Women scale the heights in India Inc
Sunita Rebecca Cherian, currently general manager of talent engagement and development at Wipro Technologies, is one of those women who has achieved, in her own words “what others thought impossible when they started their careers”. Becoming the VP, HR, she joins the league of women who have successfully broken the glass ceiling to reach the top levels of Corporate India.
India’s Infosys has a women heading its Australian division and verticals in their capacities as client partners, principal consultants and client engagement managers. Women, who have more than 15 years of work experience, are seeing the doors to senior positions being opened without a creak, something unusual in an Indian talent landscape dominated by men. Companies like Titan insist on taking more women buy cialis generic on board to occupy senior ranks. S Ramadoss, chief human resource officer of Titan Industries, says: “Some of our verticals are being headed for the last couple of years by women and their working style is more people-centric.” The numbers of women who will join their pin-striped suit-clad male counterparts in board rooms are also likely to increase, according to recent industry trends.
However Poonam Barua, founder chairman, Women in Leadership (WILL) says: “Women constitute just 5% of the boards of companies in India. This means that at the 9,000 listed firms in the country, there are only 400 women board members. These figures may not present a complete picture as 200 of them belong to family-owned firms. So, the number of women who have actually climbed the ladder is just a sad fraction.” Significant efforts lowest cost cialis are being made by companies to increase the number of women holding positions of power. Infosys has seen a rise in the number of women in the ‘title holder level’ from a minuscule 3.7% in 2004 to 6.5% in 2010. . Currently in corporate India, at the entry level, women make up 40.3% of the work force, at the middle level, it is about 24.2%, senior managers 6.5% and at title holders level, it is 6.2%.
Source:Economic TImes
Encouraging employees to voice their values
In many situations like tragic violations and mistakes at BP, the misleading of investors at Goldman-Sachs and the safety problems at Toyota employees do recognize a problem before the crisis becomes public. Often they fail to speak out of fear of retribution or simply a sense of futility. In some instances, they even try to speak up and are ignored or silenced…….. Read More.
At BP, we know there were engineers who identified problems with the Deep Horizon oil rig; there were contractors at Haliburton and Transocean who voiced concerns; and of course, there were protests lodged by the regulators with the MMS. And yet, this tragedy continued inexorably to unfold. Most organisations make certain that employees recognize values and ethics risks when they encounter them, and for allowing them to practice identifying the risks inherent in any such scenario. What is missing, sadly, from these initiatives is the opportunity to practice Action.That is, rather than simply reciting the rules, identifying what’s a stake liquid cialis and naming all the pressures that work against values-driven behavior in the organization, it is important to also provide employees with the opportunity to take action cialis 8 cpr riv0mg and voice their concerns regarding deviation from values in the organisation.
This is made possible by allowing employees to come up with their scripts or familiarising themselves with scripts that voice their concerns in such possible ethical conflict situations. The literal expression of these arguments and positions helps to build a kind of “muscle memory” in employees, such that these positions become a new normal, a kind of default when ethical challenges surface. Organizational leaders can take the opportunity to share – out loud – the thinking processes that they themselves went through when facing values conflicts in the workplace; and to engage their audiences in crafting and expressing and refining the positions and the scripts they settled upon. Employees have the opportunity to identify the most persuasive ways to frame their position and they are relieved from the sense that they are alone in their concern. With this focus upon sharing the process and the skills for voicing values, leaders build the “moral competence” in their organization that makes “moral courage” both more effective. That is, once we become skilful and confident with voicing our values, it becomes easier and less daunting to do so.
Source: Management Issue
Exit interviews matter to companies
Although exit interviews figure in almost every firm’s list of protocols, they are usually regarded as an outlet to release pent-up feelings towards the company. Most think this exercise is an end in itself and mere formality for companies. However the times have been changing…. Read More.
In 2007, an Indian automotive firm had recruited a new R&D head who soon online prescription cialis found out that he was expected to work on their idea of rolling out a hybrid car and not on the overall R&D platform. He tried to convince them that India was not ready for such a car but to no avail. He left within low cost cialis a few months but made his views clear regarding the company’s plans for a hybrid car in his exit interview that the company’s plans for a hybrid car. The auto major soon conducted a survey , which according to an industry expert, was triggered by the exit interview and found out that the hybrid car would indeed be ahead of its times. The plan for the car was postponed by three years. This is not an isolated story in recent times of exit interviews helping a company.
