Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
VOL. XXXXVI NO.1
JULY 2020
SOLUTIONS FROM TO CHANGE THE WORLD As the pandemic causes businesses to re‐evaluate how they work, here's a closer look at how companies are adapting to a 'new working normal' 1
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COVID‐19 FOCUS
25 IMPACT ON INDIAN POLITICS
CONTENTS
MMA‐KAS in association with NGPL and ORF held a panel discussion through webinar
DECISION‐MAKING IN DIFFICULT 29 EFFECTIVE TIMES A talk by Dr. Manu K. Vora
31
GEO‐POLITICAL & GEO‐ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF COVID‐19 Mr. M K Narayanan, former National Security Advisor, in conversation with Prof. Harsh V Pant
34 IMPACT ON INDIAN ECONOMY 36 39
Mr Bhartruhari Mahtab, Member of Parliament ﴾Lok Sabha﴿ and Chairman, Standing Committee on Labour delivered the talk
PM'S ECONOMIC PACKAGE A panel discussion on the impact of PM's stimulus
8 FEATURES
51
COVID & ELECTORAL REFORMS A Leaders Speak series talk given by Mr. T S Krishnamurthy, former CEC of India
42 PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY IN COVID TIMES
A panel discussion with Mr N K Premachandran, Mr Naresh Gujral, & Prof G Ramesh
57
16 Leadership and Purpose in Turbulent Times
5S Implementation in Institutions
REGISTERING MEMORIES
THE GALWAN CLASH
Events, talks, and webinars that happened at MMA
A panel discussion on India's China strategy and China's great game
SEIZING OPPORTUNITY IN TURBULENCE Mr. G D Sharma on 12 key management areas to focus EDITOR Gp Capt R Vijayakumar (Retd), VSM EDITORIAL SUPPORT Gp Capt Dr R Venkataraman (Retd) LAYOUT EXECUTIVE D Rajaram
44 47
MADRAS MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Management Center, New No.240 Pathari Road ﴾Off Anna Salai﴿, Chennai 600 006 Ph:044‐2829 1133 Email:mma@mmachennai.org | mandate@mmachennai.org www.facebook.com/mmachennai
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
EDITORIAL
Gp Capt R Vijayakumar (Retd), VSM
Of Digital Transformation at MMA, Galwan & Covid‐19
O
n Friday, 10th July 2020, we present to you for the
that over a lakh of participants viewed our programmes in the
first time in the history of MMA the online 64th
last three months. A great leap forward by MMA, indeed!
Annual General Meeting of Madras Management
In continuum, MMA aims to be fast on its feet, transform
Association. Covid 19 has impacted every aspect of our life and
endtoend membership experience, and continuously outpace
work, and MMA is no exception. What keeps us going is
members' expectations. In this regard, we have moved to a
looking at what sparks joy in our life, saying goodbye to the
stateoftheart digital edition of Business Mandate with
objects that do not, and being grateful for the ones that do;
a number of unique features, including embedded videos, etc.,
MMA is different from simply organising routine management
which will offer an incredible reading experience. It is once
programmes.
again my pleasure and be
In continuum, MMA aims to
thrown many established organisations into a panic. In
associated with the first
be fast on its feet, transform
response, they often make big betthefarm moves that fail
alldigital edition of
end‐to‐end membership
badly. Hence, we found it much wiser to take an incremental
Business Mandate
experience, and continuously
approach to digital transformation at MMA. Rather than hold
being launched on this
outpace members'
ing on to an all or nothing pivot, we opted to exploit our
momentous occasion.
expectations.
The huge threat posed by digital transformation has
privilege
to
greater resources and knowledge, and explore a variety of
As the Indian soldiers face the Chinese army in Ladakh,
ideas at once. We engaged continuously with our members
their courage in defending our borders makes our heart both
digitally by presenting unique management programmes with
heavy and proud. However, our actions belie our feelings.
rich content and knowledge. I am pleased to share with you
Indian trade deficit with China is $48.5 billion, on the back JULY
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of China’s near complete domination of Indian consumer
The photo of my workplace at MMA was taken in Febru
electronic market. Strangely, the Indian attitude towards
ary 2020, but now it looks impossibly distant. We planned
buying goods has metamorphosed from buying qualityfirst
and edited this issue of Business Mandate adjusting to
products to lowprized ones. Raising slogans of “Boycott” are
mandatory work from home protocols. I cannot wait any
not going to get us far. Instead, we should learn business
longer to see you soon again at MMA Management Centre.
lessons from China—adaptability and change, suiting the situation. It is time to work towards an “Aatmanirbhar” India.
With another hectic year ahead of us, definitely better days are ahead.
The decision by the Indian Government to ban 59 Chinese apps including TikTok and WeChat is a significant statement of intent. But is there much more to do? Ultimately, in technology as in the economy, we need to learn from our soldiers on the front. We need to steel ourselves for a few years of hardship with knowledge and belief that we will overcome. If we don’t, then the dream of our great India will become like a TikTok video—short lived and illusory. If we do, perhaps our foes may never dare to draw battle lines inside our physical territory. In this context, MMA organized a panel discussion on the theme “The Galwan Clash: India's China Strategy and
Stay safe, stay healthy, and keep learning.
China's Great Game” with outstanding panelists drawn from all three services of the armed forces, a former diplomat and an economist. The transcript of the discussions and many more interesting articles including Industry 4.0 are brought to you in this edition with embedded videos. Please read on, watch and enjoy! Gp Capt R Vijayakumar (Retd), VSM Lately, a series of studies showed that widespread mask use can help reduce the spread of Covid19 and considerably slow the pandemic. A number of eminent speakers at MMA too reiterated in favour of mask use as a simple public health intervention more crucial than before. A change in our approach towards mask wearing is imperative. The additional lesson, considering that this is a longdrawn out battle, is that dilution of local thinking cannot be afforded at any time. Please do come forward and donate as many masks as possible to the needy and MMA will be happy to associate, to take this initiative forward. 6
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COVER STORY
Prior to the Covid crisis, Industry 4.0 was an area of great interest to many manufacturers. It presented a huge potential and was widely regarded as a ‘positive’ and 'futurethinking' subject. The business drivers of Industry 4.0 before the crisis were focused on competitive advantage, cost reduction, productivity, sustainability and innovation. The goal was to make wellrun businesses run even better. The pandemic has changed all that.
A N CHANDRAMOULI NATARAJAN
T
he focus for many manufacturers now is survival first and foremost, and beyond that, damage limitation. Therefore, at this point, it is insensitive and inappropriate to discuss Industry 4.0 in the way it was discussed before
the crisis. When we study its role now during the survival phase and what it can potentially play during the revival and postrecovery phase, I am sure we all will be convinced about its relevance. What are the macro and micro drivers of Industry 4.0 and the impact of the crisis on global manufacturing? We learnt from history that every global crisis creates a fundamental shift, affect ing government policies, consumer behaviour and industrial sectors for years to come. For example, we witnessed this in World War II, First Gulf War, 9/11, the global recession of 2009, and now this pandemic. With every major crisis, humanity learns to survive, revive and recover into a “New Normal” life style. In my view, this Covid crisis has given rise to at least five immediate effects: •
The pandemic has hit manufacturers in an unexpected and unprecedented way. For the first time in modern manufacturing history, demand, supply and workforce availability are affected globally at the same time.
•
Social distancing and employee safety measures have put an additional JULY
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•
level of pressure on manufacturers, as almost 50%
volume production parts, called PROTOLABS, is using its
of their workforce will not be available to perform
unprecedented speedtomarket to help support the frontline
their functions onsite.
battle against Covid19. It is using its expertise in 3D printing,
While office employees and knowledge workers
CNC machining and injection moulding to produce critical
were able to shift to remote work, most factories are simply not designed to be managed remotely and they lacked the tools and infrastructure needed to support such activities. •
The pandemic has presented a critical moment for
parts for testing and making ventilator masks. 3D printed Charlotte’ valves are being rapidly produced and shipped direct to the customer (ISINNOVA), which is into producing kits that can be used to create a noninvasive ventilator mask.
global supply chain and manufacturing, especially in North America and Western Europe. Having a lean and globalized structure, the supply chain of many companies became specifically prone to epidemic outbreaks. •
More adversely, the pandemic has caused simultaneous disturbances in both supply and demand. It is clear from the events unfolding before us that one of the major weaknesses is a lack of real time visibility across the business, to support critical business decisions.
It is true that the pandemic is causing not just
There are several instances of 3D printing used by many
manufacturers, but entire nations, to reevaluate global supply
manufacturers to quickly meet the surge in demand for face
chains. Japan has moved first; its national bank is allocating
shields (Boeing), ventilator valves (Isinnova), testing swabs
billions of dollars to assist its domestic manufacturers in
(Form labs), and personal protective gear (Ford). 3D printing
reshoring production from China. Subsidies cover relocation
offers considerable geographic flexibility. Many Indian
expenses and investments in laboursaving automation
automobile manufacturers also have adapted their facilities
(including robots). Likewise, Australia, South Korea, France,
to manufacture ventilator parts.
Germany and USA has announced plans to bring back manufacturing into their own territories. On 12th May, our
﴾2﴿ Intelligent Robots for Disinfection
Prime Minister announced a mission to ‘go local’ and become
Intelligent disinfection robots help in the efforts to stop the
a selfreliant nation in every segment of the economy.
spread of infectious viruses. As the pandemic began to spread,
Is Industry 4.0 relevant now? How is it helping us to manage the crisis right?
the Head of SIEMENS China’s Research Group for Advanced Manufacturing Automation, asked himself what he could do to help control the infection by leveraging cuttingedge
Technologies such as 3D printing, Augmented Reality, drones,
technologies. His idea for intelligent robots got immediate
and intelligent robotics are playing a vital role in combating
support from the managers at the laboratory for robotic
the pandemic in the last six months.
applications, coestablished by SIEMENS & AUCMA, which
﴾1﴿ Additive Manufacturing for Healthcare A worldleading specialist in custom prototypes and low 10
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focused on ‘developing special robots, unmanned vehicles, industrial robots, and intelligent equipment.’
