A Public Company in Trouble
Altaf Shaikh
Raman Khanna, a young manager, who has an engineering
background and has also successfully completed an Executive management course from the prestigious Synthetic Institute of Business Studies, Amritabad, - with a specialization in strategic human resource management, now works for an eminent manufacturing company – Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Boregaon, as the HR cum Factory Manager. Raman Khanna’s passion to contribute to India’s growth was the single most important factor in his choice of a job. RCF is a 150 year old PSU, manufacturing railway wagons and containers, catering to the diverse needs of the Indian Railways.
RCF has a turnover in excess of Rs.16,000 crores but has been in
the red for the last 42 years. Many factors are responsible for the sad state of affairs at RCF - prime among them being:
The very narrow product line, Single customer for its products (Indian Railways - which
always drives a very hard bargain and leaves very little margin for RCF) and A very active trade union the activities of which have resulted in the loss of several man-days on account of strikes and goslow tactics.
Abdul, the foreman of the fabrication plant has been with RCF
for the last 20 years and now reports to Raman Khanna. Abdul had been a promising trainee at the time of joining and had proved it by rising up the ranks to become the foreman in a short span of 7 years. Raman Khanna found Abdul to be a highly skilled foreman with very good insights into the production process. Abdul took an immediate liking to Raman Khanna’s style of functioning and had a lot of respect for his credentials.
Raman Khanna, while analyzing the performance of
RCF, found that there was a considerable difference between the production projected and that achieved, even after accounting for all the strikes and go-slow tactics indulged in by the union.
Raman Khanna broached this topic with Abdul during lunch
time at the cafeteria
Raman Khanna, a young manager, who has an engineering
background and has also successfully completed an Executive management course from the prestigious Synthetic Institute of Business Studies, Amritabad, - with a specialization in strategic human resource management, now works for an eminent manufacturing company – Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Boregaon, as the HR cum Factory Manager. Raman Khanna’s passion to contribute to India’s growth was the single most important factor in his choice of a job. RCF is a 150 year old PSU, manufacturing railway wagons and containers, catering to the diverse needs of the Indian Railways.
RCF has a turnover in excess of Rs.16,000 crores but has been in
the red for the last 42 years. Many factors are responsible for the sad state of affairs at RCF - prime among them being:
The very narrow product line, Single customer for its products (Indian Railways - which
always drives a very hard bargain and leaves very little margin for RCF) and A very active trade union the activities of which have resulted in the loss of several man-days on account of strikes and goslow tactics.
Abdul, the foreman of the fabrication plant has been with RCF
for the last 20 years and now reports to Raman Khanna. Abdul had been a promising trainee at the time of joining and had proved it by rising up the ranks to become the foreman in a short span of 7 years. Raman Khanna found Abdul to be a highly skilled foreman with very good insights into the production process. Abdul took an immediate liking to Raman Khanna’s style of functioning and had a lot of respect for his credentials.
Raman Khanna, while analyzing the performance of
RCF, found that there was a considerable difference between the production projected and that achieved, even after accounting for all the strikes and go-slow tactics indulged in by the union.
Raman Khanna broached this topic with Abdul during lunch
time at the cafeteria