Worker s Participation in Management Through Joint Forum Presented

Worker’s Participation in Management Through Joint Forum Presented by: Avantika Srivastava Jyoti Sharma Navya Satija Nikita Sharma Raman Singh Trina Acharyya MHROD –IV Semester

Agenda o o Definition, Importance, Ways: WPM How: Ford, TVS, Tata Joint Forums Role in employee motivation and commitment

WORKER’S PARTICIPATION IN MANAGEMENT “WPM is the participation resulting from the practices which increase the scope for employees’ share of influence in decision-making at different tiers of organizational hierarchy with concomitant assumption of responsibility” -International Institute of Labor Studies

Why is Workers Participation Important in Today's Economic Scenario o Workers get to see how their actions would contribute to the overall growth of the company. o Participation makes them more responsible. o Unique motivational power and a great psychological value. o Peace and harmony between workers and management. o They tend to view the decisions as `their own’ and are more enthusiastic in their implementation. o They become more willing to take initiative and come out with cost- saving suggestions and growth-oriented ideas.

Scope and Ways of Participation o o o o Quality Circles Board Level Participation Empowered Teams TQM Financial Participation Ownership Participation Complete Control Collective Bargaining o Suggestion Schemes o Joint Councils and Committees

FORD MOTOR COMPANY o The UAW-Ford Employee Involvement (EI) process was negotiated in 1979 to encourage the active involvement of workers. It is now one of the best known and most successful efforts of its kind in the world. EI is based on the principle that workers have much more to contribute than just physical labor. Workers have the skills, talents and imaginations to make strong and lasting contributions toward the success of the Company.

WORKMEN PARTICIPATION ACROSS COMPANIES TVS MOTOR COMPANY o Total Employee Involvement Ø Ø Ø Suggestions Scheme Quality Circle Activities Cross Functional Teams (CFTs) Supervisory Improvement Teams (SITs) Task Forces Employee involvement is recognized and appreciated through rewards and recognition to the employees, who cross milestones regularly. These awards are received through the hands of Managing Director of the company.

WORKER’S PARTICIPATION IN TATA MOTORS WORKERS PARTICIPATION AT TATA MOTORS SELF DIRECTED TEAMS CROSS FUNCTIONAL TEAMS SUGGESTION SYSTEMS JOINT FORUMS

JOINT FORUM o The objective of the joint forum is to provide a recognised means of consultation between the management and the workmen and to promote measures for preserving amity and good relations between them. o Such forums provide a platform to employers and employees from which they may give free vent to their complaints and grievances without making any attempt to find remedies and solutions. o Members participate by giving suggestions and all the other members are free to express their opinion on such suggestion. o There are no action plans implementations during a joint forum meeting, actions are for later. o It also provides a platform for management to communicate their expectations and targets from the workmen through union representative who are a member of joint forum.

The Three Tier Structure of Joint Forums o JOINT MANAGEMENT COUNCIL o JOINT DIVISION COUNCIL o JOINT SHOP COUNCIL ISSUES ARE RAISED FROM BOTTOM UP

LINKAGE OF EMPLOYEE WITH PLANT’S OBJECTIVE Communication Target Alignment ABC CVBU BSC PLANT JMC MONTHLY JDC MONTHLY PLANT BSC Factory Commercial Vehicle Common Services Factory Transmissi on JSC MONTHLY FACTORY BSC CX-1 CX-2 CX-3 …. SDT MEETING DAILY SDTs SDT SQDCM TARGETS

JOINT SHOP COUNCIL o o o It is on the level of the shop floor comprising of participants from the management and workmen . The management and workmen find an equal representation in such council. This is the first level of settlement of grievance and work related issues. The two parties try to find a solution to the issues through discussions and suggestions. In case the issue is not resolved at the JSC level it is referred to the JDC level.

JOINT DIVISIONAL COUNCIL o o The purpose of the joint divisional council is same as the joint shop council. It is at a higher level and the issues that do not find a resolution at the JSC level are resolved here. In case the final agreement is not met between the aggrieved party and the council the case is resolved at the Joint management council level. The quality of issues which are dealt here are more of a higher level decision making that have a greater degree of impact on the plant.

JOINT MANAGEMENT COUNCIL o o o This is the upper most body for the resolution of issues. It is chaired by the plant head. The functions of the JMC are same as the JSC and the JDC, The issues that have not been resolved at the JSC and the JDC level are finally settled here. Plant level issues are discussed and plant performance review on Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, Morale and Environment is done on a monthly basis. The issues at the joint management council carry a lot of weight as these have escalated to the highest level. Such issues are resolved by the top management team and the elite union representatives using a greater vision and a deeper insight. The resolution of issues at the joint management council level carries utmost importance as if these issues do not meet a settlement they might escalate to the level of an industrial dispute.

Issues to be Discussed in a Joint Forum Meeting o o o o Measures for improving efficiency and productivity Suggestions for improvement in methods and systems Sharing information regarding companies/departments production target Housekeeping Safe work practices Grievance related to work place Implementation of suggestion scheme Maintaining shop floor discipline

JOINT MANAGEMENT COUNCIL 50 ISSUES WERE RAISED 2. 4% 97. 6% Issues resolved in JDC COMM VEH JDC COMM SERVICES Out of 127 new issues, 3 issues were escalated to JMC JSC FRAME 97. 8% Issues resolved in JSC JDC TRANSMISSION JSC COMM VEH JSC COWL JSC CWP JSC HT JSC GEAR Out of 94 issues only 2 issues were escalated to Division level SDTs A total of 38 SDT are working across all departments 2. 2%

Role of Joint Forums in Achieving Industrial Harmony and Peace Dispute Fountainhead Issues to be addressed at source

Role of Joint Forum in Strengthening Workmen Motivation and Employee Commitment o Responsible for value creation o The joint forums encourage workmen. For instance 30%-40% suggestions for improvement are from the side of temporary workmen o The joint forum helps create good work environment that is a source of motivation to perform better. o Helps in creating social bonding through various programs.

Conclusion Joint forum as a means to handle employee grievance is an excellent measure. If this is followed in the organizations with full reverence and sincerity this could yield great results and play a decisive role in maintaining industrial harmony and peace. So far the joint forum had been able to give a congenial work environment and a clean work culture. The issues that are handled at the very nascent stages are never blown out of proportions and they can never pose a threat to the organization. Joint forum does just the same. A good working machinery of a joint forum in an industry is always helpful for a company in preserving industrial harmony and construction of an efficient value system for the organization.