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King of the Jungle

A lone Wolf

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CEO’s job is no longer the sole prerogative of people with line function background. Established norms and conventions are changing to pave way for the support functions like HR as they prove their worth and claim the coveted chair.

Success of any organization largely depends upon its people so long as the right ones are hired, developed, motivated and retained. If this HR cycle is ensured, one would face less of problems in terms of legal, labour unrest and attrition etc.  Now the question comes up, is it the job of the HR manager only to put these things in place? Or does it fall in the purview of every manager in general and on the shoulders of the CEO in particular? The needle certainly points towards the head of the organization, a fact which drives home the point that for every manager, human resource management skill is important, may be even vital.  Hence all managers in a sense are HR managers as they go through the above mentioned HR cycle as an operational task on a daily basis.

There is a never ending debate on ‘line and staff’ functions, the authority they exercise, the roles they play etc.  Line managers are generally associated with authority and power to make decisions and they represent departments like sales and production while all other divisions including HR fall under the category of ‘staff or support’ teams. Their job is mostly restricted to playing advisory role across the organization while within their own department they need to carry out line function as well. An HR manager also carries out a co-ordinative function also referred as ‘functional authority’ in terms of keeping the ‘top brass’ in picture about the proper implementation of HR policies and practices in the organization. To that extent there is a need for a perfect harmony and proper understanding between HR and all the other departments more particularly the line divisions. It’s this particular function of both line and HR managers that is resulting in interchange of their roles often as being practiced by some companies. A survey by the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California revealed that close to one fourth of US companies appointed managers with no HR exposure as their top HR executives citing the reasons that they may give the company’s HR a ‘strategic boost’ and may better integrate it with other business practices of the company. Mohandas Pai of Infosys was the CFO before moving to head HR function of the company. While this is true, some companies find it absolutely essential to make their top executives go through the HR mill before allotting the corner cabin, like Lawrence Jackson of Wal-Mart had to function as Head HR for over a year to occupy its global procurement division head’s chair. Conversely back home in Dr. Reddy’s Lab we had the HR head moving into CFO’s chair once.

The point to bring home is that HR as a function is facing a continuously ever changing business environment and the managements’ expectations are not getting limited to merely HR playing support or advisory roles only. An increased tendency is being noticed to nominate HR personnel to don the line roles and more so that of the coveted CEO too.

Studies by Stanford Research Institute and Carnegie Mellon Foundation among Fortune 500 CEOs reported to have found that 75% long term job success depended upon people skills and only 25% on technical skills. Fortunately HR professionals are better disposed on this aspect and no doubt they are inching their way towards CEO’s table. A practice which started with PSUs like SAIL, NTPC and Power Grid etc slowly crept into the corporate corridors of LG, Aditya Birla, Yahoo India etc. Days are not far off when we would see more and more HR professionals claiming seats at the strategy tables and occupying the corner offices and all that they need to do is to develop their over all business sense. This augurs well for the profession.

The importance of HR needs no further emphasis as amply proved by the experience of Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai during 26/11 attack in 2008. Research by Prof Rohit Deshpande of HBS into the HR practices of the organization highlighted the uncommon valor of the young workers who helped the guests escape, by forming a human shield around them, and those who stayed on at their posts to continue helping the guests despite the option to flee and in the process eleven of who have laid down their lives in saving others. A typical case of ‘giving their today for the tomorrow of their guests’ or ‘HR beyond HR’. The uniqueness of the HR practices followed consists of  hiring people for their attitude and character and not for academic skills, training them for empowerment and taking decisions and reward people for their performance on real time basis. The researchers reportedly found similar display of gallantry at Taj properties in Maldives at the time of tsunami in Dec 2004. Performance ‘beyond the call of duty’ appears to have become a second nature with the staff in Taj hotels, where ordinary people do extra ordinary things and where leadership and rising to the occasion apparently is the way of life. In similar lines Virtusa a 2000 head count IT company based in US but mostly operating out of India has a unique concept called ‘Every employee is a HR manager’ which underscores the importance  attached to HR function as such. That is to say,  HR is no longer a support function and in the current corporate scenario, it has already assumed its strategic importance, adopting an operational or a line  posture. To that extent HR has become a ‘measurable’ function like ‘sales’,  and HR managers are getting business oriented while performing their normal HR functions. Yet another aspect is of ‘HR outsourcing’ whereby HR managers are freed from the routine and mundane functions of HR, and they are made available to attend to more important strategic functions in terms of organizational culture, customer orientation, competitors and technological advancements etc.  No doubt the HR outsourcing value world over has climbed to reach a figure of $67 billion by 2011 while it was hovering around $ 42 billion three years ago. The fact that ‘HR outsourcing’ saves HR costs by 30-40% needs no debate.

