RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS SOCIETY-2

Manager have much to learn by emulating the example of Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (IPCL), a government undertaking, which is playing a very positive and active role in fulfilling its social responsibility.

A truly responsible manager not only takes steps to prevent or minimize any negative impact of his firm’s operations on the society, but also takes the initiative in playing a more positive role towards society. Tata Steel’s attempts at educating people about leprosy through advertisements in newspapers and magazines is an example of the useful and constructive role firms can play in creating a more harmonious society. Many companies have founded educational institutions and free medical facilities for the benefit of society at large. Irrespective of the motivation behind such acts, the result is a tangible benefit for use by all society members.

In times of calamities such as earthquakes and floods, many companies finance teams of doctors and rescue workers for relief work. In our aim towards a peaceful and prosperous society we need business firms who are willing to step our of the narrow confines of their offices into the larger arena of society and take bold decisive actions to create a better quality of life for all of us

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS SOCIETY-1

The pattern and extent of rainfall is changing, leading to frequent droughts in widespread areas. Rare species of animals, birds and plants have become extinct in the wake of the destruction of their natural habitat. People are deprived of their traditional means of livelihood and the rich cultural heritage is destroyed for ever.

All this does not imply that there should be no factories, industry or no economic development. Certainly we need development, economic as well as ecological and environmental. The solution lies in matching economic development with development of the environment. When a firm puts up its factory it must also install a plant for treating and disposing of its industrial waste. When timber merchant cuts 15 trees he must plant at least that many new saplings. Offices who want to use roller shades and woven wood shades and other blinds it looks good if they plan that many new plants in their areas. Nature’s resources are limited. When we consume them faster than they can be replenished or provided anew, it is our responsibility to ensure that our children inherit a world which is healthy, green and safe for all living creatures. 

It is your responsibility as a manager to make sure that the operations of your firm do not in any way obstruct, disturb, disrupt or destroy physical structures (historical buildings, monuments), the flora and fauna, and animal and human life.

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS SOCIETY

Apart form the specific society segments with whom the firm interacts in the course of conducting its business, the manager also has responsibility towards his surroundings and the people living in the vicinity of his factory and office. 

Firms behave irresponsibly when they pollute their physical environment by releasing harmful smoke and gas into the atmosphere, discharging toxic effluents into nearby rivers, lakes or seas, and dumping their waste matter in surrounding lands. All these have a detrimental effect on the environment and affect the health of the people by polluting the air they breathe, the water they drink and the food they eat. The Bhopal tragedy where poisonous gas leaking  from the factory of Union Carbide caused the death of thousands of innocent people is and example of the extent of damage which can be caused if proper precautions are not taken. 

The government is only now realizing the irreparable harm which firms, in pursuit of their business, are causing to the environment and the ecological balance. Vast forests have been indiscriminately felled by firms in their narrow, single-minded pursuit of profit. This has created and imbalance in the ecology of the area. Floods have become a recurrent feature in areas which had never been known to be flood-prone.

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS GOVERNMENT

It is wholly the responsibility of the manager to ensure that the constitution and operations of the firm are within the legal framework as specified by the government. This legal framework may vary, depending upon the nature of ownership of firm (proprietory, partnership, private limited, joint stock, Indian or foreign, etc.), size of the firm, and specific industry within which the firm operates. The government has laid down specific industry within which the firm operates. The government has laid down specific rules, guidelines and norms which impinge upon the firm right form the stage of its inception.  

For Blinds Company who manufactures roller shades, there are specific rules and guidelines and norms from government than for term life insurance agents. The governments’ rules and regulations, norms are made for different types of business and different type of size of industry. It changes with the type, size and category change. 

There be as a responsible manager you must ensure that your company is operating well within the legal framework and is fulfilling all its obligations towards the government. Whether it is a matter of posting a copy of the company balance sheet to the Registrar of Companies or setting up a joint venture in a foreign country, the actions must not violate the laws and regulations. 

The second area of discharging your responsibility towards the government is in the matter of paying regularly and fairly all taxes, dues and duties. The recent raids on large industrial groups are an attempt on the part of the government to unearth unpaid taxes and undeclared assets. A manager who acts in a responsible manner will be ensuring that his firm never has to face such a situation. The manager must strive to make firm a model corporate citizen.

