Volume - 6, Issue - 2, April - June 2013 ISSN 2277-2189

HR should come forward

to inculcate a

culture of integrity

Proudto be in an

Organization

without any

Gender Bias

The Journey

challenging

has been

The Journey

challenging

has been

Adding Power to India’s PowerPlans-Need for Integrated Planning

“Critical Role of Supply Chain Management

in India’s Power Plans”

Adding Power India’s PowerPlans-Need Integrated Planning

“Critical Role Supply Chain Management

India’s Power Plans”

to

for

of

in

It gives me immense pleasure to inform that Power HR Forum has completed a decade in its journey in January 2013 and is growing from strength to strength. Forum is playing a pivotal role in bringing Power Sector Companies together at one platform and giving shape to futuristic activities in the field of HR. It is providing us the much needed opportunity to work together to multiply our success.

On completion of ten years and also seeing that the world has celebrated International Women’s Day on March 08, Forum as a token of respect is dedicating April issue of ‘Power People’ to all women for their valued contribution in one form or the other by incorporating insights, experiences and achievements of some of the leading women in power sector who are occupying senior positions in hierarchy in their organizations.

Of late, focus has shifted towards Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development by treating both subjects as one for the purpose of MoU evaluation. In the revised guidelines by Government of India effective from April 2013, the thrust of CSR and Sustainability is on capacity building, empowerment of communities, inclusive socio-economic growth, environment protection, promotion of green and energy efficient technologies, development of backward regions, and upliftment of the marginalized and under-privileged sections of the society. In line, Governing Body Meet of Power HR Forum held in February 2013 at BBMB, Chandigarh decided that the theme for Forum’s coveted “Quest for Excellence [Q4E]” for 2013 shall be “CSR & Sustainable Development: Innovative Possibilities”. These competitions not only help in developing competency and management skills, but also encourage towards team building and creativity. I would request all to give wide publicity to such events of Forum in bringing out latent potential of employees.

Our efforts and your support can surely create wonders!

Happy Reading!

R S MinaDirector (Personnel), NHPC &President- Power HR Forum

POWER HR FORUM

CHIEF PATRON

Shri P. Uma ShankarSecretary (Power),

Government of India

PATRONS

A. B. AgrawalChairman,

Bhakra Beas Management Board

R. N. SenChairman,

Damodar Valley Corporaion

P. C. PankajChairman & ManagingDirector, NEEPCO Ltd.

G. Sai PrasadChairman & Managing

Director, NHPC Ltd.

Arup Roy ChoudhuryChairman & Managing

Director, NTPC Ltd.

Satnam SinghChairman & Managing Director,

Power Finance Corp. Ltd.

R. N. NayakChairman & Managing

Director, Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd.

Rajeev SharmaChairman & Managing

Director, Rural Electrification Corp. Ltd.

R. P. SinghChairman & Managing

Director, SJVN Ltd.

R. S. T. SaiChairman & Managing

Director, THDC India Ltd.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

MEMBERS OF GOVERNING BODY

PRESIDENT

VICE PRESIDENTS

HONORARY SECRETARY

HONORARY TREASURER

MEMBERS

R. S. MinaDirector (Personnel), NHPC

• S. B. Agarkar Director (HR), NPCIL

• U. P. Pani Director (HR), NTPC

• Ravi P. Singh Director (Personnel), POWERGRID

Vinod Behari Executive Director (HR), REC

Nand Lal SharmaDirector (Personnel), SJVN

Balbir SinghDirector (HRD), BBMB

A. B. ShuklaDirector (HR), Delhi TRANSCO

A. MallikDirector (HRD), DVC

I. P. Barooah Director (Personnel), NEEPCO

M. S. J. SinhaExecutive Director (HR), NHPC

A. C. ChaturvediExecutive Director (PMI), NTPC

Santanu K. RathDirector (HRD), OPTCL

M. K. Goel Director (Commercial), PFC

I. R. KidwaiExecutive Director (HR), POWERGRID

S. K. Biswas Director (Personnel), THDCIL

S. K. SharmaDirector (HR), PTCUL

Sharad KrishnaDirector (HR), UPCL

Editors:

• Lt. Cdr. (Retd.) D. K. Upadhyay

• J.S. Malhotra

www.powerhrforum.orgNo part of the journal may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher.

No responsibility is accepted for any accuracy of information contained in the text, illustrations or advertisements. The opinions expressed in the articles are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher.

Published by:Power HR Forum SecretariatAt : Power Management Institute,Plot 5-14, Sector 16A, NOIDA -201301Telephone : 0120 6496197, Fax : 0120 2416860 e-mail : powerhrforum@gmail.com,Website : www.powerhrforum.org

The Interview of Sh. R. S. T. Sai, CMD, THDCIL & Patron – Forum, on HR Issues are soul searching. The HR

solutions suggested by him can be used as gospel for HR Practitioners in the present day scenario in any

PSUs, since different HR interventions are required.

As this issue is dedicated to Women which constitute half of our population but in minuscule strength at

work station, we have included, email interviews of two senior women professionals of the rank of GM and

articles on women issues by their own clan.

The article by Professor K R Chari provides food for thought for the mandarins of Power Ministry, Planning

commission and CEO’s of Power Industry. Unless the whole supply chain is geared up and people work in

coherence the desired and the planned additional power cannot be added.

The relationship is a complex subject, but every process and output in our day to day life depend on this.

With the advent of MNC’s arrival in India, this subject got its due share of importance and soft skill became

a new buzz word in the corridors of corporate. The article ‘ROI in relationship’ is an eye opener and can be

practiced in life. Sh. Gautam Pant’s experiences during the full bright scholarship are worth imbibing by the

middle and senior level managers.

NTPC ranked third overall and first among PSUs in “Great place to work” survey in the year 2012. We found

it prudent to include article enumerating the processes and qualities required for ‘Great place to work’

Trophy holders. I am sure this will help other members of Power HR Forum to bring in the process and

system in place within their respective organization, so that they also move to the illustrious group of ‘Great

Place to work’ award winner and improve their branding. The Feedbacks received from the participants of

our various competitions are very encouraging and have been included in this Issue.

The editorial team is grateful to our former President sh. S.P. Singh for helping us steer to a next height.

Regular Columns are in place in this issue of “Power People” as well to keep the interest of our readers alive.

Editor

Lt. Cdr. (Retd.) D.K. Upadhyay

Power HR Forum

From Editor’s Desk :

02 HR should come forward to inculcate a culture of integrity

R. S. T. Sai

09 Developing the women: A step towards building India

04 Proud to be in an Organization without any Gender BiasDebjani Dey

05 The Journey has been challenging

24

25

06

Arundhati Bhattacharya

28

30

36News of Interest for HR Fraternity

CONTENTS

42

40

44

Cartoons

Management Quiz

Management Books

Authored by: Peter F. Drucker

Be A Woman of Substance

Dr. Disha Awasthi

Dr. Priti Sambhalwal

12 Female HR Professionals: Not only Administrative Dinosaur

Kalpana Agrawal

14 Adding Power to India’s PowerPlans-Need for Integrated Planning“Critical Role of Supply ChainManagement in India’s Power Plans”

K. R. Chari

RoI in Relationship

J. S. Malhotra

Transferring Learning to Workplace- Utilizing the Fulbright experience

Improvisational Theatre-Simple yet Effective Tool for Leadership Development

Gautam Pant

Strategies for Emerging Business Environment:taking cue from external and internal stake holders

Feed back on the Annual Competitionorganised by: POWER HR FORUM

Building a Great Place to Work - Whatwe can learn from India’s BestCompanies to Work For - 2012 Study

Prasenjit Bhattacharya

20

46S.P. Singh

33Book Review: HR From the Outside inH. P. Pal

Power Luminary of the Quarter

1. What are the most critical business challenges Power PSUs are

facing today?

For many of us in the power sector, particularly in Hydro Sector, legacy

issues continue to haunt us even today. For instance, some of us began our

journey taking over Projects initiated by State Irrigation Departments. The

practice being followed by the government departments in the 70s, was to

take up construction departmentally. Large workforce was passed on, along

with the Projects. The PSUs adapted the system of relying on execution of

Works through large contractors to whom most of Project Management was

outsourced. Inevitable issues like productive engagement of legacy

workforce, skill relevance etc followed. Then transition to corporate culture

is yet another dimension. Even mundane requirements like punctuality

needed to be gradually adapted. One of the principal issues for HR is

therefore, the creation of a professional workforce and the formation of

robust systems and procedures that are not compromised.

2. Can you elaborate on these issues? How are these relevant to the

HR Function?

HR is the conscience keeper of an organization. As the moral custodian, HR

is responsible for ensuring a good work ethic. There exists a licentious

environment in public employment which created a mind set of getting away

without any accountability for deliverables. Most of the recruitment in the

early phase was made without proper assessment of manpower

requirement, without proper scrutiny of credentials and without assessment

of competence levels. I was told of an instance where a gentleman made 35

appointments in a single day bypassing all mandated protocols and

guidelines. Such examples not only sully HR’s image but also lead to

unwarranted clamping of HR operations and activities. How can HR expect

to be empowered if the enormous power it wields is put to such use?

Therefore, HR must take the initiative to inculcate a culture of integrity in the

organization.

HR professionals must devise various measures and processes to check

abuse of system, without slowing things down in the name of compliance.

Unfortunately, the prevailing situation is that if something that needs to be

done has been done quickly, it is perceived that someone somewhere has

been bribed or influenced.

3. You particularly mentioned the fact that many Power PSUs are

saddled with legacy issues of various kinds and that HR has to

manage these issues going forward. Can you please elaborate on

this?

Apart from absorbing legacy workforce, THDC also had to shoulder the

responsibility of providing employment to Project Affected Persons. In our

case, we ended up generating the impression that we are a livelihood

provider and a vast number of people began to expect employment. In any

case, a lot of people did get inducted, leading to skill mismatch. Now, is it not

HR’s role to transform this population and make sure they ultimately acquire

the competence to contribute to the organization in a meaningful and

significant way? Interestingly, this mode of compensating the local

population through employment is being revisited under the proposed Land

Acquisition reforms, where provision of pension and profit sharing with

oustees is envisaged.

Every organization has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. In order to

overcome our skill deficiencies, we initiated skill augmentation programs

and also brought in professionals. However, this newly acquired competent

population has to ultimately work with the existing workforce. Managing

their integration, without repressing creativity and initiative, is a major

challenge for the organization in general and for the HR Function, in

02 Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes - Confucius

In spite of all visible and invisible challenges Sh. Sai has

been instrumental in taking his Organization to the next level

of growth. Present interview can be used as gospel for the

HR Practitioners trying to bring in the strategic change in the

working environment of their organizations. He is an active

supporter of our Forum activities and believes in key role

played by HR in any Organization. Excerpts from his

interview are as follows....

Sh. R. S. T. SaiCMD, THDCIL & Patron, Power HR Forum

HR should come forward to inculcate a culture of integrity

An Interview of Sh. R. S. T. Sai

CMD, THDCIL & Patron,Power HR Forum

POWER PEOPLE

03Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves - Confucius

particular. HR can play a very decisive role here by helping these people to

stay motivated and productive. Fortunately, we do not have any significant

attrition in this population - possibly, because integration issues have been

handled to some extent.

4. You operate in an environment where new guidelines and directives

from the Government can simplify or complicate operations. How

has this affected HR’s functioning and that of the organization?

We have all kinds of people in our system today - some did not have the

basic credentials to be a part of this organization and in all probability,

compromised the selection system to enter the rolls. Such people could

pressurize and secure promotion every three years and managed postings

at comfortable locations, where the company does not need them. A worst

scenario for any organization is to succumb to such pressures time and

again and ultimately give a signal that one need not put in good work and still

obtain what everyone covets. The liberal practices in the past lead to

emergence of a bulge at middle management level. There is a limit as to how

many top positions can be justified, given the size of operations. The recent

government directives mandating approval of administrative ministry for

creation of Posts in Senior Grades introduce a newer set of constraints,

ultimately leaving us with very little elbowroom. As on date, we are bulging in

the Middle because the space at the top is limited. Ultimately, this skewed

structure transmits pressure downwards effecting promotion possibilities

for the population below. Capacity Addition in Hydro Sector takes a long

time. In the wake of slow growth, some of our employees feel de-motivated.

Those who consider that promotion is their birthright are likely to be effected

acutely. Now, it is important to appreciate the government’s directive in a

dispassionate manner - as a small organization cannot afford an unusually

large number of employees enjoying E8 Level salaries.

The fact is employees feel frustrated with Promotion issues. I come from a

family that had many teachers - with their meager salaries and no promotion

through out their career. They lead highly satisfied and fulfilling lives. But

with all the Performance Related Pay, Perks and Benefits that prevail in

Power Sector, I find it intriguing why people don’t bother to introspect as to

what their contribution is to the organization. This culture of entitlement

needs to be replaced by a culture of ownership and responsibility.

Now, how do you build people with a sense of responsibility? HR can send a

powerful message to employee populations here. It can make them face

reality and handhold them through the after-shocks. Obviously, HR needs to

communicate strategically and more often to avoid any unwanted

repercussions. In the past PSUs misused their position and did not practice scientific

principles, when designing organizational structures. Going forward, HR

must examine OD using well-researched frameworks and models. More

importantly, the structuring has to tie in neatly with the career growth

aspirations of people and also Leadership Development processes

happening internally. No organization can afford a perverted leadership at

the Top.

5. What role can HR play in overcoming business challenges?

Traditionally, HR has largely played the role of Administrator. Interestingly, a

majority of the people who joined the HR ranks about 40 years back were

either from secretarial background or retired Servicemen. Most of them

weren’t trained in HR. Possibly, this legacy of HR continues to haunt it even

today. The poor start that HR got in its early years, is still to blame for the lack

of a professional and proficient HR Function in PSUs today. On the other

hand Finance & Accounts discipline got professionalized over a period, with

induction of CAs and ICWAs. We need highly competent people in HR who

have integrity and who follow standards. It is indeed heartening to note that

the HR fraternity in Power PSUs is doing some self-introspection on its own

through a body like Power HR Forum.

The first step in HR’s transformation should be the migration to a Service

Mindset. It is so easy for any HR person to say “no” to anyone whenever

there is any request for any kind of service, which is not of routine type.

Obviously, Line Managers have to bear the brunt of this “no” and can have a

tough time convincing the aggrieved party. It is disheartening to note that

every time HR says “no” to a service request, the HR responsibility is

transferred to the aggrieved party. This perception that HR will not be

answerable for saying “no” has to change. What complicates the situation

further is the impression that HR does not take timely decisions and takes a

lot of time in processing routine requests as well.

HR’s acceptability will increase dramatically if it gets its service focus right.

Just as the Technical workforce in the organization is working directly to

grow the business, the HR workforce should be working closely with

employees and support the main stream. For example there was this

reluctance to lodge FIR with Police, when some untoward incident occured

at Project. If Administration does not handle such matters, then the

Engineers are forced to take on such role, which distracts them from

focussing on work execution. People should actually feel happy to go to HR

for help.

Also, in order to emerge as a true business partner in the power sector, HR

should actively partner with Line function right from the Project stage itself.

While HR can play a role in land acquisition as in other Power Sector PSUs, it

can shoulder even more responsibility.

There is no doubt that HR professionals in power PSUs need more exposure

to high-quality education and HR Best Practices. We have done our bit to

induct young HR professionals and are grooming them for future positions.

But HR will need to massively upgrade its quality, particularly in the mid

management and below Board level.

HR should come forward to inculcate a culture of integrity

04 Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it - Confucius

Proud to be in an Organization without any Gender Bias

Ms. Debjani Dey has risen to the senior position due to perseverance

and hard work. She is one of the eight GM level senior executives of our

member Organization. Excerpts from her interview are as follows....

• The difficulties you encountered in reaching to this level?I am happy to state that I have not faced very many difficulties in

reaching this level and it has been more or less a smooth journey from

a young engineer (in 1986) to the level I am presently occupying as a

General Manager.

• Does gender bias a challenge in Office working?I believe gender bias is present & is a challenge in the Corporate world.

However, I am proud & privileged to belong to an organization where I

have faced no gender bias. But where it exists, gender bias can be a

major deterrent from women giving their best & it directly leads to low

morale & affects productibilty.

• What bar a woman should keep in mind while entering into

corporate world?There should be defined bars & the sky is to be the limit. Driving

ambition along with ethics to maintain proper balance should be the

guiding factor.

• How will you rate your working experience in comparison to other

counterparts?Assuming that counterparts mean women in other organizations, I

would say that the journey for most of us has been pretty meaningful,

with its share of trials & tribulations. Most of us have risen to fairly

senior levels, handled responsibility, taken difficult postings, & have

come out unscathed ! I would say that more the women in

responsibility, the better & faster the decisions as women are adept at

multitasking & handling multiple priorities.

• What Challenges foreseen at this level?The foremost challenge would be to break the glass ceiling. Also to

keep abreast of the changing business environment, & keeping oneself

updated to stay ahead of the curve. One should also define goals,

identify opportunities & keep focused .

