Introduction to the Program

Structure of the Participants' Guide

Introduction to Case Studies

The Profile of Case Studies

CAVEATS

3 Day Training Program on Human Resource Development for Adjustment at the Enterprise Level

Day 1: Adjustment - What, Why, How

Day 2: Case Studies

Day 3: Managing Adjustment

Adjustment is adaptation to change. Change, planned or unplanned, is spurred by myriad factors. Whatever be the nature and the driving forces of change, adjustment at the enterprise level will have several implications in all aspects concerning the management of an enterprise: strategic, business, operational, financial, technological, marketing, legal, human resource/industrial relations and what have you.

This program will, however, mainly focus on human resource/industrial relations aspects of adjustment. This does not mean or imply, explicitly or otherwise, that other aspects are any less important.

The Purpose: To provide an experiential learning experience that will:

• help participants understand adjustment issues at the macro and the micro level with reference to human resource/industrial relations aspects;
• explore and examine, with discussion of case studies based on real experiences in relevant national contexts. the interaction between situation and adjustment strategy on the one hand and inputs (substantive aspects of adjustment interventions) and outcomes on the other; and,
• should be able to apply in their own organizations.

The Plan/Design: The 3-day program provides class-room contact time of 18 hours, six hours each day. There is need for preparatory work by the participants at least for nearly as many hours before they attend the program or during the period of the program.

• On the first day the participants will be introduced to the concepts or ideas on adjustment at the macro (national/industry) and the micro (enterprise) level. It would be helpful if the participants go through the attachments in the section on the Text the night before the day the program commences.
• On the second day the participants will have opportunity to look at two case studies prepared specially for the program. The faculty/facilitator will identify the case studies. If it is not done in advance, the relevant national studies will be taken up for discussion. The participants are advised to read at least the two cases identified for discussion on the second day of the program ahead of the sessions.
• On the third day, the program focus will be on application of the ideas and learning from the cases to participants' own organizational contexts. Special emphasis is provided to building a shared understanding on the rationale for adjustment, setting up new norms based on consent and consensus and preparing a checklist of issues relating to human resource and industrial relations aspects to enable participants develop the ability to understand human resource/industrial relations adjustment issues in a proactive and holistic perspective.

The Program: The program, with session-wise objectives and training strategy, is shown separately.

STRUCTURE OF THE PARTICIPANTS' GUIDE

The participants' guide is presented in four sessions as following:

• Introduction
• Text
• Cases
• Activities

The references to the text, cases and activities are provided in the session-wise details of the program. The Participants' Guide is designed to be an integral and comprehensive package. To the extent possible and considered desirable, specific formats are provided to facilitate structured discussion of cases/activities. You may like to Uiodify or add issues for discussion as appropriate. The facilitator for your program may exercise discretion and feel free to make such modifications or alterations in the sessions/sequence, readings or activities.

THE PROFILE OF CASE STUDIES

The case studies presented in this volume/manual range from those which produce pills to the ones which run airlines. They are in different stages of adjustment: some have spotted the crisis and the others consider that they have either solved or are solving the problems of adjustment.

Each case is unique. Hence, each has to be approached differently considering its unique circumstances and characteristics. It is difficult to conceive a common strategy or approach to adjustment as such.

Key characteristics: While reviewing the case studies, it is useful to consider the key characteristics of different case studies:

• Is there a strategy? Is i t a case of crisis to strategy or a crisis of strategy?
• What is the strategy, if there is one? Cost cutting or value addition?
• What is the nature of response? Reactive or proactive?
• What is the issue? Ownership or performance or both?
• What is the nature of competition? Is it a case of monopoly giving way to competition or is it a case of companies trying to respond to competition by creating oligopolies through mergers and acquisitions?

