In a highly uncertain environment, the advantages of scenario planning are clear: since no one base case can be regarded as probable, it’s necessary to develop plans on the assumption that several different futures are possible and to focus attention on the underlying drivers of uncertainty. Senior executives outside the strategic-planning group—even those accustomed to developing scenarios—may find the diversity and complexity of this year’s scenarios bewildering. It’s critical to bring such executives into the process early: for example, by kicking off the planning process with a scenario-development exercise involving the full senior team. Similarly, as the process of reviewing business units gets under way, a company can inculcate an appreciation of the threats it faces and of its collective strategic response by inviting executives from a number of divisions to participate in the proceedings—rather than hold one-off events between the senior team and the leader of each individual unit.
The company’s strategy, in short, must account for many more contingencies than it has until recently. Since the effectiveness of such a strategy depends on an organization’s ability to adjust rapidly as the fog starts to lift, managers must identify and intensively monitor key indicators suggesting which scenario might unfold.
Given the vastness of the economic change now under way, the temptation for many planners will be to gaze, mesmerized, at the unfolding crisis. That’s a mistake, for at least two reasons.
First, devastating as the current downturn may be, it cannot roll back fundamental market trends—such as the aging of consumers in Europe and North America or the continued economic development of Brazil, China, India, and Russia—which will continue to create strategic opportunities and threats. Managers must focus their eyes—and resources—on these trends no matter what happens.
Second, planners who become fixated on current economic events run the risk of overlooking a core responsibility: evaluating the effectiveness of current strategies. Although the crisis may force companies to suspend or redirect some of them, others will remain relevant even in the changed environment.
Interesting presentation on amazing facts which I’m sure we never come across in our daily lives. Few thoughts which immediately come to my mind are :
• Population is actually turning out to be greatest resource for a nation to have. Human resource will be the biggest source of competitive gain even in the days to come.
• At the same time the concept of a nation is blurring due to rapid exponential growth of technology, alternate sources of information like web based tools.
• While nations will continue to have economic and political interest, the power of connectivity has enabled the current generations to tide over the barriers of language and culture. As we grow our cultures will continue to grow locally with global flavor( some say glocalisation)
• If we do not connect the digital and real world at a rapid pace, we will be marginalizing a section of world’s population which would mean greater issues of governance and equitable distribution of wealth and resources.
• Empowerment will acquire a new meaning as the power distance paradigm will change.
• Future continues to be more uncertain despite all our efforts to predict and control changes.
• Mere information does not enables human beings to take most informed and best possible decision as uncertainty will create more information asymmetry and thereby greater chaos.
• Definition of specialization will surely change, people will get into multiple job, try multiple options before they decide to go for a vocation.
• Formal education process will slowly become redundant as future continues to grow uncertain. Growing uncertainties will force education curriculum to focus on developing functional and generic competencies.
• Small will continue to be beautiful.
Any other thoughts?
He asked senior execs at both Western and Indian multinationals with R&D operations across US, Europe, and India what challenges they face in managing their firms’ transnational innovation networks. They pointed out that the biggest hurdle is socio-cultural, as Indian engineers think and act completely differently than their Western colleagues. The former, growing up in a red-hot economy, are animated by a “growth mindset” whereas the latter, operating in mature economies, are stuck in a “settled mindset.” These two opposite approaches clash when they are asked to collaborate on a R&D project. Why? Because Indian and Western engineers completely differ in their:
1) Reasoning. Unlike Western engineers,who reason with a predicate logic (a statement is either true (1) or false (0),Indian engineers solve problems using a fuzzy logic,the degree of truth of a statement can range anywhere between 0 and 1.
2) Problem-solving. Given their average age (mid-20s), Indian engineers belong to the Generation Y, or the Millennials, who learn through hands-on experiments (think video-games) and peer-to-peer interactions (instant messaging anyone?). When solving a problem, these grown-up “kids” harness the multiplicative power of social networking tools to experiment with multiple solutions simultaneously, and select the optimal one based on peer input. You can call this problem-solving approach “Collaborative Darwinism.” By contrast, Western engineers, many in their 30s/40s/50s, theoretically weigh the pros and cons of every single solution before even trying it, and feel too proud to ask for help when stuck solving a problem. It’s the “ostrich-style” problem-solving.
3) Market expectations. It’s hard for Western engineers living in rich economies with advanced infrastructure to design products for use by customers in developing economies with poor roads and unreliable electrical and water supply. But that’s second nature for Indian engineers in Bangalore, with its ever-congested roads and frequent power cuts. As a US tech multinational’s exec eloquently puts it: “Western engineers’ product ideas are shaped by laws of abundance whereas Eastern engineers’ inventions are motivated by the rules of scarcity.
If there's one thing that's tipping the scales for fresh employees and leaving the veterans out in the cold, it's salary compression. There's no room for loyalty to the company when market conditions have to be taken into consideration and new hires have to be paid according to industry standards. With the internal annual rate of increase between 4 and 7 percent and the industry annual rate of increase touching 10 to 15 percent, there's a huge disparity between what more experienced workers earn and what their fresh-faced counterparts just setting foot in the company make.
The situation is compounded year after year, as those with the company for a longer period of time continue to earn comparatively less than those who've come after them. HR professionals and managers have been put in a bind by salary compression – they're forced to pay the going rate for the best of the new talent to hit the market even as they risk the ire and resentment of individuals who have slogged for the company for more than a few years, but who are earning a significantly smaller amount than those coming in, even with the annual hike in their salaries.