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS UNION-1

The union will always bargain with you for the maximum benefit. As a manager you should not try to block this bargaining process but aid it by providing the union with the correct facts and figures about costs and profits and thus aim for a realistic, workable agreement which suits both the parties. 

Besides providing the correct information you should attempt to involve the union in the process of managing the firm. You can do this by inviting representatives of the union to sit on the management board. This is known as participative management. The chairman of Japan’s Matsushita Electric Company often makes this little speech to his workers about participative management: 

“Don’t think I run this company. Each of you has a part to play in its management. We need the ideas, skill and knowledge of everyone to make a reservoir of wisdom for more efficient operation, better product and service quality, and effective management. We have a good future if we can work that way.” 

The basic requirement for encouraging participative management is the manager’s positive attitude and creation of an atmosphere which encourages free and frank exchange of views among employees and management.

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS UNION

Your first responsibility towards your employees’ union is to acknowledge it as a friend rather than as a foe of the firm. Most problems with unions arise because of the assumption of the managers that unions have no constructive contribution to make but are interested only in playing a negative role. As a responsible manager you must understand and appreciate the fact that the management and union have a great degree of mutual dependence and the union cannot further its interests at the cost of the firm’s interests and vice versa.  

A responsible manager always advises their union member to go with term life insurance. Only a relationship based on mutual trust and cooperation will best serve the interests of the firm and the union. Window blinds and Roller Shades companies who are having big team size need to have good and smooth relation between manager and union.

The union represents the collective strength of all the individual workers. In dealing with the union the manager must recognize and acknowledge the bargaining power of the union arising out of its collective strength. The union will always bargain with you for the maximum benefit. As a manager you should not try to block this bargaining process but aid it by providing the union with the correct facts and figures about costs and profits and thus aim for a realistic, workable agreement which suits both the parties.

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS INDUSTRY AND COMPETITION-2

Today we continue our discussion on Responsibility towards Industry and Competition. Healthy competition encourages firms to improve their performance and nurtures progress and it is the responsibility of each firm to ensure that the competition it indulges in is fair and ethical. Resorting to unfair practices, trying to push out other firms on the basis of political influence or financial strength may yield some short-term gains but will eventually tarnish the image of the entire industry. All you actions must be guided by concern for the stability and prosperity of the industry.

A firm fulfils a need or needs of the society. It exists within the society and has a two-way interaction with it. It seeks inputs in the form of money, men, materials, machines, technology from the society and processes then to produce goods and services for consumption by the society.

Still today already we have discussed on different types of marketing relation with various society segments like responsibility towards customer, responsibility towards shareholders, responsibility towards employees, responsibility towards suppliers, responsibility towards distributors and retailers, responsibility towards industry and competitions. We will talk on other society segments like responsibility towards union, responsibility towards government, responsibility towards society etc…. in next posts.

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS INDUSTRY AND COMPETITION-1

Other firms within the industry are your competitors in the market place but are your associates when you have to lobby for or represent and an industry and not as individual firms. Most industries have their own associations at the local, regional, national and international level. The objectives of organizing such bodies are to protect and promote the interests of the industry, seek concessions from government and represent against any discrimination, and provide a forum for sharing and disseminating information on the latest technological and market trends. 

As a manager it is your responsibility to register your firm as a member of your industry association and comply with all its rules and regulations. The information which you provide to your association must be correct so that the association can improved technology you may consider sharing it with other fellow firms. 

All industry associations are voluntary bodies formed with the idea of providing support to individual firms within the industry. The onus of successfully managing the association is on all managers of individual firm members. You must be always willing to step forward and take an active responsibility in the association. It may impinge on your already tight schedule but it is good to remember that the interests of your firm are best served when the interests of the industry as a whole are served. 

blinds, roller shades, woven wood shades

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS DISTRUBUTORS AND RETAILERS-2

Today we continue our talk on responsibility towards distributor ands retailers. The company had to absorb the increased cost of the heavier carton, but it was more than compensated by the fact that return of stock sharply declined and the distributors had no more cause for complaints. A television marketing company provides service engineers to all its outstation distributors for testing each TV before it is dispatched onwards for dale. This adds an extra cost but ensures that the distributors and retailers receive sets which are trouble-free. 