Key Propositions: It would be interesting to examine the following propositions while studying/analysing/critiquing the case studies:

• The needs of business and those of the society can be different. Government policies have major implications for adjustment. Does the government always necessarily act in the best interest of society?
• In examining the adjustment issues, employers focus on product market characteristics while employees and trade unions focus on the labour market characteristics.
• Technological upheaval has a direct bearing on labour restructuring. Technological choices diminish in certain sectors which are exposed to global changes and intense competition. Trade unions find it difficult to accept technological determinedness.
• While some kind of resistance to change may be expected, the responses of employees and unions depend more on the process than outcomes of adjustment. What is critical to managing adjustment is the motives and the manner of their communication to the social partners affected by the adjustment process. People (including unions) respond favourably when they understand the rationale for adjustment regardless of the effects of such adjustment. It is difficult to appreciate motives, however well~ intentioned they may be, if there is no understanding.

CAVEATS

The case studies presented in this volume/manual relate to a broad range of industries, diverse sectors and contexts. While learnings from one case are not easily transferable to other cases, common learnings from the case studies can, however, be generalised.

Some case studies are a bit too general. Information on the position of case study firm in industry, etc., is not, in all cases, complete. Several case studies focused on business, not process reengineering. Some case studies have less details on human resource/industrial relations aspects than is ideally desired. A few were written mainly with inputs from a few managers. The time frame differences in the description of case studies is not uniform to facilitate easy identification of before, during and after effects of adjustment. These limitations are also the strengths in the sense that the trainer and the trainee would need to make assumptions to fill the gaps and put in extra effort to identify the key issues in different stages. After all, a key stage in problem solving is problem identification itself. Therefore, it is considered that whatever be the limitations of some of the case studies presented here, by themselves they do not undermine the significance of the results of the project in aiding our understanding of the issues in adjustment.

The case studies presented here are descriptive accounts and not typical case studies written with an exclusive focus on teaching. Even so, the descriptive accounts too can be used as tools for learning. It is important for the trainer to read the case thoroughly several times and prepare a set of issues/questions for discussion during the training depending upon the specific objective of the session in which a particular case study is used.

While using the case studies for training purposes, the trainers would do well to refer to industry handbooks/reference books and other documents like the stock exchange directory, materials from industry associations, latest annual reports of the case study companies, published literature or press clippings on the concerned case study companies. This will considerably help the facilitator in gathering up-to-date information on the company. Such updating of knowledge will enable the trainer to handle the curious queries, if any, from the trainees concerning the developments since the time the case study was written.

DAY 1: ADJUSTMENT - WHAT, WHY, HOW

Session 1: INTRODUCTION

Session Objectives: The purpose of this session is to (a) introduce the program to the participants; (b) clarify and align expectations of the participants with those of the program; (c) introduce the participants and the faculty/facilitator(s) to each other; and (d) deal with the administrative issues and participants concerns.

Session Duration: 75 minutes

Training Strategy:

• Introduction to the program (10 minutes)
• Introduction of participants/faculty (15 minutes)
• Activity: Clarification and alignment of expectations of the participants with the objectives of the Program (30 minutes)
• Administrative issues and participants concerns (20 minutes)

Session 2: ADJUSTMENT AT MACRO LEVEL - AN OVERVIEW OF MACRO-ECONOMIC SCENARIO

Session Objectives: The purpose of this session is to review (a) contextual and substantive aspects of structural changes in the economy and their implications for human resources/industrial relations; (b) the substantive provisions of select international labour standards which deal with adjustment issues; and, (c) examine the contemporary adjustment issues and implications of macroeconomic and social policies.

Session Duration : 75 minutes

Training Strategy:

• Lecture-cum-discussion (45 minutes)
• Activity 1: Adjust or perish? (30 minutes)

Readings:

1. Structural Adjustment - An overview by C S Venkata Ratnam
2. Appropriate Structural Adjustment Policies for Employers' Organizations by C S Venkata Ratnam

Sessions 3 & 4: ADJUSTMENT AT THE ENTERPRISE LEVEL - HRIIR Issues

Session Objectives: The purpose of this session is to examine the four most important aspects of adjustment at the enterprise level, i.e., advanced technology, flexibility, ownership and control of enterprises, work organization and motivation.

Session Duration: 180 minutes

Training Strategy:

• Introduction (15 minutes)
• Activity 2: Framing the issue
• Group work (60 minutes)
• Group presentations (30 minutes)
• Discussion (45 minutes)

Readings:

1. Adjustment at the Micro Level by George Kanawaty, Alan Gladstone, Joseph Prokopenko and Gerry Rodgers