• Have you been able to cope with work pressure and manage work life

balance between your personal and professional life?Work pressure has never been a challenge as I have never performed

better unless under some positive stress which I believe drives the

adrenaline ! I must confess though, that managing work life balance

has been a tight rope walking throughout but with the help & support of

my family, I have kept afloat & delivered without compromising on

either front.

• What role a woman can play to transform business industry?A woman brings in diversity of perspectives which can lead to better

results. Further, a woman’s focus, perseverance & passion , ability to

strike the right balance & time management capabilities will always

contribute towards the corporate growth. However, the constraint lies

in limited availability as very few women rise to senior positions in the

industry, given the existing constraints.

In the 15 member organization of Forum, there are Eight Women Executive who are presently

occupying the position of General Manager. In other sector, number of senior women executives is

quite high. Power People has made an attempt to capture the concerns, achievements of these high

achievers. Through one to one and email interviews, Power People has been able to capture the

response of Ms. Arundhati Bhattcharya, NTPC and Ms. Debjani Dey, NEEPCO in this issue. We shall

bring more responses from other women leader in future issues. Editor

Power People

An Interview ofMs. Debjani Dey

General Manager (Commercial)NEEPCO, New Delhi

Ms Arundhati Bhattacharya is presently heading the Control and

Instrumentation department in Engineering Division and is also the

Chief of the Task Force for NTPC’s prestigious 2X800 MW upcoming

power plant in Orissa. Excerpts from the email interview taken by Power

People....

The journey till this level has been both challenging and stimulating for her.

She took engineering as a professional discipline and completed her Engg,

Bachelors in Technology (Instrumentation) from Calcutta University in

1981, even when very few girl-students were thinking of engineering as a

career option. Another feather in her cap was added when, she joined NTPC

in 1981, representing the first ever women executive trainee of this

prestigious organisation. After undergoing the rigorous one year training at

various offices and power plants of NTPC and polishing her professional

career, she started working in engineering division. She very humbly says

that she is what today because of support, encouragement and professional

help of some of the very knowledgeable colleagues of her. She always wants

to be on learning curve so that she can serve NTPC in better ways. With this

never say die attitude, she attended evening classes, completed her MBA

while at the same time ensuring that she did more than her share of work at

work place. She seems to personify Narayan Murthy’s famous quote of

Yogi Berra - The more I work hard, luckier I get. And “Yes” says she, "NTPC

as an organisation has recognized her by assigning the crucial position she

has”.

Though she is a strong proponent of gender neutral concept at work place,

she is very much aware of the needs of and constraints faced by women

workforce in Indian corporate world and have few mantras to offer to women

employees. “One needs to be a living epitome of Integrity, both in

relationship as well as work life. Sincerity, Honesty and Hard work have no

substitute. In short term, a compromise might seem to yield a faster result,

but eventually the above attributes at work pay-off in the long run.”

Speaking about hurdles that typical women executive faces- Professional

loneliness tops the list. Because of societal beliefs and customs, and self

imposed restrictions, women tend to build a barrier around them. And this

is a problem that accentuates as one climbs up. Sometimes, this loneliness

can result in fewer opportunities for informal chats, information exchange

and less exposure to various institutional developments & happenings.

While professional networking is one of the established requirement,

specially at senior management level, women executive devote much less

time in developing and maintaining these professional networking. Even

though to excel in work life, our business-world expects all executives to

spend time beyond standard office hours but all are not empowered to do

the same. A working woman in our social milieu needs to get an excellent

support from her husband, parents and other near and dear in personal life

to do justice to her assigned work. She has been extremely lucky on this

front, says she, very proudly...

During her Initial days in the organisation, though her colleagues and seniors

were all aware of her capability, because of commonly held perceptions and

to take care of safety beyond office premise, she could not put in as much

effort to learn and gain the domain competency. For example, her seniors,

with all their well intentions, would routinely try to send her home after 6 pm

or not send her regularly to remote part of India where one of the NTPC

power plants was coming up even though she was given the complete

responsibility for engineering of the particular plant. And many times, she

would put in double the effort just to prove that she is not different from

another engineer just because she happens to be a woman and is as capable

as other colleagues, reflecting her fiercely competitive spirit. Thus, her

experience at NTPC had been extremely friendly but sometimes overtly

protective thereby not exploiting her potential fully. Women executives rather

women employees, she feels, have some special requirements. Apart from

providing for the physical and physiological needs all along their career

span, workplace needs to be more proactive, sensitive and encouraging for

women. She states that by systematic training on skills required for

assuming higher responsibilities, women leaders can yield rich dividends to

the organisation. And this is not extra investment - “what women bring to

work place, can’t be done by their counterpart”. It is - transparency, zero

biases, equality, multitasking and above all management with care and

sensibilities.

She has been able to cope with work pressure and managing work life

balance between her personal and professional life; is through her walk the

talk approach. She practices the attributes she preaches. She truly trusts her

team for delivery and with an excellent support from her team and seniors,

which she emphasis is dominated by male counterparts, she has been

sailing through one of the most challenging times of NTPC in general and

engineering division in particular.

The last advice, though she very reluctantly agrees to give one, is learn to

LEAN-IN. Though this is the phrase coined by Ms Sandberg of Google quite

recently, Ms. Arundhati also believes that “No need to hold back from taking

more responsibility, be confident, don’t shrug-off responsibility, and lean-

in”.

An Interview ofMs. Arundhati Bhattacharya

General Manager (Project Engineering C&I & Chief of Task Force)

NTPC, Corporate Office

05Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses - Confucius

The Journey has been challenging

”Women are smart and savvy, striving to live up to their potential. They are

curious about the world they live in, and they want to make a

difference………. To all the women: Cherish the gift of womanhood and

most particularly, the ability to look within yourself, push the boundaries of

what you know, and enlarge your hearts and minds with the world.”

A woman of substance is a woman of power, positive influence and

meaning. To be branded as a woman of substance is one of the greatest

compliments one can give a woman.

Qualities of a Woman of Substance

A woman of substance possesses depth of personality and character, is

consistent, and has a variety of interests outside and within her home and

family. She conducts herself with patience. Even when her life, job, friends,

children or husband drive her crazy, she knows that it is better to respond

with patience than to react in anger. Because there is more to her life than

just her friends or her job, she knows that she has hobbies and goals that

she can look forward to beyond the present frustrating moments.

A woman of substance conducts her life with honesty and integrity. She is

aware that it is better to get a fair promotion than a promotion gained from

dishonesty or hurtfulness to a co-worker. She knows that life consists of

more than money, so she would not have the desire to cheat on her taxes or

keep an extra rupee of change the cashier gave her at the grocery store. She

has qualities of peacefulness, love, patience and steadfastness. She

possesses virtues that make others around her notice that she is not

shallow.

Power with KnowledgeBesides virtue and other character qualities, a woman of substance has

knowledge. A woman of substance educates herself fully about current

issues and subjects of interest to others. She knows about crises and

concerns within her city, state and nation. She wants to take action to do all

she can to help, whether by writing a letter to the editor or running for office.

She is aware of and participates in the political process.

A woman of substance has her own hobbies and interests. Her happiness is

not entirely wrapped up in her job or husband. She finds enjoyment in

hobbies such as photography, singing, trekking or sports. She enjoys

spending time with friends who share same hobbies.

A woman of substance values her family highly. She cares about building a

firm relationship with her husband if she is married and not a shallow

relationship based on first-attraction feelings. She knows that love is built

through the hard and good times, and she does not quit when things get

rough. Her children respect her for her kindness and firmness. She spends

time with her children and be there for their education and extracurricular

activities.

Changing Family Dynamics

The family as a social institution has always been regarded as a core

element for the development of an individual and the society. The family

performs important task which contribute to society’s basic needs and

helps to perpetuate social order. Two main tasks of family are:-

i) Primary socialization - the process by which children learn the

cultural norms of the society into which they are born. Family is the

most important platform for the development of the human personality.

06 He who will not economize will have to agonize - Confucius

Be A Woman of Substance

Dr. Disha Awasthi

ii) Personality stabilization - the role that the family plays in assisting

adult family members emotionally. In industrial society the role of the

family in stabilizing adult personalities is said to be critical.

Changing Roles and Increasing Expectations

With the changing time and dynamics, society has moved from joint family

system to nuclear family system. Roles and expectations of family

members have changed. Technology has become more advanced. And

above all, the struggle for a respectable life in a society has increased. This

has, in turn changed the role of a women from just doing household

activities to taking part in all those roles which were once dominated by men

only. These roles have brought in lot of expectations, challenges and

dilemmas.

Now-a-days we talk about ‘Women of Substance.’ A woman of substance

contributes to the development of a good family, a compassionate society, a

successful organization, a progressive nation and a more tolerant world.

Women’s participation in the political and economic activities of a society is

enriching the fabric of a nation. Many women in India have reached high

positions and many others are doing well in different spheres and even in

professions once unthinkable for women. We are, however, conscious

about the constraints and difficulties that they face in realizing their full

potential and dealing with different roles she perform at the same time.

(Chetan Bhagat’s article in TOI August 16, 2011: A survey by Nielsen has

revealed that Indian women are the most stressed out in the world: 87% of

our women feel stressed out most of the time. Even in workaholic America,

only 53% women feel stressed.)

Women have always been regarded as being kind hearted, compassionate,

emotional and sympathetic. But there is something else that also comes

from within. And that is the inner strength. A woman is able to deal with all

the challenges she comes across in her life cycle with this inner strength.

Throughout the life, there are lots of transition phases in a woman’s life and

to deal with them effectively requires lot of patience and skills. It’s

impossible to go through life in a steady state of happiness and

contentment. When someone hit the rocky places – illness, relationship

breakdowns, financial crises, unpleasant news etc., most likely she

experience an acute sense of disorientation and loss of control. Let’s go

though in brief how these transitions of life can be managed.

Managing Transitions of Life

As humans, we are always in a state of transition. All transitions are

composed of letting go of an old situation or ending, feeling the confusing in-

between of a neutral zone, and launching forth again in a new beginning.

Transitions are a natural part of the human growth and development

process, as natural as the change in seasons. Each lifetime has its own

rhythm and there are many ways to deal with transition.

Some thoughts to consider in managing transitions are:

• Create specific time in your week for contemplation and silence

• Begin to write out what the change will create for you in your life

• Put your attention on what is working as you move through managing

your transition

There are three stages of transition. These are:

1. Ending, Losing, and Letting Go.

2. The Neutral Zone.

3. The New Beginning.

Women can go through each stage at their own pace. For example, those

who are comfortable with the change will likely move ahead to stage three

quickly, while others will linger at stages one or two. Let's see each stage in

detail.

POWER PEOPLE

07I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand - Confucius

Be A Woman of Substance

08 Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star - Confucius

What can be done?

Guidance is incredibly important as this can be an uncomfortable time,

because it can be unproductive, and it can seem that little progress is being

made. Because one might feel a bit lost, a solid sense of direction is required

here. Reminding about goals, and encouraging to talk about feelings is

important. Provide frequent feedback, set short-term goals for quick wins

and boost morale by helping in managing workloads can prove beneficial.

Stage 3: The New Beginning

The last transition stage is a time of acceptance and energy. One begin to

embrace the change initiative. Building the skills needed to work

successfully in the new way, and starting to see early wins from their efforts

is needed here. Then there is the beginning, where one can launch herself

anew and feel strong in the direction she is moving.

What can be done?

As a woman begin to adopt the change, it's essential that people around help

her sustain it. Link an individual's goals to the long-term objectives, and

regularly highlight stories of success brought about by the change. Take

time to celebrate and reward change one has gone through. However, don't

become too complacent – remember that not everyone will reach this stage

at the same time, and also remember that one can slip back to previous

stages if she thinks that the change isn't working.

Dr. Disha AwasthiManager (HR),PMI-NTPC Ltd.

Stage 1: Ending, Losing, and Letting Go

This stage is often marked with resistance and emotional upheaval, because

women are being forced to let go of something that they are comfortable

with as in case of when they get married, builds new relationships with

husband and his family and start living at his place. Endings can be fearful to

some. They break the comfortable patterns they have grown accustomed

to. But endings can be used as a time to acknowledge what has been learned

and how was the growth.

What can be done?

It's important to accept the reason for resistance and understand the

emotions. Allow time to accept the change and let go, and try to get

everyone to talk about the feelings at that time. In these conversations on -

what's going to happen, empathetic listening and open communication are

important. Women often fear what they don't understand, so the more they

can be educated about a positive future, and communicated on how their

knowledge and skills are an essential part of getting there, the likelier they

are to move on to the next stage.

Stage 2: The Neutral Zone

In this stage, women affected by the change are often confused, uncertain,

and impatient. Depending on how well they are managing the change, they

may also experience a higher workload as they get used to new systems and

new ways of working. Think of this phase as the bridge between the old and

the new; in some ways, few will still be attached to the old, while trying to

adapt to the new. Despite these, this stage can also be one of great creativity,

innovation, and renewal. This is a great time to encourage them to try new

ways of thinking or working. “Embrace your individuality and

be happy the way you are.”

“Use your blessed qualities.”

“Find your dream in life and pursue it.”

“Live up to your morals and values-

always remain aware of them.”

She can be reached at:dishaten@rediffmail.com

POWER PEOPLE

Be A Woman of Substance

09It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop - Confucius

It is often being said that the 21st century is the century of the woman and

finally she is getting her due, be it political, economical or social. Economic

necessity has incited many women today to enter the job industry.

Economic independence and cultural changes has reduced gender

inequality in many societies. But still today, in developing economies like

India, there are fewer organisations which invest in their women workforce

or provide them a platform to develop themselves and in turn the

organisation itself. According to World Economic Profile (2012), women are

50% of the population, out of which official labor force is 30% and those

women utilize 60% working hours and receive 10% world income. A recent

Economist issue focused on how females now make up just over 50% of the

workforce. One recent McKinsey study estimates that lower education and

employment rates for women and girls are responsible for as much as a 1.6

percentage point difference in annual GDP growth between South Asia and

East Asia. Whereas on the other hand, educated, income-earning women

are much powerful catalysts for development because they tend to invest

more of their money in their families’ health, education, and well-being than

their male counterparts. 34 % of respondents said that such investments

have resulted in improved profits, and a further 38 % expect them to do so.

The study also reflects that, there are many private-sector organisations

who are devising ways to offer comforts to their women, be it economic or

social. The result in turn is reflected by expansion of their market base,

attracting global talent and also building their reputations. Various UN

conferences have time and again emphasized that full development of

developing nations requires maximum participation of women in all spheres

of the society.

Women in India: Barriers to success

There are several impediments which hamper the overall progress of

women in our country. To name a few there are:

1. Economic barriers: Women not being allowed to keep control over the

household money.

2. Social barriers: Girls getting inferior food and education (qualitatively

and quantitatively), because of bias towards male child.

3. Social pressures: Difficulty in acquiring property or loans.

4. Security issues: Even if allowed to work, feeling insecure at the

workplace with respect to threat to their dignity and of sexual

harassment.

5. Access to training: South Asia is particularly characterized by low

enrolment in vocational and technical training.

6. Access to networks: Women having fewer business contacts, poor

knowledge as to how to deal with the governmental machinery and a

lesser bargaining power.

7. Access to modern techniques: Women having least access to

modern machines and technologies thereby making them put in more

physical efforts.

8. Inability to deal globally: Poor communication skills especially

English speaking, etc.

9. Prejudicial attitudes of the society: Considering the fairer sex to be a

weaker sex.

10. Crime against women: Rates of unreported cases being higher each

year because of social stigma attached to molestation and other cases.

Developing the women: A step towards building India

Dr. Priti Sambhalwal

10 Men's natures are alike, it is their habits that carry them far apart - Confucius

The brighter side…

There are many enablers that give us a reason to give our women a chance

to enter the industry and other professions worldwide:

• Women have a strong social purpose

• Commitment to service quality

• Entrepreneurship and leadership qualities

• Realization of need for self-reliance

• Openness to new possibilities

• Self-motivated individuals and a sense of independence

• Sense of care and affection which is a basis for many professions like

healthcare, hospitality, etc.

• Ability to utilize available resources to their best potential

• Creativity, innovation and multitasking abilities

• Better people managers, higher EQ, better learners, more organised

How to go about it?

1. Promoting literacy: Directly helps in improving productivity.

2. Providing medical facilities for self: Providing high level prenatal care

and infant vaccinations.

3. Providing sound medical facilities to family members: May result in

higher retention rates and lesser absenteeism. Infant mortality rates

may go down and health of their children shall improve thereby

resulting in more focus on their professional assignments rather than

worries over family health.

4. Providing social security: Provision of on-site bank accounts may

enable them to control their funds and feel monetarily secure.

5. Welfare measures: Provide them on-site crèche and child care

facilities and taking care of their basic needs by providing additional

nutrition, regular health check-up, health education and facilities of

clean water supply and sanitation to ensure overall hygiene.