Importance of exit interviews in assisting the HR to improve employee retention cannot be overestimated. Industry experts say even the questionnaire pattern has changed from a straight, “Why are you leaving?” to “If you were in a competitor’s firm, how differently would you have performed?” Such changes help HR heads keep a tab on the competition and market. Mohandas Pai, HR head of Infosys, thinks “exit interviews give an honest view of the company and the way they are dealt with speaks a lot about its culture”. Some have even outsourced exit interviews to agencies to make them more open. Former employees too laud their ex-employers for changes based on exit interviews.
Source: Economic Times
Freedom at Workplace
Freedom to flex your work hours to accommodate family life while still meeting organizational goals; freedom to air new ideas and opposing viewpoints with the management; cialis plus freedom to do things differently, freedom to have a healthy work-life balance. ‘Freedom at workplace’ is the mantra of Google…… Read More.
The global search giants casual and easy work culture gives a home-like freedom to employees. acomplia 20mg pills A visit to the Google office reveals the fun atmosphere. But behind all this are a bunch of very smart people who are self-motivated, passionate to come out with products which will further touch the masses. If Google has ensured the culture, it is simply because it believes in trying to provide an environment without hierarchy and restriction, thereby giving abundant freedom to the employees. Little wonder then, the firm topped the list of Best Companies to Work For 2010, released by ET in association with Great Place to Work Institute. We invest in our employees—energetic, passionate people from diverse backgrounds with creative approaches to work, play and life, says Jayashri Ramamurti, head of people operations, engg & product, Google India.
It’s not uncommon for one person’s interesting idea to grow to a larger, even company-wide, initiative. The employees are encouraged to spend a fifth of their time on anything that they are really passionate about. It’s one way in which innovation beyond regular work is encouraged and the passion present in highly spirited and talented employees is fuelled. Many significant new products have grown out of this programme. For instance, one product manager’s 20% project eventually grew into Google Earth Outreach, a programme designed to help non-profit organizations around the world build layers on Google Earth to illustrate issues they face. Some of the other amazing 20% projects that have eventually gone on to impact millions of users are GMail, Google News, Google Finance, Orkut and AdSense for content.
Source: Economic Times
India Inc boosting employee-driven CSR drive
Nearly every organization has employees who want to ‘give back’ to the society. India Inc is realizing that and working to utilize the energies of such employees within the organization. As a result, several companies have started employee-driven corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes.
At acomplia original Cognizant, almost 8,000 employees, or 10% of its workforce, are active volunteers for the Outreach programme. The main focus of the effort is education and today it partners more than 90 schools where employees teach English and computers. All the 80 Class best cialis prices XII board students in a government school at Thoraipakkam, near Chennai, scored full marks in their recent final computer practical exam, thanks to the regular classes which the Cognizant volunteers conducted. Around 200 LG India employees, along with their families, recently participated in an initiative, ‘Meri Dilli, Meri Yamuna’, where they cleaned the Yamuna river in New Delhi and staged a street play to sensitise the public about water pollution.
Early results of these programmes have been encouraging for corporates too. While some have seen a fall in attrition rate, for others, such activities have helped build team spirit. For some of the employees, such social initiatives are a great stress-buster. As Philips India’s general manager Girish Ahuja says: “It is a satisfying experience.” Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra has gone one step further by incentivising CSR initiatives. The company has started the ‘employee social option’, whereby any contribution to such CSR work is added to an employee’s total work hours. Almost half the employees participate in the company’s CSR activities now.
Source :Economic Times
The Word ‘HR’ bad!
“At Mindtree we call it as People Function and not HR,” said Krishna Kumar Natarajan, cialis ordering CEO and MD, Mindtree said at the two-day HR Summit 2010 organised by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) in Chennai.