Older employees are forced to change jobs then, since they are likely to be paid the higher market rates by new employers, which means that more new employees have to be hired at current market rates, and more money has to be spent on recruitment and training costs and on higher salaries. This leads us to the questions - Isn't it more rational to increase the salaries of older employees on par or at slightly higher rates than those of their newer colleagues? Is it worth the low morale, frustration and reduced productivity that older employees exhibit when faced with the news that their juniors, people they have to take under their wings and train, are taking home more money than they are? Does this make for a workplace conducive to harmony and cooperation?
Employers are struggling to address these issues without emptying the company's coffers on salary alone. In an attempt to retain valued and experienced employees, they are offering perks like the use of company transport, phone bills at the company's expense, access to health clubs and paid vacations. Some companies are restructuring their pay levels in a new attempt termed broad banding where employers assume more flexibility in defining job descriptions and adjusting pay scales accordingly. Others offer bonuses and incentives on a performance-based model.
A job market with a limited amount of skilled labor and a large number of jobs that require highly skilled professionals gives employees the upper hand – they are able to dictate terms and threaten to quit if they're not paid what they think they're worth. But then, too much of job hopping is seen as a sign of instability in industry circles, unless the employee has something really special to offer in terms of skill and ability. At the end of the day, it's up to organizations to affect the trade off between retaining experienced employees at a higher pay or spending more to bring in new ones and train them well.
This article is contributed by Heather Johnson, who regularly writes on HR manager. She invites your questions and writing job opportunities at her personal email address: heatherjohnson2323 @ gmail.com
Inflation is a cyclical economic phenomena, in a globalised world inflation in not just driven by internal economic variables but also get influenced by common economic concerns like global oil prices, entry and exit barriers to economies, food grain production etc. The current inflation trend is cost push inflation which is more driven by the rise in the cost of essentials goods and services. It even leads to rise in wages in excess of any gains in labor productivity, this leads to increase in unit costs of production and thus further spiraling prices.
Generally when Inflation is more demand driven (total demand for goods and services in an economy exceeds the available supply) it leads to increase in the production of goods and services. This means more employment opportunities and higher demand for skilled labour and if supply fails to match the demand for skilled and highly skilled labour, wages move northward and it also leads to higher attrition in organizations where even demand for labour is more.
In case of Cost push inflation the demand for labour does not necessarily goes up,on the other hand organizations looks for ways to reduce cost and reduce redundant work force as the cost of services and managing a non productive workforce goes up. Cost push inflation also leads to demand for higher wages to meet the growing expenses and organizations face dual challenge of managing external as well as internal cost push .This often leads to wage price spiral which means increase in wages will drive cost of goods and services.
In such situations it becomes very critical for the HR team to take the right decisions on:
Recently my interview appeared in SCOOP an online HR magazine, it covers industry news , analysis and features the latest from the HR world. The interview covered wide ranges of issues ranging from HR strategies, processes and various other issues which organizations are grappling today. Here is the first part the interview.
• A well defined performance management tool should focus on arriving at role based assessment and evaluation matrix which is duly aligned with the competencies defined for each role.
• Ratings must translate into performance index scores and should follow the philosophy of the performance evaluation and distribution method generally followed, for example –MBO, Force rating method or Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales.
• Key tasks and related competencies for each task should be duly mapped and performance grading should have pre set values assigned to the tasks performed.
• It must consider the various variables which have influence of the final deliverables. These variables will again be unique to the roles and competencies.
• Performance index must be benchmarked for different performance scales (best, average and below average performers)
• It should integrate metrics and milestones from any other HR or Internal systems, to enable evaluator assess more accurately with the help of readily available data for specific tasks.
• Should capture qualitative aspects and clearly identify the strengths and performance highlights like client appreciation, key differentiators and initiatives etc.
• It should help in identifying the developmental needs (training, mentoring etc) on the basis of the gaps, based on the assessment against the desired superior performance level.
• Basis Performance management aspects like SMART Goals (Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely) needs to be factored and assessment must be done again pre defined goals and role based evaluation parameters.
• It must cover relevant feedback and evaluation ratings from all stakeholders apart from the manager and next level reviewer to enable more holistic and 360* overview of the employees performance.
• Periodic review and update features to give a comprehensive assessment for the performance calendar, should not necessarily be open during a particular time during the evaluation window but allow periodic ratings to be weighted for the purpose of cumulative index score.
• It should help in identifying the readiness of the employee to perform a higher role and also capture the future career aspirations.
1. Switch your hours. If the 9-5 shift isn’t providing you enough time to get everything done that you need to then consider working longer. Wake up an hour earlier and get to work that much earlier. The earlier you get to work the less interruptions you’ll encounter. While your free time will be cut into you’ll feel more satisfied that you got more done.
2. Multitask. This is the catchword of the day and it’s here to stay. If you’re trying to further your career then listen to audio textbooks while in the car. Waiting for a doctor’s appointment or your car to get fixed? Bring a book that is appropriate for your job or paperwork.
3. Cut out activities that eat up time. Turn off the television if you have one in your office. Cut out the twenty-minute chit-chat session in the morning with your friends by the coffee maker. Don’t surf the internet for anything not related to your job. Resist these temptations! These extraneous activities can severely cut into valuable time that you could be spending on getting stuff done.
4. Work faster. This may sound like a no-brainer but it’s hard for people to change their work habits. Learn to type faster by taking a typing course or tutorial online. Be a better reader as you scan for the details that you need and cut out the meaningless text that takes up your time. Make your own deadlines that are independent from the natural deadline attached to a project. This will create a sense of urgency that will make you work faster.
5. Preparation is crucial. If you have tomorrow lined up before you leave work today then you’re in good shape. The worst thing you can do is come into the office in the morning and have little to no idea what you should be doing. It will take you an hour to plan your day. Be prepared with your tasks for the next day and you’ll get off to a running start when you arrive!
