Human Resources learning at Infosys

The students specializing in Human Resources visited the Infosys facility for an industry visit under the guidance of the Department Head, Professor Shaji Kurian and Personality Enhancement Faculty, Professor Raj Chakraborty. The students arrived at Infosys facility at Electronic City, Phase 1 post lunch on 25^th June 2015 for an experience of a lifetime. The students were welcomed by Mr. I.S. Krishnamurthy who is one of the senior departmental heads for the human resource department there. The students were first escorted to the Management Council Hall at the facility where they were shown two inspiring and euphoric video presentations about the journey of the company, its values and focus on solutions and services. The video presentations also showed some of the distinguished dignitaries who have visited the Campus, which reiterates the status of Infosys as a established Global Brand.Post that, everyone broke for a quick tea break after which the students were given a house tour of the facility.It was refreshing to see so much of greenery amidst the campus. Some of the highlights of the campus are it comprises of 5 Food Courts, 2 multi cuisine restaurants 2 Huge Gyms with state of the art equipments, an exclusive yoga room and a shopping arcade catering to basic necessities.The students were then taken to the training block for a presentation on the hr practices and training practices of the company.The floor was then left open for questions, which the student had plenty. Some of the questions asked by the students included the expectations from B school graduates across various domains, opportunities and support provided to mid and senior level manager for further enhancing skills and knowledge. The Recruitment manager of Infosys for B-Schools and universities was present at the presentation as well. He gave the students an insight as to what they as a company expect before they recruit from various B-schools.  The staff at Infosys was all praises for the students of IFIM and were amazed at their energy and enthusiasm levels.The students of IFIM were all exhilarated at the opportunity provided to them and learnt quite a few new things.

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Will the Robots change the Human endurance and create a revolution in the organisation’s life-cycle?

January is the official start of a New year, whereas for an organisation it is on 1^st of April and for those into academics it starts on 1^st of July. Why I am saying this is because I was fully patched with my PGDM juniors of almost 267 students who joined our college. While exploring Bangalore and running for 5kms with them, I came to know about very important news “Ramco system Chennai”. Released an announcement stating that “They have created 34 Bots for their company, in which 22 bots will be used for HR – related functions and a dozen for their Aviation Industry”. This was said by their Chief Executive Virender Aggarwal that "We've seen a rapid proliferation of chat bots and started working on finding applications on the enterprise side six months ago". They already use HR bots for the internal purpose as well as for some clients.

When I read about this news, the only thing which strikes my mind is the famous movie of Super Star Rajinikanth “Robot”. Where the robot in that movie was trained to help out in defence force as well as for emergency purpose. Human also act as robots throughout their life with a brain that controls their activities very much under command of their master. The difference between manmade robots and natural robots is that, they do whatever they are made to do without any objection, with desired accuracy, honesty, low cost, punctuality, less time consuming, in hostile environments and untiringly. There are many examples in Indian mythology highlighting the existence of human or animal robots from classical times. In Ramayana, acting of Maricha as a deer on the orders of King Ravna to attract the attention of Lord Rama is one of many such examples where human has acted on the command of their master’s even by changing masquerade. Therefore, today's robotics is an advanced inspiration by nature contributing to the arena of robotics to bio-inspired robotics.

These technologies deal with automated machines that can take the place of human in dangerous environments or manufacturing processes, or resemble human in appearance, behaviour, and/or cognition. Robots can replace human to do any monotonous, dirty or hazardous tasks in any industry. Throughout history, it has been frequently couched that robots will mimic human behaviour and manage task in a human like fashion.

Robots can also be effective in areas where there are skill shortages. Significant solicitation opportunity exists in the emerging service robotics sectors, whose products will impact on our everyday lives by causative high-value-added services and providing safer working conditions. In the fields of medical diagnosis, therapy and convalescence, robot-based systems will assist health workers performing novel procedures, thereby increasing their effectiveness. In space, the use of robots has become almost obligatory. Both unmanned and manned missions, be it in earth orbit or interplanetary, will be preceded or augmented by robots. In addition, the technologies applicable to space robotics will enable a wide range of earth-based exploration and material-processing activities from automated thalassic inspection to mining and mineral extraction under hazardous conditions.

