Of the very few things that I remember from my undergraduate major days, the term jettison is among my favourites. In Physics (yes! surprised? I majored in Physics!), specifically in rocket motion, jettison refers to the disengagement of the burned up levels (which no longer serve any purpose) of a multi-stage rocket to reduce the mass. Usually, only the final stage (topmost part) of the rocket contains the actual payload (the instruments slated to be sent into space) and the lower stages are appendages to catapult the same to the designated orbit. The ISRO scientists have designed and remotely executed several jettisons to put the CHANDRAYAAN-I to its pre-determined path in its journey from Earth to Moon.
Diverting, Jet Airways has demonstrated their version of Jet-tisoning. First let us recapitulate the events that unfolded over the past couple of weeks:
October 13 2008: Naresh Goyal and Vijay Mallya announces the surprise 'Operational Alliance' between Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines to put a check on the losses
October 14 2008: Jet Airways retrenches approximately 900 staff from their payroll citing the need to right-size (note, no downsizing) an oversized workforce
October 15 2008: Jet Airways shows the door to another 1100 staff. Nationwide protests right from all the worker friendly (most are extremists in their actions as well) political parties to the people of this huge democracy
October 16 2008: Naresh Goyal recalls all the retrenched young people, apparently perturbed by his own conscience - declares he is answerable to none but himself and his late mother
October 18 2008: Kingfisher reduces the salaries of the trainee pilots (by as much as 90% for some trainees) who have been grounded for several months after Kingfisher clipped part of its ambitious plan to go international due to the recent (majorly US, at the moment, but effects will percolate to other countries) economic upheavals
So what do we conclude from this drama of jettisoning and consequent re-engaging of its staff by Jet Airways? I could see several (long and short term ones):
1. Jet Airways' Brand Value as an employer takes a severe beating. Not only the retrenched staff but also the apparently unaffected ones will be mentally shaken and it will not be a surprise if they look out for greener pastures as soon as possible
2. Employers across industries get the message that India may not be a hire-and-fire job market - any such action will face stiff resistance from within the country, eventually forcing them to find a way out for saving grace
3. Retrenchment needs to be the final resort, not the first. How would you pre-calculate the effects of joining an alliance on the business (I understand that the top managers generally have great insights backed by facts which guided them to go for the alliance, yet I dare to ask if that is enough to lay off 2000 people just the day after announcing the alliance)?
4. I believe, from here onwards, while doing business in India, managers have to take the job security of the employees as a natural extension of their Corporate Social Responsibility
5. Mr. Naresh Goyal, on his emotional October 16 press briefing, called the retrenched employees back as the head of the (Jet Airways) family. Should not the crisis of a family be shared by EVERY member? So, why did we not hear at least a salary reduction in the top/middle management of the company? Why were the relatively juniors/trainees made scapegoats? If a 13,000 strong company suddenly becomes oversized by 2,000 (that's a staggering 15.5% !), what was the top management doing all this while? Managers should remember that a Leader is born out of sacrifices, not by protecting one's own selfish goals
6. Even after joining an alliance with his numero uno competitor in the Indian skies, Vijay Mallya scored over his new-found ally by not committing hara-kiri and just reducing the salaries of the grounded trainee pilots
7. Finally, and most significantly, hard days ahead for the mid/top level managers
Huh! Emotional outbreak you might say. Yes, but none can say it's impertinent. Do share your thoughts on this.
Diverting, Jet Airways has demonstrated their version of Jet-tisoning. First let us recapitulate the events that unfolded over the past couple of weeks:
October 13 2008: Naresh Goyal and Vijay Mallya announces the surprise 'Operational Alliance' between Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines to put a check on the losses
October 14 2008: Jet Airways retrenches approximately 900 staff from their payroll citing the need to right-size (note, no downsizing) an oversized workforce
October 15 2008: Jet Airways shows the door to another 1100 staff. Nationwide protests right from all the worker friendly (most are extremists in their actions as well) political parties to the people of this huge democracy
October 16 2008: Naresh Goyal recalls all the retrenched young people, apparently perturbed by his own conscience - declares he is answerable to none but himself and his late mother
October 18 2008: Kingfisher reduces the salaries of the trainee pilots (by as much as 90% for some trainees) who have been grounded for several months after Kingfisher clipped part of its ambitious plan to go international due to the recent (majorly US, at the moment, but effects will percolate to other countries) economic upheavals
So what do we conclude from this drama of jettisoning and consequent re-engaging of its staff by Jet Airways? I could see several (long and short term ones):
1. Jet Airways' Brand Value as an employer takes a severe beating. Not only the retrenched staff but also the apparently unaffected ones will be mentally shaken and it will not be a surprise if they look out for greener pastures as soon as possible
2. Employers across industries get the message that India may not be a hire-and-fire job market - any such action will face stiff resistance from within the country, eventually forcing them to find a way out for saving grace
3. Retrenchment needs to be the final resort, not the first. How would you pre-calculate the effects of joining an alliance on the business (I understand that the top managers generally have great insights backed by facts which guided them to go for the alliance, yet I dare to ask if that is enough to lay off 2000 people just the day after announcing the alliance)?
4. I believe, from here onwards, while doing business in India, managers have to take the job security of the employees as a natural extension of their Corporate Social Responsibility
5. Mr. Naresh Goyal, on his emotional October 16 press briefing, called the retrenched employees back as the head of the (Jet Airways) family. Should not the crisis of a family be shared by EVERY member? So, why did we not hear at least a salary reduction in the top/middle management of the company? Why were the relatively juniors/trainees made scapegoats? If a 13,000 strong company suddenly becomes oversized by 2,000 (that's a staggering 15.5% !), what was the top management doing all this while? Managers should remember that a Leader is born out of sacrifices, not by protecting one's own selfish goals
6. Even after joining an alliance with his numero uno competitor in the Indian skies, Vijay Mallya scored over his new-found ally by not committing hara-kiri and just reducing the salaries of the grounded trainee pilots
7. Finally, and most significantly, hard days ahead for the mid/top level managers
Huh! Emotional outbreak you might say. Yes, but none can say it's impertinent. Do share your thoughts on this.
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1 comment:
Nice post. In business what matters is money. The public display of emotion is yet another bluff.
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