End of the day, in the present context, it is the HR head who would have made people happy resulting in high productivity, partnered in business success having played a key role in the strategy ultimately making a positive difference to the bottom line in the balance sheet.  Does it take more to become a CEO? May not.

              “We have different ideas and different work, but when you come right down to it, there is just one thing to deal with, throughout the organisation – that is the man”

–           Thomas Watson-  Founder IBM

by Dr VRK Prasad, Pro Vice Chancellor, The Icfai University, Nagaland   

Ref:

1. Do soft skills lead to Human Excellences: T Uma Devi, HRD Newsletter Apr 2011
2. The Deccan Chronicle, Hyderabad, 11 Nov 2010.
3. Human Resource Management 11^th edition, Garry Dessler, Biju Varkkey (Pearson)

(PP, 03-08).

1. The Economic Times, Hyd, Nov 24, 2011.
2. The Times of India, Hyd, Jan 11,2012

About the Author

Dr VRK Prasad is associated with management education for over a decade now, as the head of a business school, having published more than 60 papers, five edited books and two self authored books, on various topics of management.  Presently he is the Pro VC of The Icfai University in Nagaland and also holds an operational assignment as the Director of Projects in the Icfai University Group.

(The above article originally appeared in MARCH 2012 issue of BUSINESS MANAGER.)

I have always been happy about IBSAF and this blog is another way to connect with IBS – our Alma mater.  A pioneer in introducing practical pedagogy, some of which is been benefitting me even today – during the most difficult times of my career graph. Yes. As I write this – I am still struggling to make it large after an industry experience of almost 6 years. I am an entrepreneur. But the journey has been pleasant (with its own – ups and downs). That just means, the journey is been quite a learning experience.

Whatever we do, our decisions hold great importance and impact. Decision to be an entrepreneur is as difficult and important as a decision to join management studies. DO not get influenced – explore yourself and find out what suits you best. Is it management – do you see yourself excelling, growing, and celebrating? If you could, this is the thing for you. Similarly, while opting out and making a new choice – do the same thing. Be it choosing a course or walking out of an office to start something on your own. Check your possibilities and check the available options.

And remember! This isn’t going to be easy. But it is about making choices, it is your decision and you need to stick to it. Celebrate your decisions to celebrate life.

(Post by Jigyasa Laroiya, alumna of class of 2006, IBS Bangalore). Jigyasa began her entrepreneurial journey with her Brand & Retail Consultancy firm 30TH FEB. She is also empanelled as a Resource Person with CEDNER – IIM Shillong since 2008. 

Education is simply the soul of a society

as it passes from one generation to another

 – Gilbert K Chesterton

        As per Delhi University first list, the cut off for admission into current academic session of commerce stream of SRCC for non commerce students is 100%,  whether it’s fair or otherwise on students is irrelevant but the fact is, there is a clamor for knowledge, a value adding one at that. The demand for an IIT or an IIM seat is so enormous that the coaching centres are reported to be raking in more revenues than these esteemed institutions themselves.  This is while not taking into consideration the aspirants spending a year or two exclusively for getting the necessary coaching to enter the portals of the elite institutions, which by itself would lead to a sizeable figure to arrive at an actual ‘spend’ on this value based knowledge acquiring spree.

