Interview
AI the next big thing in SCM
How the transition from Operations
to HR?
Actually basic principles remain the
same. Be it any discipline
(HR/Marketing/finance). Major issue is
of organizational culture and the way
we put things. The broader philosophy
of the organization and more important
is making sure that the values held by
the top management percolate down
to the lowest level.
Hence in this context, vision at this
level is necessary. Without vision there
is no point in moving to the particular
path. Hence every business entity has
to have a vision and plan it strategy
accordingly. Hence in the case of
operations, it is the manner in which
the operations are carried out that
matters most and that is the
differentiator.
Can you give us insights from
industry perspective?
I n the book the Toyota Way, the author
of the book Jeffrey has very nic ely
quoted 14 principle.
The first principle says “ Base your
business decisions on long term goals
even at the expense of short term
financial goals” The second principle
says create continuous flow so that no
problems are hidden because there is
a general human tendency to hide the
things under the carpet. If a snake is
put under a carpet, it is possible that
the snake comes out from the other
end and bites you one day. So it is
better to find problems at the early
stages and provide solutions to them.
The third thing says, create a pull
system rather than a push system. The
courses should be designed in such a
way that the products are pulled.
They also talk of “Level out the work
load”. There is Japanese term called “
Hijunkam”, which means level out the
work load in terms of people as well as
the machinery.
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Operations & Supply Chain Club, IIM Raipur
They also talk of standardization of
task. That is the key to achieve
productivity and efficiency. That is
why there is a lot of emphasize on
standard operating procedure.
However, it doesn't mean that if an
SOP is prepared today, it will
remain sacrosanct forever. It has to
be reviewed continuously. You
have to first unfreeze, modify and
re-freeze and implement.
They also talk about the visual
signals to identify the problems.
They also talk about usage of
proven technology. It should also
be such that it suits your company.
It should go with your own tradition,
culture and ease of
implementation.
Develop exceptional leaders who
live the philosophy of the
organization. They also preach it to
others so that it becomes a part of
organizational culture which is the
most difficult task. The
organizations management
sometimes ignores the important
aspect
Then they also say that treat your
vendors contractors as your
business partners. In the Indian
context it is a general tendency to
treat your contracts and vendors
just like that and that's why many of
the disputes arise. This leads to
productivity loss and monitory loss.
If that is done in glitter and spirit,
then nothing can stop the
organization from reaching heights
About decision making process,
they say that, take the decisions
slowly. They call it nemawashy. It
means sitting together and
discussing a particular problem.
Discuss the problem thoroughly
and consider all possible options,
but implement rapidly. This is
where Indian people fail.