Bangalore. Manish is known as a hard-task master. He has the reputation for keeping an eye on productivity and profits. At times he does get a little tough and pushy with people. But he seems to have streamlined the business operations through his flair for efficiency. He had a sound rapport with his general manager (operations) Mr. Bharat Kumar. Mr. Kumar was a senior professional with sound experience in the industry and had a deep understanding of organizational issues. His technical background as an engineer stood him in good stead while dealing with product-related issues. He was not as high-handed as Manish, but definitely believed in managing a cordial relationship with his boss by endorsing both his leadership style and manner of working. When Mr. Kumar decided to retire, Manish was a little worried. Rajesh Desai took Mr. Kumar’s position after his retirement. Rajesh was a well qualified and a senior manager with a pleasant disposition. He believed in a people-centered approach. He thought that people have to be treated with dignity and concern to help them perform their jobs efficiently. He opposed the punishment system and favored positive reinforcement for motivating people. In his previous organization, Classique Ceramics Ltd, he had used this approach effectively as a deputy General manager. He was confident that people are responsive if the superior is considerate and cares for their interests.
Upon studying the systems of the company carefully, he noticed that there were quite a few rules, which were stringent. One such rule he decided to abolish completely. This rule specified that if a person is late to work for 2 consecutive days then his 1 day’s leave, or in case of no balance leave, 1 day’s pay be deducted. He also adopted an open-door policy for his employees, so that they could walk in and express their concerns, grievances and problems to him. Manish did not reach to this developments, but was definitely not pleased with them. He kept a strict watch on the situation to prevent any deterioration. To his dismay, he saw that the staff indulged in greater unpunctuality in the first month itself. He pointed this out to Rajesh. Rajesh felt that there was no cause to be alarmed. But he immediately spoke to department heads whose department registered greater unpunctuality. He told them to council the concerned employees to be more careful with their work behaviour. Despite this, in the second month also the level of punctuality improved only marginally. Manish asked Rajesh to reintroduce the previous rule. Rajesh thought that this world send wrong message to the employees and therefore requested Manish to allow him to continue with this at least for 3 months. But Manish was determined to revert back to the previous rule of deducting leave or pay. At the same time, he advised Rajesh to earmark time for meeting employees so that this does not affect his productive work time. Rajesh was not very happy with this however he did accept the suggested changes. He thought to himself that the road ahead definitely looks a difficult one and remembered his previous boss Mr. Telang with whom he shared a perfect rapport and understanding. Even while he contemplated revising his previous stand he was convinced about his approach being the right one.