6. Building their self-worth: Through meditation and yoga classes.

7. Grievance cells at workplace: To ensure that they are being heard

regarding their professional or personal difficulties.

8. Flexi working hours: Provide a flexible work structure and employees

may work up to as much as 50% from home. There are organisations

that opt for recruiting single mothers also and provide them with child

care facilities on-site itself.

9. Economic relief: Providing machines and equipments at subsidized

rates.

10. Protection against crime: Establishment of grievance-cum-

protection cells and fast tracking of cases against women to assure

them of life and personal liberty.

Setting examples worldwide

1. Hindustan Lever’s Shakti program (launched in 2000) empowers rural

women by offering microcredit grants which enables them in

becoming direct-to-home distributors of Hindustan Lever products in

difficult-to-reach rural areas. Today, the program includes more than

45,000 saleswomen covering more than 100,000 villages and more

than three million homes in India.

2. Standard Chartered partnered with the International Federation of

Netball Associations to build a program designed to use the sport to

develop the life skills and self-esteem of girls between 14 and 16 years

of age from families earning less than $2 a day, also provides loan

funds for their professional goals.

3. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Leadership Academy provides

business and management education for women.

4. Wadhwani National Entrepreneur Network provides education and

leadership skills to young women entrepreneurs.

5. Black Women in Sport Foundation (Philadelphia, USA) encourage

women of color, and coaches, to participate in non-traditional sports

POWER PEOPLE

Developing the women: A step towards building India

11Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do - Confucius

like fencing and tennis. Here, women mentor other women coaches to

attain their college degrees through competitive sports.

6. GEPA (a global fair trade company) has set up village-based women-

only soccer ball stitching centers since custom and religion prohibit

women from working with men in Pakistan.

Pinnacles of Indian History

A nation is known by its women. India, too, is such a nation. Following are

such unforgettable names in Indian History:

Education: Savitribai Phule became the first women teacher in Pune (1848),

Asima Chatterjee became the first Indian woman to be conferred the

Doctorate of Science by an Indian university (1948)

Sports: Bachendri Pal became the first Indian woman to climb Mount

Everest (1984), Karnam Malleswari became the first Indian woman to win

an Olympic medal (2000), Saina Nehwal won Olympic Bronze (2012) for

Badminton, Mary Kom won Olympic Bronze for Boxing (2012)

Politics: Indira Gandhi became the first woman Prime Minister of India

(1966), Pratibha Patil became the first woman President of India (2007),

Meira Kumar became the first woman Speaker of Lok Sabha (2009)

Social reforms: Mother Teresa became the first Indian female citizen to win

the Nobel Peace Prize (1979)

Arts and entertainment: Singers and vocalists such as M.S. Subbulakshmi,

Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle are famous worldwide

Literature: Sarojini Naidu (Nightingale of India), Kamala Surayya, Shobha

De, Arundhati Roy (Booker Prize winner)

Business world: Chanda Kochchar (Head-ICICI Bank), Mallika Srinivasan

(Chairperson-TAFE), Sobhana Bhartia (Chairperson-HT Media), Preetha

Reddy (MD-Apollo Hospital Enterprises), Chitra Ramakrishna (Joint MD-

NSE), Kirthiga Reddy (India Head-Facebook), Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (MD-

Biocon)

Other professions: Prem Mathur of the Deccan Airways (first Indian women

commercial pilot, 1951), Kiran Bedi (first IPS Officer,1972), Justice M.

Fathima Beevi (first woman judge of the Supreme Court of India,1989)

Conclusion

In the past, women were treated merely as slaves. Even though a woman

may be a weaker gender, her weakness can be converted into strength for

her development by considering the woman’s basic needs. As Abanti

Sankaranarayanan, MD-Diageo India, says “Gender does not matter. To get

to any position, what counts are your achievements”. Society at large

should realise the role of women in our society and acknowledge it as one of

the biggest contributor to a nation’s overall socio-economic development.

India is changing politically, economically and socially and the condition of

its women is also changing by means of education, by realizing their full

potential and whole hearted participation in nation’s development. In 2010,

Rajyasabha passing the Women's Reservation Bill, ensuring 33%

reservation to women in Parliament and state legislative bodies has added a

new feather to our cap. Need of the hour is women-helping-women lead

better lives. With the support of the fairer sex, by providing them the

economic and emotional support, the development of our nation is

inevitable.

References

1. “Women's Development In India”, Mittal Publications, 2006.2. World economic profile, 2012, CIA Factbook.3. Most Powerful Women in Indian Business-Cover story, Business

Today, 4. “The business of empowering women”, McKinsey Quarterly-Full

report, January 20105. Stephan Klasen and Francesca Lamanna, The Impact of Gender

Inequality in Education and Employment on Economic Growth in

Developing Countries: Updates and Extensions, 2008.6. National Crime Records Bureau, Crime in India 2011 Statistics

She can be reached at:pritisambhalwal@ntpc.co.in

Dr. Priti SambhalwalDy. Manager (HR)NTPC

POWER PEOPLE

Developing the women: A step towards building India

It has been a jam-packed year for HR - from sweeping legislative changes to

ongoing debate about performance reviews and navigating the challenges

of working alongside social media, 2012 hasn’t seen a dull moment. One of

the most interesting debates in the HR fraternity is whether women make

better HR managers than their male counterparts. There are multiple

perspectives available on the debate; but the rising opinion does put women

in favour of HR operations. Their nurturing instincts and a sharp

understanding of people management skills give women a good edge in

human resource management. The work of the human resources

professional is changing rapidly. Once viewed as a transaction processor,

today’s HRM professional faces a myriad of new expectations and

challenges in shaping the organization’s human resources function. For

many, a firm’s human capital is believed to be an important source of

sustained competitive advantage.

According to Pallab Bandyopadhyay, director HR, Citrix India, most of the

modern-day organisations where knowledge workers dominate the industry

like IT and other high-tech industries as well as services (as compared to the

manufacturing industry),women HR professionals easily outnumber their

male counterparts. In most business schools ,women would constitute 60

to 70 per cent among MBA (HR) students and therefore, in the future, we can

expect more and more women entering the HR profession. As HR

professionals need to consider the needs of both employees and

management. There are times women HR professionals make decisions to

protect the individual, and other times when they protect the organization, its

culture, and values. As women are more empathetic they very aptly

advocate employee concerns, enforcing top management’s policies. They

also demonstrate fairness. Their communication is clear, as peoples’ voices

are heard, and laws and policies are followed, and that privacy and respect

is maintained. HR professionals need to help managers coach and develop

their employees. The goal is continued improvement and innovation as well

as remediation, female HR Professionals devise solutions to motivate, train

and engage employees, while building a strong employer brand, enable

employees to connect and align themselves with the company goals. Their

focus is to streamline and put in place processes to standardize systems

and practices to leverage synergies of scale for HR Operations. As

organizations have become very complex, they have become very focused

on enhancing strategic capabilities by putting their best talent in the most

critical roles. The natural ability to juggle a slate of responsibilities and shift

gears quickly what we call multitasking; one feminine trait that makes

women effective teachers and HR practitioners is their natural proclivity to

nurture. Good interpersonal and communication skills are vital to be a good

HR manager and they are vey apt at it. Not only does this attribute make

women better at helping a group of people optimize their performance, but

also enables them to effectively manage the interpersonal conflicts that

encroach on the workplace. Kamal Karanth, MD, Kelly Services India, tells

the unique qualities that women possess, which make them good HR

professionals: Female HR managers promote unity, harmony and oneness

at the workplace; creativity and EQ skills - the intuition to gather information

and read non-verbal cues and negotiate differently.

According to Keyuri Singh, VP-HR, BSIL, the core qualities of HR

professionals are empathy, approachability, discretion and ethics. They

must be fair to employees and should be able to strike the right balance

between organisational needs and employee demands. They should be able

to multitask, understand team dynamics and be a good judge of character.

They should have good people skills and the ability to influence people to

guide them in the right direction. In the Citrix HR team,in all functional teams

such as HR business partnering, talent acquisition and HR operations,

women as HR professionals are predominant. Ashish Arora, founder and

MD, HR Anexi, tells us how women can fare even better in HR, Increasingly,

HR is being called on to become more structured and system-oriented with

Female HR Professionals: Not only Administrative Dinosaur

Dr. Kalpana Agrawal

12 Respect yourself and others will respect you - Confucius

13Study the past if you would define the future - Confucius

its core functions. In addition to the people side of the equation, women

must develop an operational bent of mind to drive todays HR processes.

They must understand the architecture and inter-linkages of their HR

processes, and how IT can support them. With an understanding of the

business and its key units, women can leverage their intuitive and

influencing skills towards helping HR create a strategic impact within the

organisation. There is a key need for women employees at the

organisational strategic level. Rahul Kulkarni, VP & global head- HR, Accelya

Kale Solutions, explains, female HR professionals are equipped with good

administrative skills. However, there are not a lot of women at the strategic

level. India Inc needs women at senior positions to strategise and better

administer the human resource process in an organisation. Even though

there are successful examples of women at the management level, we have

not achieved a significant level of recognition. Female HR Professional have

been instrumental in managing and engaging talent with the aid of various

tools available to them. They have been affective Competency frameworks.

They are also taking a leadership role and influence management’s strategic

path. For gauging and filling the labor needs of the company, devising

compensation schemes, and bringing on board new skill sets leading to

business growth, they provide the proof for the often-heard management

comment, People are our most important asset.” As companies are

organized into hierarchies of workers headed by supervisors. Today, the

team is king. Female HR managers consequently understand team

dynamics and find ways to bring disparate personalities together and make

the team work. HR is a creature of, and serves the business strategy, so they

never think of HR in isolation. They know it pretty well that it is important for

HR to know what strategy is and what makes the business tick so the

approach to HR so it can be tailored accordingly.

Female HR Professionals sets out the following personal attributes:

• Decisive thinker. Able to analyse information quickly and use it to make

robust decisions.

• Skilled influencer. Able to gain commitment from different quarters in

order to benefit the organisation.

• Personally credible. Expert in both HR and commercial issues, and

takes a professional approach.

• Collaborative. Able to work well with a range of people both within and

outside of the organisation.

• Driven to deliver. Focused on delivering best possible results for the

organisation, and shows determination, resourcefulness and a sense

of purpose in achieving this.

• Courage and challenge. Has the courage and confidence to speak up

and will challenge others even when met with resistance or unfamiliar

circumstances.

• Role model. Leads by example.

• Curious. An inquisitive, open-minded type, who seeks out new ways to

support the development of the organisation.

From 2007, as the industry grew in size with more operators coming in,the

talent marketplace became extremely cutthroat. This is the time for the HR

Managers to shift gears and become key differentiator. The line managers

became more demanding of HR and expect innovative solutions not just

around talent acquisition but also other facets such as reward and

recognition, talent management etc. This welcome shift gave HR the

impetus to innovate and partner with business on key talent issues. So the

Female HR Professional will have to continue to play the important role of

Integrator and innovator for the organization. This will be only possible when

women will be given more strategic roles and when there would be no

gender inequality for women on top echelons of organizations and thus they

will be outstanding change agents for dynamic industries. If there was time

for female HR Professionals not only as administrative dianasour but to the

board room,it is this.

References

1. http://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/archive/2006/07/18/hr_essential_

skills_human_resource_management_hr_management.aspx.2. Competency Requirements for Today’s HRM Professional

downdoaded from http://www.hra-nca.org/downloads/1363424562

.64892600_d80262f010/heisler.pdf3. h t tp : / / t a rge t jobs .co .uk /news/302388-wha t -sk i l l s -and-

competencies-do-you-need-for-a-career-in-hr.4. www.times of India

Dr. Kalpana AgrawalAssistant Professor,Prestige Institute of Managementand Research, Indore She can be reached at:

muskan_mangal@yahoo.com

POWER PEOPLE

Female HR Professionals: Not only Administrative Dinosaur

Adding Power to India’s PowerPlans-Need for Integrated Planning“Critical Role of Supply ChainManagement in India’s Power Plans”

Professor K. R. Chari

14 To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage - Confucius

Introduction

"Why India's Power Demand projections never materialize: And never

will: Unless the whole supply chain is geared up and work in

cohenrnce…"

In the original draft plan document prepared for the 12th five year plan, the

projected additions for power generation were put as 1,02,000 MW. At the

same time, a look at India’s power plans for the XIth Five Year Plan Period, it

was seen that there was no authentic source of quoted figures of the actual

plan. Various speeches by authorities connected with the power scenario in

the country have been quoting different figures for the projected additional

demand of power for the 11th plan. The figures quoted have been ranging

from 1,00,000 MW, 90,000 MW, 78,577 MW, 58,000 MW and 66,000

MW….

An extract from The GOI has been saying that despite slippages, India would

add at least 66,000 MW of generation capacity during the XIth five-year plan

against the targeted 78,577 MW. A little over 6,000 MW was added in the

fiscal of 2009, against the target of 14,000 MW for the entire financial year,

which is just about 43% of the planned capacity. In the first two years of the

11th plan, around 18,200 MW was added. And this was the status, when

more than half of the plan period was almost over.

It is one thing to develop impressive plans on paper, however for effectively

implementing them, we must take note of the past track record of

implementation of such plans. At the very least, there has been a serious

malfunctioning of the entire supply chain, which has contributed

significantly to the dismal performance and achievements of the planned

targets.

The country’s 65 year track record of Power Capacity additions shows a rise

from about 1500 MW at the time of independence to about 1,85,500 MW as

on 30-11-2011, i.e. an increase of 1,84,500 MW , an annual average of just

about 2835 MW per year or about 14,000 MW per five year plan period.

Taking a look at progress in power generation, the following graph depicts

the monthly power generation capacity additions for the Thermal, Hydel and

Neuclear (puttogether) over the period April 88-89 to September 2009. The

following graph No. 1 shows the gradual additions of power generation

capacities in the country.

Some aberrations were observed in the data, which can be attributed to

adjustments for over reporting in the previous period, or perhaps some

major power plant having outlived their useful life and was taken out of

service. As per the above graphs, the total power generation capacity

installed in the country at the end of September 2009 stood at 1,39,389

MW.

It can be seen that the major sources have yielded only about 4,200 MW per

year (@ 84,548 MW addition over a period of 20 years), or say, a max. of

about 21,000 MW per plan period. Notwithstanding the fact that other

renewable sources of energy are being tapped, their share is still a miniscule

of the total, and can safely be ignored.

Share of Captive Power Plants

Not being able to cope up with the grid supplied power, most of the Indian

industries have gone in for their own Captive Power plants, operated

primarily on the petroleum fuels, viz: Diesel, LDO, Natural Gas or Furnace Oil.

No authentic source of centralised data source is available to assess the

over all installed capacities of such plants. However, based on the

observations and industry interaction, it can be safely estimated to be about

20% of the total power generation capacity installed in the organised sector

reported in the governmental reports.

Graph No. 1: Trend of power generation

capcities added over the period

In additon, the development of Co-Generation in some selective sectors like

the Paper, Sugar, Cement, Sponge Iron, Steel and Textile Processing etc.,

has come to the rescue of the users. In some cases, like the Sugar Plants,

the units are not only generating their own requirement of power but also are

supplying the surplus power to the national grid through approprieta Power

Purchase Agreements. Thanks to the CDM, the Kyoto Protocol and Carbon

Trading options.

The immediatre forseeable future scenario: 2007-2012

As reported, the projected power generation capacity during the 11th plan

period 2007-2012 was shown as 48,218.

From the 9th plan document, it was seen that the all-India installed

generating capacity in utilities at the beginning of the Eighth Plan was

69,065 MW. This comprised 19,194 MW of hydro, 48,086 MW of thermal

(including 3095 MW of gas based capacity) and 1,785 MW of nuclear. The

Eighth Plan programme envisaged a capacity addition of 30,538 MW. As

against this, only about 16400 MW was added during the Eighth Plan.

The actual capacity addition of 16,422.6 MW during the Eighth Plan was

about 46% less than the targeted addition and 23.26 percent less than the

capacity added during the Seventh Plan. The slippages in the case of hydel

capacity are as high as 73.8 percent of the target. The sector-wise

percentage slippages are: Central 36.6 percent, State 54.0 percent and

Private 49.4 percent. The achievement of 16422.6 MW during the Eighth

Plan period represents an addition of 3284.6 MW per annum, compared to

the targeted growth rate of 6108 MW per annum.

In the X th Plan document, Shri K. C. Pant, Dy. Chairman, Planning

Commission stated in the preface that the power sector can potentially be a

serious constraint on our growth process. During the Eighth and Ninth Plans

we were able to achieve less than half the targeted capacity addition mainly

due to the infirmities of the State Electricity Boards.

Further, some of the present installations would reach their useful life by this

period, requiring replacements and / or renovation / modernization (R & M).

