A Precipice In Front, Wolves Behind

A Precipice In Front, Wolves Behind

“Tell me” Lulu, my parrot, said as he flew in and settled on my laptop. This is very typical of Lulu. He settles on the edge of laptop, flutters his wings. I know this is invariably followed by a question.

“Shoot” I said.

“Do you know what ‘A fronte praccipitium, a tergo lupi’ means?”

“Nope! Are you quoting a Latin saying?” Parrots travel to many countries and obviously benefit from worldly wisdom!

“Yup! It means ‘A precipice in front, wolves behind.’ That’s the situation dilemmas present us with! Don’t you think studying philosophy and ethics must be made compulsory for HR Managers?”

“That’s a ‘leading question’, Lulu. It is suggestive of the answer! Nevertheless, I too think that reading philosophy and ethics is essential for HR professionals.”

“Problems are there for those who see them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you know the case of the unemployable?” You know that the conversation gets interesting when Lulu narrates a dilemma.

“A food product manufacturing organisation employed women in large numbers, almost ninety percent of its total employees. They had formed a union. Over a period, the employees got disenchanted, nah, embittered with the General Secretary who was also an employee, let us call him Nakul. They joined another union which was led by a leader known for his violent ways.”

“Oh! If they shift to another union in very large numbers, it is not much of a problem. The management has no option but to deal with the new union.”

“They did shift to the new union, more than ninety percent of them. All ladies changed allegiance.” I sensed a twist in the tale is following, and I wasn’t wrong. “All of them signed a petition to the management demanding summary dismissal of Nakul. They threatened to resort to strike if he was not dismissed.”

“Nakul must have really misbehaved.”

“Women refused to give specific and written complaints. They instead chose this way. Tell me what would you have done under those circumstances?”

“Well, hmmm…, I would have offered some compensation for him as an inducement to resign. But Nakul would have to go.”

“They removed him from service promptly. What was his fault?” Lulu had picked up a chilly. “No complaint. No inquiry. No principles of natural justice. And you say you will get rid of the man? Is that fair? Is it okay to remove an employee because others demand it?”

“Be practical, man! We run a commercial enterprise. Everything will get measured in cost and benefit.”

“Oh!” Lulu fell silent.

*          *          *

 

“Tell me” Lulu, my parrot, said as he flew in and settled on my laptop. This is very typical of Lulu. He settles on the edge of laptop, flutters his wings. I know this is invariably followed by a question.

“Shoot” I said.

“Haven’t you heard of the case of compassionate employment?”

“No. Tell me.”

“A fitter working in a company met with an accident, and died on the spot. He was married two years ago and his wife was pregnant with their first child. The union asked the management to provide employment to the wife. Coming from a family with modest means, she was not a well-educated lady.”

“I would rather offer good compensation, much more than statutory liability, to the unfortunate wife, but no employment.”

“Why not? Many organisations like Tatas would offer a job under such circumstances.”

“But it is prudent not to offer employment to somebody who is not qualified for a role. They turn in to deadwood in a short while. Moreover compassionate employment is seen more as an entitlement than a helping hand.”

“Aren’t you making too many presumptions? Are you saying ‘no’ because union is demanding it? And you do not wish to be seen as ‘a management that gives in’?”

“Be practical, man! We run a commercial enterprise. Everything will get measured in cost and benefit.”

“Oh!” Lulu fell silent. He continued to nibble at chillies.

*          *          *

“Tell me” Lulu, my parrot, said as he flew in and settled on my laptop. This is very typical of Lulu. He settles on the edge of laptop, flutters his wings. I know this is invariably followed by a question.

“Shoot” I said.

“Haven’t you heard the case of the Pregnant Accountant?”

“No. Tell me.”

“The HR Head of an organisation short-listed two ladies for the post of Chief Accountant, after a series of interviews. They were well qualified, had relevant experience, and both were ‘selectable’ on their merit. But Nilu was decidedly more suitable than Shalu. Her competencies were distinctly superior to Shalu’s.”

“I envy the HR Head, you rarely have such a situation on hand.”

“Both Nilu and Shalu were asked to go for pre-employment medical check-up. Nilu declared there that she had tested positive on her pregnancy test, and that she had learnt it just two days ago, after the last interview. The doctor noted this in his report.”

“Then?”

“The HR Head made offer to Shalu, not to Nilu.”

“Rightly so, Lulu. What’s wrong with it?”

“Well don’t you recognise some basic values? Can pregnancy disqualify or make less employable an otherwise meritorious candidate?”

“Be practical, man! We run a commercial enterprise. Everything will get measured in cost and benefit.”

“Oh!” Lulu fell silent. He continued to nibble at chillies.

*          *          *

“I have been thinking about our discussion on the three cases” I said as Lulu landed on my table. “Do they represent some basic dilemma in employment decisions?”

“Hmmm…. Let us look at that….. A dilemma really represents a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially ones that are equally undesirable.”

“I would agree. Retaining Nakul would jeopardise business because employees would resort to a strike on an issue where no solution would be possible in the short run. Obviously tempers were running high there.”

“That’s right.”

“And removing him from service ought to give pangs of conscience to HR head, if he is a sensitive man, who believes in ‘procedural justice’ as well. There is something to the ‘due process’, right?”

