Hul Asignment – Case Study1

1. Employee benefits and Long Term Settlement Although initi t by ensembley positive ab turn up the move, the intensive cargon social unit grazeers had begun to demand more coin to compensate for the gaind travel be and the more expensive provender at the TF. ( face schooling p. 5) The swerve was escalated to the bodily head offices who decided that intensive c atomic number 18 unit employees would be granted a cafeteria indemnity of Rs. 25 per day but non a conveyance allowance. (case subject p. 7) The trinity units had different policies for tea breaks Lunch breaks Holiday lists Festival advances move all everywhere structures Designations Working timelinesintensive c be unit seven days in three shifts TF sise days in twain shifts TIU five days in a single shift The LTS to a fault covers machine speeds, productivity, medical T&Cs, entreaty times for religious groups. (case ruminate p. 8) mill totalitys present their charter of demands to the milling machinery perplexity. manufactory circumspection negotiate with the Central Industrial Relations committal for an overall package that the committee would sanction as a relent bug stunned. Local caution then negotiate with the unions and it is signed off erst the majority of unions agree. (case try p. 8)Each day after 28th of February that the LTS is not agreed the employees lose out on whatever salary growing the agreement contained. (case look at p. 8) Older workers atomic number 18 more concerned with pensions, peeleder workers take to step-up take home pay. (case study p. 9) (case study p. 9) The current LTS is for the afternoon tea Factory, the LTS for the TIU expires in 2010 and for the intensive c atomic number 18 unit in 2011. Any agreements in the TF LTS leave ordinate precedent for coming(prenominal) settlements. Consequences in that location go away be misgiving and hullabaloo amongst the employees until the issues are resolved. Need to improve e mployee engagement.Precedents go forth be set for future settlements. So considerations should be given to how working conditions mess be trounce measured. LTS negotiations defend in the old be sire violent resulting in the equipment failure of communication and adverse effects on the condescension. (case study p. 8) Employees are losing out on benefits while waiting for this to be sorted so it is in e very(prenominal) one(a)s go around interest to resolve it quickly. Solutions A good package de case be an powerful tool for recruitment and retention of colleagues and financial aid to take place abreast staff motivation and engagement.According to Bratton and Gold (2007, p. 364) the reward system is an valuable consideration when the organisation is trying to attract suitable employees, and once workers are members of the organisation, their task behaviour and aims of feat are influenced by the reward system. A recent name by Manisha Chada of the people matters fro m India has noted the concept of rewards is gaining increase popularity, particularly due to the diverse needs of an evolved workforce.Other factors that should also be considered are competitive salaries, comfortable lifestyle, logical argument security, career enhancement options, and work-life match Effective communication with employees plays a vital role during the restructuring period of each organisation as it wait ons to properly inform the employees or so the changes. This helps to remove the uncertainty and allay fears amongst employees and in that locationfore whitethorn overcome either tube that may result in that respectof.Casio (200296) believes that open and on expiration communication is critical to a successful restructuring effort. Paton and James (200045) believe that effective communication that is designed to inform, debate and promote action will help in overcoming both lastance and ignorance amongst employees. Owning shares will volunteer employe es with financial incentives that will make them more attached to the organisation and more motivated at work. If the order is more profitable, employees will gain financially through dividend payments and an increased share price.Many companies in India such as develop employee contribution pension aims so employees can choose if they fatality to put cash into the pension or keep it in their take home pay a certain make sense of salary can be allocated and company would match up that to a set limit. This would give the older employees the option to put more money into their Relocation of workers we feel that it is unfair that colleagues keep up been relocated and now shoot extra travel costs and travel time. The company could arrange a bus to peck up employees from certain agreed points and ferry them to the afternoon tea Factory.This could improve colleague commitment as it would show that takes on get along with their feedback. I would suggest that the management te am should put in place a core package for all employees that can be replicated for the ICU and TIU. Additional benefits could be added dependant on grade and performance. According to an oblige on Employee Satisfaction in the Journal of Industrial Management and selective information Systems, this would contribute to colleague engagement and motivation. Policies on tea breaks, lunch breaks, fete advances, holiday policy and prayer times could be standardised for all colleagues.It would be wise to carry out a review of the place structure of all three parts of the Tea Factory and to standardise grades and job titles and pay for colleagues performing similar roles throughout the organisation. Arguments How are we going to persuade the CEO and management to agree to an improved package. What about the young people, will they realise the importance of a pension scheme? mayhap it would be a good supposition for the company or unions to trail the employees about the pension scheme .It would also be a good idea to allow employees to amend the percentage that they contribute at certain times. The management have already declined to pay travel costs individually could help to build traffic in the midst of employees and gain confidence from the employees. 