Analyzing HR as Transformation Partner in Maruti Suzuki Ltd

¶ … entity, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), an affiliate of Japan's Suzuki Motor Corporation, is the biggest passenger vehicle firm in India, consuming a large proportion of the local automobile industry. MarutiUdyog Limited is a public sector entity that was incorporated in the year 1981. Years later, the organization came into a joint venture with Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) and came to be a front runner to high-tech cars.

The following business plan delineates the different key business challenges faced by Maruti Suzuki and the proposed human resource initiatives to solve these challenges. Finally, the proposal will provide an evaluation plan that will make it possible to assess the proposals given. Primary Business Challenges There are a number of primary business challenges identified for Maruti Suzuki Ltd. In particular, emphasis is placed on general business challenges that might or might not consist of direct human resource areas. One of the business challenges is increasing competition.

The company is facing increased competition from different international players such as BMW, Toyota, Hyundai, Volkswagen and Indian companies such as Tata Motors as they entered into the manufacturing of small cars. The competitive market situation for the company is that it faced about 17 competitors, a challenge that it has to deal with and overcome. Another general business challenge is that the company did not have any growth oriented planning. This is a challenge faced by Maruti Suzuki, particularly with more and more companies eating out on its market share.

The other overall business challenge is that the company does not have any importation or transfer of new technology. This is in the sense that research and development was being piloted in Suzuki Motor Corporation Japan yet the business manufacturing premises are set in India. In addition, the company also has new priorities and objectives.

For starters, the company has to increase and sustain customer satisfaction, increase the profit amount generated by the company in the subsequent financial years, such as 15% in the coming year and 5% after each of the subsequent financial years. Lastly, the company has the priority of recruiting extremely competent and skilled personnel and also making certain that they are maintained in future periods. Proposed Human Resource Initiatives There are different human resource initiatives and strategies proposed to address the general business challenges identified in the above section.

One of proposed initiatives is training and development. This is a proposed approach to cater to the increased level of competition. The training and development of the personnel encompasses training the engineers and the executives and also behavioral training of the personnel. In accordance to Covey (1999), the behavior of employees can have the greatest influence on the emotions of consumers. This is largely tied to consumer satisfaction, which in the end forms the foundation for whether or not the consumers wish to return to the company and do business again.

In particular, how positive the consumers feel when visiting a dealership will most probably add to how satisfied they are with their experience. In the same manner, by training the executives, it will be possible to tone in management behavior. Personnel always follow the managers for leadership and therefore it is up to these executives of the company to set the standard for constructive behavior. The personnel will emulate the behaviors set by the managers (Covey, 1999).

The proposed HR initiative for coping with the lack of planning for the company's growth is to have a new culture. The methodology for the company is to employ the strategy from Japan and undertake its execution in India. This implies that Maruti Suzuki ought to undertake a new culture that takes into account its human resources. This includes making sure that there is employee equality, employee development, and placing emphasis on training. In the same manner, the company ought to make certain that it is people friendly.

In addition, the human resource strategy that ought to be employed by the company is to promote the personnel on the basis of their performance. Evaluation Plan It is imperative to have a strategy of appraising and assessing the proposed initiatives to ascertain their effectiveness. The major proposed HR initiatives encompasses training of personnel within the organization. In particular, the evaluation plan that is proposed for the company is using the Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Training Evaluation Model.

This approach will aid Maruti Suzuki to objectively examine the efficacy and influence of the training, so that the company can improve in the forthcoming periods. The four levels include: reaction, learning, behavior and results. The first phase encompasses measuring the reaction of the employees to.