The distributors and retailers who sell your products are in it for business and they must earn a fair return. Apart from the fixed percentage which you provide to your dealers, target based incentives, commissions and rewards will motivate your dealers to push your products harder. Providing support to the dealers by way of extending credit, sharing promotion cost, after sales service and help for decorating the showroom also form part of your responsibility. You must also nurture and maintain cordial relationship with all your dealers. Many companies hold regular dealer meets in an attempt to build up dealer relations for better corporate gains.

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS DISTRUBUTORS AND RETAILERS-1

Distributors and retailers are the link between the firm and the actual customers who consume the product. In your capacity as a manager you are responsible for ensuring regular supplies to your distributors. Persistent delays in processing and supplying distributor’s order can lead to a situation where the distributor eventually loses interest in your product and switches over to a competitor firm. Timely supplies have their relevance provided they are as per the order specification. Supplying spoons instead of forks, simply because forks are out of stock in the factory, is not a responsible way of dealing with your distributors. 

The products that you supply to the distributor must be checked for quality to ensure that second grade or inferior quality goods are not shipped. Outer packaging of the product should protect it from damage in transit, because the dealer will return all spoilt and damaged stock which will eventually reflect negatively in your profits. A company manufacturing and marketing plastic bottles switched over from 5-ply to 7-ply cardboard carton when it started receiving complaints that the bottles were being dented and crushed out of shape in transit. 

blinds, roller shades, woven wood shades

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS SUPPLIERS-2

Today we continue our talk on responsibility towards suppliers. The manager’s responsibility towards suppliers of funds, i.e. banks and other financial institutions is that not only he has to make the interest payments, but make the repayment on time as per the agreed repayment schedules.  

By doing so the firm is not only helping the bank but also helping itself because the health of the bank will determine the health of the firm and vice versa. An added dimension of responsibility towards the banks is that the manger must provide accurate and complete information about the various facets of its business when applying for financial assistance. This will help the bank in assessing the risk and return potential of your project and determine the amount of loan it can sanction. 

Advertising agencies supply creative inputs used in promoting your company’s products. Since their services are not of a very tangible nature, most firms have the tendency to postpone or delay making their payment. As a responsible manager you must check against this tendency. Advertising agencies after all, run a business, like any other, and are your suppliers, and a payment delay from your end puts undue pressure on them and affects the efficiency of their operations.

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS SUPPLIERS-1

Responsibility towards your suppliers emanates from the fact that their survival and growth (partly or wholly) is dependent upon your survival and growth. Suppliers provide you the raw materials, components and parts necessary for the production of your products. You are dependent upon your suppliers for regular, timely supplies of the specified quality at the agreed price. The suppliers in turn depend on you for providing correct design specification, adequate time for production, fixation of a fair price and prompt and timely payments. This two-way relationship works best when it is based on the realization of mutual dependence and one party does not try to pressurize the other for its own benefit.

Escorts Limited and Hero Cycles are examples of how firms can play a responsible role in nurturing the growth of suppliers. As these firms have grown form success to success so have their suppliers. A full-fledged bicycle ancillary industry has been established in and around Ludhiana in response to the needs of Hero Cycles and other cycle manufactures. In some cases firms may even provide the seed capital and other necessary infrastructural support to an individual to start and ancillary industry. There are numerous examples where these small ancillary industries have grown to be as successful and large as the firms to which they were originally supplying.

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RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS EMPLOYEES-2

Today we continue our discussion on responsibility towards employees. Instrumentation Limited, Tata Iron Steel Company and Hindustan Machine Tools have developed beautiful townships in Kota, Jamshedpur and Bangalore respectively with the best possible facilities and amenities for the benefit of their employees. Where the company is situated in a remote, undeveloped area, provision of housing and other facilities is necessary to attract and retain the required work-force. But in many other cases, development of such amenities is a reflection of the growing realization by companies that employees are not simply another resource for production, but are beings with emotions, desires, aspirations and have a life outside the factory too. Only a happy, satisfied human being can be a productive worker. Many firms extend their mantle of responsibility to include the employees’ families too. They contribute towards education and marriage of their employees’ children. 

Speaking about the importance of human level personal contact with employees J.R.D. Tata laments:         

“One of the inherent drawbacks of modern industry, with its large and concentrated labor forces, is the difficulty of maintaining personal touch between management and employees. As a result, many petty grievances, negligible individually but substantial in the aggregate, which might have been eliminated by a friendly word or timely action, are allowed to build up a sense of discontent and frustration among the workers.”