Interestingly speakers at the summit considered the word HR bad and said terming humans as a productive resource or an asset is not right. According to the speakers, the top management has to change its mindset so that changes are there across the organization. Looking back at the actions taken by Indian IT companies to manage the recession, the CEO of Dr John Sullivan & Associates of the US, John Sullivan said business cycles are getting faster and like engineering companies IT company HR managers too should do failure analysis. He said instead of knee jerk reactions, HR managers should be well prepared for the bad times.
“Pay hikes, bonus and designation do not largely matter but an appreciation in public for the work done carries more weight amongst the new generation…. In fact performance appraisals have to be redesigned,” said R Chandrasekaran, president and managing director of Cognizant Technology Solutions.
Source : Times purchasing acomplia of India
TCS adopts a strategy to tackle attrition
With the rise in attrition levels taking a toll on IT companies, the country’s largest IT services firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), is all set to bring about a change in its human resource management. The firm has put forth a ‘resources management group’ (RMG) that will work towards various retention initiatives. TCS on Thursday reported a 13% attrition rate in spite of an average 10-13% wage hike that it gave this quarter.
For instance, the firm will bring about a rotation of employees for on-site locations. With the decrease in on-site opportunities, we intend to rotate employees so that more people get a chance to be at the clients’ locations. Stressing on aspirations and to ensure that business and HR work together to do that.
The industry, at the moment, is witnessing the experienced band of about 3 – 6 years contributing to the majority of the attrition rate. The RMG will also identify individuals that are keen on having newer challenging jobs. The experienced employees have different aspirations and wage is not necessarily a reason for an employee to quit. For cialis mail order the IT industry, it is increasingly becoming an aspect of having a challenging job. And so, they would want to retain such employees by moving them to such projects.
The firm also intends to translate a number of freebies into beneficial spends like increase in premium of health insurance and extra hospital coverage. TCS may look at paying additional variable components if the company continues to perform better. With demand picking up, it could be a challenge for TCS to support a sudden surge in employee requirements. The firm has a high utilisation level of about 82.6% (excluding trainees) and has not buy 20 mg acomplia online been able to attract huge additions. Of the 10,849 offers made in Q1, the firm had a net addition of only 3,271. It has hiked overall hiring requirements to 40,000 for the year from 30,000.
Source: [Financial Express]
Need for effectiveness at work, unlimited.
Any corporate organisation is a microcosm of the real world. Persons of various schools of thinking, personality types, backgrounds and academic qualifications converge on the same platform and bring on board a plethora of skills, thoughts and ideas.
The same variety, conducive to growth and progress, this need not necessarily apply to the corporate world. When the discussion table at the workplace witnesses more than just a contribution of suggestions and views, often egos, hidden personality traits and positional clout rear their heads turning the situation into a power-centric struggle.
However, nothing prepares one like the real world. Once out of academics and into a job, they find themselves thrown in at the deep end. This at times leads to interpersonal conflicts. When ignored they can become major power tussles.
Power may manifest itself either in the form of personality or position at workplace and either ways its unpleasant. Taking precautionary measures when dealing with others at Interpersonal level is the surest way of keeping oneself out of trouble!
Getting about it
Being stuck in such situations for long can have adverse effects like fear, stress, anger and other psychological complications. And no one knows you better than your own self. It is important to self-assess and ask oneself if there is any such thing. Just because someone is being given more importance, does not mean you are not getting your due.
If generic acomplia rimonabant the can you buy cialis without a prescription organisation does not perceive you to be a go-getter, you must strive to change that impression.
Ties that bind:
Make an effort to know your colleagues and seniors more. Occasional ‘water cooler’ or ‘cafeteria’ moments can do the trick. Official outings can also prove to be good icebreakers. Personal ties can go long way in forming professional kinship.
Drop the bias:
Healthy working environment can be created only in the absence of biases. Gender, caste etc biases should be avoided at all costs. Always remember quality of work depends on capability and nothing else.
Communicate:
It is said that half the solution to any problem can be obtained by communication. Consult your colleagues and interact with them. This will ensure a smooth flow of ideas and also encourage rapport building. Do not harbour pent-up anger or resentment.
One must understand that at a workplace each one brings his/her style of working which may or may not be the same as that of ours, but may nevertheless be as effective. Try to engage oneself in stress busting exercises. It helps release tension.
Source: [Economic Times]