“Yup. Do you are think that this is a unique situation? It isn’t, man.” With a flutter Lulu parked himself on to my pile of books. “What happens when a small or medium scale enterprise grows? Some employees become unemployable.”

“Old faithful hands often become redundant or surplus because they are unable to keep pace with changing technology. Pangs of growth! In India many corporations carry them along, knowing fully well that they are ‘dead wood.’”

“I hate that expression. There is an issue here. Whose job it is to reskill people? Whose job it is to update one’s skills?”

“Well, the deal is, as the young HR managers say, ‘We cannot offer you security with the company, but we can help you secure skills that keeps you employable. That will offer you security in the market, not in the company though.”

“The message to employees is that they are operating in the market. That’s how Peter Capelli puts it. Phew! I am still thinking about those who become redundant. Organisations promise great careers to people. What they do not say is that in every system, or every company, there is a last station for every employee.”

“But employees often do not realise it. Everybody feels he qualifies for the next higher job.”

“He feels like that because nobody engages him in a crucial conversation of suggesting that he has reached the last station in the company. HR guys say everybody can be developed, and harp on it. They never openly acknowledge the fact that some people reach dead end in a given organisation.”

“That’s a difficult conversation.”

“People understand and even admit their limitations in an open, candid but private talk. Their dignity must be respected. That’s a tall order for the busy goal focused people.”

“So what are you saying?” I asked.

“I am saying is ‘What is the measure of success? Good relationship which digests hard commercial imperatives without losing respect for each other or money?’”

“Hmmm ……”

“It is all about balancing the conflicting priorities. You have to find an answer – rather your answer. Your answer will be based on whether you see an organisation as a community or a property!”

“That is a deep one, Lulu.”

“We discussed the case of compassionate employment. In that case the widow of the fitter was placed too disadvantageously. She was helpless.”

“Right. But she was not an employee. She had no right to employment. I do not see much of a conflict here.” I felt strongly that payment of compensation was good enough discharge of liability. “Thinking about the compassionate employment case, I would ask where an organisation’s liability ends. Theoretically, it ends when you pay the statutory compensation. That’s the rule of law.”

“Haven’t you heard of the rule of life?” Obviously Lulu was well read. I wonder if he was reading Justice Mr Krishna Iyer’s judgements.

“What’s that?”

“It’s about right to life, it is about the basic human rights. What happens when the bread winner dies? In India, it is almost a certain economic death.” No doubt Lulu was influenced by Justice Mr Krishna Iyer’s work. “Rule of law must go hand in hand with rule of life. That is the hallmark of justice. It is for HR managers like you to interpret this in their work.”

“The dilemma seems to be what is just and what is fair.”

“Yes, when we talk of fairness we introduce the element of values.”

“This case is interesting. It offers you two options, one of offering employment to the deceased employee’s wife, and the other of granting substantial compensation, more than statutory liability.

“That brings in the element of personal values of the decision makers or the values practised in the organisation. You can’t separate the decision from decision maker here.”

“Oh! You are getting philosophical, Lulu. The experience is that additional demands keep coming when you make compassionate employment. Our Government offers it. What is compassionate becomes entitlement in a short period. There is something to precedence.”

“Ha, ha! Well it is not often that employees die in harness leaving behind a helpless wife, and family. You fear that an act of compassion will become a rule by precedence, although compassion itself is of one’s own volition, it is an act of discretion for the HR guy.”

“So you are saying that paying compensation was wrong?”

“No. That is not the point. It is all about balancing the conflicting priorities. You have to find an answer – rather your answer. Your answer will be based on whether you see an organisation as a community or a property!”

“Discussing the wife of the fitter reminds me of the third case – the case of the pregnant accountant.”

“You said we should not make her an offer. You seem to suggest that there was no employer employee relationship so why bother?”

“You got it! I think it is a ‘no-brainer’ as they say.”

“Is it really that simple? You are disqualifying a woman for the job because she is pregnant. Is that a fair consideration?”

“Well, what’s wrong?”

“There are certain human rights, man!”

“So?”

“Ok, let me tell you what the Washington Supreme Court said – here it is, let me read it out ‘In the case Hegwine v. Longview Fibre Company, the Washington Supreme Court held that “pregnancy-related employment discrimination claims are matters of sex discrimination.” Employers may not treat pregnancy as a disability to avoid providing accommodations for any temporary inability to work caused by pregnancy or a pregnancy-related condition. Further, the Court confirmed that inquiring as to a prospective employee’s pregnancy status constitutes unlawful sex discrimination, unless the inquiry is based on a valid bona fide occupational qualification.”

“Oh, Lulu. Courts make our life difficult. They consider rights, we consider business necessities.”

“It is all a matter of upholding certain values and rights. But I understand your point. It is all about balancing the conflicting priorities. You have to find an answer – rather your answer. Your answer will be based on whether you see an organisation as a community or a property!”

“You have hammered it in my head now.”

“In each case, the other party was in no position to influence your decision. Helpless they were. How you use power in such situations shows your innate values and beliefs. And people are watching all the time. Remember what you do is in public arena.”

“………….”

“Why this long silence?” I had not realised that I was silent for a long time. Lulu had hopped on to my shoulder and was rubbing his beak on my cheek.

“I was thinking, Lulu” I said as I touched him, “Will I give those answers if there were some employee-directors on the Board of my company.”

There was silence again.

Vivek S Patwardhan