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travel restrictions in place. The crisis has forced industries to adapt faster than before under normal circumstances. And now with operational and financial benefits accruing, other industries too will follow suit and adopt this technology. ﴾4﴿ Drones, the Savior Drones play a key role in helping authorities and people in at least six different ways to prevent the further spread of the ﴾3﴿ Augmented Reality, The New Normal Covid19 is accelerating the business world’s move to
virus: a.
Surveillance: Law enforcement authorities such as
Augmented Reality (AR) and other IoT solutions, as
the local police or municipal staff are using drones to
companies look to adapt to a ‘new working normal’. While
monitor people’s movement and break up social
Zoom and Microsoft Teams have become a norm for office
gatherings that could pose a risk to society.
workers, other specialists too are embracing digital
b.
Broadcasting: loudspeakers
transformation to build ventilators, deliver crucial training to
are
Drones used
equipped to
make
with public
announcements to remind people to stay indoors,
apprentices and solve production bottlenecks on automotive
take necessary precautions, follow socialdistancing
lines.
and wear a mask. c.
Disinfectant Spraying: To disinfect public spaces and prevent the further spread of virus, health authorities are deploying agriculture spray drones to carry out tasks like spraying disinfectants in potentially affected areas.
d.
Medicine and Grocery Deliveries: Drones pro vide the safest and fastest means to deliver medical supplies, transport samples from hospitals to laboratories and even supply groceries to red zones where outside physical contact should be minimum.
It is now possible for experts working at remote locations to ‘see’ the physical world in a video and annotate objects during a call using a smart phone, tablet or wearable, such as Microsoft HoloLens glasses. It enables them to capture every step of the process and create an interactive stepbystep guide for other people to follow, even in a factory thousands of miles away. Traditionally, this would involve engineers travelling to the factory, but not any longer with social distancing and JULY
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e.
Temperature Check: During the peak of the epidemic in China, authorities were carrying out largescale remote temperature measurement in most apartment complexes using drones fitted with infrared devices.
f.
Temporary Hospitals: In several countries including China, Germany, and the United States, empty fields have been converted into temporary hospitals to ease the pressure on hospitals that are already functioning at full capacity. Drones help in surveying the facility and providing the necessary il lumination.
Last Mile Connectivity and Remote Maintenance According to a new European aerospace study involving 320
major benefits and advantages of using cobots during the pandemic and beyond, include: •
machines to work simultaneously, cobots reduce
aerospace business leaders, there is an increased appetite for
contact between human workers, allowing them to
‘low space’ innovation—over (53%) believe that commercial drone lastmile delivery of products—will be commonplace
Social Distancing: By enabling humans and
maintain safe social distancing standards. •
Partial Automation: By identifying specific
in next three years. Besides, drones coupled with AR will be
applications or processes to deploy cobots, instead
very useful for remote maintenance of installations in mining,
of the whole plant, manufacturers can reduce
power, airline, defence, and oil and gas.
capital expenditure significantly. •
Solutions for Recovery, PostRecovery After the Pandemic
Quick
Deployment
and
Flexible
Redeployment: In this uncertain environment, many manufacturers need to repurpose their assembly lines to focus on different products based
﴾1﴿ Robotics & Automation—Cobots
on the urgency of requirements. Collaborative
While job functions involving marketing, sales, management,
robots are one of the fastest automation solutions
finance, and R&D can work virtually, execution at the
on the market to deploy and even redeploy for new applications, with setup often taking less than a
assembly line needs to start rolling out at specific physical locations and on time. The dependence on a migrant workforce in manufacturing belts across the country also
day. •
Democratized Automation: Cobots help bridge the gap between large and small
needs to be mitigated. By using automation in plants and
manufacturers in the world of automation. In fact,
assembly lines, manufacturers can overcome these issues.
the sheer precision, costeffectiveness, and
Collaborative Robots (cobots) are widely accepted as an
competitiveness
effective platform for fast and efficient automation. Dull,
unmatched in a globally competitive environment.
Dangerous, Dirty, Difficult and Distancing are the 5Ds in robotic automation. Challenges caused by an acute shortage of labor, changes in assembly lines, and supply and demand level fluctuations can easily be overcome with cobots. The 12
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•
that
cobots
provide
are
Efficient Automation: An MIT Technology Review study found that there is an 85% reduction in idle time when humans and robots work together, which goes to show that cobots are not only safe but also effective in driving efficiency.
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﴾2﴿ Robotic Process Automation
﴾4﴿Artificial Intelligence ﴾AI﴿
Robotic Process Automation, or RPA, is a technology that is
In difficult times, AI can help manufacturers increase
integrated with business processes in order to optimise and
operational efficiency and transparency across organizations
automate repetitive activities, minimize human errors, and
with better monitoring, more precise and timely interventions
maximize agility and productivity. One wellknown German
and better quality control in order to build resilient and agile
automaker recently implemented RPA and successfully
business operations with intelligence, insight and expertise.
automated a total of 28 different tasks. The automated
For example, an AI application by IBM called Maximo
activities are now undertaken 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Worker Insights puts compliance at the centre of safety, com bining advanced analytics and near realtime access to data from cameras, Bluetooth beacons, mobile phones, IoT wearable devices and environmental sensors. It enables one to holistically manage both the facility and workers. Machine learning and predictive data analytics have the potential to improve manufacturers at three levels, namely, the machine level, production cell level, and plant level through applications that support predictive maintenance, optimised supply chains, and improved product and service quality.
﴾3﴿ Remote Work and Collaboration Virtual work is not just for the office anymore; it is a new reality that will fundamentally change the work environment
Integration of Various 4.0 Technologies How to respond flexibly and efficiently to new challenges and make production futureproof?
in design, supplier quality, shop floor and after sales service. When the crisis broke out, it presented a completely new With social distancing measures in place, manufacturers may situation not only for medical facilities and manufacturers of lose up to 50% of their onsite personnel. We will see the rapid
medical devices, but also for all those manufacturing
adoption of tools for remote diagnostics, management and
companies whose employees suddenly had to work from home
collaboration. This will result in the emergence of a “virtual
and no longer had access to many digital solutions or
shift”—a team of specialists will be connected remotely and
automation platforms. With the help of simulation tools,
constantly online—in order to guide and support the reduced
products and production processes can first be designed and
“physical shift” of onsite personnel.
optimized virtually—before actual production is set up and
Enabled by real time data, AIbased insights, a range of
started.
communication and collaboration tools, and coupled with AR,
Highly innovative automation technologies combined
the “virtual shift” will help digitize and scale up the much
with digitalized product development make it possible to
needed expertise across the organization and enable the onsite
quickly develop and deliver tailored solutions through additive
workforce to become more focused, effective, and ultimately
manufacturing in exceptional medical situations such as the
significantly more productive.
current one. Remote commissioning, maintenance and repair
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of machines are now possible in a digitalized world. Sectors, such as the automotive industry, had to shut
advances in AI and IoT technologies have enabled tremendous efficiencies in predictability, capacity, availability and
down production for weeks when demand suddenly slumped, flexibility of supply chain and manufacturing operations. Up but they all adapted their production to provide urgently
to 2019, many of these technologies and solutions were seen
needed components for medical devices. Many companies
as a nice to have. With the pandemic still raging, Industry 4.0
will now be considering ways to diversify their supply chains
has a different role to play: to assist companies to survive, to
in view of the risks posed by global trade and the desire to
shorten the recovery phase, to help businesses return to
produce closer to their markets.
normal operations as soon as possible, and to provide a
They will then manufacture in smaller quantities at decentralized locations. In order to meet these growing needs for flexibility, speed and productivity, intelligent production is a must. And this, in turn, requires automation and
platform for developing new and more resilient businesses in the medium to longterm postrecovery phase. We should not neglect the opportunities of automation and digitisation while keeping our roots of labour intensive skills intact.
digitalization. Smart automation solutions are enabling
Although, the degree of adoption may vary depending on
technological innovations used specifically to alleviate the
the industry, willingness of companies to make huge
effects of the virus. And they make production processes so
investments at this time, and readiness of skilled manpower
flexible, robust and efficient that companies can quickly and
to absorb the new technologies and applications, the crisis has
efficiently adjust their production to demand, both during
certainly acted as a catalyst to transition to automation,
the crisis and afterwards. In the future, these technologies
especially in building resilience among businesses for future
will help ensure that companies can respond far faster and
disruptions.
more efficiently to crisis situations and changing market demands.
mean significantly accelerated deployment of industrial IoT,
Industry 4.0—The Way Forward In the past decade, after the 2009 financial meltdown, 14
In the coming years, greater connectivity through 5G will
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including sensing, data visualization, remote collaboration AR tools and AIbased insights across their operations.
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
Leadership and Purpose in Turbulent Times
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LEADERS SPEAK SERIES
This extract is from the first talk under Leaders Speak Series delivered by Mr Nandu Nandkishore, Professor, Indian School of Business, and a former global CSuite leader with Nestlé S.A, a mentor, a consultant, a venture capitalist and a coach. The event was held on 6 June 2020.
