Dear member,
I had recommended the measurement of the costs and ratios because that is the only language top management understands better. If you talk about the "problems" with the management, how many companies are there whose management is ready to listen? The problems that you are able to see, but your top leadership is not able to see, speak volumes. All the problems your company has are solvable. It is not at all rocket science. Nevertheless, why was the need felt to come to the forum and seek a solution?
The problems that you have mentioned existed even before the birth of management science. If management science provides adequate safeguards to prevent the problems, then why are the companies grappling with them?
By the way, how many HR professionals do not know what the problems in their company are? They know the problems and they know the solutions also. Nevertheless, they just pretend that they do know the problems or they do not show courage to talk to the management.
If the problems are well visible, and in spite of it if the HR starts conducting the dipstick survey, then it is as good as living with the proverb "haath ke kangan ko aarsi kyon?"
A few months ago, there was violence in one of the companies located on the outskirts of Bangalore. The workers had vandalised the company's property. It would be naive to think that HR did not know why the workers were in an agitated state. Nevertheless, when the government ordered an enquiry, the HR professionals of the company were blamed for not having sufficient knowledge of the labour laws!
Worst still, the HR professionals were even killed in Pricol and Maruti Suzuki Motors Limited. At both companies, the HR professionals had illustrious careers.
Anyway, you feel that the dipstick solution will work, and you have given compliments also. In that case, do a favour to the members of this forum. Conduct the dipstick survey and take corrective action against the problems that emerge in the survey. Hopefully, by 2025, when the problems are eradicated, come back to this forum and write a case study. It will be a great education for the HR fraternity as a whole.
Let me reiterate what I had written in the previous post. Nothing sensitises as much as an understanding of the costs and ratios. This is what Taiichi Ohno had done in Toyota Motor Corporation for 20 long years. Now since you say with confidence that you had done the cost and ratio analysis, then would you mind confirming the Inventory Turnover Ratio (ITR) is for the inventory of the materials as well as for the finished goods? Nothing confidential about the disclosure of this ratio as this very ratio is a part and parcel of the balance sheet of the company. Just visit the websites of Economic Times or Money Control and you will get the balance sheets of the thousands of companies. The ITR is mentioned in the balance sheet of each manufacturing company.
Otherwise, you can do one favour to the members of this forum. Conduct the dipstick survey, take corrective action and please confirm whether ITR was increased, or any other ratio was increased/decreased. It could take 3-4 years. However, your confirmation will help to benchmark other companies against your company.
All the best!
Dinesh Divekar