Manufacturing industry

MANAGING THE WORKFORCE - challenges for the manufacturing industry: Bikash Bhadury; Response Books, a division of Sage Publications, M-32, Market, Greater Kailash I, New Delhi-110048. Rs. 265.

MANUFACTURING IS the organised activity devoted to the transformation of raw materials into marketable goods. In technical parlance, marketable goods are known as economic goods; they cannot be obtained without paying a price. This is in contrast to free goods, which are available at no cost. The manufacturing system usually employs a series of value-adding processes to convert raw materials into more useful forms, and eventually into finished products.

The outputs from one manufacturing system may be utilised as the inputs to another. A manufacturing system is, therefore, a typical input-output system, which produces outputs (economic goods) through activities of transformation from inputs (raw materials).

In an industrialised country, the manufacturing industries are the backbone of the national economy, because it is mainly through their activities that the real wealth is created. Recently, there has been what may be termed as a revolution in the fundamental ways of thinking about manufacturing management.

This has received its impetus and inspiration from the Japanese management system, wherein such manufacturing activities which do not add value to the product are meticulously eliminated. One of the direct consequences of this revolution has been the much greater emphasis on the simplification of products set-ups, and the smooth flow of materials through the factory.

Such innovative and productive techniques have given Japan a clear, competitive edge over others in the global market: and this has created an urge among industries in other countries, including India, to follow the Japanese pattern.

The book under review seeks to examine the challenges confronting the manufacturing industry in India in the millennium. The writer has extensive experience both in teaching and practice of management. Initially, he worked in the industry for about 20 years, including a stint of about six years in the U.S., and the USSR. Subsequently, he has been involved in teaching, research, and consultancy in India for the past about 17 years.

The book is divided into four parts. Part one presents the problems and their causes in respect of the manufacturing industry in India. ``Managing the Indian workforce is unique in many ways.

Some of the theories put forward and many of the practices adopted in developed nations do not work very well in India. A certain transformation of the workforce has to be carried out before these theories and practices can be applied effectively. The reasons for this are embedded in the country's culture and traditions - the way its people look at life and live.''

The first part contains three chapters. Chapter one deals with work culture in the Indian milieu. The development of a positive work culture is essential in order to prevent the erosion of productivity, lack of innovation, and the rising cost of the end- product.

The second chapter addresses the issue of bureaucracy and feudalism playing havoc with the industry in our country. Already India has lost a lot of time, and the earlier it comes out of these anachronistic aberrations, the better it is for its future. Chapter three deals with indiscipline in the workforce in India. Discipline implies an orderly life, respect for values/people/institutions, responsible behaviour/conduct and a sense of duty.

Part two narrates four case-studies in four chapters, their undercurrent being an expose of the acts of commission and omission on the part of the management, leading to success or failure. The first case-study pertains to the Steel Authority of India (SAIL), with assets worth Rs. 60,000 million and manpower of over 250,000.

The story is about how the new chairman of the company rewrote the destiny of the corporate and its constituents by his sheer will and determination; how some of the dysfunctional traits like absenteeism, overtime, loss of production during shift changeover, and a lackadaisical attitude towards safety were targeted and eliminated, with a courage of conviction rare to come by anywhere in the world.

The next case-study is about a company (Unique Engineers India Ltd.) turning sick - what went wrong and why. It is a typical example of mismanagement of funds, functions and factories. The third case-study describes the steps taken and the strategies adopted by a dynamic and forward-looking management to resurrect a company engaged in the manufacture of anti-friction bearings.

The previous management had made a mess of its industrial relations. The company was plagued by labour unrest, low productivity, poor product quality, and a demoralised workforce. When problems come, they come in a flood. The new management read in the situation that the key to revival was the people. The same group of people were retained, not a single person was asked to leave, and within six years full capacity production was reached and within 12 years the turnover increased from Rs. 130 million to Rs. 875 million.

The fourth case-study is a description of the failure of the management, in its basic duty and responsibility; the management just abdicates and gives up. It does not even try to keep the company working. The unit is a cast iron foundry with the state- of-the-art technology. It is a sad story of total lack of discipline among the workers and a total lack of control by the management.

Part three consists of three chapters, which are devoted to a discussion of leadership (chapter 4), motivation and empowerment (chapter 5), and job enrichment (chapter 6). The writer calls these techniques as the ``remedies'' to overcome and circumvent the problems in the Indian industry. All these topics are discussed at length, with excellent examples from the contemporary and indigenous context.

Part four comprises three chapters: chapter seven explains the new manufacturing technologies pari passu the emergence of a new breed of sophisticated, discerning, and demanding consumers. Technology is the innovative application of knowledge for manufacturing purposes. Technology has grown at a phenomenal pace in the recent past.

Chapter eight discusses the management of product and process quality. The new technology has brought in its bandwagon a battery of new and improved products.

Thanks to the easy availability of, and accessibility to the technological improvements, a number of new manufacturers have entered the market, and competition has become severe and intense.

This has changed the customer perception. The customer now asks for and invariably gets more variety, better quality, and a fair price. Hence, the product and process management have become crucial and critical components in the manufacturing chain.

The last chapter is a spotlight on the human resources issues arising in this context. It talks about the imperative need for creating a knowledge base as well as an apt and apposite organisational culture and structure vis-a-vis the contemporary trends in technology.

There is a discussion at length about the ways and means to marshal and mobilise the talents of the human resources in the organisation in order to create the most satisfactory environment for work and accomplishment.

This book has been ably written, and with an accent on the pragmatic aspects of management. The language is simple, lucid, and bereft of jargon. It is bound to be useful to professional managers in manufacturing enterprises.

R. DEVARAJAN

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