I do hope that all the top management must have seen the film Titanic. There are many similarities between the film Titanic & the present day corporate houses. What does the Titanic teaches us today? There are many big corporate houses, which were doing brisk business, but then too have failed to live up to the expectations. Why is it so? If we all go to see in the titanic the going was good, nobody blamed anyone, there was merry making & the sailors of the titanic were enjoying every bit of their life, but when the ship started shrinking the blame game started, each one of them blaming each other that you should have known better, the chief officer started blaming his subordinates & the Captain blaming the chief engineer & in the end all of them shrunk along with the ship. There are many similarities between the titanic & the present day management of the corporate houses. When the going is good, there is many profits coming in to the coffers of the corporate & everybody is getting raise in their salaries, there are many promotions & there is merry making, but once the corporate house starts shrinking the blame game starts not from the top but unfortunately from the lower level which is not a healthy one. The blame should always start with the Top Management, as it is the decision of the Top Management that is the main root of the cause of the corporate shrinking. Here now I shall give you all a true account of one of the best corporate house, in which the corporate house top-level management, failed the corporate. You all must have heard the name of “TATA OIL MILLS COMPANY LTD.,” (TOMCO), it was the best corporate company in the Tata flagship, the company had the best top level management & the best Marketing force, the company was doing brisk business & the profit was well beyond the expectation of the Top level management. All of a sudden the company’s profit took a deep plunge, due to some factious decision of the top manager, the top level management should have taken the step to stop the downfall, but they were all in a merry making as they were under the impression that the company’s profit would again cross the unexpected marks, but it went down due to the indecision of the Top Management, gradually that the time came for the Top level management to take the most unfavourable decision, the blame game started at the top level started blaming the middle level the middle level blaming the lower level & then the whole corporate started shrinking like the Great Titanic. Ultimately, a time came when the corporate had to merge with “HINDUSTAN LEVER”. I myself was once upon a time in the marketing division of “HERBERTSON LTD” the makers of world famous whiskey “BAGPIPER”, but I was in the consumer division the makers of top level brand “DIPPYS”. The company was said to be the most top-level corporate house in those time. I was posted in North India with Delhi as the Headquarters & was covering Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, & Jammu Kashmir Area & Parts of Haryana. I was happy, as I was part of the best corporate house, with a good salary & good Travelling allowances & good out station allowances & on the top of all a very good yearly bonus. Once I was visiting Gurdaspur in Punjab, my distributor was also doing good & brisk business, once in Gurdaspur, I was visiting a shop for selling our products, I found that 12 bottles of Mango Jam were in a broken condition & he wanted the replacement of the same, but since it was the company policies that we can replace only 3 bottles at a time, I told him that it would be done in four cycles, to which he was very angry & refused to sell our products, if the corporate houses wants to be in Today’s marketing than the corporate has to walk as per the needs of the shop keepers, as it is they who would make or break our products than no amount of advertising would work, also the company used to give only 5% of the cost of the actual amount of the broken or the expired Products which was a loss to the main Distributors, which was the main wrong Policies of the company. The policies of the company were the main cause for the Dippys division to be closed. If the company policies would had been consumers & shop-keepers friendly then the corporate would had done brisk business & who knows Today it would had been the leading brand in India. The Top Level Management should always listen to the Junior Management, as it is they who face the heat if the corporate is failing, the Top management only comes in the Picture when the Junior Level fails to get the job done, and also the Top Level Management should leave some Major decision making to the Junior Level Management. The Top Management should step in only in case the Junior Level is unable to take decision or unable to get the job done. This set the healthy climate in the corporate & not to go on abusing anyone without any reason or the cause, as it sends wrong signal to the other employees. The Top Level Management should only stick to the Policy Making & never under any circumstances interferes in the working of the Junior Level Management. Today I do know that many of my own people would laugh at all of my suggestion, but in the long run these same people would understand the necessary of good healthy Management just like the one we have learnt from the Titanic. Once there was a strike in “HINDUSTAN LEVER LTD.” THE MAKERS OF WORLD BRAND SOAPS “LUX”, at their Reay road unit in Mumbai. It was about some discussions on the matter related to one worker who lost his right hand while operating the Boiler in the company’s plant, there was a discussion going on between the Corporate Management & the Union regarding the Terms of working condition, the Union gave a call for the strike & the situation was getting out of control, the Management had no other choice but to carve in to the demands of the union, but one of the General Manager (HRD) was against the demands & was not willing to listen to the advice of the junior Management, the strike dragged on for a longer time, the situation was getting out of hands of the Management, the Managing Director of the Company was called for to diffused the strike, he held several meetings with the Top Brass of the corporate, but there was no solution, he then decided to have a meeting with the Junior Level Management of the Company, one of the Junior staff came up with a brilliant solution, which saved the day for the company, after discussions, it was decided that the Managing Director should accept the just & genuine demands of the workers, also it was decided that the Top level Management’s heads would roll due to the unrelenting attitude. It was due to the timely solution of the Junior management that the strike was called off & everybody were happy even the workers were happy that they would not had to lose the jobs, also the condition of the workers would be good & the working environment would be healthy & cordial. That particular junior staff was promoted to the post of the Asst. Gen. Manager (HRD). Many heads of the Top Level Managements were about to be rolled & in their place many of the best brain in the corporate world were promoted (Gurcharan Das was the junior staff who was promoted to the post)since that, time onwards there has been no strike in any of the units of Hindustan Lever LTD. I would recommend a Book by Gurcharan Das (WHO LATER BECAME