|
COVER STORY
Work-life Balance: The HR Perspective
-- S Preethi Priscilla
With the advent of globalization, the demands of workplace are ever-increasing and
highly dynamic. Employees spend more time at the workplace rather than at home.
Although businesses are witnessing new heights, the work-life balance of the employee is no longer
in control. Growing number of suicides, divorces, disturbed families and relationships, outrage
or conflicts in the organizations, etc. are the reflections of disturbed work-life balance of
the employees. It is high time employers must draw out strategies or plan to cope with the
problem and help the employees to enjoy their work and live life to the fullest.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGNING
Designing Happiness : Can Organizational Design Influence Happiness?
-- David Burkus
The study of happiness has been on the rise, both in personal and professional lives. While
a consensus definition of happiness has not been established, correlations between
happiness and workplace performance have been established. This article examines the
relationship between workplace happiness, productivity and firm performance. The article
examines Hsieh's (2010) model for using organizational design to inspire worker's happiness.
The practices followed by Zappos is used to show application and provide inspiration
for organizational leaders.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
LEADERSHIP TRAINING
Deriving Best Results from Teams Through Leadership Training
-- Dr. G Ramesh, N Akbar Jan
In the present targeted environment, where projects are complex and complicated, leaders need
to be trained well to face the pressures and deal with team members. The success of an enterprise
is predominantly dependent upon the quality of its leadership. Effective leadership skills help
the leader to establish strong relationships with others, secure their willing cooperation and
garner maximum support. They should make a paradigm shift in their approach and learn to push
the boundaries of doing things within the same set of procedures. Training, coaching and
cross-training will broaden the learning curve and
leaders can really acquire new skills through
adequate training.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
CAREER PLANNING
Career Planning and Development in IT Companies
-- Priyanka Mishra, Dr. PK Mohanty
This article offers a contemporary perspective on the themes of career planning,
career development and career pathing by highlighting the practices of an IT company.
An organization's productivity is not only measured in terms of profit, growth, new products
and customer satisfaction, but also in terms of employee satisfaction through effective
career planning and development initiatives. HR managers face numerous challenges on a
continual basis when it comes to improving career planning and development initiatives for
an organization's survival.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
HR IN MFIs
HR Challenges
in Microfinance Institutions
-- N Sudheer Kumar, G Susmitha
In today's context, the whole business world has slowed down due to financial meltdown
and recession but, the microfinance sector is recording continuous growth and touched the
billion-dollar mark. Currently, the sector is attracting many entrepreneurs including youngsters
to enter into business with an ambition to start a Microfinance Institution (MFI). Now there
are more than 1,000 MFIs currently operating in India and have disbursed only for 10% of
the potential demand of over $50 bn as a large proportion of Indians are living below the
poverty line and this demand for credit for the poor is still expected to surge ahead.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
DIVERSITY IN RECRUITMENT
Diversity Recruitment: A New Paradigm in Hiring
-- NR Aravamudhan
Recruitment landscape is on the cusp of constant transmogrification. Organizations
and recruiters are looking at ways and means of wooing candidates from multiple sources
using varied approaches. Diversity recruitment is currently engaging the attention of the
recruiting managers in a big way. Companies are now keen on giving diversity recruitment a big
push. Today, we have employees of all hues and kinds entering the workforce. Thanks to
the demographic shifts, global workforce is increasingly becoming a melting pot. Thus,
diversity recruitment is bedeviled by certain challenges. How should the organization overcome
such seemingly intractable challenges and build a case for diversity recruitment is the crux of
this article.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
CASE STUDY
Apple Inc.'s Corporate Culture: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
-- Debapratim Purkayastha, Syeda Maseeha Qumer
This case is about US-based consumer electronics company Apple, Inc.'s (Apple),
known ability to come out with pathbreaking products. Experts have associated the innovation at
Apple with its corporate culture, which the case discusses in detail. At Apple, the work culture
was driven by a passion for new products with no end to challenges and opportunities. This
case discusses how Apple became the pioneer of the "Work Hard Play Hard" ethic. Apple adopted
a style that was not too formal or hierarchical and a more results-driven approach which
worked best for them. It also focuses on the career opportunities and employability
security, compensation, and benefits offered to the employees by the company. It explains how
Apple fostered a culture of secrecy. The demand for absolute secrecy and insistence on control
was infused into the company culture right from the beginning. The various dysfunctional aspects
of Apple's culture which led the company to the brink of disaster are also discussed.
© 2009 IBS Center for Management Research. All Rights Reserved. For accessing and procuring the case study, log on to www.ecch.cranfield.ac.uk or www.icmrindia.org
| 