M
r V Balaraman, Past President, MMA and former MD, Pond’s India Ltd delivered the opening remarks wherein he highlighted the core values practised by Pond’s in a challenging environment that was
marked by government imposed shackles in the preliberalisation era. “Human resource was our only strength. We valued character and culture ahead of competence,” he reckoned. He said that Pond’s India trusted managers and gave them the liberty to learn from failures. Talking about the transformation of young executives who joined Pond’s, Mr Balaraman alluded to George Bernard Shaw’s play, Pyg malion, in which Eliza Doolittle gets transformed from a poor flower girl into a sophisticated young woman. He recalled the heights reached by many professionals who had a stint in Pond’s and went on to don prestigious positions in India and abroad, and spread the fragrance of business. Mr Nandu Nandkishore thanked Mr V Narayanan, Mr Balaraman and others under whom he learnt the hard lessons of management while working in Pond’s after his IIT and IIM graduation. He quoted from the Chinese classic Tao Te Ching: “When the master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists. Next best is a leader who is loved; next, one who is feared. The worst is one who is despised. If you don’t trust the people, you make them untrustworthy. The master doesn’t talk; he acts. When his work is done, the people say, ‘Amazing.’ We did it all by ourselves.” “That was Pond’s and it reflected the culture of Pond’s,” said Mr Nandu. During his gripping address, he stressed the need for people to adapt to changing circumstances and to handle every crisis in a methodical way, staying rooted to one’s core values. He gave many examples from the corporate world of organizations that weathered many a storm and came out triumphantly and also of organizations that failed badly. JULY
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Extract from his talk and the subsequent Q&A session are
Century and the world became, all of a sudden a much smaller place. Today, we can’t imagine life
summarized below: The average life span of the 500 biggest companies in the 40 years since 1960 has come down from 60 to less than 20 and now, it’s around 15. Today’s top 10 tech companies did not exist 30 years ago.
without the Internet, social media, smartphone and online meeting platforms. Worldwide, 88% of the people
go
to
bed
with
their
smartphones. This behavioural change happened in the last ten years. Adopting Digital
The Kodak Moment We grew up with the image of the world’s inventor of photography Kodak. For 130 years, Kodak dominated specialty chemicals and photography. We remember ‘the Kodak moment.’ They invented the digital camera. But where’s Kodak today? They disappeared.
In 1998, there was one company that had the market leadership, with more than 50% global market share of
according to Charles Darwin, ‘it is not
analogue mobile phones—Motorola.
the strongest or most intelligent who
Within one year, the technology
survive; it is, the most adaptable to
changed from analogue to digital.
change.’
Motorola too discarded the analogue version, retooled and adopted digital over the next twelve months, but could
In 1991, they decided to focus on digital photography; in 1998, they closed that business and decided to
The average life span of the 500 biggest companies in the 40 years since 1960 has come down from 60 to less than 20 and now, it’s around 15. Today’s top 10 tech companies did not exist 30 years ago.
not compete….
business and the key lesson is—Change or die; or to restate it, the only choice we have today is: Disrupt or be
In those 12 months, a new compa
task of leadership is to prepare the
competency in the home market of
organisation for change. Leaders
Finland was making rubber boots. It
should also know that they should not
embraced the new digital mobile
change their fundamental values while
technology and became the world’s
adapting their value chain. Turbulence
The speed of technological change
number one in mobile telephony. The
is part of the new normal in
throughout the 20th Century has been
company led the market for close to ten
technology, economy, global trade and
accelerating steadily. Arguably, the
years
the
visas. The latest addition to this list is
20th
more
smartphone. And then disappeared as
the Covid19 crisis. We have no clue as
technological changes than the 50,000
it had lost to iPhone, Samsung and
to how long it will last. Perhaps, we
years before, which saw the develop
other smartphone manufacturers.
may choose to blame everything on the
decided to cut costs to compete with Fuji film but ten years later, they were gone.
Century
has
seen
and
even
its
disrupted. Therefore, the fundamental
core
focus on photographic paper. They
ny—Nokia—entered;
This is also very relevant in
invented
ment of agriculture, wheel, livestock,
pandemic or we can build scenarios
etc. Communication, radio, television,
Change or Die
and plan for each. This is a transition
telephone, motor cycles, trains, cars
If you look at the world’s natural
event in our history, which people will
and spaceship—all came in the 20th
history at times of a great change,
talk about for the next 100 years.
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Winners & Losers Every crisis has winners and losers. In Covid too, there will be potential win ners—for instance, anything consumed at home such as ecommerce, entertainment, personal care and healthcare, food processing and retail, medical supply and services—and potential losers (for instance, those that are consumed ‘out of home’ like tourism and leisure, aviation and maritime, automotives, construction and
real
estate,
nonessential
manufacturing, financial services, ed ucation, and oil and gas sectors). The struggling sectors have to adapt and reinvent themselves.
efforts. Today, Fuji is a global leader in
business grew up many fold. Today,
business. Kodak doesn’t exist.
Nestlé is a 1.5 billion dollar company in Indonesia, having bounced back with a
Indonesian Devaluation Crisis
turnover of 200 million dollars in the
A restaurant owner in Australia,
In 1998, there was an economic crisis
year of the crisis.
who was given just 24 hours to close
in Indonesia. Within six months, the
down her outlet due the pandemic,
exchange rate went from 2000 rupiah
The ‘Glass in the Glass Jar’ Crisis
converted it into a grocery store and
for a dollar to 17000 rupiah. An entire
We were selling Nestlé baby glass jars
thrived. Her advice to others: Adapt,
segment of middleclass went into
in France. In 2009, we discovered there
adapt and adapt. When a crisis comes,
poverty. Many companies closed down
were pieces of glass in the jars due to a
we can stick our head in the sand like
and many laid off people. I was there at
defective line. We quickly put a team in
an ostrich or choose to face it.
that time with Nestlé. We struggled to
place and traced the problem to just
maintain our supply chains and keep
two batches. Some of the products from
The Wei Ji Mindset
our units running, but at the same
these batches had already gone to the
There is a saying in Chinese called ‘Wei
time,
our
market. We quickly alerted the
Ji.’ It is represented by two symbols
commitment to our core values. We did
authorities and customers; together
meaning Danger and Opportunity. A
not lay off even a single person. We
with them, we retrieved the glass jars
successful strategic response to a crisis
ensured that our consumers got good
and no one got hurt. The consumers
should view the disruption both as a
quality products. In the first year, our
responded
threat and an opportunity. Like Kodak,
business volume declined by 30%; we
customers in other countries queried
Fuji Film too decided to cut cost and
worked with our farmers/ trade
through social media if they too had to
focus on photographic paper but unlike
partners and invested in our brands.
return their jars. We clarified that the
Kodak, Fuji decided to put the money
The entire value chain rewarded us
problem was restricted only to France
saved into their R&D and innovation
handsomely
and reassured them.
20
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we
demonstrated
and
gradually,
our
very
positively.
Our
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A few days later, on a Friday
product, apparently to discredit the
and addressed the emotional concern
evening at 8.30 pm (normally big
government and some multinationals
of consumers. We worked with farmers
crises happen after 6 pm on Fridays;
in Chile. He tested some Nestlé baby
and the pesticides they used, and re
you can call this Nandu’s law!), I was
food products and found that they were
launched the product along with
still in the office when I got a call from
completely compliant with the local
commercials that reassured them that
our social media unit that a Hollywood
regulations, FDA norms and Codex
we deliver the best quality at every
star, Alyssa Milano, who had 17 million
norms.
stage: from field to jar.
followers on Twitter had tweeted, “In the US, Nestlé is recalling their baby food ‘Gerber.’ So please return your Gerber baby jars to Nestlé.” For no reason, the tweet had created a panic. We had to react immediately. Within five minutes, I responded to her on Twitter stating the correct position; the star was so gracious and retracted her tweet saying that the US products were fine; it was a localised issue in France and that the problem had also been resolved. We heaved a sigh of relief!
your
vulnerabilities.
facts Stop
Act
decisively.
Speed
According to European law, it was completely banned. The politician went to the government and complained. The government turned to Nestlé and asked us to handle the issue. Questions were raised to us: “Are you telling us that European babies are more
over a period of 20 years. He says that good luck and bad luck will keep alternating but those who show resilience succeed. In my life too, I had many successes and failures. The roots of all of my successes lie in my failures. We should always convert a problem into an opportunity.
don’t. In every single place, we comply
separates panic / despair and
and
with the local laws and regulations. The
thoughtfulness. You have to build a
the
product was perfectly okay. But still,
support
we
and
uncertainty. When others follow an
reformulated it over the next six
ostrich response, you might be the only
months. That is when we launched a
one who balances a threat response
new initiative.
and an opportunity response. So,
is
Know your core values and purpose.
•
were permitted in Chilean law.
Choice,’ studied several companies
with a measured response that
important. •
called Iprodione, the limits of which
Jim Collins, for his book ‘Great by
do you have double standards?” We
bleeding. •
were in parts per million of a pesticide
Resilience, the Key Differentiator
You need to be personally resilient
in a threat response: Know
the presence of trace elements, which
important than Chilean babies? Why
The below aspects are important
•
However, he raised an issue about
Protect your consumers.
recalled
the
product
network
and
embrace
never waste a good crisis. The response Project Saturday
to a crisis makes the difference
Chilean vs. European Babies
According to this project, irrespective
between great companies and alsoran
It was Christmas 2010. I was in
of the local law, for each parameter, we
companies. It is also true for
Chennai to be with my mother. I got a
decided to go with the strictest among
individuals and leaders.
call from our Chile country manager of
the local, European and US regulations.
The Covid crisis is going to be a
Nestlé. She said, “Boss, we have a
We started with baby products and
watershed moment in our history. You
serious problem,” and explained it. A
slowly, worked our way through all
have to ask yourself: What will my
politician used a local lab to test our
Nestlé products. We communicated
legacy be? Will I be of proud of the JULY
2020
21
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
choices I made 20 years hence? For, our choices define us. Despite so many disruptions and disasters, the 20th Century has been, by far, the safest. If we look for greatness in the world, it will get better and better. Insights from the Q&A Session a)
10 Rules for Crisis Management 1﴿
Recognise and accept the crisis. Don’t panic.
2﴿
Get a crisis team in place with relevant skill sets and communication experts.
3﴿
Appoint a Devil’s advocate to challenge group think.
4﴿
Determine the gaps and put a process in place. Separate facts from opinion. Focus on what you can control. Have a scenario plan for what
As companies grow in size and business, the corporate leader should focus on four things that are very important and help create the culture, which in turn determines how well strategy is executed. (You May have heard, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. Well
you cannot control. 5﴿
you will not compromise. 6﴿
Recognise if there are opportunities.
7﴿
Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.
8﴿
Take action and ensure flawless implementation.
9﴿
Study the lessons learnt and redesign your processes.
10﴿ Have regular simulations and scenario planning to prepare BEFORE a crisis.
this is what it means): *
* *
Strategy of the company: Are they a box of constraints or
beings are not so different.
definitely a lot of opportunity
are they stretch oriented?
