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NHRD Journal - National HRD Network

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in the HR thinking, approach and the HR<br />

credibility at Maruti.<br />

The effort involved introspection and<br />

brainstorming sessions, informal and formal<br />

training, exposure to external HR fraternity, the<br />

strong HR linkage to business and people and<br />

aggressive HR leadership and direction. It also<br />

involved cutting open the HR cross-section<br />

view to the key stakeholders - People,<br />

Functional heads, Directors and the Board. It<br />

required a participative, consultative and<br />

flexible approach to define new or redefine<br />

existing HR Policies, Systems and Processes.<br />

Some key directions were as follows:<br />

• HR's transition from a stand-alone identity<br />

to Integral part of Business<br />

• HR identity and credibility as mere Staff<br />

support to Strategic part of Business<br />

• From Manpower costs to Investment in<br />

People<br />

• From Labor Law compliance to Strategic IR<br />

Perspective<br />

• Personnel Administration to People<br />

Connect<br />

• Technical Training co-coordinator to<br />

wholesome People Development<br />

• Discipline concept to developing and<br />

sustaining positive Work Culture<br />

The Success of any Organization Change<br />

Initiative depends to a large extent if it is owned<br />

by the Top Management and if it starts from the<br />

Top. Hence deliberating the Organization<br />

change perspective with the Top Management<br />

specially the Japanese colleagues at Maruti was<br />

critical and cumbersome at times. Sometimes one<br />

realizes that life is so simple if corporate<br />

communication is based on English only.<br />

Also it was an enormous task to overcome the<br />

Cultural gaps between SMC, Japan and the<br />

People issues in the Local context of our<br />

country. At times we could observe a fairly clear<br />

gap between the Indian senior colleagues &<br />

our SMC counterparts. Hence the balancing<br />

act required sensitizing them individually for<br />

ownership of the Organization Change<br />

initiatives. Above all it required a<br />

tremendously patient, educative and flexible<br />

approach to discuss, deliberate and convince<br />

our SMC colleagues on some of the new<br />

concepts, policies etc.<br />

From 2003 onwards, the Organization Change<br />

Initiative was launched through various<br />

OD interventions at five different levels:<br />

• Top Management<br />

• Senior Management<br />

• Middle Management<br />

• Junior Management<br />

• Technicians/operators<br />

Leadership Retreat for Top Management<br />

The key objective was to build & strengthen<br />

the Top Leadership Team at Maruti including<br />

the Indian and Japanese Directors. The effort<br />

was to shift gears from an operational focus<br />

and review perspective to Strategic Business<br />

Planning & Transformational People<br />

Leadership. The first initiative in this regard<br />

was full of ifs & buts, language issues & the<br />

cultural subtleties involved between the<br />

Japanese culture of SMC Japan & Maruti's<br />

Indian ground realities. The balancing was<br />

tough and required tremendously patient<br />

approach as there were Business Success and<br />

learnings in both models. The Leadership<br />

Retreat involving all Directors, over two & a<br />

half days residential at Bangalore, was<br />

facilitated by Dr. Pritam Singh and Dr. Asha<br />

Bhandarkar with focus on:<br />

• Team Building perspective i.e. Leadership<br />

Team of Maruti Suzuki<br />

• Self-development focus for each Director<br />

based on feedback from others<br />

November 2007 <strong>N<strong>HRD</strong></strong> <strong>Journal</strong> 119

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