Adding Power to India’s Power Plans-Need for Integrated Planning “Critical Role of Supply Chain Management in India’s Power Plans”

POWER PEOPLE

15To see what is right, and not to do it, is want of courage or of principle - Confucius

Power Industry Overview: Wednesday 2010

Trend in usage of Natural Gas for power generation

Trend in usage of Crude Petroleum for power generation through

The above graph indicates that the like for crude petroleum has almost

stagnated during the period 90s and subsequent period. This can be

attributed to the difficulties in handling the crude petroleum. However,

contrary to this, the trend is quite upbeat as far as use of other petroleum

products is concerned. This is primarily due to the ease of handling of other

petroleum products like the HSD, LDO and Furnace Oil.

Major Issues confronting the Power Sector

1. Coal Availability and Transportation constraints:

Considering the projected additions at 1,02,000 MW and considering that

65% of the total projected power would come through the Thermal route, @

a heat rate of 2500 Kcals per kwh, and considering the over all thermal

efficiencies of the power plants, an average representative power plant

16 When anger rises, think of the consequences - Confucius

consumes about 700 gms. of coal per kwh generated, using the

representative D-E grade coals.

If we start with a basic assumption that all the proposed thermal power is

being planned to be operated through the conventional coal route, then, this

gives us a figure of about 400 Million Metric Tons of additional requirement

of coal. This would demand more than doubling the current coal production

levels. An impossible task.

With an average turnaround time of a wagon at about 5 days, we will be

needing about an additional 72,000 wagons to cater to the additional power

generation through the coal route. At an average of about 21 MT per wagon

net weight per wagon, about 1.5 Million Tonnes of steel just for making the

wagons alone. And it is just not there. It needs integration of steel plants with

the power sector.

Indian Railways and Coal India (CIL) have locked horns on the issue of rakes

supply in 2009-2010 with the railways denying CIL charges that it was

getting less number of rakes than what it had asked for .

CIL shifted from a linkage regime to a fuel supply agreement (FSA) regime

with its consumers and an inter-ministerial group decided that all FSA be

routed through the ministry of railways.

2. Capacity of the Railways to haul coal:

Considering the average capacity of a coal wagon as 50 MT and a rake

consisting of 50 wagon, India would be needing about 18 railway rakes to be

hauled on the railway tracks, every hour of the day and every day of the year.

Even if we agree to stick to the present PLFs of about 82%, we still would

need at least 15 rakes of coal per hour to be hauled on the Indian Railways.

The estimates of the representative PLF have been taken from the Central

Electricity Authority .

Further, considering the trend of thermal power through the petroleum route,

viz: Diesel Generator sets, Heavy fuel oils or even Natural Gas, we may

safely estimate that at least about 45,000 MW thermal power has to be

coming through the Coal route. Even this highly reduced estimate puts the

figures at a minimum of about 12 rakes of coal per hour, additionally, to be

hauled by the Indian Railways.

This is an impossibility considering the that the railway’s freight cars and

wagons availability has been dwindling over the period 1970-71 to 2008-

09. No new wagon manufacturing facilities have been added after that. The

availability has in fact reduced rather than enhancing coming down from

about 3,84,000 wagons in 1970-71 to just about 2,08,000 in 2005-06.

Considering India’s total domestic coal production at about 515 MMT (CIL,

Singareni Collieries and Neyveli Lignite Ltd.), the consumption by the power

sector alone is estimated to be about 455 MMT

(Budget Estimates), as compared to the total coal

consumption in India during 2009-10 at about 600

MMT. The balance can naturally be attributed to

imports.

At any point of time, at least 25 to 30 major thermal

power plants are at critical level carrying coal of less

than 7 days, and many are on the verge of becoming

critical. Up gradation of existing tracks, including

development of trunk corridors for coal traffic, and

dedicated rolling stocks for coal traffic are vital

necessities.” One more impossibility in the near

future.

The moot question is “Do we have the railways in

place to take this additional load of coal

Transportation?” Unless the power plants are built at

the pit heads. If at pit heads, the immediate probems

will be that of availability of makeup water in the

vicinity. Considering the possibilities of location of

future power plants in the coastal belts nearer to the

Adding Power to India’s Power Plans-Need for Integrated Planning “Critical Role of Supply Chain Management in India’s Power Plans”

POWER PEOPLE

17Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart - Confucius

Indian ports, they will still require all the haulage equipment and railway

tracks.

3. Availability of Power generation and control equipment:

Mere allocation of funds from the national exchequer or private investors

under any Power Purchase Agreement is not going to be enough. Just the

money cannot assure implementation of huge projects like this. The

question is “Do we have the capacity to manufacture the critical equipment

required for a power plant?” The main pieces of required equipment are the

Turbines, the Transformers, the Switchgears etc. (Considering the ever

depleting manpower strength of organizations like the BHEL (who have

literally stopped fresh induction of manpower for ages, and have not fulfilled

the vacancies created by the retirement and resignations of employees), the

need for additional Transmission towers, the Distribution network, the

electric conductors, the Belt conveyors, the Motors, the Fans, the Blowers,

the Coal Mills, the ESPs, the Bag Filters etc. etc. to match with the projected

figures.

4. The make up water:

The most crucial issue will be non-availability of adequate make-up water

for the thermal power projects. With ever increasing fall in the water tables

and now visible climate change phenomenon, this is going to be even more

difficult to achieve.

Power evacuation and subsequent distribution in addition to containing T &

D losses would also be an uphill task in the years to come.

The global situation in production of the turbine frames, forged turbine

shafts of large sizes for super thermal power stations, and other major

components of the steam turbine systems is not very favorable too. With

China’s gigantic power plans and considering the fact that there are a very

few global suppliers of such critical components, India needs to give it a

serious thought and start developing these capacities internally. The same

will be the scenario on the front of High pressure boilers, Steam handling

systems etc. too. 5. Power Evacuation systems and equipment:

The evacuation of generated power has five major components, viz: 1: The

transformers, 2: The Transmission and Distribution towers, 3: The

conductors, 4: Sub Stations and Switch yards and 5- The Switch Gears. A

parallel exercise is required to assess the total requirement of quality

products in this area, or else there is a risk of running out of them.

On the part of power transformers production, a silver lining is the news:

“Union Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh Tuesday, while

dedicating to the nation a state-of-the-art transformer manufacturing facility

in MP, stated that it is a part of programme to expand its power generation

capacity.

6. Availability of skilled manpower:

Coming to the manpower front, and if we take lessons from what has been

happening to the BHEL and the NTPC, who have been losing their

experienced manpower to the private players, do we have the required

experienced man power? Considering the best norms, where it may require

at least about 0.8 men per MW, India would need an additional about 50,000

to 60,000 skilled executives, supervisors and workers for this purpose. Do

we have them? OR can we produce them in next years’ span? This brings to

the front the challenges of ensuring availability of trained and skilled

manpower, Thermal station engineers, Generation experts, 7. Limitations of port capacities:

Knowing well that India does not have the capacity to add the additional coal

requirement in the plan period, there may not be any other choice but to

importing coal. It’s the easiest thing to talk than really do. And if we, at all,

need to import all those additional millions of tons of coal, the requirements

would be quite pressing. The issues will cover Geopolitical scenario,

Bilateral agreements, signing of the trade pacts, etc. etc. While our political

system may claim to be having very good international relations, the ground

reality will be the availability of the shipping capacity to import coal. And it’s

not going to be easy. It’s a different thing to import coal and feed to one or

two stand alone plants, but definitely not for the additional capacity we are

talking about for the next plan period. Even if India gets ready to import all

Adding Power to India’s Power Plans-Need for Integrated Planning “Critical Role of Supply Chain Management in India’s Power Plans”

POWER PEOPLE

18 They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom - Confucius

the additional requirement of coal, the main issue of availability of cargo

ships for the purpose is going to be a huge impediment. Although the

Ministry of Shipping has its own plans to increase the ports capacities,

construction of ports is a time consuming process.

No doubt, the experience of operating berths through PPPs at some of the

major ports in India has been quite successful. It has, therefore, been

decided to expand the programme and allocate new berths to be

constructed through PPPs. However, the bureaucratic red tapism is making

the process far too slow.

8. Availability of steel and cement:

Steel and cement will be required at every stage of the execution of power

plans. On an average, a 250 MW power plant may be requiring about 25,000

MT of structural steel and about 10,000 MT of Construction steel for RCC

works, making a total of about 35,000 MT of steel per plant of 250 MW. An

additional unit in the same campus may require an additional 10,000 MT of

steel. Not only this, but the equipment, transformers, switch gears,

transmission lines, distribution networks, earth moving equipment etc. will

be having their own share of steel requirement. We may have to ask

ourselves as to whether we will have all this steel available. Same will be the

demand on cement and concrete, which may be in millions of tonnes of

requirement.

The way forward

Although various ministries of the GOI do integrate the plans like power,

however, the labyrinthine ways and routes of the bureaucracy make the

whole process very slow and things are known to be moving only on paper,

as per the rules and administrative procedures laid down. And the speed is

too low. Power cannot be treated as “any other” subject or “one of those”

subjects.

What is needed

Formation of an inter ministerial task force to be working on a war footing,

fully cohesive and with mutual feeling of achieving the plans instead of trying

65,000 MW THERMAL

(@65% THERMAL)

437 RAKES PER DAY

POWER GENERATION

PROJECTIONS FOR THE 12th

PLAN PERIOD(1,02,000) mw

37,000 MW (35% HYDRO & OTHER SOURCES)

MANPOWER 65,000 SKILLED

MANPOWER

(Engineers/technicians)

EXPLOSIVES

STEEL (45,000 MT/1000 MW OR

2.92 MT) (26,000 MT STRUCTURAL,

15,000 MT PIPES ETC. AND 4,000

MT FOR COAL HANDLING PLANT)

CEMENT @ __ MT/MW

EARTH MOVING AND MINING EQUIPMENT (__ NOS.

DUMPERS/DOZERS/GRADERS/DRILLING M/CS

WAGONS AND ENGINES

TURBINES

POWER TRANSFORMERS SWITCHGEARS CONDUCTORS

DISTRIBUTION LINES

POWER EVACUATION SYSTEM

TRANSMISSION LINES

Belt conveyors, the Motors, the

Fans, the Blowers, the Coal

Mills, the ESPs, the Bag

Filters

1,59,432 RAKES OF COAL(@

50 MT/WAGON AND 50

WAGONS PER RAKE)

18 RAKES PER HOUR

NEEDS ONE MORE COAL

INDIA. ????????

398 MILLION TONNES OF

COAL/YR

(@0.7 MT/MW/HR)

Adding Power to India’s Power Plans-Need for Integrated Planning “Critical Role of Supply Chain Management in India’s Power Plans”

POWER PEOPLE

19By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart - Confucius

to follow the set procedures. If needed, such a committee should be

empowered with special powers for decision making.

Such a high powered committee should involve specialists related with

integrated power plants, who would be in a position to estimate various

inputs required to make a power plant.

Enough Workshops, Seminars, Symposia etc. have discussed the issue of

energy crisis facing our country. Although there has been a lot of talk but

very little of that has translated into concrete action. The ailment is serious

and there is urgent need for clinical diagnosis and treatment . Here and now

is the time to do something definite to cure a serious ailment that is hindering

our real growth.

Often India’s development and growth is compared to that of China.

However, we fail to understand why they succeed and why we fail.

Integration is the name of the game. And, Will Power, both, Political and

Administrative is what is required if we are sincere in our intention to solve

the issues.

The patient is critical and now is the time to send the patient to the Clinic,

where he can get clinically operated, and not merely discussed. Just like

whenever a VVIP reaches the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a fleet

of experts (whether they are really needed or not) are summoned, Similarly,

when a critical patient needs some emergency treatment, then the hospital

lines up a series of experts not knowing who might be required.

However, in spite of seeing the power crisis worsening for the past 65 years,

the Indian Power sector has never attracted such an attention. And that

perhaps is the root cause for the dismal performance and execution of

planned targets. Just like a surgeon cannot be effective without the

anesthetist and a fleet of other medical experts like the scanning

technicians, pathological analysts, compounders; all sharing their own

areas of expertise and all working in sync. Based on direct observation of

the patient a clinical diagnosis; very objective and devoid of emotions and

sentiments and purely analytical ,is made. If a limb is to be amputated, it is

done, or if a limb is to be replaced, it is done. A similar approach is required

in the Power sector also.

Who should be included in this exercise?

The first need is to identify who should be the players in such a gigantic task.

The natural first step will be to prepare a detailed list of all the Stake Holders

in Power. This long list should involve and include expert members from

Planning Commission, Power Ministry, Ministry of Coal, Steel Sector,

Ministry of Railways, Shipping, HRD Ministry, to name just a few. Further,

the organizations like the CII, Energy Experts, Power engineers with

experience in erection, commissioning and the related intricate Supply

K. R. Chari Professor, (OM),Chairperson Center for Innovation andEntrepreneurship Development and Chief ProctorBirla Institute of Management Technology

He can be reached at:km.chari@bimtech.ac.in

Adding Power to India’s Power Plans-Need for Integrated Planning “Critical Role of Supply Chain Management in India’s Power Plans”

POWER PEOPLE

Chain logistics, the large no. of private players and industry houses in the

power sector, and of course, the immense wealth of knowledge and

experience available with the now retired stalwarts like the ex- power and

energy experts. Agencies like the NTPC, BHEL, ABB, GE, CEA, and STATE

ELECTRICITY BOARDS and so on, should also be a part of this Power Clinic,

as they are the real centers who understand the supply and demand position

of the plant and equipment and utilities and other inputs required for such

complex systems. Also agencies promoting energy conservation and

energy efficiency like the BEE/MNRE and those large no. of certified energy

managers and energy auditors. All of them put together should be formed in

to an integrated task force to draw out action plans, with clearly defined

responsibilities.

A comprehensive supply chain relationship should be established, which

would highlight each and every input necessary to make a power plant. The

diagram on the following page is an indicative suggestion, which is not all

encompassing at this stage, but does provide an insight in to the

complexities of the case.

Having done the above detailed exercise, the team should get down to the

detailed estimates of various systems and subsystems needed for a power

plant.

Concluding

As the task is quite voluminous, the government may consider using the

vast pool of qualified and technical manpower pool of the B-Schools and

reputed Technical education centers like the IITs, who could provide a large

pool of manpower to support the above mentioned special task force. Let’s

get going to ensure that at least the 13th Five Year Plan targets for power

generation do materialize.

2011-12 is being categorized by many as the year of missed opportunities.

While the heady days of high economic growth rate are becoming a distant

memory, there is no recession to blame either. Amidst all the talk about

“fundamentals are strong”, due to a variety of reasons, we are in the midst of

high inflation and lower growth - not the best setting for our annual study of

best workplaces.

Lower industrial growth and lower confidence means that organizations

continue to be cautious in any increase in cost and this has impacted

employee spends negatively. Has it impacted employee sentiments

negatively or do employees temper their expectations according to the

macro environment? Our 2012 Study has answers to this and more

questions.

Great Place to Work® Institute pioneered the practice of studying and

recognizing best workplaces globally. Great Place to Work’s® research and

Best Companies recognition programs take place in 49 countries on six

continents and represent over 10 million employees’ voices, forming the

largest and most respected employee survey worldwide. Inspired by the

vision of ‘Making India a great place to work‘, the Institute has been

conducting workplace studies and recognizing the best companies in India

for the past 9 years. “India’s Best Companies to Work For” Study, conducted

by Great Place to Work® Institute India, in collaboration with The Economic

Times, is by far the largest workplace study in India.

The Study continues to grow in popularity in India. Around 600

organizations registered for this year’s Study, about a hundred more than

last year. This is more than double of any other published Study in India.

What is different about this Study?

The Great Place to Work® framework is based on over 27 years of research

of the best workplaces across the globe from employees’ point of view. A

Great Place to Work has a simple definition. If you trust the people you work

for, take pride in what you do, and enjoy the company of people you work

with, you are in a Great Place to Work®.

It is perhaps the elegance of this definition plus the fact that unlike other

surveys, the Great Place to Work® model looks at workplace relationships

from the employees’ perspective that makes this the most widely used

framework to understand best workplaces. The completely employee

centric model of this Study gives 2/3rd weight to an anonymous survey of

employees of participating organizations, and 1/3rd weight to our analysis

of the people practices that impact the creation of great workplaces.

Independent studies have corroborated the business benefits of creating

great workplaces.

Key Trends in the 2012 Study

Overall employee perception of their workplace culture has not changed

significantly from 2011! This is true for all companies, for Top 50, and the

Top 25 best workplaces in our Study. Thus, while individual companies may

have done well or poorly in building trust with their employees, the

workplace culture in India Inc., as perceived by their people, remains the

same as in 2011.

Only 2 out of the Top 25 Best Workplaces are companies which are new to

the list of Best Workplaces, the rest having featured in the list in previous

years. However, similar consistency is not seen in the Top 50 list in which

there are 14 companies which have never featured in our List in India before.