Wondering how Robots work?

India is an upcoming potential market for industrial robotics industry with a worldwide market share of approximately 15%. With suitable stimulation and investment in the key underlying technologies, a broad range of robotics activities can be enabled. Key to this is the identification of first-wave technologies that will drive early markets. Industrial robots form an essential part of the current manufacturing sector of India. Without the use of robotics technologies or cost-effective production, a pillar of emerging Indian wealth would not be possible. Furthermore, robot-based production increases product quality, improves work conditions and leads to an optimized use of resources. The miniaturization of robotic technologies and newly developed sensing capabilities mean that these benefits are becoming applicable to an even wider range of manufacturing industries, including those with small and varying lot sizes, materials and product geometric.

The robots in the near future:

There is no denial that Robotic technologies are all set to change the way things are done in the industries in which they are being implemented. All the entrepreneurs are clearly optimistic about the use of Robotics in various industrial segments and its future in India.  Robots will capture industries like manufacturing, pharmaceutical, packaging and inspection. A jiff of Robots would also be seen in the healthcare sector primarily in the form of assistive and skill development technologies. The other promising sectors are defence and education. Robots shall give a sure shot opening for the burgeoning opportunities, but there are still many challenges that this field faces in an Indian scenario. In India, the standard of robotics should rise to reach a world class product and compete with 347 robots form South Korea which is the highest number of robots employed amongst the Robotics industry across the world with deep specialization in serving engineering, electrical, embedded programming and mechanical engineering (with focus on design, manufacturing an.d materials).  Someone craving to get into the Robotics industry must have a wide variety of skills and a thorough indulgent system control along with system integration and those who are passionate about Robotics from any field of engineering can be a part of a team working on a particular Robotics project.

It can be replaced for human in the work place where it is going to reduce cost for the organisation in many different things like: cost-effective, compensation, performance appraisals and engagement programs. On the other side it is going to create an evolution in the manufacturing sector and the time taken for converting any raw-material into finished goods would just take few minutes rather than taking hours of time and similarly the labour force can be enhanced.

Company like Ramco Systems which is completely into software are able to adopt the Robotics, so this gives a point of view that there is a definite chance of more number of Robots replacing human workforce which will make the human endurance problematic.

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Job Profiles in Marketing

Concentration

Consumer Marketing: Mass marketing to end-consumers.

Opportunity Areas

FMCG (fast moving consumer goods)/CPG (consumer packaged goods), Consumer Durables, Consumer Services

Learning Focus

Sales & Distribution, Brand Management, Marketing Communication, Product Development, Pricing Strategies, Consumer Behaviour, Retailing/E-Tailing, Marketing & Sales Analytics, Digital Marketing

Concentration

Business to Business (B2B) Marketing: Targeted marketing to enterprise customers

Opportunity Areas

Technology products & services, Industrial products, ITES, Infrastructure Development, Energy, Defence, Core Sectors

Learning Focus

Selling Skills, Negotiation Skills, Product Development, Pricing Strategies, CRM/Customer Solutions Marketing, Customer Research, E-Business and E-Commerce

Concentration

Marketing Communication (MARCOM): Service providers to companies, for outsourcing their MARCOM activities Targeted marketing to enterprise customers

Opportunity Areas

Advertising Agencies, Media Agencies, Digital Agencies, Event Management Agencies, Activation & Promotion Agencies, Design Agencies, PR Agencies

Learning Focus

Marketing Communication, Brand Management, Digital Marketing, Consumer Insights, Consumer Culture, Media Management, Media Planning & Buying, Experiential Marketing

Concentration

Retailing & E-Tailing: Brick & Mortar Retail and Online Shopping

Opportunity Areas

Large Format Multi-Brand Retailers, Exclusive Brand Outlets, Online Shopping Companies

