Case study

Satish was a Sales Manager for Industrial Products Co in City branch. A week ago, he was promoted and shifted to HO as Deputy Manager Product Management for a division of products which he was not very familiar with. 3 days ago, the company VP - Mr.George, convened a meeting of all Product Managers. Satish's new boss (Product Manager Ketan) was not able to attend due to some other preoccupation. Hence, the Marketing Director - Preet - asked Satish to attend the meeting as this would give him an exposure into his new role. At the beginning of the meeting, Preet introduced Satish very briefly to the VP. The meeting started with an address from the VP and soon it got into a series of questions from him to every Product Manager. George, of course, was pretty thorough with every single product of the company and he was known to be pushy and blunt veteran in the field. Most of the Product Managers were very clear of George's ways of working and had thoroughly prepared for the meeting and were giving to the point answers . George then started with Satish. Satish being new to the product, was quite confused and fared miserably. Preet immediately understood that George had possibly failed to remember that Satish was new to the job. He thought of interrupting George's questioning and giving a discrete remider that Satish was new. But by that time, George who was pretty upset with lack of preparation by Satish made a public statement " Gentlemen, you are witnessing here an example of sloppy work and this can't be excused" Now Preet was in two minds - should he interrupt George and tell him that Satish is new in that position OR should he wait till the end of the meeting and tell George privately. Preet chose the second option. Satish was visibly angry at the treatment meted out by George but he also chose to keep mum. George quickly closed the meeting saying that he found in general lack of planning in the department and asked Preet to stay back in the room for further discussions. Before Preet could give any explanation on Satish, George asked him "Tell me openly, Preet, was I too rough with that boy?" Preet said "Yes, you were. In fact I was about to remind you that Satish is new to the job". George explained that the fact that Satish was new to the job didn't quite register with him duing the meeting. George admitted that he had made a mistake and asked his secretary to get Satsih report to the room

immediately. A perplexed and uneasy Satish reported to George's room after few minutes. George looking Satish straight into his eyes said " I have done something which I should have never even thought of and I want to apologise to you. It is my mistake that I did not recollect that you were new to the job when I was questioning you." Satsih was left speechless. George continued " I would like to state few things clearly to you. Your job is to make sure that people like me and your bosses do not make stupid decisions. We have good confidence in your abilities and that is why we have brought you to HO. For everybody time is required for learning. I will expect you to know all the nuances of your product in 3 months time. Unitil then you have my complete confidence." George clsoed the conversation with a big reassuring handshake with Satish.

Now the questions in this case study:: 1. Was it at all necessary for George to apologise to such a junior employee like Satish? 2. If you were in Satish's place, how would you to respond to George's apology? 3. Was George correct in saying that Satish is there to correct "stupid mistake" of his boss and George? 4. Would you employ George in your company? 5. Did Preet make a mistake by not intervening during the meeting and correct George's misconception about Satish? 6. As an HR man, how would you define the character of George - bullying but later regretting? Does his attitude need to be corrected? 7. Would you be happy to have George/Preet as your boss?

CASE STUDY: WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT RECRUITING OR RETAINING? Uptron Electronics Ltd is an internationally reputed electronics firm. It attracted employees from internationally reputed institutes and industries by offering high salaries, perks, etc. It had advertised for the position of an Electronics engineer some years back. Nearly 150 candidates working in various electronics firm applied for the job. Mr. Sashidhar, an Electronics Engineer Graduate from Indian Institute of Technology with 5 years of working experience in a small electronics firm was selected among those interviewed. The interview board recommended an enhancement in his salary by Rs.500 more than his present salary at his request. He was very happy and was congratulated by his previous employer for his brilliant interview performance and good luck. Mr. Sashidhar joined the company with great enthusiasm and also found his job to be quite comfortable and challenging one. He found that his colleagues and superiors were friendly and co-operative. But this didnt last long. After one year of his service, he slowly learnt about a number of unpleasant stories about the company, management, the superior-subordinate relations, rate of employee turnover, etc. But still he decided to continue with the promise that he made in the interview. He wanted to please and change the attitude of management through his performance, commitment and dedication. Looking at his great contributions and efforts, the management got the impression that he is well settled will remain in the company for a long time. After sometime they all started taking undue advantage of him and overloaded him with multifarious jobs and thereby ridded over him. As a result, his freedom in deciding and executing was cut down to size; his colleagues started assigning their responsibilities to him. Consequently, there were imbalances in his family, social and organization life. It was quite surprising to the general manager to see the resignation letter of Mr. Sashidhar one fine morning. The general manager failed to convince him to withdraw his resignation. The general manager wanted to appoint a committee to go into the matter immediately, but dropped the idea later so that the companys image doesnt get spoiled.

Case Study
Ramoji Rao is in charge of a bindery in Vijaywada, which employs 15 people and 5 of whom work in a factory. 3 of these workers run machines, 1 supervises and the 5th moves the blank paper and the finished paper by handcar. This 5th position, which demands no skill other than driving a handcar, needs to be filled and 3 applicants have responded. The 1st is Mr. Matti Anjaiah who is 35, unmarried and a Navy veteran. `Anjaiah has a poor work record. During his 5yrs in Vijaywada he has worked only seasonal labour and occasional odd jobs. He drove a forklift in the Navy, while working at Vishakapatnam. He has a strong build, which could help, although the work is generally light. Mr. Nehal Singh, age 22, came to Vijaywada 2 years back from Punjab. He has done farm labour for many years and assembly-line work for one year. His command of English is poor (but can speak the regional language, Telugu, fluently). He resides with his mother and seems to remain in the area for some time. After having run farm equipment, he should have no trouble steering a handcar. Mr.V.Raja is a local boy who high school two years ago. Subsequently he got a diploma from a local III and is currently employed as an assistant in Savani Transport Company Vijaywada. His character references are excellent. Mr.Raja is small, but he seems quick and was track star in high school. Question: Who should be hired and why?