HONDA MOTORCYCLES AND SCOOTERS INDIA LTD.

Submitted by Group 6: Anuj Goel(17/135 Deepak Venkata(17/144)

Dipti Nirbhawane(17/154)
Samya Ray(17/164) Sonali Paralkar(17/175) Pooja Thakur(17/185)

AGENDA FOR THE CASE

To rebuild the companys image in the minds of the people and plan accordingly so that the expansion plan drafted by the new CEO is carried out with ease and co-operation from the workers side.

HMSI - A SNAPSHOT OF THE COMPANY

HMSI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Honda Motor Company Limited (HMCL), Japan. It is the worlds largest two-wheeler manufacturer with more than 120 manufacturing firms in more than 30 countries. HMSI was established in Oct 20th 1999, with its state-of-art plant in Gurgaon with a capacity of 100000 scooters per year. HMSI aligned its principles with HMCL. Along with a global viewpoint, HMSI dedicated to supplying products of the highest quality at decent prices with became a part of their customer satisfaction coefficient. HMSI had about 3000 workers, of which 1300 were confirmed workers and 300 were apprentices. The other 2000 employees were supervisory and managerial staff.

HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY AT HMSI

HMSI respected two beliefs: respect for individual differences and the Three Joys The company believed that the contribution of each and every employee is vital to the success of the company. HMSI conducted all its activities so that the Three Joys- Joy of buying- joy of using world class products, Joy of Selling- joy of selling world class products, Joy of Manufacturing- joy of producing high-quality products The induction programme of Honda is such that it acclimatizes all its employees to the Honda philosophy of Three Joys, which was made a clear statement. The company organized training programmes such as TQM, ISO 9000, 5S training. The company also published a six page quarterly newsletter, Dream team for covering companys achievements.

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEM

Appraisal was performed by the section head and the shift incharge, who graded the employee on a rating scale. People received hikes in salary based on this. Employee welfare activities like establishing a Sports Club in a nearby village, providing new uniform , cap and shoes every year, subsidized canteen facilities were taken up by the company. The company realized that most of its employees crossed the maximum salary limit for Employee State Insurance Scheme and it has covered them under Paramount Health Care facility. The company provided support by paying in cash of 2100 for the birth of a child, employees marriage, etc.

HOW IT ALL STARTED?

In 2004, when the company decide to give gift valued 600 to every employee, they have compared it with Hero-Hondas giving a refrigerator to its employees and they rejected to accept the amount. The company had a very rigid movement sheet which even denied an employee to leave to go to the toilet. Also, the company was strict in granting leaves and there was no flexibility what so ever in people trying to change shifts. Workers felt insecure with threats of termination for even minor things. Indian Managers would not let the workers with grievances to meet the top management and discuss the possible solutions with them.

CONTD.,
There were other incidents like compelling people to wear the Cap which was a part of the uniform. VP kicking one of the employees at work. The workers came out with a charter in March 2005, with more than 50 demands. The management did not yield to this. Hence, the workers started collecting funds, company took alleged steps to frighten the employees. Later, the workers wanted to form a union and the company has issued a good conduct statement with severe litigations. The workers denied signing it. The company has hired temporary workers and later, there was police interference for which employees reacted violently and police waited for the right time to attack and it was a brutal attack on the workers in the end.

UNION AND ITS ROLE IN POST- VIOLENCE SCENARIO

The Union monitored the situation and saw that the employees were treated better.

The Union has also succeeded in getting all the trainee workers absorbed into regular jobs.
Also the hike in the coverage of the workers and the family members under the medical insurance scheme was widened from 135000 to 170000. Also, whenever there was any worker related problems, the management invited the seven office bearers for discussion. Overtime which was causing health problems due to workers greed to work more and earn more, was completely scrapped except under exceptional circumstances.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FUTURE

One main aspect which was still missing was the proper communication with the HQ top management. One solution could be VIDEO CONFERENCING coordinated by the Union so that workers get a chance to directly approach top management for major grievances. The new CEO can make it clear of his plans for expansion to the workers and come to a consensus on the pay package and work hour scheduling with the help of the Union. So, GREATER TRANSPARENCY prevents any retaliation from the side of the workers later.

Thank You all for listening!