Our honorable Union Minister for HRD could not have been more right in saying ‘‘the economic prosperity of nations depends on the conquering of new frontiers of knowledge”.  It’s through education that one acquires knowledge, the transmission of which among the human race results in collective wisdom and learning. There is a vital difference between education and knowledge. Education as it is practiced in schools and colleges is a process of teaching; training and learning to gain knowledge and acquire skills while knowledge per se is “ the information, the understanding and the ability one gets to apply”  the said education. As the country is in a transition from information society to knowledge based society there is a growing need to ensure hassle free development, transfer, and assimilation of the knowledge through revamping or streamlining our education system. The gap between the supply and demand of educated work force is reported to be 10 odd million and is growing. Sadly we are struck with the age old ‘education through examination’ syndrome and in the bargain ‘knowledge’ is getting relegated to backyard. Colleges and Universities are also expected to create knowledge through research based culture but unfortunately the ground realities convey a different picture altogether. All the IITs put together enroll about 500 Ph D Scholars every year and another 4500 from all other institutions of higher learning including our 300 plus universities while China churns out ten times over with its 1000 universities. That way China might even overtake USA in the next couple of decades as the world centre of higher learning.

Knowledge Economies

Despite being the most over regulated country in the world scoring 9.16 out of 10 as per a survey on Asian business and politics by Hong Kong based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) closely followed by China (9.04 points) India is still regarded as both a ‘knowledge economy’ and a ‘knowledge based economy’. Probably where the institutions of higher education are found wanting in creation of knowledge per se, the industries are successful in establishing their own knowledge pools and sources.  While this knowledge becomes a product in our knowledge economy, using this product as a developmental tool is what knowledge based economy is all about (Peter Drucker).  This very organizational knowledge then becomes a significant source of competitive advantage.  Knowledge as a capacity to act or apply resides within people and is of two types i.e. tacit and explicit (Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995). Tacit knowledge is subjective, personal, context specific and difficult to express, and has both technical and cognitive dimensions. Technical dimension is based on purely physical experience while the cognitive one is dependent on mental modes like values, beliefs, emotions and perceptions etc. Explicit knowledge is the one that can be expressed in words and can also be stored as data. Before we go on to the transfer or dissemination mode of this knowledge it is pertinent to discuss its creation first. The individual knowledge residing in people needs to be converted into organizational knowledge. Every department possesses its own knowledge bank and knowledge per se is not the sole prerogative of the R&D department. Each entity with all its sensory organs wide open goes through a process called ‘knowledge cycle’ where events lead to collection of data which then becomes information, ultimately resulting in what we call knowledge. These things come out of experience, reflection, conceptualization and finally experimentation which form part of a typical learning cycle (Kolb 1984). Knowledge and learning cycles are concentric and both need to keep moving if the organizations want to become knowledge based.

            Knowing is not enough; we must apply

            Willing is not enough; we must do

                                                                                     – JW Goethe

Knowledge Sharing

Knowledge that lies dormant is as good as dead, and there is little or no point in creating any, unless it is shared, applied, and further developed.  An organization should be able to build on both tacit and explicit knowledge where the most important thing is to ensure conversion of one into another to start with.  Here the concept of ‘knowledge worker’ propounded by Peter Drucker comes to the fore where key employees apply their knowledge to create new products and services and add value to their customers. The advent and emergence of technology has made it simpler for the organizations to create and disseminate knowledge, while safeguarding their own IPRs (Intellectual Property Rights) in the wake of severe attrition ridden scenario across and within the sectors.

Knowledge and HR

The transfer or dissemination of knowledge can take place through HR interventions like socialization of the employees and externalization or articulation of ideas etc, then there is a need for the employees to acquire knowledge through internalization by reading about, or even absorbing events around.  We can use yet another method called ‘combination’ where the explicit knowledge is shared explicitly or externally through all possible modes.  IT major Microsoft is believed to have developed its own model to nurture and transfer knowledge to retain competitive edge while Infosys has gone a step ahead in evaluating its intellectual capital to make a mention of it, in its balance sheet.  Creating and disseminating knowledge has become so vital and important that companies are now having Chief Knowledge Officers (CKO) whose sole job is to ensure knowledge friendly culture and flow of information.  Knowledge per se can even come from the customers too in terms of feed back which then could be used to develop new technologies as 3M and so many others did.