Their underlying values do not
to raise the standards of
Processes: Do they focus on
change. Leaders must keep
governance.
compliance or discipline?
their word, listen and be honest
Leadership: Does it revolve
and
Culture
Covid Crisis: In a worst case
around
impacts strategy. A leader
scenario, rather than laying off
should work closely with both.
people, salary cuts starting
Governance: Board members
from top level will be a better
must ensure good governance.
option. Corporate leaders must
Values: An individual’s values
There are different styles of
respect their employees and
and company values should be
governance. The board must
make sure that people have a
in alignment.
ensure that the operational
dignified exit. Though Airbnb
Decisionmaking: Leaders
management
place,
and Uber took some tough
should know to separate facts
appropriate to the stage of
decisions, their responses were
from opinions to arrive at good
business. We come across
appreciated because of their
quality decisions.
people
many
hearttoheart communication
Leadership across places:
companies’ boards and they
and the intent shown. The
Leaders must focus on values.
may not be able to do justice.
global chairman of JW Marriot
Across
the
In India, people are reluctant
spoke to all employees about
values—for
to be independent directors
the situation. There are bad
instance, respect, integrity and
because of liabilities and legal
examples too. Some companies
trust—do not change. Human
responsibilities.
have fired employees over a
controlling
or
supporting people? *
Team dynamics: Do they run based on contracts or trust?
b)
c)
d)
Remind yourself of the core purpose, values and core strengths which
cultures
fundamental
e)
transparent.
is
sitting
in
in
There
is
f)
Dealing with Employees in
JULY
2020
23
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
Zoom chat. That’s not the way to do things. This crisis will
Covid Management, in general: *
change because of the crisis.
separate great leaders from the ordinary.
Behaviours of consumers will
*
Leaders must try to protect the
news will fill the vacuum which is dangerous. Mr V Balaraman thanked Mr
vulnerable during this crisis.
Nandu Nandkishore for an enticing
There has to be a different
talk and summed up saying that
One cannot keep on running a loss
strategy for semiurban and
corporate leaders must lead from the
making unit. I have closed down some
urban areas. Leaders and
front, be available and visible in a
units and had the misfortune of laying
people must come together to
crisis. He recalled that India had come
off employees. But in every single case
create
*
that I handled, I have tried to look people in their eyes, talk to them rationally, discuss their exit plan and treat people with grace.
24
JULY
2020
a
conducive
environment. *
Leaders must maintain their sanity and balance in their
out of many crises well. He promised to collaborate with MMA and bring in more leaders of Pond’s lineage to fol
perspective. They must keep
low sound management principles,
communicating, or else, fake
especially in these turbulent times.
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
COVID‐19: Impact on Indian Politics MMAKAS in association with NGPL and ORF held an online panel discussion on 3 May 2020. The Panellists: *
K Pandiarajan Hon’ble Minister for Tamil Language, Culture Government of Tamil Nadu
*
N K Premachandran Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha (Kollam Constituency)
*
PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan Member of Legislative Assembly, Tamil Nadu
*
Prime Point Srinivasan Chairman & Managing Trustee DiJAI moderated the discussion.
Extract from the Panel Discussion:
Lockdown Blues
Whether they will be able to work here
He cautioned that people’s compliance
is a delicate matter. Definitely we have
to lockdown should not lead to
to find some ways to rehabilitate the
authoritarian governments at the
foreign returnees.”
Centre and States. “The civil rights, Mr N K Premachandran, Member of Parliament
M
political
rights
and
even
On the muchtouted Kerala model
the
of governance, he said, “People talk
fundamental rights are being infringed
about the Kerala model of governance
r Premachandran said that
upon, because of the pandemic
where the power is decentralised up to
no disaster brought more
situation,” he said.
the local panchayat level. This has been
misery to humanity than
He suggested that each State has to
made possible by raising the standard of
the Second World War. Although Covid
focus on selfsustainability through
living, thanks to the remittances made
has brought in a high level of misery, it
sustainable development.
by NRIs so far. Therefore, at least now,
is a matter of pride that the entire nation of 1.3 billion people are united in their fight against Covid19. This is a unique political experiment, thanks to Covid19 management.
“As Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, said, the soul of India
we have to think about rehabilitating the returning NRIs.”
lives in its villages. More attention
Mr Premachandran expressed his
needs to be given for agriculture and
opinion that management of the
rural development,” he felt.
pandemic will be a major issue in the
According to him, the Indian
next elections. “PostCovid, India has to
political scenario has to be dissected and
Migrant Labour and Returning NRIs
take headon two vital issues namely
analysed in three distinct phases—the
Regarding the movement of migrant
unemployment and poverty and without
preCovid phase, the current phase and
labourers and return of NRIs, he
addressing these, any growth in terms
the post Covid phase. He said that the
strongly felt the need for effective
of figures will only be notional,” he
state of Kerala has learnt a lot of lessons
intervention. He said, “Most of the
summed up in a nutshell the agenda for
from its own practical experiences.
returning NRIs will be above 40.
the government.
26
JULY
2020
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
of jobs. “What will happen to jobs,
Tamil Nadu government in tackling the
especially in the unorganized sector? We
pandemic—serving free food to the
say India is highly entrepreneurial and
public through Amma Canteens,
almost 18% of the people here earn a
increased testing and tracing, gearing
Mr K Pandiarajan, Hon’ble Minister for Tamil Language, Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu
living by doing something on their own.
up the entire government machinery,
How much support, freedom and push
organising a task force for tapping FDI
can the governments give to different
investments and doing continuous
r Pandiarajan felt that we
sections to engage in entrepreneurial
course corrections.
need to debate on issues
activity?“ he wondered.
M
like the unipolar world
attempt by China in the geopolitical
Tamil Nadu and Covid Management
transition, the political realignment of
“The Tamil Nadu government will be
the world and if India will matter in the
engaging with the industry on restoring
comity of nations emerging either
normalcy,” he promised. He argued for
stronger or weaker postCOVID.
more autonomy to the States and
He listed out as the second dominant theme in his mind, the nature
decentralisation of power. He listed out the steps taken by the
Regarding FDI, he said that the state government has set up a task force at the instance of five countries—Japan, Korea, Singapore, the US and Taiwan and hoped that they will deliver results. “PostCovid19, I believe India will emerge stronger. We have a strong national identity today. That will drive us,” he said. JULY
2020
27
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
he said and shared his views on a range
opined that it could be misplaced
of issues.
optimism. “I hear of companies exiting China
Focus on Governance "This Mr PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan, Member of Legislative Assembly, Tamil Nadu
M
r
PTR
Palanivel
Thiagarajan said that we are all shaped by our
experiences. He recalled his own experiences with multiple kinds of
crisis
changes
people's
expectations of politics as opposed to governance.
We
are
seeing
a
fundamental distinction between the kind of campaigning and sloganeering and rabblerousing as opposed to actually governance; Covid will change the nature of people's expectations of the learnedness of their politicians.
and about the scope for India and Tamil Nadu. I am an exinvestment banker. I've run large trading business with hundreds of billions of dollars balance sheet and transactions a year and I find it hard to imagine a scenario in which we can attract FDI with this much uncertainty in the world and the lack of execution skill that India has shown. How long will it take for FDI to
seismic events. “I was in the World
One of the reasons that Germany
have an impact on employment? This
Trade Centre when the planes hit on
has been such an effective handler of the
is not a realistic shortterm solution,”
9/11. I was a senior executive running
crisis is that their leader is a scientist. he said.
the subsidiaries of Lehman when the
She understands complex models and is
global financial crisis started. I was part
able to use that in decisionmaking. The
Old Order Should Change
of India and the demonetization that
speed at which leaders react and the
He added, “Politics is not only about
crippled our economy,” he said.
nature in which they react is going to
learning, but also driven by people who
shift after this crisis,” he said.
have compassion. Politics is not a
Drawing a parallel from the 9/11
lifelong career; the system needs change
crisis, he said there were no elaborate
On devolution of power, he
screenings in the airport before 9/11
commented, “The notion of centralized
incident. “Things changed drastically
versus distributed models of governance
after that. Similarly, postCovid, we may
is going to become very starker. We can
encounter multiple screenings in
see the difference between Tamil Nadu
airports. We have to live with the new
and Kerala. In Kerala, the devolution
In his opinion, the governments
normal.”
has been all the way down to the
—both in Delhi and Tamil Nadu— have
panchayat level. The average panchayat
one main task: to find the poorest and
level executive or committee or
weakest sections of the society and try
councillor in Kerala is significantly
their best to revive demand and bring
more empowered than the one in Tamil
back their balance sheets to some level
Nadu and that is a fundamental
of neutrality.
Alluding the Covid outbreak to a watershed event, he said that this crisis is a beforeandafter kind of separator. “Only 10% of the impact is known to us now. The consequences of shutting down the economy even partially are going to be so humongous. This is an era of change or era of shifting events,” 28
JULY
2020
component of the outcome that they've been able to achieve.” On talks of likely FDI inflows, he
and evolving leadership. The grassroots level politicians stay put for too long, choking the pipelines and thus blocking fresh blood."
“If we don't do that, we are going to see consequences for years to come,” he cautioned on a serious note.
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
E f f e c t i ve Decision‐Making in Difficult Times
"It is not enough just to make decisions. We need to diagnose the decisions..."