2. Issues mingled with the management and the unions The challenge of managing the disparate workforce will fall to the Factor Manager, the moneymaking(prenominal) Manager and the HR Manager. The HR manager, is female, 26 and this is her first assignment. (case study p. 2) There was no HR team in place when Suchita arrived at the grind. every previous managers had been male, native to the state and had four to five years of experience. peerless worker had said to her youre younger than even my daughter, and I seizet manage the fact that I have to report to you. Suchita has leased an experienced local man onto the HR team to ease relations with the workforce. (case study p. 6) The leader of the TF junc ture C is argumentative, and the union is more unhelpful than the others. The leader barged into Suchitas office on her first day in the factory and threatened to strike if an issue was not resolved. case study p. 5) The ICU unions had not been part of a large multinational ahead and were wary of standardised fulfiles. They also felt that they were not compensated on a par with other HUL unions and looked to the upcoming merger to gain a significant pay out for their people. When Suchita arrived, the TF and ICU had reprint factory managers. in force(p) after she started the ICU manager quit and two months later she conditioned that the TF manager would move to another role in Dec 2008. The unmannerly change in managers increased the unions unease. case study p. 67) Union leading have highlighted the differences in working TCs amongst the different units. (case study p. 8) ICU employees became more resistant and unwilling to change as the move drew nearer. (case study p. 8) M anagement have adopted a tough stance on negotiations learn p. 8. As the older workers were deputised inter union rivalries resurfaced. (case study p. 9) Unions are becoming more and more possessive of their members in order to preserve their group identity and importance. (case study p. 9) ConsequencesIf the unions are not organised effectively there is a likely that they will strike. The issues with management structure such as the change in TF and ICU managers are leading to unrest and need to be resolved. The ICU unions possibly need help to immix into the TF structure as they are becoming very wary about the changes and could cause unrest and jib amongst the employees. Union rivalry is increasing, could be bad for the business therefore it would be better to stabilise the structure as soon as possible. intensify management. Integration. Solutions To reduce issues between management and unionsEmployees should be allowed to take part by rights from the beginning of restr ucturing subprogram. Employees are more likely to be supportive of any changes if they are allowed to genuinely take part in meetings and workshops where the envisaged changes are discussed at the outset Every attempt should be made by management to share all the necessary information with employees accurately and at grant times. This will create an atmosphere of trust and commitment amongst employees and will also enhance the integrity and credibility of management and their intentionsEmployees mustiness always see some benefits coming out of the change impact and management must ensure that these gains are clearly understood by all the germane(predicate) employees. Reward structures that are clearly understood by employees as intimately as facilities such as the cafeteria must be reconsidered as all important(predicate) elements of the change processes A strategic human resource blueprint for retention, re-skilling and presence of employees to new roles and functions must be developed and be made cognize to all relevant parties. More coaching and training for the local managers including HR manager.Equality and miscellanea policy and provide training to the colleagues. According to an article by Kathy Gans it is important to gain a good understanding of how changes will impact the workforce. It would be a good idea to conduct surveys to drill hole the feelings of employees and then analyse the results to put together a plan. Gans identifies that it is important to sink time with managers, supervisors and union leaders to establish their buy in to the process as they will play a significant role in influencing colleagues.Gans also identifies that communication is key to successful change management. It is important to air the reasons for the change to the workforce. In this case, we believe that the move of the TIU and the ICU will be beneficial for the company as a whole but will also bring benefits for the employees such as greater stability an d job security. Regular, targeted communication will help develop employees understanding of the process. Changes do advert organisations and employees.Employees become insecure, confused about their jobs and therefore, less procreative. According to Anderson and Anderson (20011) the success of twenty-first Century organisations will depend on how successful leaders are at leading and managing this change. They argue that around organisation leaders are found trusting when it comes to leading change successfully. Andersons Nine- Phase Change service Model could be utilised. One to one communication with employees would also help them to voice their fears whilst allowing management to challenge any misconceptions.In 1993 Lloyds bank incorporated with TSB this is a good example of communication to employees. At the start of the process they made a promise to their employees that they would be open and honest with them, whether the intelligence agency was good or bad. This helpe d to build trust with employees at the start of the process and we would recommend it as a system. Union forum structure a communication process between the unions and management. Suggest that the unions from the ICU and TF merge these two have similar processes and are both factory based.The TIU work is alone different and the unions are national rather than local so it may be best for them to remain recite. 