Participation in the Study this year came from more than 21 industries with

IT and ITES together accounting for one-fourth. Twenty per cent of the

participating companies are from manufacturing making this the second

largest block. We now have the largest database of recent benchmarks in all

major industries, notably financial services, professional services,

construction & real estate, telecom, media & entertainment, hospitality and

bio-sciences & pharmaceuticals.

Positive perceptions about their workplace culture continues to be high for

senior management category compared to supervisory staff, with 7 per cent

less supervisory staff giving positive feedback about their workplace

culture.

The Study reveals that 75 per cent of employees are below 35 years of age.

While they are the majority in most organizations, their views about the

workplace culture are significantly less positive than employees over 45

years in age. Only 20 per cent of employees, on an average, have worked in

the same organization for more than 5 years, and there is a slow but gradual

improvement in employee perception as one stays longer in an organization.

Building a Great Place to Work - What we can learn from India’s BestCompanies to Work For - 2012 Study

Prasenjit Bhattacharya

20 Have no friends not equal to yourself - Confucius

Building a Great Place to Work - What we can learn from India’s Best Companies to Work For - 2012 Study

POWER PEOPLE

21He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good - Confucius

20 per cent of the respondents in our survey across all organizations were

women, broadly indicating the percentage of women in the organized

workforce. While there is no significant difference in the response of men

and women to the survey statement, “I am treated fairly regardless of my

sex,” women have lower scores around impartiality, opportunities for

special recognition, fair pay and share of profits and opportunities for career

growth. This indicates that while gender bias may not be felt by women,

there could be a case for looking at roles women play within the organization

and whether they get stereotyped for some roles, leading to perceived lower

opportunities. Women in some industries like biotech and pharmaceuticals,

construction and real estate, and media and entertainment have

significantly lower perception than men. While the first two sectors have

lesser number of women than the average in our Study, media and

entertainment has a significant 25 per cent women population. Apart from

the reasons mentioned above, work-

life balance is one major challenge in

media and entertainment for women

employees.

Significantly, lower employee size

does not necessarily mean higher

employee perceptions. In fact,

organizations with less than 250

employees have significantly lower

scores than very large organizations,

particularly in terms of employee

perceptions about being offered

special and unique benefits, training

and development, timely information

or fair share of profits. Employees in

smaller organizations also get lesser

opportunities to contribute to society.

However, as is to be expected, more

employees in smaller organizations feel that their senior management is

approachable and easy to talk with.

The study reveals that organizations with employee strength of 5000 to

10,000 are at a significant disadvantage with their employee perception

being 10 percentage points lower than the immediate lower or higher

category. Employees in organizations of this size report less positive

perception about their facilities and benefits, pay and profit share and work

life balance. They also have less fun at work. Organizations which

successfully cross this barrier in employee strength do a much better job in

dealing with the above issues.

Some things, however, have no correlation with size. Fair evaluation of

performance is one and ability to attract talent is another. Though very large

organizations (more than 10,000 employees) do seem to have some

advantage in attracting talent, for all others, performance in these two areas

do not correlate with the size of the organization.

Key trends in the Best Workplaces

As in the previous years, the Top 50 best workplaces are concentrated in

Mumbai, NCR and Bangalore, but also have representation from Chennai,

Pune, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. Participation from organizations beyond

the major metros will be a key challenge for the Study in coming years. 35 of the Top 50 have more than 1000 employees, with 14 out of 50 having

more than 5000 employees. Only 7 of the Top 50 Best Workplaces saw

employee increases of more than 30 per cent in the previous year, and 6

actually reduced its workforce.

The percentage of women continued to be low with only 5 of the Top 50

employing more than 40 per cent

women employees. Seven (7) of the

top 50 have less than 10 per cent of

their employees who are women. Only

3 of the Top 50 have more than 30 per

cent of their senior management as

women.

While 15 out of Top 50 best workplaces

have employee attrition of over 20 per

cent, however, in all major industries,

attrition for the Top 50, on an average,

is less by one-third to two-third of the

industry average.

Ove ra l l , one o f t he b igges t

improvements in workplace culture

shown by the best workplaces over the

years has been in the area of work- life

balance, flexibility in being able to take

time off when required, and creatively designing and implementing

practices and policies which are perceived as special and unique benefits,

by employees.

One of the most difficult areas where the best employers have fared much

better than others in the past is in fair pay and fair share of profits. However,

scores have dipped for the Top 50 best workplaces in these two areas in our

current study indicating that the managements of best workplaces will not

take populist decisions on pay and profit sharing when there is overall

uncertainty about the economy.

What can we learn from the best workplaces? Our studies have yielded enough evidence for us to now be able to

confidently talk about the journey of creating a great workplace. Over the last

22 Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles - Confucius

five years the quantitative and qualitative analysis of our best workplace

studies continue to reinforce a few key learning about what the best

workplaces do differently.

Step 1: Building the Foundation - Articulating a People Philosophy

In the best workplaces you will find a clear understanding of how their

people are linked to their business. The People- Service – Profit chain is well

understood by these organizations, be it a Google that says its core value is,

“We want to work with great people”, or HCL Technologies who talk about

their People First culture. Creating a Great Place to Work is one of the core

values at Intel. Make My Trip created an internal campaign seeking

employee ideas on making their organization a great workplace. Make no

mistakes, these are shrewd business organizations with a sharp focus on

the bottom-line, but they know that attracting and retaining the right people is

the key to achieve their business results. They are able to link their people

philosophy with their talent strategy and structures for employee

collaboration, with clear measures.

If your leadership team does not have clarity in this area then this is the

starting point.

Step 2 : Strengthening the foundation

Regardless of what you are doing to create a great place to work, it pays to

focus on the elements which our research shows are the most difficult to

build, and therefore, are the “differentiators” in a great workplace:

i. Equity in rewards - Fair share of profits/ fair pay and creating “special

and unique” benefits. In the top 4 companies in our list this year, all

employees are eligible for profit sharing. Three out of the top four offer

stocks to all employees. NTPC, being a public sector enterprise, do not

have the option of doing so, but makes up to a great extent in the

facilities and development opportunities available to employees,

regardless of their levels in the organization.

ii. Reliability - Management’s actions match their words/management

delivers on their promises and gives straight answers. The best

workplaces have strong feedback mechanisms to ensure that any

discrepancy in manager behavior is quickly highlighted. The Google

moderator is an intranet application in Google that allows anyone to

post questions to their management. Others can vote on these

questions and the top ones are picked up for answers. Intel has a

manager feedback tool that is administered six- monthly to give all

people managers feedback on their behaviors. Managers discuss their

feedback and action plans with their teams.

iii. Impartiality - People avoid politicking/managers avoid playing

favorites/ promotions go to deserving people. In NTPC the grievance

redress process guarantees time bound redress of employee

grievances. There is a cell called Right to Information (RTI) cell in their

corporate office and a link called RTI available on their website for

anyone to seek any information.

iv. Caring - Flexibility, work- life balance and creating a fun place to work

is another area whose importance has grown manifold in recent years

with increase of younger employees in the workforce. Best workplaces

in our Study have liberal employee insurance policies and employee

assistance programs. The best workplaces are striving to fulfill the

needs of employees holistically. Qualcomm has a Q- Life department

to help employees manage their work life balance by helping them in

meeting their obligations to community, family, health, leisure and

work. Google is striving to achieve similar objectives through its

initiative called OYL- Optimize your Life. Intel brands all such initiatives

using the name ’Sparsh’. This even includes helping children of

employees with their homework!

As is obvious, many of the above areas are more difficult than arranging

employee engagement parties and numerous other activities that

organizations do to attract and retain employees. The Institute studies 15

people practices in all the best workplaces. The best workplaces have,

through a process of iteration, designed and implemented processes that

enable their senior managers to deliver the above.

Absence of work in these areas cannot be compensated by doing more in

other areas. They, by themselves, may not be able to make your organization

one of the best workplaces, but not addressing these will surely stop you

from reaching there.

Step 3: Building the pillars - creating great people managers

The focus of this phase is to equip the people managers, at all levels, with the

skills required to engage with employees to build trust, pride and

camaraderie, which create a great workplace for their respective teams. The

best workplaces have institutionalized the process of seeking employee

feedback and linking the people manager’s “scorecard” to his performance

review. One of the biggest challenges in organizations in India is inadequate

skills of people managers and lack of incentive to be great people managers.

In the People - Service - Profit model, the organization might be able to

convert good service to profits, but it is the supervisor who can convert

people to good service.

The biggest impact on employee perceptions about their workplace is not of

HR processes, but of their own managers. Last year the best people

managers in Google went on an all-expense paid trip to Costa Rica with

senior leaders. Winners of this “Great Manager Award” give back to the

organization through workshops, panels and discussions.

Building a Great Place to Work - What we can learn from India’s Best Companies to Work For - 2012 Study

POWER PEOPLE

23Is virtue a thing remote? I wish to be virtuous, and lo! Virtue is at hand - Confucius

Step 4: Putting the roof - articulating and institutionalizing your employer

brand/ employee value proposition

A common mistake many organizations make is prematurely

communicating to the external world what a great employer they are without

doing the hard work in the previous phases.

In organizations with strong employer brands, there is very little dissonance

between what employees experience internally and what the organization

communicates externally. The best workplaces do not try to be good at

everything. They are keenly aware of the ‘key drivers’ of their employer

brand - factors that have a disproportionate impact on the overall employee

perception of working in a great place to work. While key drivers can vary in

different organizations, our recent studies show that, in general, the

following factors have a disproportionate impact on overall employee

sentiment in an organization.

i. Attracting talent for key positions - Employees believe they are

working in a great place to work if they see great talent joining their

organization! People want to associate themselves with outstanding

talent.

ii. Equity in treatment - Treated as a full member regardless of position -

As a rule, employees in organizations with less visible hierarchy,

greater egalitarian spirit and more equitable power distribution tend to

have a more positive perception. “Intel is a living example of how a

company should treat all employees as equal. No privileges are

provided to employees based on grade,” says an employee of Intel.

The CEO of Intel in India sits in exactly the same cabin that everyone

else has, travels by economy class like any other employee, and has a

laptop which is older than the ones being given to new entry level

recruits!

iii. Opportunities for recognition - While there are prestigious awards

limited to the best of the best, almost any employee has an opportunity

to be recognized in a best workplace. Google peer bonuses of up to INR

3000 in value can be given as many times as the manager or peer

wants to give. Kudos/Pat on the Back is used across organizations or

hierarchies to recognize demonstration of one or more of Intel?s

values. A kudo can be given to any Intel employee who an employee

feels has done a great job and whose efforts and accomplishments

should be recognized. These are typically awards in the form of

vouchers or goodies (called the Goodie Drawer). Examples of goodies

include gift certificates, movie tickets, household items, seasonal

items, tools, and apparel, music, software and sports items. Some of

these can be bought directly from Intel Stores!

iv. Creating a fun place to work - Statistical analysis only confirms which

should be obvious, that a young India and a young workforce want to

enjoy their work life and their time at work.

The changed demographics in India Inc. has made the job of creating great

places to work more challenging in many ways with younger employees

generally having lesser positive perception about their workplace than older

employees. The fact that 14 out of the Top 50 have made it to this elite list of

best workplaces for the first time shows that established best employers will

continue to be challenged by newer organizations in the list. However, the

vast majority of the Top 25 best workplaces have created strong foundations

and formidable barriers for their talent competitors.

He can be reached at:Prasenjit.Bhattacharya@greatplacetowork.com

Prasenjit BhattacharyaCEO,Great Place to Work

Building a Great Place to Work - What we can learn from India’s Best Companies to Work For - 2012 Study

POWER PEOPLE

Every gain or loss we measure is in terms of financial or material form. We

invest in property, gold, shares, education, business...and so on, but at the

end we tend to calculate to determine the return on investment.

In today’s time every investment is equally important - whether it is financial

or otherwise? Have we ever mulled over that how much we invest on

building our relationship or it’s not so important? Relationship - whether at

professional or personal front; both have its values and gains.

Relationship has a two way track - give and take! The equilibrium of

relationship is a healthy balance of give and take.

Stay Invested

Like all other investments the fundamental rule is to remain invested in

relationships and never think of getting out of it! Rather our focus and

intention must be to strengthen our relationship by making small-small

investments from time to time. Relationships that are built on fake base or

negative foundations are bound to end up in negative form.

Return on Investment (RoI)

Return on Investment (RoI) within relationships refers to the quotient of what

we have gained or lost against our investment into the relationship. What do

we get if our relations are healthy and strong? It helps to return in the form of

three Es: Emotion, Esteem and Energy. It may not be possible all the time to

maintain relations healthy. There may be downfall or pitfalls at time! Still to

avoid declining it further we must take initiatives to do repair work to revive it.

We must not calculate to ascertain gain or loss in relationships as we

generally do in finance by preparing profit & loss account. The Mantra of

any healthy relationship and happiness is in giving rather than expecting in

return. The success rate of good or healthy relationship will depend on the

amount of our investment into it. The more and more we invest into

relationship the chances of its success are bound to be proportionately

higher!

Avoid building walls

In all types of relations whether on professional front or at personal level,

efforts should always be ‘ON’ to build cordial terms. We should not create

or erect walls! Communication is the best solution in all kind of situations.

We must not be disheartened or scared if it doesn’t work at a particular stage

of time! The best possible way out under these circumstances is giving

some cooling period and starting afresh, it will probably yield positive

results. Conflict in business relationship or otherwise is a natural

phenomenon, but differences can always be addressed by positive

approach and communication.

When everything fails

When all efforts fail, it is better to exit gracefully! We need to remember it will

definitely have its negative impact on our emotions, self-esteem and energy;

and create a vacuum in life! For the sake of marching ahead at times these

kinds of decisions become imperative in life – but moving on is the right

spirit. Whatever the circumstances or situation may be ‘The show must go

on’! Keep moving with a smile…cross all barriers and hurdles to get to the

ultimate real bliss of life. We must believe in the theory of “What we sow, so

shall we reap”! So to get positive results, we need to act accordingly. This

principle applies to our life as well! To make the journey of life happier and

smoother, we must both from body and mind think and act in a righteous and

positive way to derive and extract maximum out of it!

RoI in Relationship

J. S. Malhotra

24 Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous - Confucius

J. S. MalhotraDy. Manager, NHPC& Co-ordinator Forum

He can be reached at:jsm1962raju@gmail.com

25Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness - Confucius

Gautam Pant

Transferring Learning to Workplace-Utilizing the Fulbright experience Improvisational Theatre-Simple yet Effective Tool for Leadership Development

Fulbright scholarship program was instituted by US senator J. William

Fulbright in 1946 for promoting international educational exchange. A

program titled Leadership in Management under the fellowship program has

been offered for the employees working in the middle and senior leadership

positions in various Indian Corporations. In all 14 people were selected for

this program and I considered myself lucky to be a part of the selected

group. Since the program was about leadership, which is one of my areas of

interest I was looking forward to the program, although I was wondering

how the program content would be different from various articles and

thought process on leadership development that I was exposed to during my

MBA and my NTPC experience. NTPC has a defined leadership development

program, which has an exhaustive design aimed to develop the leadership

pipeline for the company. I was lucky to be working under the able guidance

of Shri A.C. Chaturvedi, who not only challenged my concepts on the topic,

but was always eager to share his experiences also. Being associated with

him I was also exposed to the thought process of very eminent personalities

who would come and interact with him on the topic. With this background I

approached the program with doubts about the value addition to my existing

knowledge, however the opportunity to interact with some of the finest

executive talent from India was in itself an excellent opportunity. Besides

that we had the chance to listen to the thought leaders in the west and also

interact with participants of other nationalities, a truly global exposure!

I arrived in Pittsburgh after a long flight from Delhi. I met one of the

participants at the Pittsburgh airport itself and felt relieved to have a

company. The program started the next day and I was sucked into a

whirlpool of introspection and reflection which I feel had a lasting impact on

my personality. I discovered that the program was not merely designed to

enhance the understanding of the participants regarding what leadership

was but also about discovering self-leadership potential and taking steps

about that. The beauty of the program was that it was very simple yet very

powerful in its impact. It is my endeavour to share the learning of the entire

Fulbright program through a series of articles about various topics and ideas

covered during the workshop.

In this very first article I shall talk about Improv- which is short for

Improvisational theatre. For the uninitiated, Improv works in such a simple

way that it’s very difficult to practice by a mind which has become complex

owing to the various experiences in life. Improv does not have a defined

script, it’s a play which is woven from the interaction of the actors there on

the stage itself. At times the actors are give an idea which they have to

develop on the stage itself my adding on to a proposition that one actor

gives. For example if an actor were to say ,”What a beautiful day”, the other

person would take this proposition and say ,”Yes I can hear the birds

chirping in this bright morning sun!”, notice that the response takes the story

forward, which is an essential requirement for the story to be enjoyable. A

negative response to the proposition would end the stream of

communication and an actor has to begin again and give another

proposition. The technique which would train an actor to give a positive

response is termed as Yes and..! i.e. one needs to first acknowledge what

the other person is saying and supplement what the other person is saying in

a positive manner. Notice the use of “And” instead of “But”, which is a

negative word. We used this technique during various brainstorming

sessions and this proved to an effective idea generator .

