People Management Fiasco in Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India Ltd

People Management Fiasco in Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India Ltd.

Q. Do you feel that the measures undertaken with reference to Performance Management after the incident in Honda were appropriate? Would you like to recommend a few measures which you feel could help improve the situation further apart from the measures already undertaken with specific reference to Performance Management?

A. We shall diagnose the scenario on the basis of the major aspects such as Individual, Structure and Process.

Assessing the situation from an individual point-of-view, the initiative of filling out the strategic HR roles / positions of assistant manager of training, senior manager of industrial relations and senior manager of administration is a step in the right direction. This will enhance the human interface between the workers and the management which will in turn improve the level of interactions between the two, thereby enabling swift handling of industrial relations.

The training initiatives where managers were sent out to attend management development programmes  to enhance inter-personal skills, negotiation skills, team-building, conflict management and leadership building, were great measures taken to equip the Indian managers, who were proficient in production only, with relevant skills to be able to handle industrial relations issues aptly.

The motto of the company is – ‘The Three Joys’ – namely, the joy of producing, the joy of selling, and the joy of buying. The joy of selling and the joy of buying are very evident from the Dealer Satisfaction Study where HMSI enjoys a rating of 108, when the industry average is 63.

But, the joy of producing is missing. The measures undertaken should have been hygiene factors in the first place. But having put them in place after the incident, bringing about goodwill among the workers for the company and creating a sense of belonging would require intensive internal marketing.

One of the first steps would be to do away with the stick method of performance management and adopt the carrot method - both the employer and the employee should work together to make work fruitful and less stressful for each other. The management should directly link performance to rewards. For example, they should do away with the biased postings, forced ranking method, etc.

The other step should be closely working with the Union. It is vital since the workers identify with the Union. So, if the management and the Union collaborate and be equal stakeholders of the business, then a better and smooth functioning is guaranteed.

-by (HRM Section – A)

Harshil Mittal (UH17023)

Mandavi Sharma (UH17027)

Oindrila Banerjee (UH17036)

Sushmit Senapati (UH17060)

Sushmita Jha (UH17061)

Susmita Padhi (UH17062)
Swayam Majhi (UH17063)