HR has a central and pivotal role to play both in creation and dissemination of knowledge within the organizations while the academic fraternity must make a more sincere effort in developing and furtherance of the knowledge base to augur well in our march towards becoming a developed economy.

            It takes considerable knowledge just to

            realize the extent of your ignorance

                                                                                         -Thomas Sowell

                                                                                                        – by Dr VRK Prasad

Ref:

1. Knowledge Management Architecture (Professors Archana Shukla and R Srinivasan) Going Global: Leveraging Human Potential, National HRD Network 2000, Tata Mc Graw Hill (PP 130-143)
2. The Economic Times, Hyd,   Dec 23, 2010
3. The Economic Times, Hyd,   Jun 16, 2011 (TV Mohandas Pai)

About the Author

Dr VRK Prasad is associated with management education for over a decade now, as the head of a business school, having published more than 60 papers, five edited books and two self authored books, on various topics of management.  Presently he is the Pro VC of The Icfai University in Nagaland and also holds an operational assignment as the Director of Projects in the Icfai University Group.

(The above article originally appeared in January 2012 issue of INDIAN MANAGEMENT.)

We have just completed a month long competition in Human Resources at
IBS Bangalore. It seems as though a lot of time was spent but it was worth the experience as it instilled in us, the nuances of Human Resources Management in an environment which IBS Bangalore could give. The bright idea was conceived by our faculty for Human Resources, Dr. Uma Sreedhar to bring about a learning which students could get only from Industry Experts.

Recently we wrapped up a month long event in the area of HRM. Inter class
Competitions were held where we were needed to present Harvard Business Review articles, review Books and analyze the HR Industry. I must confess that it was one of the most enriching and exciting experiences to work in the presence of industry experts. For example we presented our views on the ‘IT sector and its HR practices’, to the Chief People Officer of Symphony Services which also involved the task of giving recommendations on how to improve the sector.

Though we were jittery initially, we settled down very quickly as our eagerness to learn got the better of our anxiety! Eventually we came out smarter, brighter and definitely stronger, ready to face the industry challenges.

Contributed by Soumya Ramesh (Class of 2013, IBS Bangalore)

One of my professional friends asked me yesterday for my views on the sustenance of family businesses. He believes that family businesses, including his wife’s family’s, do not have a chance for survival because of the inherent weaknesses of the family business system. I told him that there is no dispute about the internal contradictions in family business such as absence of choice of the family to be born into for anyone unlike joining a publicly owned corporate. However, since family is an integrated unit with love and caring among its members, I said, the idea is to make a lasting pool of love and wealth with the family business lasting longer. The discussion progressed on to institution building. We agreed that institution building is not at all easy and there are only a few institutions that have survived the test of time.

Besides having a clear strategy, organizations need a clear balance among structure, systems/processes and values on a dynamic basis to become institutions, besides a clear vision and the team. It i not easy but it is possible! We try to practice the best values of all religions though we know that it is not easy, primarily because we feel happier that way. I am convinced that trying to reach the ideal forces us to reach somewhere near it. If our goals are much lower, there is a huge chance of our attaining something mediocre. Hence, if keeping unity and tolerence of family business is our goal, we should try our best to attain the same and not get disheartened by the break up stories of some families.

Author : Dr. Kavil Ramchandra, Thomas Schmidheiny Chair Professor of Family Business and Wealth Management, Indian School Of Business Hyderabad.

The academic year in B Schools is coming to an end. Students in most B schools have been successful in securing placements . The knowledge and skills gained in the two years of the post graduate program will certainly be handy at the time when the students are embarking on their respective corporate careers. At this stage, I would like to share a quote with the students which will make them reflect on their attitudes, approach
and will make them aware of the realities of the world. This quote is attributed to Mr M Damodaran , former Chairman of SEBI , it reads thus,

“ Young MBAs think they have arrived . Yes, they arrive but only at the beginning of a long learning curve . A management qualification gives one an opportunity to learn.”

Fresh MBAs will find their qualification as a spring board in the corporate world. But a lot more learning has yet to take place. Application of the knowledge gained is very critical and that’s what is to be learned now onwards.

by Dr Dhananjay Keskar (Director, IBS Pune)