He explained how in personal life, there are so many opportunities for de cisionmaking, starting from schooling, taking up a job, buying an automobile, clothing, selecting a sport, going for vacation,
shopping,
financial
investments and so on. Similarly, he listed numerous opportunities for deci sionmaking in profession, in the areas of hiring, onboarding, training, giving initial
assignment,
feedback,
performance
coaching,
mentoring,
MMA and KonradAdenauerStiftung (KAS)'s online lecture professional growth, promotions, on 15 April 2020 was delivered by Dr Manu K. Vora, Chairman terminations, capital projects, team and President, Business Excellence, Inc., USA and Fulbright formation and strategic planning. Specialist, U.S.Department of State, USA (20162021). Dr Vora thus laid out the vast canvas of decisionmaking and then
P
detailed out various models as tools for eople make decisions all the
be ‘acted upon’ and that ‘decisiveness is
arriving at decisions—like the tree dia
time. The quality of those
what makes a good manager.’ He
gram; Steven Covey’s UrgentImportant
decisions is often in question
explained with examples and anecdotes, matrix; and basic decision models
—even by those who make them.
of decisionmaking in personal and
(scientific, ethical, economical, political,
Dr.Vora provided both background
professional domains. He discussed de
habitual, etc.,) He listed out nine steps
knowledge and practical models to
cisionmaking themes dominant during
to effective decisionmaking. How can
prioritize and make decisions. He
Covid19—social isolation, personal
we conquer indecision? “Failure to
started with popular quotes on decision
hygiene, avoiding outside trips, seeking
execute is the single greatest cause,” he
making. He quoted Lee Iacocca to drive
medical assistance, looking after the
stressed. “Beyond a point, plans are not
home the fact that a decision taken must
elderly and avoiding rumours.
relevant and they need to be JULY
2020
29
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
implemented.” It is not enough just to make decisions. We need to diagnose the decisions that we made and distill them into good and bad decisions. The lessons learned will help us in future de cisionmaking. Dr Vora gave many simple tips like taking one issue at a time, prioritizing and making use of 3H (Head, Heart and Hand) in decisions. The lecture provided useful insights for the participants to fulfill their vision, mission, and goals and empower them to do well in their professional careers.
30
JULY
2020
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
WORLD
Geo‐Political and Geo‐Economic Consequences of COVID‐19
MMA in association with ORF and KAS presented a live fireside chat on this subject. It included Mr M K Narayanan, former National Security Advisor of India (NSA) and former Governor of West Bengal in conversation with Prof Harsh V Pant, Director, Studies & Head of Strategic Studies Programme, Observer Research Foundation (ORF), New Delhi on 29 April 2020.
JULY
2020
31
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
The Speakers were: *
Mr Peter Rimmele, Resident Representative to India, KonradAdenauer Stiftung
*
Mr Christian Hirte, Honourable Member of German Parliament
*
even more than what has been the case
M.K.Narayanan under three
in the recent past. Rather than look beyond its borders, nations will focus on
broad areas: * *
The geopolitical impact of
their
narrowly
Covid19
interests.
defined
national
The geoeconomic impact of India’s position, post Covid19
“In times of a crisis, leadership is the
He remarked that even before the
key. Unfortunately, across the world we
advent of Covid19 crisis, tectonic plates
have a leadership vacuum. There is an
Research Foundation, New
of the global politics were shifting and
absence of leaders who can think
Delhi
that the pandemic has clearly exposed
beyond their immediate problems and
Mr M K Narayanan,
the Chinese vulnerability.
well
Programme at Observer
former National Security
*
beyond
their
immediate
“There is a great shift taking place,
surroundings,” Narayanan observed and
we are moving from the global order we
added that the US is faltering and for a
have known since 1945 to a new global
variety of reasons, it has been retreating
Head of Observer Research
order, an extremely uncertain one,”
from the world stage for some years
Foundation, Chennai
remarked Mr. M.K. Narayanan. He
now. This has created a big vacuum.
Adviser of Government of India Mr N Sathiya Moorthy,
“In times of a crisis, leadership is the key... There is an absence of leaders who can think beyond their immediate problems and well beyond their immediate surroundings,” ‐ M K Narayanan
32
contours of his chat with Mr
Leadership vacuum
the Strategic Studies
*
that nations are going to look inwards
Covid19
Prof Harsh V Pant, Director, Studies and Head of
*
P
rof Harsh V Pant set the
JULY
2020
outlined the new emerging global order.
“There has been a total failure of
“The new world order is no longer
international organisations, such as the
dominated by the US; China is to some
United Nations and WHO, to step up to
extent in the driving seat and most
the present challenges. WHO has been
other countries are badly bruised by
charged with grossly underestimating
Covid19 and the global recession,” he
the pandemic,” he said and commented
said.
that to rebuild or repair institutions of eminence, we need great leaders but
Globalisation in retreat According
to
Mr.
such leadership is missing today. Narayanan,
globalisation has undeniably been in
Geo‐politics worse than geo‐
retreat for some years now and the
economics
coronavirus pandemic is likely to
“In some ways, the geopolitical
exacerbate this process. He felt that
situation is far more threatening than
though there is a lot being said about
the
international
and
Narayanan stressing that the leadership
international community, one of the
of a nation gains precedence over the
devastating impacts of Covid19 will be
nation’s economics.
cooperation
geoeconomics,”
opined
Mr
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
Assessing the geopolitical landscape,
COVID‐19: An opportunity for India?
political clout doesn’t always rely on
Mr Narayanan felt that the European
Narayanan felt that it’s wishful thinking
economic growth.
Union is struggling with its own internal
to believe that India can exploit
problems; Other than Angela Merkel of
opportunities created out of companies
Future of Pakistan‐India relations
Germany, the EU does not have a
trying to move out of China. Countries
Given Pakistan’s refusal to join the
promising leader. PostBrexit, the UK
like Vietnam are more likely to benefit
SAARC video conference, Narayanan
too is weakened. West Asia has been in
from it than India.
was
asked,
if
IndiaPakistan
relationship had a future.
shambles for some time now and the
He explained that though India has
region is set to face further difficulties
the resilience to survive the crisis, it is
“Every relationship has a future.
due to the oil price meltdown. Russia, he
not in a position to exploit it because of
India can deal with Pakistan and it has
felt, may not be severely affected. India
its economic downturn.
to deal with Pakistan” Narayanan
could have offered some leadership but is handicapped by its economic situation, he argued.
While China is undoubtedly trying to fill the leadership vacuum, Mr Narayanan felt this was not the situation that the world wanted to be in. According to China
has
been
very
important in terms of restricting the spread of the virus but economic
China: Black swan to white swan
him,
“Lockdown
should
have
been
stigmatised for its failure to alert the world in time about the virus. It first identified and detected the virus in Wuhan in December 2019, but sounded the alarm only in January 2020, Narayanan pointed out. “Having had an early recovery, China is now trying to exploit the situation by utilising its manufacturing capability into an advantage by sending
capacities have bottomed out. China holds all the cards, what are the cards that India holds?” he asked. Reordering foreign policy priorities
stated. Maintaining relations with China Having
been
a
foreign
policy
practitioner and China expert since the Sixties, Mr Narayanan stated that China will not be happy with India’s efforts to gain influence in South Asia.
Looking ahead, Narayanan felt that
“However, China will not look to get
India’s foreign policy had invested far
into a conflict with India. Rather, it will
too much in the US. The world is
look to constrict India in its
changing in crucial ways; India’s foreign
neighbourhood and isolate it from the
policy and its diplomatic efforts need to
rest of the world,” he added.
reflect these new changes.
He also said that China recognises
“To hitch our wagon to the US now
India’s intellectual strength. Therefore,
would be unfortunate,” he said. He
maintaining good relations with China
recommended that India needs to
will be India’s biggest foreign policy goal
strengthen its position in South Asia
and challenge; it will throw up
and SAARC has to be brought back.
challenges as well as opportunities, requiring deft handling.
out masks and PPE to Asia and Africa.
“India has to be seen as the glue
Instead of helping the affected
that keeps SAARC together. It is
To conclude, Mr Narayanan said,
countries, it is trying to exploit the
imperative for India to strengthen itself
“India is too important a country to be
opportunities. It is attempting a change
in South Asia, only then will the rest of
sidelined in the world. India should
from being a Black Swan to a White
the world will see it as a leading power,
strive to be a beacon of light to the
Swan,” cautioned Mr Narayanan.
said Mr. Narayanan and added that
world.”
JULY
2020
33
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
He also allayed fears that Disaster
CURRENT AFFAIRS
COVID‐19: Impact on Indian Economy
Management Act would be misused by the states to quell labour and public rights. “We are in an emergency now, facing a warlike situation. All our executive decisions taken now need the approval of legislature or Parliament, as applicable, after three months and within six months. After this, anyone can question the decisions in a Court of Law,” he told. He was also appreciative of the Government’s efforts in ensuring that there are no starvation deaths due to the crisis. “Our granaries are full. The government has provided three months ration to all the needy people. It has also transferred money to the Jan Dhan accounts of poor people,” he informed. State of the economy
MMAKASORF in association with NGPL & Presense presented a talk under “Leaders Speak Series” online on Friday, 15 May 2020. Mr Bhartruhari Mahtab, Member of Parliament and Chairman, Standing Committee on Labour delivered the talk.
Mr Bhartruhari Mahtab said that at present, the state of the Indian economy is worrisome. According to him, the relief measures and the stimulus package of Rs 20 lakh crores is a welcome measure
M
r Bhartruhari Mahtab
Pandemic management
spoke on the pandemic
“The lockdown announced by the
management in India and
Indian Prime Minister was a right
the current economic situation. As
decision taken at the right time and
Chairman
of
Parliamentary
without which Covid19 would have
Standing Committee on Labour, he
exploded on a much larger scale in
He expressed satisfaction at the
discussed the proposed labour reforms,
India,” argued Mr Bhartruhari Mahtab
Prime Minister’s prescription of ‘Aatma
the migrant labour problem and
and said that all the Indian states have
Nirbhar: Self Reliance for India' and
measures that have to be put in place to
done reasonably well in managing the
went on to suggest that we should also
prevent a recurrence of the problem, in
pandemic, using the provisions of
aim
future.
Disaster Management Act.
‘Swawlambi.’
34
JULY
the
2020
and he is hopeful that the Finance Minister’s various announcements detailing the relief package would put money in the hands of the common man and help revive the economy.
for
selfindependence
or
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
optimistic that the present labour reforms in the form of four codes, when implemented, will benefit all the workers. He also appealed to all the states to use technology and maintain a live and updated database of migrant workers. Centre‐state relations In sharing of the Central funds among the states, he expressed his opinion that the Union Government is not doing justice.
Labour reforms
enterprise factor. That will be disastrous
He gave an overview of the numerous
for the nation and economy,” he
and archaic labour acts that are in force
warned.
and about the Union Government’s labour reform initiatives, whereby the
Migrant labour problem
labour ministry has decided to
Mr Bhartruhari Mahtab traced the
amalgamate 44 labour laws into four
origin of the migrant labour problem
codes—on wages, industrial relations,
that resulted postlockdown, and which
social security and safety, health and
according to him is very unfortunate
working conditions.
and should not have been allowed to
On the present status of these acts,
happen.
