A Popular HR Chief Burned To Death: People Management Dynamics at
A Popular HR Chief Burned To Death: People Management Dynamics at
A Popular HR Chief Burned To Death: People Management Dynamics at
GROUP 2
Garima Dhama 20PGHR29
Ishita Gupta 20PGHR11
Niyati Jain 20PGHR20
Pulkit Agrawal 20PGHR60
Sparsh Agarwal 20PGHR37
Tushar Sharma 20PGHR38
Background
Inception Of MUL Joint Venture Globalization Formation of Problems at the Protests by Temporary
MSIL Manesar Plant Workers
➔ India’s largest passenger ➔ MUL & Suzuki JV, ➔ Reduced ➔ Became subsidiary ➔ Activist Manesar ➔ Temporary workers
car manufacturer Suzuki 26% 1983 restrictions and of Japan-based – workers formed MSWU protested at the gate
➔ Maruti Udyog Limited holding protectionism Suzuki ➔ Tragic incident at the ➔ They were unhappy
➔ Launched first car, ➔ Privatization of ➔ Inaugrated a plant Manesar Plant with the wages being
Maruti 800 MUL in 1992 in Manesar after ➔ Worst in history of IR paid
➔ Suzuki’s holding an existing one in
rose to 40% in 1987 Gurgaon
Problem Statement
➔ Ever since its inception, the Gurgaon plant faced problems related to the Industrial Relations
➔ The MUEU lost the struggle to MUL and a new HR strategy was coined, as soon as things came back to
normal
➔ With a focus on promoting work-life balance and enhancing employee loyalty, this strategy kickstarted
in 2003 and lead to peaceful time with the IR
➔ Then the Manesar plant was established, with a much younger workforce as compared to the Gurgaon
plant
➔ The workers displayed their grief over not being paid similar wages as their senior counterparts at the
Gurgaon plant
➔ The machines too were advanced and automated at the Manesar plant which the workers perceived as
an issue
➔ Marginal breaks available to the employees along with a bunch of other IR issues, the workers had
been living on the edge
➔ In July 2012, their emotions were stirred the wrong way due to an internal incident, and they retaliated
with violence
➔ It led to one of the worst tragedies in the history of IR at MSIL and shifted the focus towards
implementing employee-centric strategies
What were the failures of HR processes at MSIL?
➔ Discrepancy between the salaries of employees and contract workers
➔ Tense and hostile IR environment prevailed leading up to the incident
➔ Inefficiency of HR to mediate between the workers and the management led to company suffering
losses of about Rs 20 billion on two separate occasions
➔ Lack of communication between the HR personnel and workers
➔ After the 2001 incident, new HR strategy was more focussed on managers and their competency
development rather than the plant workers
➔ MSIL continued the same HR policies even after it became a subsidiary of Suzuki in 2007 and witnessed
a labour strike in 2011
➔ Secret payments of nearly Rs. 1.6 million each to 12 union leaders enraged the others
➔ Delayed HR tactics escalated the Jiyalal case
➔ Honda Motorcycles in the same region provided two breaks for 10 minutes unlike 7.5 mins at MSIL
➔ Unable to fix the negative attitude of the managers towards the workers
Should MSIL adopt an empowerment or a fit strategy?
Empowerment strategy : Give more power to workers to exercise control over their work and responsibility for the results.
It is a long-term resource-intensive strategy.
Fit Strategy: Employees are treated as any other business resource and more dependent on mechanical form of
organizational decision making.
Fit Strategy Empowerment Strategy MSIL
Top down approach Recognizes different stakeholders’ Manesar workers were subjected to a
interests greater degree of managerial control
Instrumental and Utilitarian Development and Humanism 7.5 minutes break, workers not
concept based allowed to talk during working as well
as lunch hours
Obtain cheaply, use sparingly Employees are valued and Difference in salaries of contract and
and exploit motivated permanent workers doing the same
job
HR strategy becomes HR strategy guides all managers in Management changed the work line
subservient to business their relations with employees of the workers drastically