3. Company Cultures unified grow and the cafeteria issue The integrated factory would be occupied by 250 workers reflecting three decided floricultures and seven different organised trade unions. (case study p. 1) Biswaranjan Sen (head of project) is concerned that there is a need for a one factory way of doing things that tapped the best of the three cultures. (case study p. ) The underlying philosophy with which this company has been run for many another(prenominal) a(prenominal) decades is the belief that what is good for India is good for us, maintained HULs CEO and Managing coach Nitin Paranjpe, adding , the yet way you can succeed is to remain relevant to the society in which you operate. Therefore, social and societal needs and contexts, as they changed in this country, have been at the forefront of what weve done. (case study p. 2) The CEOs main concerns were about plans to bridge the cultural gap. (case study p. 9 ) Suchita was not sure whether it would be better to integrate the TF and the ICU immediately or to wait.There were business benefits to integrating the units. The two business cycles are different, ice cream peaks safe before summer while tea peaks in winter. The integrated units would provide an opportunity to train workers across different businesses and to break the physical judicial separation of workplaces. (case study p. 9) Tea Factory (TF) The workforce at the Tea factory is aging (53+ years) and they have previously experienced challenging times. They were positive about the change of strategy to use the Tea F actory as a central hub. New initiatives were embraced and inter-union rivalry played out in the background. case study p. 34) The TF workers were put out by the changes made for the TIU workers, one Union leader complained We work in 40 degree C on the shop floor in the summer they sit in air conditioned offices. Our victuals, too, was made better only after the others came. What are we, their poor country cousins? (case study p. 4) Between 2005 and 2008 many workers, including some of the union reps, retired. New colleagues came in who were not as affected by the issues of the past and the culture began to change. Union rivalry increased. (case study p. 5) There are three unions (case study p. ) Union A one of the stronger factory unions, composed in the main of veterans with almost 20-25 years of experience. Union B the factorys oldest and at one time largest union though now smaller than Union A after some of its most powerful and respected leaders had retired. Union C th e forceful and argumentative style of its leader was reflected in the general uncooperativeness of the union. The factory unions have on a number of make demanded to turn in why they do not receive the same privileges as the ICU. (case study p. 9) Tea Innovation Unit (TIU)Previously located in the Regional Corporate Office, the two unions agreed to move to the Tea Factory on the condition that their office space was maintained with similar standards for food and other benefits. (case study p. 4) New plush air-conditioned offices were installed with a separate entrance creating two separate units with distinct cultures. (case study p. 4) There are two unions that are structured and hierarchical like British unions. They are not local unions, they have a structure, maintain offices and function like an organisation. They are efficient and progressive and dont relate to the factory unions. case study p. 5) Ice Cream Unit Acquired by HUL in 1998. HUL stack awayd many of its standard systems and policies such as quality assurance and workplace safety but the culture and way of working had not changed. line of merchandise promotions were not standard, and even designations and titles were different across grades. The working culture was very laid back and relaxed. (case study p. 4) The set up was familial, workers lived nearby and new each others families. Workers often went beyond the scope of their work to deliver what the business needed and supported managements efforts to increase production efficiency.The relationship between management and the two unions was cordial. (case study p. 4) The ICU workers were initially pleased with the announcement that they would move to the Tea Factory as the TF had better facilities for employee welfare and recreation. One union leader remarked By manner of speaking more things here you are strengthening the entire unit and better our job stability. (case study p. 5) The two ICU unions are affiliated with the tell pol itical parties. Because of the cordial relationship with management they were the most forward motionable. They had not been part of a large multinational before.They have a different approach to the LTS, treat their living LTS as a guideline only. Cafeteria Issues When the TIU relocated to the TF the mobile canteen food was upgraded at greater cost to match the better meals at the Regional Corporate Office. The TF unions refused to pay any more for their food so despite the fact that all other cafeterias were operated on a no profit, no loss basis, HUL agreed to subsidise the difference. (case study p. 4) ICU workers argued that the food at the TF was more expensive than their previous cafeteria and wanted compensation for the difference. (case study p. 57)The issue is important to workforce as food is culturally significant and is interwoven into the social, religious and artistic lives of the people. (case study p. 7) The ICU workers were granted a premium of Rs. 25 per day. Th is increased tensions over the cafeteria(case study p. 7) The TIU unions argued that the cafeteria was a basic condition of employment in relocating to the TF and their terms cannot change. (case study p. 7) The TF unions tell that management increased the menu when the TIU came in, now they want to water it cut back when the ICU comes in. Is it fair that it changes each time a new unit comes in? case study p. 7) The factory unions would almost certainly resist managements effort to change the cafeterias full lunch subsidy, and the other unions had already made it clear that they were adamantly opposed to separate menus. (case study p. 10) Consequences How to build greater transparency and trust with employees? If the cultures are not integrated rivalry and jealousy between the units will continue to increase which could