However, as a true national leader, he said, “I love my state, but I love my country more. So I respect the Finance Commission, which is the constitutional mechanism in place.” From his vast experience,
he
felt
that
many
bureaucratic tangles between the Centre and the States can be resolved smoothly if the State Chief Minister or Chief Secretary has a direct dialogue with the Union Government.
he said that the code on wages has been
“The industries should have taken
approved by the Parliament and the
care of the workers but as the units were
Positive initiatives
other three are in the process of getting
shutdown, the migrant workers wanted
Mr Bhartruhari Mahtab said that the
approved.
to go back to their homes and with lack
Union Government’s initiative of JAM
of conveyance, they started walking
(Interlinking Jan Dhan account,
back,” he explained.
Aadhaar number and mobile number)
“These codes, when passed, will immensely benefit the labour force and make industries to strictly comply with
Going further into the roots of the
has proved to be a big boon, especially
the provisions,” he assured. He was also
problem, he said that in India, only
in reaching out to the poor and migrant
pragmatic when he said that the growth
about 8% of the labour force is in
labour. He also gave thumbs up to the
of industries depends on two sides of
organised sector. The rest, a whopping
Finance Minister’s announcement that
the coin—namely, labour, on one side
94% are in unorganised sector and they
“One Nation, One Ration Card,” will
and enterprise, on the other. “We
are not covered properly under the
soon become operational and greatly
cannot focus on labour and discard the
social security acts. He sounded
help people on the move. JULY
2020
35
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
remarkably reluctant to lend. “Nothing
POLITICS
has changed to remove that risk
PM's Economic Package: Different Strokes
aversion. Measures like the suspension of IBC will make the banks even more reluctant,” he noted. The Centre has come up with sovereign guarantee for loans extended to MSME. This, he felt, addresses the problem partly but the execution remains to be seen. He said, “The statement of intent is there. But the details are missing.” According to Dr Narayan, the lockdown was well timed but the government grossly failed to see the migrant labour issue coming up. “This and the resultant pain could have been
MMAKAS in association with ORF presented a talk under “Leaders Speak Series” through Webinar on the theme “PM’s Economic Package: Different Strokes” on 26 May 2020. *
Mr P Ravichandran, Sr Vice President, MMA delivered the welcome address.
* *
easily avoided. The lockdown, however, gave two to three months time for the government to prepare better and take the disease head on, with an armoury of PPEs, face masks and ventilators,” he
Mr Peter Rimmele, Resident Representative to India of Konrad
said. He added that the recovery rate of
AdenauerStiftung delivered the Introductory Remarks.
close to 40% is good and our death rate
Mr R Srinivasan, Editor, The Hindu BusinessLine moderated the
is low compared to other countries, if
discussion with Dr S Narayan, IAS (Retd), former Economic Advisor to
official data are correct.
Prime Minister.
M
Dissecting and analyzing the PM’s
r R Srinivasan drew
Commenting on the stimulus
economic stimulus package of 20 lakh
attention to two recent
package of Rs 20 lakh crores, he
crores, Dr Narayan sounded an overall
studies—one done by
observed that after a detailed analysis,
note of optimism. He broadly put the
SBI’s Economic Research wing and the
the actual size of fiscal stimulus is less
package into three boxes, namely:
other by CRISIL. Both have reported
than 10% of what is announced. The rest
*
Survival
that our economy is falling off a cliff;
comes from the monetary measures
*
Revival and
Next year’s GDP growth will be 6.5%
announced by the RBI, more in the
*
Growth.
and the next quarter’s GDP will shrink
nature of potential for injecting liquidity
Under Survival, he listed out the
by 25%. “This,” he said, “is the direct
in the economy. He lamented that RBI
announcement of one nation, one ration
result of lockdown which started in the
depends on the banking system to
card for public distribution system.
last week of March 2020.”
deliver and that our banks are
This, he said, is a big reform and will
36
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Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
to look at small industries and localized and dispersed industries?” He said that we are self sufficient in PPE, face masks and ventilators. “Pharma industry is ramping up. Large imports of China will get reduced.” Dr S Narayan and Mr R Srinivasan debated some of the important issues facing the nation, in a freewheeling chat. Suspending labour laws help the migrant labour immensely. He also emphasized that we have enough food stock. Additional funds
infrastructure like food processing, cold chain, etc, augurs well for revival of agriculture.
allocated for MGNREGA will help the migrant labour who go back to their
some BJP state governments to suspend
villages. He pointed out that banks have
many labour laws temporarily, for a
automatically increased the working
period of three years. Though this is not
capital limit of MSMEs by 20% without
the right way, this will help in more
asking for any collateral. Also, he
employment opportunities for the
commended
migrant and returning labour, and be a
easing
the
monetary strain of NBFCs by providing
boon
them credit guarantee to the tune of
government’s initiative of ‘One district,
45,000 crores.
one skill,’ by which each district will be
Under Revival, Dr Narayan pointed out the proposed amendment to agricultural product marketing act and taking out many things from Essential
to
labour law or suspending some of the provisions is not labour reform, but implementation is real reform. Labour
He pointed out the efforts taken by
Centre’s
Mr Srinivasan said that doing away with
FDI.
He
lauded
UP
developed with a particular skill of people —for example, Kanpur will focus on leather industry, Banaras on textiles, etc.
rights have to be respected. Dr Narayan added that the present archaic labour laws need to be changed, so that the industries can comply with them, without resorting to circumventing the laws. This will help to reduce the 90% unorganised labour force in the country and solve many of the issues like the ongoing migrant labour problem. Only supply‐side stimulus? Mr Srinivasan noted that the PM’s stimulus package focuses only on the
Commodities Act. These measures will
Under Growth measures, he opined
supply side and demand has been
open up agricultural markets in a very
that the government perhaps feels that
neglected. Dr Narayan suggested that
big way. He even bracketed this step
the 1991 reforms were inadequate. “The
the government, as a short term
with the 1991 reforms. “This will be a big
91 reforms provided openings for large
measure, should put money in the hands
thing for agriculture, similar to what
industries to grow. When big industries
of the people by way of dole outs.
happened for industry in 1991,” he
grow, it leads to wealth and GDP
observed. He also said that pumping of
growth. There is now a paradigm shift
Outdated budget?
a lakh of crores into agribased
in government’s thinking. “Is it possible
Mr Srinivasan said that the Union JULY
2020
37
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
Budget announced in Feb 2020 is no
sectors. Pharma industry will do well.
longer valid. Dr Narayan also agreed
FDA will give more approvals to Indian
and suggested that the government has
formulations. Food and food processing,
to come up with a revised budget, as
agriculture related businesses and
many of the assumptions in the budget
logistics will pick up.
are no longer valid. Middle‐class woes Mr Srinivasan referred to the sharp reduction of manpower in the organised sector. There have been job losses, pay cuts, rationalization of work force, etc.,
Real estate and construction and automobile industry will have a tough time. IT industry will save a lot of money by asking people to work from home (WFH) for two to three days in a week. This will be the new normal.
left to the states. They don’t have money. Their main sources of income, namely taxes from fuel and liquor and land registration charges have been affected. GST compensation is also delayed. Dr Narayan agreed that many states struggle to even pay salaries. The states must be allowed to borrow at reduced interest rates from the centre. The Centre should not link it now
which have increased the pressure on
Centre–state finance
the middleclass. It doesn’t help
Mr Srinivasan pointed out that the
The States should also seriously look
consumption. Dr Narayan noted that we
lockdown was imposed by the Centre
at their expenditure and prune their
need to look at this issue from specific
and the exit from lockdown has been
freebies to restore fiscal health.
38
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2020
to reforms like Power sector reforms.
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
STATECRAFT
Covid19 and Electoral Reforms MMA in collaboration with Konrad AdenauerStiftung (KAS) presented an online panel discussion under ‘Leaders Speak’ series on the theme, “Covid19 and Electoral Reforms” on 3 June 2020. ORF and NGPL were the event partners. The expert talk was given by Mr T S Krishnamurthy, former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India.
G
roup Captain R Vijayakumar
schedule in November 2020 in Bihar will
way of bringing them down would be to
(Retd),
give a good platform to introduce Covid
have more of digital meetings and use of
related reforms,” he stated.
social media in a responsible way, rather
VSM,
Executive
Director, MMA, welcomed the
participants.
Mr
Peter
Rimmele,
Resident Representative to India of KAS, delivered the introductory remarks.
Contending that no democracy in
than meeting people in person. This will
the world is perfect, he pointed out
also help in checking the spread of
mature democracies like Germany,
Covid19.
Mr T S Krishnamurthy dealt in his
Australia, UK and US, despite having
address the compelling need for
problems, are able to resolve issues by
introducing several reforms in the Indian
discussion and debate and not though
electoral scene, especially in the post
violence. He stressed that electoral
Covid19 phase. He said that the need
reforms must happen in Asia and Africa.
for electoral reforms is often talked
State funding While he appreciated the German system of State funding of elections, he suggested public funding for India with 100% tax exemption. This, he argued,
about but rarely do the ideas that are
Digital meetings
would bring in transparency and
expressed get implemented. “Covid19
He listed out India’s main problems in
discipline and curb black money.
has given us an opportunity to take up
elections:
corruption,
The limits now imposed on
many reforms. The upcoming election
intolerance, hatred and criminality. One
expenditure of a candidate is flawed in
political
JULY
2020
39
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
encouraging parties to nominate good candidates, this has not served its purpose, according to a study, he pointed out and suggested that continuation of NOTA needs to be reviewed. Internet and mobile voting In the postCovid phase, due to social distancing and other restrictions, he recommended to opt for Internet voting in a limited way, for certain categories of the absence of any limit for spending by
antidefection law and they wreak havoc
the parties, he pointed out. He was firm
by forming unholy alliances and toppling
in denouncing the electoral bond scheme
governments. He strongly made a pitch
now in place, citing total lack of
for barring independents in state
transparency. “Though they are routed
legislatures and introducing laws to
through banks, the source of money is
regulate
not questioned,” he said.
elections.
them
in
parliamentary
people including NRIs, senior citizens, physically challenged, diplomats and people from armed forces. He also suggested introducing mobile polling booths so that voters, especially senior citizens need not commute to vote, exposing them to the virus in the process.