Learning Focus

Retail Management, In-store & Shopper Marketing, Category Management, Merchandising, Supply Chain, Digital Marketing, CRM, E-Commerce

Concentration

Marketing Research & Analytics: Quantitative &Qualitative analysis of for Marketing decision making

Opportunity Areas

Marketing Research Agencies, Marketing/Business Analytics Companies, Small/Medium Consulting Companies, Business Intelligence in companies across sectors

Learning Focus

Consumer Behaviour, Marketing Research, Consumer Insights, Business Analytics, Customer & Market Analytics, Web & Social Media Analytics, CRM

Concentration

Luxury Brand Marketing: Marketing of exclusive, niche brands to high net-worth customers

Opportunity Areas

Ultra-premium categories like, watches, designer apparel & accessories, vacations, cars & bikes, real-estate, hotels & resorts and other lifestyle products/services

Learning Focus

Understanding ‘Luxury Business’ with respect to: Brand Management, Marketing Communication, Retailing, Experiential Marketing, Relationship Marketing

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Statistics about Indian Labor Market

1) Total workforce in the country-Around 47 crore.

2) Workforce in the organized sector-8 crore.

3) Workforce in the unorganized sector- 39 crore

4) Labor force participation rate (LFPR) at All India Level-52.5% 

5) Worker Population Ratio at All India Level-49.9%

6) Unemployment Rate in India-4.9%

7) Self Employed Persons-49.5%

8) Casual Labor Employed-30%

9) Wage/Salary Earners Employed-16.5%

10) Contract Workers Employed-3.0%

11) Unemployment for Rural Male Youth-5%

12) Unemployment for Rural Female Youth-5%

13) Unemployment for Urban Male Youth-8%

14) Unemployment for Urban Female Youth-13%

15) Unemployment for Urban Male (National) - 2%

16) Unemployment for Urban Female (National)-2%

17) Unemployment for Rural Male (National)-3%

18) Unemployment for Rural Female (National)-5%

19) Unemployment Rate highest in state (urban India)-Jammu & Kashmir (48%)

20) Unemployment Rate highest in state (rural India)-Kerala 

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Pros of Bonus and Compensation

Bonuses are compensation for employees for work performed; they are paid in addition to salary or wages. Bonuses are considered compensation if (per the IRS) they "arise out of an employment relationship or are associated with the performance of services." Bonuses are considered taxable to employees, but are considered an expense of doing business and are, in most cases, a tax benefit to the employer.

A bonus payment is usually made to employees in addition to their base salary as part of their wages or Salary. While the base salary usually is a fixed amount per month, bonus payments more often than not vary depending on known criteria, such as the annual turnover, or the net number of additional customers acquired, or the current value of the stock of a public company. Thus bonus payments can act as incentives for managers attracting their attention and their personal interest towards what is seen as gainful for their companies' economic success.

An Incentive is something that motivates an individual to perform an action. Four kinds of incentives are available for employers to use at work. Those are as follows:

1) Compensation incentives may include items such as raises, bonuses, profit sharing, signing bonus, and stock options.

2) Recognition incentives include actions such as thanking employees, praising employees, presenting employees with a certificate of achievement, or announcing an accomplishment at a company meeting.

3) Rewards incentives include items such as gifts, monetary rewards, service award presents, and items such as gift certificates. An additional example is employee referral awards that some companies use to encourage employees to refer job candidates.

4)Appreciation incentives include such happenings as company parties and celebrations, company paid family activity events, ice cream socials, birthday celebrations, sporting events, paid group lunches, and sponsored sports teams.

Advantages of supplying bonuses:

1) Incentive and motivation

2) Appreciation

Disadvantages of supplying bonuses:

1) Costly for the company.

2) Jealousy among employees.

Advantages of providing incentives:

1) Increase productivity.

2) Retention of employees.

3) Encourage teamwork.

Disadvantages of providing incentives:

1) Employee Resentment.

2) Union Opposition.

3) More supervision required.

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