PGDM Term 1 | Organizational Behaviour

Assignment 2 (10 Marks)

Case Analysis & Presentation: Perception
Read the case and associated questions carefully. Submit your analysis in the form of word document.

The atmosphere at automobile parts manufacturer SGS Ltd. was palpable with tension. Vice
President (Engineering) Amar Sharma's thoughts went back to the time when he had joined SGS
at the age of 25, straight after management school. He had hoped then that he would take the
company places and that together they would touch global horizons.

The managing director and the president of the company, Shravan Gupta was quite appreciative
of his work and contributions made towards the company. Today, 13 years later, they were totally
at loggerheads and did not seem to have a consensus on anything. The company was involved in
the manufacturing of automobile parts. Shravan Gupta took over SGS at the age of 27 after his
father's sudden death. Till then it relied an older methods of operations as there was no threat
of competition and there were no other major players in its external environment. When Shravan
took over in 1989, he wanted to bring in changes, but he was initially a bit apprehensive. In the
wake of the liberalization measures adopted by the Indian government in 1991, the company
faced unanticipated disturbances in business and the philosophy became to either "change or
perish." Shravan decided to change. He brought in positive changes in the technology, systems,
and processes and worked hard to maintain SGS 's position in the market. Under his leadership,
the company grew gradually and became one of the leaders in the market. It made variable profits
depending on the state of the market and the demand for its products. In 2000, he decided to go
public and made high profits for himself as well as the shareholders. He was labelled as a very
hard-working, focused, and sincere businessman. In 1995, he inducted Amar who proved to be
an asset to the company. Amar was appointed as an engineer, but in the last 13 years by dint of
sheer hard work, commitment, and loyalty to the company, he had been promoted as a Senior
manager.

Due to the unexpected departure of the vice president (engineering), Amar was promoted to take
on his mantle. Prior to this, there were very few interactions between Amar and Shravan because
the chain of command did not require them to communicate much. Earlier, important discussions
transpired between the VP and the MD. Amar developed a dislike for his boss as the frequency
of the interaction between them increased. He also believed that Shravan did not like him much.
They had differences about the promotional activities being carried out by the company to
advertise its products. Shravan believed that in a competitive environment, products can be sold
only with an effective advertising programme, while Amar was convinced that the quality of the
product would speak for itself. Amar was of the opinion that the company should, therefore,
focus more on the quality of the product and the needs of customers.

For internal use only. Not for circulation

Shravan was disappointed when heard about Amar's strong conviction about the importance of
product quality over investment in advertising campaigns. He found his thoughts to be immature
and also illogical. He also felt that Amar's views might not be aligned with the long-term objectives
of the company. Shravan communicated it very clearly to all his employees, especially to Amar,
that being the owner of the organization, he had complete control over its operations and would
not permit anyone to interfere with his decisions. The argument between them ended on a sour
note.

Amar, now, decided to take a backseat and just focus on his work with the objective of adding
value to the organization. He limited his discussions with Shravan to the minimum in order to
avoid confrontations. He tried to work quietly but sometimes had to come to the forefront during
Shravan's absence from work. Sometimes Amar had to take decisions regarding promotion and
reward strategies, and pricing of the product that were quite contrary to Shravan's beliefs. When
Shravan would get to know of these decisions, he would fret and call Amar to discuss the issues.
Amar, on the other hand, would avoid discussions for as long as possible as he did not want to
get into arguments with Shravan. Amar always had his thoughts aligned for the benefit of the
organization and did not want to get into conflicting situations. Slowly, Amar started realizing the
stark personality differences between him and Shravan and felt disturbed by it. It was not possible
for him to continue working in the same state. He proposed a meeting with Shravan immediately
so as to clarify his areas of authority and responsibility. He requested Shravan for a meeting, a
request that was grudgingly agreed to by Shravan. Amar is now waiting for this meeting to take
place so that he can decide his future course of action.

Shravan, however, is concerned about Amar's behaviour. He is disturbed by the fact that Amar
seems more interested in making investments in technology and processes rather than improving
the image of the company's products in the larger market with extensive advertising. He also feels
that Amar impinges on his authority during his absence and takes decisions that could damage
the reputation of the company. He is annoyed with Amar for trying to change the reward
structure of the company without formally discussing it with him. He had always found Amar
evading issues whenever called for discussion. He feels now that it would be impossible to work
with someone like Amar.

Questions for analysis (2.5 marks each)

1. How do Amar and Shravan perceive each other? Are they right in their perception and
each other's evaluation?

2. How do they perceive themselves? Why is there so much variation in their perception of
each other and themselves?

3. How can they improve their interaction with each other?

4. If you were in Shravan's place, how would you handle the situation? What would you do
if you were in Amar's place?

For internal use only. Not for circulation