Darlene Maney

Case Analysis of Infosys Case Summary

In our case study, Infosys originated as an idea by the owners, Narayana Murthy and six of his former colleagues. The purpose was to create a software company that was of the professional, by the professional, and for the professional (Delong, 2006). The seven cofounders wanted a company that would be professionally managed and offered a fair deal to all the stakeholders, including the employees. As the company grew globally, it was faced with national and international regulations that required the owners to think creatively in order to

compete with other software companies. At the same time, they were faced with employees that were becoming dissatisfied with what they perceived as shrinking benefits and a disregard for their creativity and technical ingenuity. Efforts by management seemed to be hampered by the fact that not all of the employees shared the vision. Communication did not flow freely between managers and employees, and it was clearly an issue when paired with a high turnover rate. Costs were being incurred because of increase recruiting efforts spurred by this rate. Various projects viewed by management as something that could address the discontent of the employees fell short of being successful. The management of Infosys finally realized that all of these changes in a relatively short period of time just were not working.

Issues
This issue, as this writer has observed, are that they were unable to continue the momentum begun in the first five years of operation. Part of the problem was the bureaucracy they encountered as they were attempting to go global in their operations. Infosys also went through changes in employee relations. Despite efforts to improve current employee relations through these changes, the employees were discontent and the turnover rate was rising. The

benefits they had been able to give when the company was starting out were undergoing changes and not as available to new employees. In addition, the upper management was losing touch changes involving employees. Employee development that was supposed to be provided by upper management and supervisory employees was simply not getting done. Management was finding it difficult to be as hands on as they had been. The rapid growth of the organization was leading the employees to feel that the work was not as fulfilling as they had hoped it might be. And Infosys competitors, who were beginning to branch out into India, were able to offer better compensation packages. This turnover lead to rising employee costs because of increasing recruitment efforts.

Alternate Solutions (to the issues)

This writer feels that a solid strategic human resources plan could have avoided many of the employee issues that Infosys was experiencing. The Human Resources department did not seem to be in touch with the employees. In reading the material, it seemed that the management of the company was primarily concerned (as they should be) with company growth and expansion. In that growth, they provided what they felt were more than adequate benefits to employees and found that most employees were becoming discontent. Management and supervisors were not adequately providing information to employees during the changes and the employees felt that the organization was becoming more and more impersonal. Employees also felt that they were being deprived of the creativity they once experienced, as well as the earlier perks of the job were being repealed. The company was becoming more process-oriented and should have been training the employees as to the reasons for that change and encouraging their buy-in by providing an alternative to the perk of allowing the top performers to travel to their client locations. That perk had been inhibited by the decision

of the United States to limit the number of B1 visas. A good solution to this problem would have been organizing an employee focus group to study what benefits were important to the employees. This focus group would have been able to identify those areas that the employees were experiencing discontent with and coming up with alternatives to those items. Also, there was quite a bit of recruiting efforts that were yielding employees that did not have a project to work on and were being benched until Infosys had somewhere to place them. It would have been better to have let them go, as other companies had, and saved the costs it was experiencing in trying to keep them on the payroll.

Recommendation
This writer feels that a good strategic plan by the company and the Human Resources department would have resolved quite a few of the issues. Strategic planning involves planning for the changes that the organization realizes and facilitate(s) the development of programs and policies that address the critical strategic challenges being faced by the organization. (Mello, 2006) A rapidly changing environment needs more than just a department that enforces rules and standards of behavior on the employees. Infosys should have recruited Human Resources as a partner in their plan for expansion, thereby allowing that department to organize the employee development process to include those activities that would build the teams necessary to work on the various projects. Human Resources had not been as fully involved as they should have been when it came to informing the employees of the changes the company was experiencing and their place in the eventual successes of that expansion. A good strategic plan would have the HR department involving the employees and managers alike in team building and information sharing so that the employees would buy-in to the goals and expectations of the company. By involving the

managers, all of the players would learn the various aspects of the changes and how to manage them. The employees are a key asset in an organization. Utilizing strategic human resources to attract the right employees that use their knowledge to bring optimum performance in managing the companys capital resources will expand the organizations competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Conclusion
The traditional HR role was recruiting employees, training them in the basic requirements of the company, coordinating the benefits, resolving conflicts, maintaining personnel files and ensuring payroll was accurate. Traditionally, HR has been perceived as a department that uses the companys financial resources rather than a contributor to those resources. Strategic management involves the HR department becoming a strategic business partner in the company. It focuses on organizational transformations as well as filling the traditional role. SHR can fulfill an important role in change management by helping upper management understand the fear of change and the negative reactions to it, as well as ameliorate anxiety and prepare the work force for change (Becton, 2009). This writer feels that strategic human resources management provides the greatest support for a company in achieving its mission and goals because it works with all levels of an organization. Strategic Human Resources is more involved in helping the company to bring their employees on board by employing change management techniques designed to motivate employees, encourage effective communication, train and cross-train employees in the functions they are expected to perform, and further the companys goals of moving forward successfully.

References Becton, J. Brett. (2009). Strategic Human Resources: Are We There Yet. Retrieved September 6, 2010, from http://www.allbusiness.com/labor-management/human-resourcesmanagement/11783597-1.html Delong, Thomas J. (2006). Infosys (A): Strategic Human Resource Management. Case presented as the basis for class discussion, Boston. Mello, J. (2006). Strategic Human Resource Management (3rd ed.) (D. Noguera, Ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Submitted by: Darlene Maney September 7, 2010 GB520-04NA: Strategic Human Resource Management Unit Number 2 Infosys (A): Strategic Human Resource Management