lead to strikes and a mistrustful and de-motivated workforce. An unhappy workforce is less productive and less supportive of management initiatives so solutions n eed to be found.The employees are unhappy about the cafeteria for various reasons. Solutions The organisation cannot function properly with some(prenominal) dominant cultures. One dominant culture will therefore have to be adopted for the new organisation. it is imperative for managers to equip themselves with conflict intervention techniques to enable them to effectively manage the change process. An organisational restructuring process will only be successful if it aligns all the aspects of the organisation. Johnson and Scholes (2002534) argue, If change is to be successful, it also has to tie-in the strategic, operational and everyday aspects of the organisation.Before SmithKline merged with the British-based Beecham Group a a couple of(prenominal) years ago, the Philadelphia-based drug manufacturer wanted to find out whether the corporate cultures of the two firms were sufficiently similar to make the merger succeed. During the merger, over 2,000 people from both firms were divided into more than 200 teams to figure out how to integrate their respective structures, systems, and cultures. From the very beginning, they were learning how to work together, Integration integrate the corporate cultures of both organizations.This involves combining two or more cultures into a new composite culture that preserves the best features of the previous cultures. Raytheon is applying an desegregation strategy as the defense and aerospace conglomerate develops a new culture for the half-dozen companies that recently merged or were acquired. 56 Integration is most effective when the companies have relatively weak cultures or when their cultures include several imbrication values. Integration also works best when people realize that their existing cultures are ineffective and are therefore motivated to adopt a new set of dominant values.However, integration is slow and potentially risky, because there are many forces preserving the existing cultures. Separation A sepa ration strategy occurs where the merging companies agree to remain distinct entities with minimal exchange of culture or organizational practices. Insignia Financial Group, a South Carolina real res publica firm, has applied a separation strategy to its more than 30 acquisitions over the past decade. When we buy the companies, we leave the infrastructure in place, says Henry Horowitz, Insignias executive managing director. Were buying a successful company. Why would we want to disrupt something that works?And the morale becomes terrible if you start decimating. Separation is most appropriate when the two merging companies are in unrelated industries because the most appropriate cultural values tend to differ by industry. Unfortunately, few acquired firms remain independent for long because executives in the acquiring firm want to control corporate decisions. Therefore, its not surprising that only 15 percent of acquisitions leave the purchased organization as a stand-alone unit. Ca feteria to bear a range of food at various prices of the colleagues can pick and mix their meals and pay as much or as atomic as they want to.There is no staff development scheme in place, perhaps factory workers could develop towards a role in the Tea Innovation Unit could help to break grim the barriers between the units and dispel rivalry. Could include training relevant to role e. g. health and safety, equlity and diversity (Motivation and engagement) Listen to the employees not everything through the unions, employee forums and possibly one to ones with colleagues to develop two way communication between management and employees. Colleague engagement surveys hold feedback from employees on managers, develop psychological contracts with employees.Staff social events to break down barriers Multiskill the workforce, perhaps ask for volunteers at first then roll out further. Allow employees to work flexible patterns. 4. Colleague issues development, motivation, staff levels T ea Factory In the 90s HUL adopted a strategy of regionalising tea production. As a result production at the Tea Factory decreased and between 1989 and 1998 there were eight rounds of voluntary redundancy. (case study p. 3) Workers heard stories of those who had taken VRS and had not done well. As a result some higher level employees voluntarily downgraded to ensure job security. case study p. 3) In the 90s the workers perception was that the company made a lot of money and there was no need to worry. There was reluctance to acknowledge that although the company as a whole was profitable their unit might not be contributing to that performance. (case study p. 3) Management need to replace the many worker who retired between 2005 and 2008. They are concerned about the emergence of a new set of opinion leaders. (case study p. 8) Newer workers who had not witnessed the downturn of the Tea Factory were less restrained in their demands. In the old days, the workmen would come in on Sunday for training, even without overtime pay, although they didnt know how it would benefit them. they were that motivated. Now, we have to persuade the new recruits to come in on a Sunday. And we pay them overtime (case study p. 9) Consequences Management need to replace the employees who retired as the rest of the workforce will be under bosom to cover until the positions are filled. Newer workers are no longer motivated by fear of losing their job so a way needs to be found to motivate them.Colleagues need to be kept informed of the performance of the unit so they can act accordingly. Solutions turn over perspectives and experiences of local employees. Consider interventions that could bring the best out of the employees e. g. introduce a reward and fruition scheme to reward performance. (Motivation) Create a performance culture introduce targets, regular one to ones, plans for output an deliver against it link output to bonus Older employees bring a diverse range of skills, c ould use them in a different capacity e. g. coaching and mentoring the new staff.