The rules of the Improv are therefore very simple :

• Serve the narrative: All the actors are supposed to follow the

script/idea they want to portray and not say or do things that disrupt

the story.

• Make your partner look good: At the time of the execution of the play

your partner may commit a mistake, may fall or may stutter; the job of

his co-actor at that point is to turn the event to be a part of the script so

that the person is not perceived in a bad light by the audience.

• Be fun to play with!: No act can succeed with sullen and difficult co-

actors, be a fun filled person always willing to try out new ideas and

techniques.

POWER PEOPLE

26 The firm, the enduring, the simple, and the modest are near to virtue - Confucius

The techniques may look funny in the very first instant, almost silly ! But

juxtapose this to the workplace and it transforms into a very simple yet very

powerful guiding maxim to build a very health work environment. As an

employee of a company and as a member of a team we have defined goal or

a vision to fulfil. All our activities should be directed towards the fulfilment of

that goal/ Vision. If everyone has the same intent there would be minimal

conflict as everyone is thinking about the benefit of the company. This is also

a powerful way to check whether our actions are aligned with the growth of

the company. Therefore- Serve the Narrative!

While working in a team we often tend to engage in a competition to

outsmart our co-workers to appear to be the best within the group. But when

we try and make our partner look good , we work constructively such that

our performance reinforces that of our partner in the workplace.

Further no-one likes working with people who are grumpy or who always

snap at you. When we want such a co-workers, others would too , so we

must try and be fun to play with!

We were not just taught the concept of Improv, but we were asked to apply it

too. We were divided in four groups and each group was given a live projects

by various companies. We were supposed to work on the problem given.

The presentation of the solution would begin with depicting the problem

faced by the company as understood by the group by means of an Improv.

The companies fail to see the real problems most of the times. It is also

tough for consultants/ problem solvers to give them an honest feedback or

point out directly at the systems or thought process that could be at fault.

That could be very effectively done by means of an Improv. The possible

problems and solutions were depicted in the form of a script based on

metaphors enacted through Improv. In four weeks a group is not expected to

understand the entire problem in its full proportion, but even the depiction of

the supposed reasons of the problem gives many new

perspectives to the various companies who are

associated with this exercise. The best part is that the

depiction is done in such a funny and non-challenging

way that it is received in a very positive manner by the

sponsor companies, thus helping them a great deal to

work positively towards the problem solution. I found

this to be an effective tool to depict problems faced by

the management in hierarchical companies, wherein

the management would feel offended about the

narration of the problem in an upfront manner as it

would be against the company culture.

The teams would sit at the end of each day and give

feedback to each of its members as to how the

exercise went and where did one falter in following the

maxims. The fact that we had Germans in our groups

was very helpful as they are astute in their observations and direct in their

feedback, which although could be hard hitting but could be very helpful to

the recipient.

Such a technique could be very helpful in our workplaces, so let’s be open

this idea of using Improv techniques and say Yes and.. !

Gautam PantSenior ManagerPMI-NTPC Ltd.

He can be reached at:gautam_150874@yahoo.co.in

Transferring Learning to Workplace- Utilizing the Fulbright experience Improvisational Theatre-Simple yet Effective Tool for Leadership Development

In line with the persistent effort of the HR Power forum to provide new

knowledge or sharing them within the sector, the Annual event of QUEST

FOR EXCELLENCE was organized in Dec 21, 2012. The forum strives to

develop the Competency, Management Skills, Creativity and Innovation

beside People Building Skills in employees of member organization. The

theme for the event was “Strategies For Emerging Business Environment:

Taking cue from External And Internal Stakeholders.”

The strategies developed after deployment of various models to analyse

business environment, orgaisational capability, Sectoral scenarios,

Stakeholder wishlists etc. by the Team Members were documented as

presentation before a penal of jury members.

Out of the participating teams, top four presentations have been recognized

for acclaim, such as Winner, Runner Up, Special Jury Award and best new

promising team. The teams represented NTPC Limited, NHPC Limited and

Orissa Power Transmission Corporation Limited. Such presentations are

available at www.powerhrforum.org.

A need was felt to summarise the strategies enumerated by the teams to

facilitate a quick glance at them for those with a very busy schedule. Though

the summary is categorized for better clarity, it cannot capture the total intent

and texture of the detailed presentations. At best it can generate the curiosity

to take a peek inside the compendium.

Editor: Power People

A. Growth Strategies

I. New Business• Expansion to global markets especially in neighbouring

countries.• Diversifying business models to at least adjacent areas.• Joint venture with power equipment suppliers to gain cost

leadership. • Formation of National Power Exchange and dedicated grid

thru JV and strengthen Distribution Area.

II. Organisation & Finance• Initiating Public-Private Partnership and Joint Ventures as a

means of raising additional finance.• Raise Finance for new projects with high debt equity ratio

and thereafter to deploy equity in Subsidiaries /JVs.

III. Backward And Forward Integration• Business domain in Sub-Transmission sector• Entering separate business of Construction of Power Plants,

coal mining, washery etc. thru JV.

IV. Fuel Security• Explore coal acquisition opportunities.• Timely development of captive mines, ensuring at least 20%

coal need.• 10% of total coal needed should be acquired by imports and

e- auctions.• High capacity units with more energy efficient technology.• Increasing the share on non fossil sources and long term

fuel supply agreement.

B. Enhanced Project Management Capability

• Timely completion of OPGW network connecting all OPTCL S/S

for leasing the same.• Establishment of Project Management Cell and Special Contract

Cell.• Dedicated and specialized Project Team.• Use of modern techniques as well equipments for faster

execution such as prefab/bolted structure, permanent shuttering

and deck sheet, construction simulator, 3D drawings,

mechanized construction etc.• Overhauling the contracting system for to facilitate faster

construction as well as objective payment structure to

contractors.

28 The scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar - Confucius

Strategies for Emerging Business Environment:taking cue from external and internal stake holders

C. Technology and Systems For Organization and

Stakeholder Management

• Adopt High Capacity & High Efficiency units.• Venturing into 765 kV & 1200 kV AC & 800kV HVDC transmission

system, Multi Circuit Towers and FACTS. • Standardization of equipment, diagnostic study and setting of

Regional Testing Laboratories.• Investing in R&D for adoption of new Technology.• Adoption of SMART grid technology & establishing GIS Grid S/S.• Connectivity with upcoming Renewable Sources to tap "GREEN

ENERGY”.• Leveraging IT for operational effectiveness.• Enhancing transparency in internal functioning and engagement

with other stakeholders e.g. e-procurement portal, integrity pact,

developing a new ERP based module for an auditable stakeholder

engagement• Improvement in the procurement and contracting system to

minimize lead time.• Extensive Use of cost reduction thru outsourcing, efficient Man/

MW ratio etc.• State of Art Systems for monitoring Operation areas.

D. Land Acquisition

• Constitution of an exclusive cell (Specialized Land Acquisition

Group) to handle Land Acquisition, Survey and related issues.• Minimized Land Requirement thru better Project Layout

Engineering, Ash Handling etc.

E. Corporate Social Responsibility

• CSR initiatives, focusing on Energy Conservation, Environmental

Protection and Early and theme based Community Development.

• Good mix of Nuclear, Hydro & Solar Power in generation profile

and Green Initiatives for reduced carbon foot print.• Need assessment for proper community development projects.• Increased visibility to CSR and environment restoration efforts.

F. Liaison with Government and Society

• Acknowledging people's fears and proactive campaign to quell

them.• Public awareness on need for rapid power sector infra

development. • Continue negotiations for relaxation of norms for hydropower

companies taking into account unique challenges faced by

sector.• Improved negotiation of MOUs (with a futuristic perspective) to

avoid disruptions on compensation and employment issues.• Influence GOI to strengthen SEBs financially to enable payment to

Generators.• Employment generation by skill creation of the local youth, to

make them employable.• Trust building thru joint forum of NTPC, administration and local

people.• Brand Building as responsible organisation to the society.

G. Leadership and people building

• Top Priority to committed Leadership Development Programs

including special assignments to develop problem solving skills,

job shadowing, grow own timber etc.• Appropriate Decision making process to eliminate delay and by

right people.• Enhancement and Leveraging of core competency to ensure

staying as dominant player.• Collaborative Leadership efforts, Walk the talk to encourage good

work, people contact, eliminate fear of failure.• Aligning HR with business processes to achieve strategic

objectives and efficient Performance management system to

recognize and improve performance instead of mere appraisal.• Strengthening channels of communication through trust building

exercises including feedback, rewarding good and innovative

work, promote mentoring etc.• 360 degrees feedback and other mechanism for developing

people early in their career.• Recruitment and training efforts to match the business needs.• Ongoing dialogue and knowledge exchange from different layers

of employees in a continuous manner.• Knowledge Management and other knowledge sharing programs

to leverage Strategic Thinking.

Strategies for Emerging Business Environment taking cue from external and internal stake holders

POWER PEOPLE

29The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions - Confucius

30 To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short - Confucius

Experience of Participation in

organised by: POWER HR FORUM

Annual Competitions

Q4E KeepsEnthusiasm Alive

It was awesome experience to participate in Q4E-Quest 4 Excellence

arranged by Power HR Forum on Dec 21, 2012. We are thankful to

Power HR Forum for providing such a platform to cultivate management

skills and creative business ideas. Our personal thinking is that apart

from regular desk work, these kind of creative competitions are really

needed among employees to keep their enthusiasm alive.

It is not only about winning the trophy. It’s all about overcoming the

anxiety to address a group of learned people and allowing our potential

to come out to the fullest. It’s about improving our persuasive skills to

leaps and bounds in getting out of tricky questionnaire of judges and

audience. It’s about understanding that a successful presentation is the

conglomeration of proper tailoring the context to fit the theme and a

spontaneous flow of language. And of course, keeping the team spirit

high to act as a team player.

This competition made us search more about the business scenario in

the Power Sector of India, some ABCDs of management studies, and

obviously a lot about my company itself in depth. It’s a National Level

platform where you can freely contribute ideas for the betterment of

organizations, which in turn imbibes a feeling of attachment to the

organization. We found this initiation of Power HR Forum very effective

for personal development in respect of managerial skill and competency

enhancement.

We convey my sincere thanks to Power HR Forum for this opportunity

and our organization NHPC to nominate us for the same.

NHPCAnindita Chaudhuri & Azeera A. AzeezAward own - Special Jury

It is our great pleasure to express our experiences regarding the participation to

Q4E contest- 2012 and winning the best emerging team award.

Nothing could be expressed if some thing is not important, some thing could be

expressed if every thing is important and any thing could be expressed if nothing

is important.

We do believe in expression and feed backs that can create the healthy

environment and remind for fine tuning the practices to reach the goal. Our

experiences were so enchanting that to describe them in language is becoming

very difficult. The hospitability extended to wards us regarding the stay at PMI

Kabir House was really marvelous, particularly the dinning system, foods and

behaviors of the staffs and the punctuality they maintain to attend the guests

during their stay. Then comes to speak regarding the competition Q4E- 2012, it

was conducted in very well organized manner with real time extension of

information to the participants. The judges were cordial and very interactive to

the discussions; comments were also very informative for implantation in real

field of the competitive world. We were the debutant to the competition Q4E, the

experience of Prize winning was definitely an overwhelming moment for us.

We believe with our suggestions and extend the views for a small change in Q4E

competition format and request to introduce at least a GROUP DISCUSSION of

15/20 minutes, along with the present concepts of presentation and deliberation.

This OPEN FORUM discussion could help every competitor to exchange the

views and prove the instant leadership capacity of the groups. The topic for

discussion could be same as presented or the topic chosen by judges. Both the

performances could be considered for the final evaluation of the team. In overall,

the arrangement and organization of the competition was really to the best of its

mark and we wish all the best of success to POWER HR FORUM and its team and

extend our heartfelt sincere thanks to prosper further in future.

OPTCLB.R. MishraP.K. Pattanaik &Harapriya BeheraAward own - Best New Promising

31Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors - Confucius

Q2E ProvidesSpirit of Togetherness

Q2E is one of the most respected quizzing event as far as inter-PSU

competition is concerned and known for its finger gripping competition and

nail biting finishes. We came to Q2E 2012 with some good experience at our

back as Team SJVN had finished 2nd Runner-up in Q2E 2011. Being runner

ups, we were under a little pressure as well to improve our last year’s

performance.

Coming to the event it was conducted on Sep 21, 2012. It was akin to a

riveting thriller, that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats with all its

twists and turns, except of course, instead of being the audience we were

glad to be playing the lead characters! What mattered was not just the

knowledge but also how well one handled the pressure. To give an idea of the

situation there - the top position was decided only after the last question had

been answered that too by a team that was not even in the fray for the top-

two positions. The fact that only 5 marks separated the top two teams is

itself a testimony of how close and competitive it was.

We would like to put on record our admiration for the quiz masters - Mr. K. M.

Prashanth & Mr. Sujit Varkey - who being seasoned quizzers themselves

bring a nice blend of experience and yet excitement to the event. Through

their wit and humor they not only add flavor to the quiz but help keep the

stress levels low for the teams. As part of our preparation we had gone

through the questions asked in various quizzes, but we were in for a shock

as not even a single question from those quizzes was asked; it says a lot

about the kind of hard work that went in the preparation of quiz.

As a precursor to the event, a workshop-cum mock quiz was organized at

Shimla on the request of SJVN, needless to say it proved to be a great help.

We are eternally thankful to SJVN management and especially our Director

(Personnel) for holding this workshop and all the encouragement and

support extended to us. We may like to clarify that no questions were

repeated in the main event held at Noida.

The organizing team too deserves accolades for organizing the whole event

in such a smooth manner without any glitches and offering such generous

prize money. All in all it was great experience; we look forward to defend our

title in Q2E-2013 and come out again with flying colors.

Atul Harkut &Raghubir SinghAward own - Winner

SJVN

This dates back to 2005. We came to know that our HR Division had

organized a written test for short listing two women teams for an event

called Q2E(Quizzing to Excellence) organized by Power HR Forum which is

an Inter Power PSU Quiz Competition which is organized annually . It was

later that we realized that it was more than just quizzing , it is a platform

which provides a pedestal to working professionals for stimulating

management intellect and inquisitiveness.. It was during this short listing

that both of us were paired as a team for the main event. Thus our journey as

partners started from there and we have been together as team since then.

During the course of preparation, both of us realized that we complement

each other so well. One is brilliant at visual rounds which the other dreads.

The first quizzing event at Power HR Forum was our foray into formal

quizzing arena and our first experience of quizzing outside NHPC. We had

butterflies in the stomach but had to put up a brave face as we were not

college girls out to have fun but representing our organization at an outside

forum. Our first quiz and we were the second runners up. This was a great

boost to our morale. Quizzing has become a passion now. We have plans to

participate in other quizzes for corporates organized from time to time. We

usually divide the subject matters at the beginning keeping in mind individual

strengths and weaknesses. We sit together during lunch time around a

month before for a complete brush up. The major references are Business

Week and Business Today Magazines for current business events

snapshots. Then Wikipedia and Google are a great help once we shortlist the

major topics/ events. This time our esteemed quiz masters Mr. Prashanth

and Mr. Virkey had suggested that we should read The Economic Times

daily. We are trying to include this in our daily routine though that pink print is

not so reader friendly. To begin with, we have started with the online version

of the same. I guess we keep up with it. Power HR Forum gave us a stepping

stone and an initial push in to the world of quizzing. This start made us win

the recently concluded AIMA quiz called PRAGATI - 2013 held at LE-

Meridian on 9th March, 2013 with 75 participant teams from big corporates

like NTPC, PGCIL, REC, SAIL, IOCL & EIL etc., Pvt. Sector companies and

students from many MBA institutes .We strongly feel that quizzing is a fun

way to learn and grow and hope that the young minds stay ignited through

this initiative by Power HR Forum.

Manisha Srivastava &Anita Madan

ndAward own - 2 Runner up

NHPC

32 What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others - Confucius

Power HR Forum organized a Business Game “EnterPRIZE for the

organizations in the Indian power sector and teams from BBMB, DVC,

NHPC, NTPC, REC, SJVN and THDCIL participated in the competitions from

17-20 July, 2012 in two batches. Our team representing THDCIL,

comprising self in the role of CEO, Sh. Ajay Kumar Kansal as Chief Marketing

Officer (CMO), Sh. Vishal Sharia as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Sh.

Neelesh Nema as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) were invited in the 2nd batch

along with one team each from BBMB, NTPC & REC and two teams from

NHPC besides the second team from THDCIL.

The Game was conducted by Dr. Vinod Dumblekar, MANTIS in five sessions

with each session spanning 60 to 90 minutes representing one Quarter

spread over two days. Each team was required to manage companies

producing cars and submit their decisions on Management Action Plan

(MAP) in each Quarter regarding production of different varieties of cars,

raw material purchase, advertisement expenses, dealer commissions, unit

selling price, bank overdraft, credit policy, freebies, training etc. to increase

Wealth of the organization.