Law for political parties
Devolution of power
Though the Indian Constitution is one of
“Democracy survives only when the
the
power is devolved,” he said and
longest,
Mr
Krishnamurthy
that
local
self
Electronic voting machines ﴾EVM﴿ He made a strong pitch for continuance of EVMs saying they are the pride of the
highlighted the glaring omission of
recommended
reference to political parties in the
governments with adequate powers to
constitution. While acknowledging that
manage themselves and raise resources
at the time of independence, this could
should become a reality. This, according
“Even many foreign countries have
have been acceptable whereas now, we
to him, will prevent concentration of
come and seen the robustness of the
definitely need laws to regulate political
power either at the Centre or with State
machines,” he said and regretted that
parties. The recognised parties should be
governments and vastly bring down
when a politician or a party loses power,
limited to a few serious contenders. The
corruption.
EVM becomes the scapegoat.
formed with ulterior motives should be
NOTA
One Nation, One Voting
derecognised, he argued.
At present, there exists an option called
“This is very attractive,” said Mr
NOTA—'None of the above' in voting
Krishnamurthy and added, “Unless the
Checks on independents
where the voter can reject all the
constitution is amended such that the
In the same vein, he also said that
candidates. Though this was introduced
Parliament and State Legislatures have
independents are not covered under the
with
fixed tenures, this is not possible.”
nation and that they are completely tamperproof.
frivolous and nonserious parties,
40
JULY
2020
the
positive
intention
of
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
Election duration
both of them as serious flaws in our
He strongly recommended that national
election system.
elections should be completed within three weeks, except for J&K and some sensitive states, and that they should be limited to three phases by deploying adequate manpower and paramilitary forces. “The last elections in West Bengal were conducted in six or seven phases and this is totally unacceptable,” he said.
“Paid news should not at all be allowed. If a candidate has benefitted from paid news, he should be disqualified and a law has to be framed for this,” he suggested, referring to a Supreme Court recommendation made in a case.
Deserting pre‐poll alliances Observing with regret that it has become a practice among parties to form an alliance before poll, win the elections and after winning, ditch the alliance and form new alliances of convenience, he strongly made a case for discouraging this practice through law. “People who voted for the alliance are being fooled by political parties,” he
He also said that social media has to
said. To arrest this, he suggested that
Social media and paid news
channelized and used effectively and there
the parties should face an election
Strongly denouncing paid news and lack
has to be a monitoring and regulatory
should they decide to drop out of the
of regulations on social media, he pitched
mechanism to check its misuse.
preelection alliance.
JULY
2020
41
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
CURRENT AFFAIRS
Parliamentar y Democracy in Covid Times
Madras Management Association (MMA) in collaboration with KonradAdenauerStiftung (KAS) presented a panel discussion on the theme, “Parliamentary Democracy in Covid Times” through webinar on 23 June 2020. ORF and NGPL were the event partners. The panel comprised the following distinguished members:
G
roup Captain R Vijayakumar (Retd), ED, MMA, welcomed the
panellists
and
the
participants. Mr Peter Rimmele, Resident Representative to India of KAS, delivered the introductory remarks. “Parliament is the beating
*
Mr N K Premachandran – Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha (From Kerala)
*
Mr Naresh Gujral – Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
*
Prof G Ramesh – Professor – Public Policy, IIM Bangalore
heart in Germany,” he said and underlined that Parliament can never be independent of the Executive. Mr M R Madhavan, CoFounder and President, PRS Legislative Research, moderated the panel discussion. He highlighted the functions of Parliament and stressed that though Parliament’s
42
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Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
monsoon session should commence in July, considering the extraordinary ground situation due to Covid19 pandemic, the resultant economic crisis and other issues, Parliament should have been convened by now. He listed out many countries where Parliaments meet through digital platforms. Mr N K Premachandran, MP, pointed out that there has been no meeting of Parliament since 27 March. It is a big gap, he reckoned, citing various highly critical issues like the pandemic management; NRIs stranded
Mr Naresh Gujral, MP, was also of the strong opinion that Parliament should meet immediately, preferably in an indoor stadium in New Delhi to
“When Parliament works, all government departments work in a frenzied way. It has to be seen how these support staff can be mobilised,” ‐ Prof. G Ramesh abroad, IndoChina and IndoNepal
ensure physical distancing. He felt video conference for 543 members may not be feasible yet. He batted for increasing the number of working days in a week and
frenzied way. It has to be seen how these support staff can be mobilised,” he said and cautioned that people above 60 should be taken care of. Concluding the discussion on a very positive note, all the panellists agreed on the following: *
Parliamentary standing commi ttees should be convened
extending the working hours of
without further delay; this can
Parliament, to manage disruptions due
be done digitally and if possible,
to the pandemic. “Democracy cannot be
through physical meetings.
kept in suspended animation,” was his
*
Parliament must be convened; the
fervent pitch.
government
has
to
deliberate on how it can be
border issues, financial package an
Prof G Ramesh highlighted the high
nouncement, etc. Avoiding Parliament,
attendance of Canada Parliamentarians
he argued, will lead to autocracy and
when they participated through virtual
Parliaments function, their
warned that ‘absolute power corrupts
meetings. He was firm in saying that
outcome and challenges.
absolutely.’
technology and connectivity should not
He suggested measures like video conferencing and meeting of Parliament on alternate days. Net connectivity in India and data security are big challenges but, he agreed, they can be managed.
be a major issue as we now do many mission critical jobs including online banking and online stock exchange operations, in a secured manner. “When Parliament works, all government departments work in a
done and decide. *
*
We can learn how other
We
have
never
seen
a
pandemic of this magnitude since Independence. So we need to pool in and find a way out to see that Parliament functions and democracy in India is alive. Where there is a will, there is a way. JULY
2020
43
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
G
roup Captain R Vijayakumar (Retd), ED, MMA, welcomed the
panellists
and
the
participants. Mr Peter Rimmele,
CURRENT AFFAIRS
Resident Representative to India of KAS, delivered the introductory remarks in
The Galwan Clash
which he said that all the neighbours of China are uneasy in dealing with it and that China’s image has taken a beating after its less than transparent action in dealing with Covid19. He said that in Europe, the thinking is to exclude China in major contracts and added that the US also exerts pressure on Europe in this direction. However, he reckoned that China is an economic powerhouse and cannot be ignored. He highlighted the role of KAS in promoting democracy and internal order. “We need to work with our partners and find common
Madras Management Association (MMA) in collaboration with KonradAdenauerStiftung (KAS) and The Peninsula Foundation presented an online panel discussion, under the ‘Strategic Leadership’ series, on the theme, “The Galwan Clash: India's China Strategy and China's Great Game” on 26th June 2020. The panel comprised the following distinguished members:
solutions,” summed up Mr Peter Rimmele. Air Marshal M Matheeswaran (Retd) moderated the panel discussion. He pointed out that Chinese aggression has been going on steadily from 2010 onwards. While in 1980, both India and China were at the same level of growth,
*
Admiral Arun Prakash (Retd), PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM, Former Chief of the Naval Staff, Indian Navy
*
Ambassador G Parthasarathy (Retd), IFS, Chancellor of Central University, Jammu and Former Indian High Commissioner
*
China strategy needs recalibration. Lt Gen Kamal Davar (Retd) pointed out that India shares 3488 km
Lt Gen Kamal Davar (Retd), PVSM, AVSM, Former DG,
border with China and the Eastern
Mr Mohan Guruswamy, Former Advisor to Finance Minister & Former MP, Rajya Sabha
44
today, he stated and argued that India’s
to Pakistan Defence Intelligence Agency
*
China’s GDP is six times that of India
JULY
2020
sector has been a perennial problem area. He lamented that despite China’s super power ambition and strategy,
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
India has always been naïve with China. "Forget the sweet talks. Always be wary of the wily, crafty China,” he said and cautioned that the present situation is very serious. He remarked that the IndoChina border is now manned by ITBP and Special Frontier Force; he advised a single command to be effective. “We should follow ‘One Border; One Force’ policy,” he insisted. Ambassador G Parthasarathy (Retd) said that strategic containment of India is integral to China’s political thinking. He felt that India can hold China and no further territorial gains should be allowed. He pointed out that
China strategy. “We need to engage with
singled out the government’s Sagar
China diplomatically and expose to the
Mala project as a good initiative but
world about China not agreeing to any
noted that not much progress has
LAC,” he said. While China has vastly
happened.
huge employment opportunities.
rise. “We have lost the plot after
too should build our Comprehensive
“The whole world made China rich in the last 25 years, doing vast trade with them and shifting many production facilities to China."
National Power and also strengthen
‐ Mohan Guruswamy
space even in vital sectors like telecom,” he said. He suggested that like China, we
that
augments our security but also provides
Jinping, China has had a remarkable
heavily from China and given them huge
advised
strengthening maritime power not only
under the aggressive leadership of Xi
liberalisation and started importing
He
Mr Mohan Guruswamy traced the genesis of the problem to China’s superiority complex and their natural dislike for India. “The whole world made China rich in the last 25 years, doing vast trade with them and shifting many production facilities to China,” he noted.
maritime security, pursue diplomacy,
Denouncing the jingoism against
leverage on Quad group to exert
boycotting Chinese products, he drove
pressure on China, mobilising all anti Chinese forces on a single platform. He underlined the importance of
improved
its
military
strength,
technology and production, he regretted
home the ground reality that we now depend heavily on China.
that for over 70 years, India has avoided
He said that this is a wakeup call
making a national security strategy and
to bring in land and labour reforms, so
our politicians are more focussed on the
we can attract FDI and ramp up
Admiral Arun Prakash (Retd)
elections. “India should have a Minister
production facilities in India. He batted
insisted that India should have a clear
for Defence Production,” he argued. He
for longterm military policies.
India’s strategic partnership with Germany.