THE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF RICHARDSON HINDUSTAN LTD, THE MAKERS OF VICKS & LATER THE NAME WAS CHANGED TO PROCTER & GAMBLE LTD. THE TITLE OF THE BOOK IS “INDIA UNBOUND”). Necessary read by any of the STUDENTS who wants to be successful MBA’S, Another book written by Philip Kotler is also a must read book by the MBA students who are on the threshold of making sales & marketing & Corporate Management as their career. That particular junior manager who saved the giant corporate was also once upon a time working with me in Herbertson Ltd, the makers of world famous whiskey known as “BAGPIPER”. Today whenever I face any problem in management theory, I always confined in him & he never lets me down. Today our family is very close to each other, that insipte of his post we have never face any ego problem. Even today I longed to go back to my Marketing job, as I do know that even at this age there are many things to learn, age should not be the factor, any person can learn even at the age of 60 or 70 years old, knowledge is unlimited, one can learn & gain knowledge till one close his or her eyes forever, knowledge is a gift to mankind by the nature. Today even though I am not in the marketing but I do yarn for Marketing consumer product corporate house, I am nowadays in construction line, but I do feel that the top level Management is making the same mistake that “TATA OIL MILLS COMPANY” & HINDUSTAN LEVER LTD made, Many of them are not willing to admit their own down fallings, which is the biggest sin in the modern Corporate Houses, one should not get arrogant with powers, as one never knows when that Particular Chair of power would slip from under his or her legs, I do feel that it would one day starts shrinking like the “GREAT TITANIC” if the top level Management do not see the writings on the wall clearly, the best way is to bring many Professionals who are experts in Corporate affairs, if the Owner do really wants to save the Construction Giant Corporate since the last 200 years. There is a lack of communication between the top level & the employees; also, there is a lack of COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE TOP & THE JUNIOR LEVEL MANAGEMENT & THE WORKERS. Many of the Workers are treated worst than the Animals, which is totally wrong policies of the corporate. If these trends continues than I do see a very bleak future for this once great corporate house. Many of them are Fresh & do not know about Corporate affairs, also there are many who are just Higher secondary school certificate passed & they behave in such a manner that the Corporate house is running only due to their brains, such attitude sets the negative trends in the minds of the workers & in the long run can harm the corporate. There is an authoritarian type of Management that is harming the biggest corporate Giant in construction Industry, which is not a healthy climate for the present day Corporate House. There should be a democratic set up in modern day corporate houses, as it creates many good discussion & good brains, do get a chance to show their talents & that is good for today’s modern day corporate houses. Today I do see that many of our Engineers & Supervisors, who are really a talented ones, do not get any chances to show their Talents, whereas on the other hands those who have just become Engineers due to their long innings in the company & Supervisors who did get the jobs due to the caste based, are getting all the best of the facilities which should had been given to the Talented ones, also the increment is based on the Majority Group which is harming the company. There are many who do not understand the ABC of construction & Accountings & Administrations & site Inventories (clerical supervisors), even though many of the engineers & site supervisors & many of them sitting in the Account department & Administration departments, have certificates of the same, but then too why is it that they do not understand their respective Professional language, which is surprising me & many others, There is no depth of Talented degree holders in India or any parts of the world. If these trends do continue than I am sorry to say that it would start shrinking like the “TAITANIC”. I do Hope that many big Corporate Houses do not make the same bigger Mistake that the Captain of the Titanic made, or else be prepared to be drowned like the Titanic. This applies to the present day corporate world. There are many of our people who do not have any recognised Universities certificates then too in addition, they have many plump postings, which are leading to many wrong decisions, which are the main cause of major communication gap between the Management & the workers. I do hope the Owner of the Construction Company corporate do learn major lessons of all these consequences, which would one day lead the corporate to shrink like the great Titanic. I was once a proud Member of the world largest Logistic Corporate Known over the world as “DHL INTERNATIONAL”. I was really happy working for the DHL, as the Salaries were very good & beyond the expectations of the staffs, even today I do Miss many of my friends who were of great help to me during my tenure of 22 years in DHL. DHL do have even today many of the best brains in Management theory, as the way the company is being run was due to many great genius who had the best MBA degree from the Best of the Universities. My best Mentor was the one who was our Hub & Gateway Manager Mr. Ashutosh Bajppai. I owe all my best in learning the theory of Management from him. I do remember you my dear Sir, I always think about you as my guru on the “Guru Purnima” day. I also owe all my thanks to my All India, Hub & Gateway Manager Mrs. Aditi she did help me a lot in the later stages of my best ever career in DHL, even today I do longed to work in DHL, one fine day I would certainly go back, as I do know that the salary I would be getting would be far better than the Present Corporate & also I do know that I would not have to break my head with many of the stupid subordinates, who just go on boosting about their own selves & thinks that the others are not highly intelligent like them, also there are some who just think that whatever they say is true, but the way in which they boost about themselves that even a child of five years old would come to know that they are just lying about it, which is also harming the present Corporate. There are, youths who just go on speaking such lies that even a small child would come to know that they are all speaking nothing but the lies. Some few years when I had started working, at one of the biggest construction site, I did came across many of the Engineers Supervisors who were cheating the Corporate by being supportive to the suppliers & the Building Material Contractors, just for the momentary gains coming in to their pockets. Also I have come across many of our supervisors making money while giving overtime to the workers & than pocketing the extra money into their own pockets, I also came across many, pocketing a huge sum of money while issuing application for the visas. Which all sends the wrong signal into the hearts of the workers & it do harm the corporate in the long run, as the Good Name of the owner do get sullied due to such dishonest persons.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 06:41:07 +0000
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