The sales of the products depended upon market demand, advertisement,

pricing of the product, availability of the product in the market through timely

submission of the MAP, brand name etc.

The performance of the teams was evaluated based on various parameters

given below;

1. Operating Efficiencies: Sales revenue performance, efficiency of

credit policy, efficiency of advertisement and plant operations.

2. Cash Management: Cash flow, cash balance.

3. Leadership: Delegation of tasks, supervision of roles, coordination

and project management.

4. Competitive Growth: Improvement in sales, Improvement in Profit

after Tax and industry leadership depending upon improvement in

Wealth.

In the first Quarter as there was only one variety of carz number of decisions

required to be taken was less and every team was in a hurry to submit their

MAP in order to garner the points awarded for leadership. In the second

Quarter there were two varieties of carz and also there was competitive

bidding for purchase of plant. We enjoyed the bidding process and also won

the bid for the only additional plant after strategically entering into the fray at

a late stage. In the third Quarter, a new product was launched and all the

team members were actively involved discussing various issues in the

pricing of the product. Eventually no carz of the new product could be sold in

that Quarter as our price turned out to be the highest as none of the other

teams had accounted for the research and development cost incurred in the

making of new product. Although we were leading at the end of the third

Quarter on the first day our team was a bit disappointed as we had

squandered the substantial lead that we had built after the results of the first

Quarter.

In the fourth Quarter, there was competitive bidding for an export order and

we won that bid also by quoting the lowest price. We quoted lower prices in

order to increase the quantum of sales to offset the additional production

capacity available with us. Through this tactics we were able to outscore the

other teams in the fourth Quarter also. In the fifth and final Quarter, we were

required to take a decision on two different training programs, one in which

the workforce would be trained to reduce manufacturing overheads and the

second in which salespersons would be trained to increase sales in addition

to other parameters on the MAP.

Though our team was placed second in the 2nd batch we gained a lot

through practicing the management skills and team work in the simulated

conditions of the market wherein the competitors strategies also influence

the decisions taken by us.

Finally, I thank THDCIL management for nominating me and also Power HR

Forum for organizing the excellent program and the delicacies served during

lunch and tea.

"enterPRIZE"Provided excellent

opportunity for team work

THDCILNatarajan KrishnaAward own - Best Learner

By: Jon Younger, Wayne Brockbank

and Mike Ullrich

published by: Tata Mc Grawhill 2012

This is another best seller in 2012 from Dave Ulrich with the title ‘HR from the

outside in - Six Competencies for the Future of Human Resource’ co-

authored by Jon Younger, Wayne Brockbank and Mike Ulrich. This has been

published in India by Tata Mc Grawhill

Many people surmise that, after the release of ‘HR Competencies’ in 2008

and ‘HR Transformation’ in 2009, why Dave Ulrich released this book; are

there anything significantly new? Well, in the 2012 HR competency study

made by RBL Group led by Dave Ulrich, more than 20,000 HR executives

participated worldwide. Many new findings came up. Based on these

findings, this new book has come up with the following key changes in

concepts and models.

2012 HR competency model as given below has been drastically changed

compared to the earlier 2007 model.

The authors mention that HR generalists declined from 61% in 1987 to 40%

in 2012.

The perception of an average line manager few years back was ‘neither I like

my HR person nor I like my HR’. Now a days this has shifted to ‘I like my HR

person, but I do not like HR’. HR can truly remove this mind-set if it

considers implementing some of the key findings mentioned hereinafter.

This research has answered to two critical questions namely how to

prioritise HR competencies and how to prioritise HR performance for

business impact. These are presented below.

Book Review:HR From the Outside in

H. P. Pal

33The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it; not having it, to confess your ignorance - Confucius

2007 HR Competencies

2012 HR Competencies

• Credible activist

Strategy Architect Culture and Change Steward

Talent Manager & Organisation Designer

Operational Executor

Business Ally

• Credible Activist

Strategic positioner

Change Champion

Capability Builder

HR

Innovator and Integrator

Technology Proponent

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

34 [The superior man] acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his actions - Confucius

To this end, two key points observed by the authors are - (1) “Connecting

people through technology has the greatest impact on business success of

any factor of any domain.” (2) “While HR professional’s competence

explains 8% of business performance, HR department’s effectiveness

explains four times (32%)”

In addition to above, some of the leading quotes/ best practices mentioned

in this book are produced below.

QUOTES

• The goal of HR is to turn strategy into talent, culture and leadership.

• Effective HR professionals tell us not only what the strategy is but how

it will be implemented.

• The average head of Human Resources in a Fortune 100 is a 53 year

old man with Bachelors Degree who spent 15 years with their current

employer and about half their work life in HR roles. SVP is their title, had

been VP immediately before. The most common HR experience to

have had is time in the workforce development function. One in five had

an overseas assignment, and almost a third had jobs that could be

described as directly involved in international operations. Just under a

third were hired into the top job from another company.

• But talent is only the part of the picture. Some HR professionals are

moving to call themselves “human capital specialists” and focus

exclusively on talent. We strongly disagree with this approach. We

believe that culture broadly defined, matters as much as talent to

sustained business success, if not more. The talent agenda focuses on

putting smart individuals in place; culture focuses on building smart

organizations that can make optimal use of smart individuals. HR

professionals should be cultural anthropologists who observe and

shape a work environment that sustains strategy.

• Balancing the trade off between people and business is not always

easy. HR professionals who go to their extreme create problems.

Overemphasis on people turns business enterprises into social

agencies that may lose their ability to meet market requirements.

Overemphasis on business drives results without attention to how they

are generated.

• What we mean by credible activists? - Credibility comes when HR

professionals focus their time and attention on the issues that matter to

the business, do what they promise, meet their obligations and

commitments, communicate effectively and build relationships of

trust with line managers and other colleagues, and demonstrate a

willingness to take professional and personal risks to create value for

the business.

• The adage is that the first mover in new products or services gets about

half the market, while the next four players split the rest.

• HR professionals need to build a compelling intellectual and emotional

case for change……The emotional case for change comes when

people see and feel the impact of the change on principles that matter

to them.

• Disagree without being disagreeable, debate without being

demeaning, learning to fight without leaving scars.

• Since culture and organization capability is more important to

business results than talent and individual ability, HR’s job is clear to

build a workplace, not just a workforce.

• In seminars with HR professionals we often ask how many were

placed in their present job through a thorough position-person

assessment; how many have had a career conversation with their

boss; how many have received a performance review; and how many

could articulate the vision of the HR function. Few hands goes up. It

turns out that HR professionals rarely do what they ask for others.

POWER PEOPLE

Book Review: HR From the Outside in

35The superior man acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his action - Confucius

• Instead of asking what % of leaders received 40 hours of training, ask

what capabilities the leadership training created.

BEST PRACTICES

• The HR learning partnership is an innovative product of RBL partners,

originally in collaboration with the university of Micihigan. It is a version

of an HR academy, but with an innovative twist; it engages teams of HR

leaders from across companies and industries. Thus in a given year,

GE HR leaders learn in conjunction with colleagues from (for example)

Pfizer, the BBC, Uniliver and Shell. This combined participation

significantly advances the potential for accelerated development and

transfer of innovation. In this example, BBC is a fabled creative

organization, while GE is as effective as any organization in the world of

six sigma.

• In BPS Division - Employees are not allowed into classroom training

unless they clear a few computer generated self tests well above the

cut-off scores. Weekly tests and their scores over time are captured

and made transparent.

• HUL is a firm believer in “wealth at the bottom of the pyramid”. It seeks

to mass market to individuals at the bottom of the socioeconomic

ladder, so it has a potential disconnect between its future leaders and

the customers they will serve. How does HUL bridge the gap? It sends

management trainees recruits to live with poor families in remote

villages - for up to six months. As they live with these families, the

trainees experience their customers firsthand. The customer

experience not only goes into their heads, but it also goes into their

hearts.

This highly researched book is a treasure any core HR professional will love

to explore. Let me close this with one leading recommendations of Dave -

“We like to ask HR professionals to name the company’s top 5 customers,

investors and partners and then explain why these stakeholders choose to

deal with their company. ” “We recommend that HR professional dedicate

about 5% of their time to working with customers or their surrogates.”

From organisation point of view, the difference between a Line manager and

a HR manager is as mentioned below.

Accordingly, the biggest scorecard for next generation HR department could

be – How many man hour an average HR manager in your HR function

spends with internal and external customers. How you integrate it in every

HR manager’s KRA could be the key to your HR function’s success and also

the competitive advantage of your business.

He can be reached at:hppal6@gmail.com

H. P. PALManager (HRD),POWERGRID

POWER PEOPLE

Book Review: HR From the Outside in

36 Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance - Confucius

The turnover and profits of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), the

state-owned firm which has been recently granted Maharatna

status, have steadily risen since 2009-10, Parliament was informed

on Thursday.

BHEL Turnover Rose Steadily Since 2009-10, Says Govt

[Source: The Economic Times, March 15, 2013]

NTPC and Power Grid to invest Rs.40,000 cr in 2013-14 while govt

to providers Rs.10,000-cr budgetary support

Equipment manufacturers and contractors will count on state firms

for large orders next fiscal as power sector giants plan to invest

Rs.50,000 crore in various projects, although the private sector has

been stymied by fuel scarcity and distribution problems. According

to government sources, major chunk of these investments will come

from internal and extra budgetary resources of public sector

undertakings (PSUs) while the government will pump in close to

Rs.10,000 crore through gross budgetary support.

Power PSUs to Invest Rs.50k Cr

[Source: The Economic Times, February 18, 2013]

NEW DELHI Subscribers of the New Pension Scheme can now time

the withdrawal of their money when leaving the income security

plan, the pension fund regulator has said, moving away from the

earlier facility of phased withdrawal. The decision, announced by the

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) on

Thursday, comes into effect immediately.

Pension Scheme Allows Lump Sum Withdrawal on Exit

[Source: The Economic Times, March 15, 2013]

NEWS OF INTEREST FORHR FRATERNITY

But Arbitration Court imposes conditions

New Delhi: In a major decision, the Court of Arbitration at The Hague

has allowed India to go ahead with the construction of the Rs.3600

crore Kishengaga hydroelectric Project in North Kashmir, rejecting

Pakistan’s plea that this was a violation of the 1960 Indus Water

Treaty.

India can go ahead with Kishenganga

[Source: The Hindu, February 19, 2013]

NTPC will be responsible for funding the entire development of

the geothermal power plant

Raipur: The Chhattisgarh government has decided to establish the

first geothermal power plant of the country in the newly formed

Balrampur district of the state. A memorandum of understanding in

this connection was signed between National Thermal Power Corp.

(NTPC) and Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency

(CREDA). “State government has granted permission for the

installation of a Geothermal Power Plant at Tattapani area of the

Balrampur district to NTPC.

India’s first geothermal plant to come up in Chhattisgarh

[Source: Mint, February 18, 2013]

New Delhi, Feb 3: In order to promote human resource development

practices across sectors in India and over 30 nations, IFTDO in

collaboration with the central government will hold a four-day

conference from April 23 to provide cross cultural and multi-

disciplinary experience.

Delhi to host global HR meet in April

[Source: The Financial Express, February 04, 2013]

37When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them - Confucius

NEW DELHI: India plans to develop a forecasting model for energy

demand and supply that will help in policy decisions. The model, on

the lines of UK's Energy Calculator 2050, will be available to industry

and researchers. "The proposal has in-principle approval of the

Prime Minister and the task to set up a model is entrusted to Planning

Commission," a senior government official said.

India plans to develop a forecasting model for

energy demand and supply

[Source: Economic Times: January 15, 2013]

New Delhi: With the job scenario looking grim, the labour ministry

has prepared a National Employment Policy (NEP) that may outline a

raft of changes in labour laws and industrial policies to boost

employment and ensure good working conditions for workers. The

new job policy will be in conformity with the 12th Plan growth target,

and might propose changes in various laws like the Minimum Wages

Act, Contract Labour Act and EPF Act to bring a major chunk of

workers in unorganized sectors under the ambit of the formal sector.

Government framing new policy to boost jobs

[Source: Financial Express, December 30, 2012]

New Delhi: Carrying its disinvestment policy forward, the

government today authorised the National Investment Fund (NIF) to

buy shares of public sector enterprises, including banks and

insurance companies.

Government authorizes National Investment Fund

to buy shares of PSUs

[Source: The Financial Express: January 18, 2013]

New Delhi: In an attempt to make power plants using imported coal

viable, the government will recast its coal allocation policy to ensure

that all such projects that have reached advanced levels of

completion get up to 30% of their fuel requirements through

indigenously produced coal.

Coal policy recast to aid projects nearing completion

[Source: The Financial Express, January 14, 2013]

Recruiters continue to look beyond top B-schools

Delhi’s St Stephens College has reported a top salary offer of Rs.19

lakh per annum for a student graduating this year, beating previous

records and even topping average salaries offered at the leading

Indian Institutes of Management. The offer, made by an international

bank for a job at its India operations, is about a third higher than last

year’s top offer of Rs.14.30 lakh.

Top Salary Offer at Stephens Beats Avg IIM Salaries

[Source: The Economic Times, February 02, 2013]

New Delhi: The ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) is working on

developing an ‘exhaustive’ and ‘interactive’ form as part of the

standard template that all companies will have to fill while reporting

their projects and proposed spends on the soon-to-be mandatory

corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Under the proposed

template, companies will have to disclose details of financial status,

CSR project details, budget allocation, time line, details on

permission required for implementations of projects and CSR

corpus among others.

MCA readying self-reporting CSR template

[Source: The Financial Express: January 22, 2013]

New Delhi, 1 January: The government has come up with a set of

guidelines for independent directors on boards of public sector units,

defining their roles and responsibilities aimed at improving corporate

governance in state-owned companies. Earlier, the Department of

Public Enterprises (DPE) had not defined these norms for non-

official Directors appointed on boards of Central Public Sector

Enterprises (CPSEs).

Govt unveils norms for independent PSU directors

[Source: Business Standard: January 02, 2013]

POWER PEOPLE

NEWS OF INTEREST FOR HR FRATERNITY

38 Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance - Confucius

POWER PEOPLE

New Delhi, 19 February: India is set to add 17,461 Mw of power

capacity this financial year (2012- 13), the power ministry has

announced. This would be the second- highest achievement in a

year after the 20,500 Mw addition in 2011-12.

Power capacity addition to be 17,461 Mw

[Source: Business Standard, February 20, 2013]

The retirement savings accumulated in your employees’ provident

fund (EPF) account would fetch a return of 8.5% in 2012-13, labour

and employment minister announced on Monday at a meeting of the

board of trustees of the EPF organization.

Your EPF Savings to Earn 8.5% This Year

[Source: The Economic Times, February 26, 2013]

Dr U D Choubey, DG, SCOPE while addressing the 39th Annual

General Meeting mentioned that SCOPE will launch “PSU TV

Channel” to reach all areas of India.

SCOPE to launch ‘PSU TV Channel’

[Source: corporate buzz: Hindustan times, January 04, 2013]

NEW DELHI: The Power Ministry has directed all state governments

to ensure that power utilities are ready with crisis management plans

for restoring normalcy in the "shortest possible time" in case of

disruptions in generation, transmission or distribution of electricity.

Government asks all power utilities to prepare

crisis management plans

[Source: The Economic Times, January 20, 2013]

ONGC has retained the top position in the coveted list of 10 most

profit-making PSUs, while BSNL was the biggest loss-making state-

run company in 2011-12, according to a government survey.

Power major NTPC is the second biggest profit-making state-run

company, the same position as in 2010-11 survey.

Among PSUs, ONGC No.1 profit-maker

[Source: The Financial Express, March 06, 2013]

New Delhi: It is going to be tough for residential and commercial

complex managements to find a private security guard who

complies with every condition stipulated by the Centre. On Monday,

the Centre told the Supreme Court that persons above 65 years of

age and those dismissed from service for misconduct or moral

turpitude cannot be employed as private security guards.

Persons above 65 yrs can’t be guards: Govt

[Source: The Times of India, February 26, 2013]

New Delhi: The Cabinet on Thursday will consider a bill providing for

time bound delivery of services like pensions, passports, caste

certificates, ration cards and tax refunds with a penalty of Rs 250 a

day subject to a maximum of Rs 50,000 for default.

Soon, babus who delay services may face fines

[Source: The Times of India, March 07, 2013]

New Delhi: Power Finance Corp (PFC) has said its board would

discuss applying for a bank licence, as the state-run lending agency

meets the norms for setting up commercial bank which were issued

by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week.

PFC keen on setting up bank; to discuss matter soon

[Source: Mint, February 25, 2013]

NEWS OF INTEREST FOR HR FRATERNITY

NEEPCO has been conferred “Miniratna: Category-I” status by

Government of India on April 8, 2013.