JULY
2020
45
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
BUSINESS IN 2020
with
partners;
reestablish
Seizing Opportunity In Turbulence
relationships with lenders, alliances
12 Key Management Areas To Focus On
must go on. So, an allout effort to turn
and the society at large; and restructure the business and the organisation to support the rebooted strategy. Business 360 degrees on its axis, from an ‘Inside out‘ to an ‘OutsideIn‘ perspective holds the key. The traction outside the business is so strong that it must be entirely factoredin to rejig the business model and the organisation to support execution. Re‐affirm the purpose, culture and values ﴾and the pride for the company, its products and services﴿
First of a twopart article on key areas that the management must address to respond purposefully to challenges posed to businesses by Covid
In these times of ambiguity about what needs to be done, and uncertainty about the future, we must reinstill confidence and pride in the company, its vision, its core values, and in its products and
G. D. SHARMA
business are addressed, and a fine bal
services. Core values define the
ance is achieved. These are :
priorities of a business and shape the culture of the company.
I
Business continuity and re‐
And, after all, it is when the
n these times of Covid19, the
commencing operations
business is under pressure that we
world has been pushed towards a
In these unprecedented times, all
demonstrate who we are to our
new normal in every sphere of life
businesses are facing issues they have
customers, employees, suppliers and
—economic, commercial and social.
never
The
other stakeholders. It is at this time that
When companies are resuming work
disruption caused by Covid19 is far
we have to instill pride in what we stand
amidst a proliferation of negativity and
reaching and significant, impacting
for and do; and to boost confidence
pessimism all around, management, and
every business and its supplychain
amongst stakeholders. It is very
leadership in particular, must ensure
—customers, suppliers, employees,
important for the workforce to feel the
that these mustDOs (to keep the wheels
investors and lenders.
positive vibrations on a daily basis, and
encountered
before.
of business running), to ensure that both
Companies are having to re
the hard and soft dimensions of the
discover their customer base; realign
to reassure themselves that all is well and that “we shall overcome…" JULY
2020
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Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
Communicate, communicate and communicate right up to the last mile I am fond of saying that there is nothing known
as
overcommunication!
Communication across the length and breadth of the organisation, and to the last mile of the workforce is the need of the hour. Transparency in conveying ’why we are doing what we are doing’ and making it a very inclusive and involved process down the line to capture ’what and how we should be doing’ is the secret. This approach is bound to build confidence down the line, strengthen every one’s involvement and teamspirit.
Bad costs need to be re‐allocated to business‐ building and institution‐building initiatives. More so in today’s times, many cost management opportunities exist, and through total employee involvement, such areas should be identified for greater buy‐in and ownership.
Communication should be continuous, consistent and allencompassing in frequency, content and scope. Help employees re‐disover meaning in their work •
HR must facilitate connecting individual jobs to the greater cause. Identify what purpose drives indivduals to achieve the results they seek, and how it connects to the super ordinate goal. Students of Management are familiar with the story of three masons who respond to the question, what is it that you are doing? The third mason responds by say ing, "I am bulding a Cathe
•
As a sequel, HR must facilitate
longer term; between the imperatives of
redefinition of roles, and
business requiring valuable employee
examine whether to eliminate,
contribution and productivity, and the
reduce, modify, replace or refresh
roles,
and
role
definitions and scope. This can help build a tight ship, a mustdo for today’s times.
need for empathetic considerations for their safety, health and wellbeing; between effectively managing costs and the need to conserve and preserve talent; and between efficient execution and
Manage paradoxes and find a balance
expectation management, and so on.
Life itself is full of paradoxes and dualism. Business and management are
Managing cost as a significant initiative
revisited and realignment
no exceptions. A best practice, therefore,
I have known that there can be three
established like HoshinKanri
is for leadership to strike a fine balance
types of costs in a company—Good Costs
or Policy Deployment, as a
between what must be done now and
that are needed to support strategy; Bad
lean management method.
what must be borne in mind for the
Costs that do not align with the growth
dral." Goals have to be
JULY
2020
49
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
strategies of the company, and Best
hear of companies that have taken a cut
Costs that help the company in building
in their salaries or even layoff as a
its competitive advantage.
response to business restructuring
Bad Costs need to be reallocated to businessbuilding
and
institution
building initiatives. More so in today’s times, many cost management opportunities exist, and
initiatives.
it is the mindset that makes all the
As mentioned earlier, only bad
side of things. As Richard Bachsaid:
costs need to be tackled in this fashion
“Sooner or later, those who win are
and therefore employee cost should
those who think they can."
only be the last option. All in all, we are in these exciting
such areas should be identified for
times of a crisis which is a unique
greater
ownership.
opportunity to explore new avenues and
Companies are today supporting their
new horizons. We must leverage the
vendors, contractors, channel partners,
huge potential of our people and their
and to strengthen the supply chain. We
ideas to emerge victorious in the
and
With so much negativity all around, difference—to be able to see the bright
through total employee involvement, buyin
marketplace.
(Author is a class‐topper from the 1979 Batch of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and a Senior HR Professional with over 40 years’ Corporate, Consulting, Mentoring & Teaching experience. He can be reached at ‐ beelinehr@gmail.com)
Now, becoming a member or renewing your membership is easy. Click Now!
Have a query? Let us know: mma@mmachennai.org
50
JULY
2020
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
5S PROCESS
Implementation in Higher Educational Institutions
Productivity increases in industries are achieved through Lean Manufacturing. One of the tools used in Lean Manufacturing is 5S, which is a technique to reduce waste in the process, thereby improving the efficiency, productivity and the profitability. 5S is a foundational part to keep the workplace in a clean, organized state. The objective of this article is to examine the impact of the techniques of 5S concepts and their implementation in educational institutions. This enables to attain total organizational cleanliness in alignment with the Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission) initiative of Prime Minister of India. All the more, 5S implementation is very significant in fighting Covid19.
ASHOK VERGHESE
5
S is a method of organizing the workplace. 5S is the acronym for five Japanese words—Seiri,
Seiton, Seiso, Seikitshu and Shitshuke, which mean Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain, respectively. It is a continual improvement process that eliminates waste, maintains orderliness and cleanliness. This practice is a technique that is used to JULY
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Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
establish
and
maintain
environment in an organization for improving the effectiveness and the morale of employees. •
5S is a technique that enables “Just
•
in
5S implementation in educational in‐
quality
Time”
in
5S is an effective tool that helps an institution to improve the effectiveness of all processes involved
stitutions The following methodology is adopted in 5S implementation: •
students)
manufacturing.
•
Online test to assess training
It eliminates a cluttered
•
Divide campus into zones
environment
•
Nomination of Champions,
that
creates
confusion and delay in execut ing work. •
Valuable space occupied by items that are either useless or used less are identified.
• •
Document retrieval is made
Department
Student Volunteers for each
stakeholders. This enables the business to attain total organizational cleanliness in alignment with the Swachh Bharat
Coordinators,
zone. •
5S implementation guidelines provided to ensure uniform ap
Mission initiative of Prime Minister. 5S
proach
easy.
is an effective tool that helps the
•
Training of 5S auditors
Unsafe practices are identified
institution to improve the effectiveness
•
Conducting periodical audits
and corrected.
of all processes and the overall quality
Implementing 5S results in a conducive workplace and motivates all 52
Training on 5S to all (Staff and
JULY
2020
of service in such a way that we can meet the requirements of all stakeholders.
(Internal & external) Key
actions
are
listed
with
recommendations in the following table.
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
JULY
2020
53
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
Challenges during implementation One of the challenges of 5S implemen
7.
tation lies in aligning faculty, staff (both teaching and administration) and
the campus as well.
stakeholders is a critical step in 5S
Good hygiene practices reduces
implementation. During the process of
the spread of infections and
implementation, all stakeholders are
viruses.
involved in the decisionmaking process with respect to their workplace.
students towards the mission and mak
Conclusion
ing them become involved in the process
5S concepts, which are normally
This lead to the generation of so
wholeheartedly. One can overcome this
practiced by manufacturing units to
many shortterm and longterm plans
challenge by having regular awareness
improve productivity, quality and safe
through brainstorming sessions. Non
programs with students and training
ty, is adopted and implemented by
conformances
sessions for faculty and staff.
Hindustan Institute of Technology and
periodical audit and subsequent
Knowledge levels are to be tested and
Science—it is the first educational
followup resulted in the execution of
evaluated periodically. In fact, a '5S day'
institution to have obtained the Global
corrective actions. The Management
should be conducted periodically in the
Certification for 5S Implementation in
team ensures that sustenance and
campus and it must involve the
India from TUV Rheinland India Pvt
continuous improvement is a daily
students, staff, and faculty to clean up
Ltd.
activity.
areas in and around the campus .
This Certification has recognised
Outcome of 5S implementation 1.
Team Spirit: All stakeholders
HITS Management Principles in line
the
campus:
5S
implementation creates a clean and orderly environment. Selfdiscipline of staff, students
with the industry practices like good
government must mandate such
The need for such quality certifications is the need of the hour for Universities. Government must mandate such processes across all Institutions.
Management
The
staff,
a workplace organizing tool that improves quality, efficiency and safety. Today HITS is one of the most sought educational institutions which has created an ecosystem for learning. This has paved the way to reach the vision of
faculty
HITS as an international institute of
members and students are in
excellence, providing a conducive
spired to excel in a clean, safe
environment for education with a strong
and
thoughtnurturing
emphasis on innovation, quality,
environment. Results
in
research and strategic partnership
performance
blended with values and commitment
improvement and achievements.
54
universities.
its Founder Dr.K.C.G Verghese to raise
improves considerably.
6.
for
has implemented 5S concepts in 2018,
Clean
5.
hour
service agencies have equal
effective.
4.
Quality certifications is the need of
processes across all institutions. HITS
make the system efficient and
3.
through
management, staff, students, participation and contribution to
2.
identified
Awareness of 5S concepts and its
housekeeping, visual management
implementation
all
systems, effective waste management
stakeholders enables the
and disposal, safe practices, etc.
spread of cleanliness outside
Creating awareness and training of all
JULY
2020
by
to society.
Ashok Verghese, Director, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science
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