NEEPCO awarded “Miniratna” status

[Source: Press Release by NEEPCO]

POWER PEOPLE

39Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without - Confucius

NEWS OF INTEREST FOR HR FRATERNITY

Kolkata, 30 March: In a first- of- its- kind attempt, the Indian

Institutes of Management (IIMs) are planning to introduce ‘smart

classes’, which could be shared among all centres of the institute

online. The move, aimed at beating the faculty crunch, is expected to

involve global universities, too.

Smart classes: IIMs to share faculty online

[Source: Business Standard, March 31, 2013]

New Delhi, 29 March: In a significant victory for the proxy advisory

movement in India, state- owned Power Grid Corporation is seeking

shareholder approval to alter a key statutory document. PowerGrid

has issued a postal ballot notice, under which it seeks to amend

Articles of Association (AoA), the document governing internal

affairs of a company, under the Companies Act. PowerGrid is the

first Indian company to accept a suggestion by a proxy advisory firm

and act on it.

PowerGrid seeks shareholder nod to alter articles

[Source: Business Standard, March 30, 2013]

To beat the economic slowdown and keep wage bills under check,

Indian firms are gradually moving more towards raising variable pay

in compensation packages, say human resource experts.

Get set for more variable pay

[Source: htbusiness, April 12, 2013]

POWERGRID with the support of Ministry of Power and IEEMA,

organized GRIDTECH 2013, a 4th international Exhibition cum

conference at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

POWERGRID organizes GRIDTECH 2013

[Source: The Hindustan Times, Corporate buzz, April 5, 2013]

CMD, NTPC Limited inaugurated the commencement of commercial

operation of 5MW Solar Power Plant at NTPC Dadri. This is the first

solar power plant of NTPC, a new beginning in renewal energy

sector.

NTPC inaugurates solar power plant at NTPC Dadri

[Source: Hindustan Times – Corporate buzz, April 02, 2013]

Delhi University’s Academic Council on Monday gave its nod to

convert the coveted three-year undergraduate Programme into four

years, with the entire structure of the traditional course coming in for

a major overhaul come June. “The course will give the student the

option to quit after two years with an associate degree, quit after

three years with a bachelor’s degree and if the student completes all

four years, then an honours degree. Sports and cultural activities will

form part of the curriculum and the course will be multi-disciplinary

which allows the student to choose his subject across streams”

DU Academic Council approves four-year undergraduate course

[Source: The Hindu, March 26, 2013]

Companies that treat their employees as appreciating assets and

offer them better benefits and opportunities compared with peers are

more competitive with little or no long-term impact on operational

costs, suggests a study commissioned by the Planning

Commission. The study by management consultants Bain &

Company is based on a survey of the human resources practices of

23 top Indian employers.

Taking Care of Staff Gives Cos Edge: Study

[Source: The Economic Times, April 5, 2013]

Iconic landmarks and skylines were plunged into darkness on

Saturday as the “Earth hour” switch-off lights around the world got

under way to raise awareness of climate change.

World participates in ‘Earth Hour 2013”

[Source: The Economic Times, March 24, 2013]

40 It is only the wisest and the stupidest that cannot change - Confucius

Management QUIZ

10. “Have fun, make money” was the ad that Steve Jobs saw and walked

into the lobby of video game manufacturer – founded by Nolan

Bushnell – and demanded a job. Name the Video game manufacturer?

11. Which famous Indian featured in Apple’s “Think Different” campaign

alongside Einstein, Picasso, Edison, Chaplin and Martin Luther King

12. Kasturbhai Lalbhai played a major role in setting up which now famous

educational institution?

13. From which Indian royal family did Walchand Hirachand acquire his

first shipping line in 1919?

14. What is common to Rahul Bajaj, Ram Charan, P Chidambaram, Naina

Lal Kidwai and Rajat Gupta?

15. Who was the author of the books “THE FOUNTAINHEAD” & “ATLAS

SHRUGGED” who stressed fierce individualism and who had a major

influence on former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan?

1. He is an internationally respected leadership authority, teacher and

chairman and founder of a leadership centre. He is also the author of

best sellers like SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE and

PRINCIPLE CENTRED LEADERSHIP. Name him

2. Dr Varghese Kurien, after completing his Bachelors in Mechanical

Engineering from the University of Madras, joined the Technical

Institute of which Company?

3. The authorized audio book of I TOO HAD A DREAM about Dr Varghese

Kurien is based on his autobiography. What was the title of his

autobiography?

4. For the working capital of which company did the two founders sell

their Volkswagen van and programmable calculator? (Company name

only)

5. Which Indian President laid the foundation stone of India’s first modern

dairy, that of Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union?

6. Deputed to the Govt of India’s experimental creamery, at Anand in

Gujarat’s Kheda district, Dr Kurien had already made up his mind to

quit, but was persuaded to stay back by a gentleman, who served as

his mentor, guide and inspiration. Name the gentleman?

7. In 2010, Google formed a new social innovation unit that it describes

as a THINK/DO Tank, which is aimed at harnessing the company’s

innovation prowess and convening power to tackle society’s most

pressing problems, such as nuclear proliferation and failed states.

What is this social innovation unit called?

8. Of what significance is April 1st (April Fool’s Day) in Apple’s history?

9. He is the author of STEVE JOBS, EINSTEIN;HIS LIFE AND UNIVERSE,

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN:AN AMERICAN LIFE and KISSINGER:AN

AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Name this famous yet low profile author?

1.STEVEN COVEY2.TATA STEEL3.I TOO HAD A DREAM4.APPLE – Jobs’ van and Woz calculator5.Dr Rajendra Prasad6.Tribhuvandas Patel7.Google Ideas8.The day Apple was founded9.Walter Isaacson10.Atari11.Mahatma Gandhi12.IIM Ahmedabad13.Scindias14.Harvard Business School15.Ayn Rand

Answer

41I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand - Confucius

thGlimpse of 14 Governing Body Meeting -BBMB, Chandigarh on February 11, 2013

Forum in Frames

42 To see what is right and not to do it, is want of courage - Confucius

Cartoons

Cartoons

43He who merely knows right principles is not equal to him who loves them - Confucius

44 The superior man is modest in his speech but exceeds in his actions - Confucius

Management Booksby: Patrick M. Lencioni

Title Cover Author Publisher Price in `Why you should

read this

Overcoming the five dysfunctions of a team

Wiley India 249 For giving more information on how to overcome the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, the author offers more specific, practical guidance using tools and real-world examples. He examines fundamental questions that all teams must ask themselves: Are we really a team? How are we currently performing? etc

Patrick M. Lencioni

Death By Meeting: A Leadership Fable……. about solving the most painful problem in business

299 It's a quick, engrossing book that explores the keys to holding meetings that improve the morale, effectiveness, and bottom line of an organization. Through a story, the author shows how the protagonist turned meetings from painful and tedious to productive, compelling, and energizing with help of a young man.

Patrick M. Lencioni Wiley India

Silos, Politics and Turf Wars: A Leadership fable about destroying the barriers that turn colleagues into competitors

Wiley India 329 The author addresses the costly and maddening issue of silos, the barriers that create organizational politics, in a story form. The hero of the story, through trial and error, develops a simple yet ground-breaking approach for transforming confusion and infighting into clarity and alignment.

Patrick M. Lencioni

The five temptations of a CEO: A Leadership fable

Patrick M. Lencioni Times Business Series

345 Tale of a young CEO who, facing his first annual board review, knows he is failing, but doesn't know why. Written to be read in one sitting, the tale serves as a timeless reminder that success as a leader can come down to practicing a few simple behaviors--behaviors that are painfully difficult for each of us to master.

The four obsessions of an extraordinary executive: the four disciplines at the heart of making any organization world class

Patrick M. Lencioni Wiley India 299 The main character of this story faces a leadership challenge so great that it threatens to topple his company, his career, and everything he holds true about leadership itself. The author helps his readers understand the disarming simplicity and power of creating organizational health, and reveals four key disciplines that they can follow to achieve it.

45It is not possible for one to teach others who cannot teach his own family - Confucius

The five dysfunctions of a team: A leadership fable

Patrick M. Lencioni Wiley India 350 This is a must read for anyone who owns a team - be it any field. The situation inform of a fiction is very close to real life the solutions presented can be followed easily.

Title Cover Author Publisher Price in `Why you should

read this

POWER PEOPLE

Getting naked: A business fable about shedding the three fears that sabotage client loyalty

495 The author explains the principles of inspiring client loyalty through a fascinating business fable. The story follows a small consulting firm, which often beats out big-name competitors for top clients. One such competitor buys out Lighthouse and learns important lessons about what it means to provide value to its clients.

Wiley IndiaPatrick M. Lencioni

The Advantage: Why organizational health trumps everything else in business

The book features the most unexploited opportunity in modern business. In his immensely readable and accessible style, Lencioni makes the case that there is no better way to achieve profound improvement in an organization than by attacking the root causes of dysfunction, politics and confusion.

Patrick M. Lencioni 499Collins Business-Wiley

The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (And Their Employees)

1418 Through a story, author reveals the three elements that make work miserable: irrelevance, immeasurability, and anonymity. The book includes a detailed model examining the three signs of job misery and how they can be remedied. It offers examples of how managers can use the examples in the book to deal with specific jobs and situations.

Patrick M. Lencioni John Wiley

Management Books by: Patrick M. Lencioni

SP Singh personifies the word ‘excellence’. A

towering personality of over 6 feet, Mr Singh

believes in leading by example. He has always

admirably demonstrated the use of leadership

process and delegation to achieve excellence.

Innovation and improvisation have been the

hallmarks of his career.

Mr Singh began his professional career as a

Trainee Engineer and he bade us adieu as a board

member of the largest Maharatna Company of the

Indian power sector. His professional acumen,

values and transparent leadership qualities have

been instrumental in his success at every

position he occupied. Mr Singh’s commitment to

his work knows no boundaries and he has always

stood by his commitments despite very hectic

schedules.

His last appointment at NTPC involved managing

a work force of over 25,000. Mr Singh has always

been a proponent of strategic HR. He introduced

the concept of ‘Reverse mentoring’ at NTPC.

Some of his efforts have already showed results

but, as in the case of any HR intervention more

Former - President, Power HR Forum &Director HR, NTPC

Sh. S. P. Singh

results will be experienced in the coming years.

NTPC ranked third overall and first among PSUs

in “Great place to work” survey in the year 2012

during his tenure.

His stint as a Director HR, NTPC has been

commendable for Power HR Forum. He believed

in Forum activities and followed the principals of

the Vedanta which says that “your home should

be centre and not the boundary of your affection”.

He helped other smaller Power PSUs who are the

member of our Forum, with all support required

from time to time. Mr Singh provided necessary

support to smaller power PSUs by sharing of

knowledge about new policy intervention being

adopted by NTPC. Mr Singh superannuated from

NTPC on 28th February, 2013.

The Forum will always remember and be thankful

for his valued contributions as the president of

Power HR forum. We, at the Forum, wish him

Godspeed and a smooth sailing during his future

endeavors.

46 What the superior man seeks is in himself. What the mean man seeks is in others - Confucius

Power Luminaryof the Quarter

Give Your Ability and Experience a Chance to Reach Out

BackgroundPower People is a leading management journal published by Power HR Forum with the objective to share the unique and embedded knowledge of management professionals in every walk of life to improve the competitive position of both professionals and organizations.

The journal publishes:• Practical articles that describe effective practices of leading companies;• Reports on new theories that have the potential to advance strategy

development and implementation;• Interviews with corporate leaders about their view point in new developments

and on issues/tools related to better corporate performance;• Case studies in dealing with any HR problem in any organization;• Review of leading literatures/best sellers;• Management quiz, humor; and• New developments / happenings that are a source of concern or learning.

The Journal shall be published four times a year.

Author RequirementsThe editor requires ar ticles to be submitted initially via e-mail to powerhrforum@gmail.com. You can also submit your articles to: Power HR Forum Secretariat, At: Power Management Institute, NTPC, 5- 14, Sector 16-A, NOIDA 201301

While submitting the article please ensure the following:• Please categorize your article under one of these classifications: Research

Paper, View Point, Concept Paper, Case Study, Literature Review, Survey Reports.

• Your articles should be between 1000 and 3000 words for concept papers, research papers, view points, case studies, and survey reports and between 350-1000 words in case of Literature Review.

• All authors should mention their e-mail address and contact details including telephone number plus a professional biography of 30-40 words.

• Authors should submit an abstract structured into six sub-headings: Purpose, Methodology, Approach findings, Research limitations/ implications if applicable, Practical implications, if applicable and the originality and value of the paper. Maximum words for this section shall be 250.

• In addition, please provide up to six key words that capture the principal topics of the paper.

• The article's sub-heads should be short. Only the first word should be capitalized.

• Please present each figure and table on a separate sheet of paper, gathering them together at the end of the article. Distinguish between figures (diagrams) and tables (statistical material) and number them in separate sequences, i.e., `Figure 8' and `Table 8'. Please use short and crisp titles and headings in tables and figures. The units used should be stated and the source should be stated at the foot of the table. Notes relating to the table should be placed after the source. Give reference of each figure or table in the text itself (e.g., `as shown in Figure 2'), as well as indicate the margin where the figure or table should go (`Fig. 2 near here'). Ensure that all words, place names, etc. in the tables and figures are spelt in exactly the same way as they are in the text. Lay out parallel tables in similar ways using similar wording. Ensure that the units of measurement are stated and check any totals or averages.

• Exhibits should convey important information that is not duplicated in the text of the article. They should be in black and white with minimum shading and numbered consecutively with succinct captions. The exhibits should be provided electronically and their proper place in the text should be indicated, i.e Exhibit 1 goes here. Artwork should be either copied or pasted from the original software into a blank Microsoft Word document or saved and imported into a blank Microsoft Word document. Artwork may be submitted in the following standard image formats: .psd, .pdf, and .ai. If it is not possible to supply graphics in the formats listed above, authors should ensure that figures supplied as .tif, .gif, .jpeg, .bmp or in any other format can be converted to

above mentioned format and should be of at least 300 dpi and at least 10cm wide. Further, it is crucial that all text in the artworks corresponds to the text of the article in spelling and style.

• Please obtain permission to reproduce any figures or photographs that are not your own copyright. Similarly, permission may be required for quotations beyond the limits of ̀ fair dealing'.

• References embedded in the text or in the anthropological style for example `(Moon 1994)' or `(Moon 1994: 45)' (Note: page numbers in the text are necessary only if the cited portion is a direct quote). Citations should be first alphabetical and then chronological, for example ̀ (Moon 1994; Sandee 1995, 1997; Zander 1993)'. More than one reference of the same date for one author should be cited as ̀ (Moon 1994a, 1994b)'.

• Book reviews must contain the name of the author and title/sub-title of the book reviewed, place of publication and publisher, date of publication, number of pages and price. Please follow the style: Stephen R. Covey, Principle-Centred Leadership: London: Simon and Schuster Ltd., 1992, 326 pp., $29.95. The text of the reviews should also be typed in double space. Books reviewers must also provide their affiliation and designation and complete mailing address.

• Endnotes should be used where necessary and must be identified in the text by consecutive numbers, and listed at the end of the article.

• Article for the Journal should be original contributions and should not be under consideration for any other publication at the same time.

• Authors submitting articles for publication warrant that the work is not an infringement of any existing copyright and will indemnify the publisher against any breach of such warranty.

The Reviewing ProcessThe editors of Power People have extensive experience in the field of management. The submitted articles will be reviewed by a team of top level industry practitioners/senior academicians at prestigious business schools and other authorities. The final decision whether and when to publish is at the discretion by the editor.

Copyright PolicyPrior to publication authors may provide the Managing Editor of Power People written permission to copyright their article. The author provides this permission to Power People by signing the Journal Article Record form available in www.powerhrforum.org. This enables the publisher of Power People to distribute the author's published research via a number of means to a wide range of readers to take advantage of new technologies as they rise, to distribute and store the author's work and to protect the authors from copyright and moral rights violation.

Power People does not restrict the author's right to reuse or distribute their own work. Authors who assign their copyright to Power People retain unlimited free reproduction rights for their own work. Authors do not give up their rights to use, republish or reproduce their work for course notes in another journal or as a book chapter, or electronically include in their own/institutional website subject to acknowledging first publication details. Authors who publish their article with Power People are not required to seek its permission with regard to subsequent use of their own work.

Final Publication of the ArticleOnce an article is accepted, a final version of the manuscript will be prepared for publication. The Managing Editor will supervise the editing process in coordination with the author. In order to be published each article must be accompanied by a completed and signed Journal Article Record Form available online at www.powerhrforum.org or on request from the editor. The final manuscript prepared by the editor and shared with the author will be considered to be the definitive version of an article. Before final publication the author, if desires, will have an opportunity to review it to ensure that it is complete, grammatically correct and without spelling or typographical errors. For a detailed guideline in this regard please visit.

www.powerhrforum.org

Your article in “Power People” shall now reach an audience covering all employees in Indian Power Sector, leading PSUs in other sectors, students and faculties in reputed business schools.