Description
Titan Industries is a manufacturing company that produces India's largest and best-known range of personal accessories – watches, jewellery, sunglasses and prescription eye wear. Titan Industries was established in 1984 as a joint venture between the Tata group and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. The company brought about a paradigm shift in the Indian watch market, offering quartz technology with international styling, manufactured in a state-of-the-art factory at Hosur, Tamil Nadu.The project titled “A Study on the Affirmative Action Program at Titan Industries (Watch Division), Hosur” was carried out to understand the implications of affirmative action program among trainees. The purpose of this project was to find the effectiveness of education based affirmative action training among the trainees and recommend a framework on education option alone. Both the primary and secondary data were collected from 105 trainees with the help of personal interview through a structured questionnaire. The extent of trainee’s preference and their needs were analyzed by percentage analysis.
The major finding of the study were the respondents are highly satisfied with the institute facilities, the quality of education provided and skills of faculty. In regard to effectiveness of Titan affirmative action program 60% of respondents are only aware about the program in their campus. But still various activities have to be carried out for the effective execution of affirmative action program .The foremost one is appointment of a special designated officer which is highly recommended. Along with it various education based training programs are recommended on the basis of need analysis conducted among the trainees.
CHAPTER 1
1.1 INTRODUCTION TO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM
Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of our Nation, recognized the need to integrate the oppressed sections of society with the mainstream, and as a first step towards achieving this; he publicly acknowledged them as Harijans, people of God. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution and champion of human rights, also strove to annihilate caste-based discrimination and to reconstruct Indian society on the basis of equality of human beings. He gave a start in Article 46 of the 1950 India Constitution pronounces that “The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation”. Other social reformers also fought for the rights of these marginalized people. While these measures went a long way towards ensuring that members of the scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) in India received the rights due to them as citizens, stronger measures were needed to ensure their integration into mainstream society. Still India’s socially and economically underprivileged SC & ST have not been able to realize their full potential due to centuries-old social discrimination. The answer was affirmative action which would provide positive preferential treatment in allotment of jobs and access to higher education, as a means to accelerate the integration of the SC and ST with mainstream society. It also refers to the policies intended to promote access to education or employment aimed at a historically socio-politically non dominant group (typically minorities or women). The idea was that affirmative action, apart from protective legislation and the provision of developmental measures had the potential to bring about this integration. Till early 2007, private sector Indian industry was caste blind, unlike the public sector which had job reservations for SC/ST youth. Several Indian companies had a significant number of employees from the SC/ST communities but there were no figures as industry had no data on the caste affiliation of its employees.
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However, after Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s call to CII in May 2007 to pro-actively adopt an affirmative agenda to obviate the need for legislation, CII along with ASSOCHAM set up a Task Force headed by Dr JJ Irani, director of Tata Sons. The task force and Indian industry had assured Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh that it would draw up a robust affirmative action plan and two years later in this regard, it is Indian industry’s contention that an encouraging beginning has been made. The committee submitted its report to the prime minister, committing industry to a series of time-bound commitments of voluntary initiatives under the four Es: employment, employability, entrepreneurship and education. The affirmative action report recognizes that the industry does have a role in ensuring inclusive growth, though it’s a small one. The creation of the report diminishes the gap that existed between what was considered as social initiatives by the industry bodies and the political leadership. Simultaneously, it was made clear in repeated interactions with the political executive and with organizations representing the SC/ST communities that industry was unequivocally opposed to reservations. Within the above framework, private sector industry commits to concrete steps for social equity, defined as constructive measures for greater inclusiveness in industry for SC&ST in the workplace, in business partnerships, and in capacity building. From 2007, awareness has been created in industry of the importance of affirmative action to further social stability and cohesion. For any nation an educated, skilled, healthy and productive workforce is imperative to foster inclusive development and proper economic growth. The Indian industry appreciates the urgency of creating a pool of such workforce which the government on its own cannot guarantee. A beginning has been made in many companies to embed Affirmative Action for the SC/ST communities in their human resource and business processes.
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1.2 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGARM @ TITAN INDUSTRIES LTD
Generally as a practice, the private sector industry does not take into account, the caste identities of prospective employees in the employment process. However, the Government of India has impressed upon the industry and its related agencies like CII and ASSOCHAM to report on the caste identities of employees, as a committed step towards social equity. This action expected from the industry in terms of collation and regular reporting of the caste identity of its employees has been termed as “affirmative action” plan. The Tata group, with a legacy of commitment to the community, established the group forum for affirmative action in november 2007. The forum is headed by Dr Irani and comprises B Muthuraman, vice chairman, Tata steel, Ravi Kant, vice chairman, Tata Motors; Praveen Kadle, Managing Director, Tata Capital, Satish Pradhan, Chief of Group Human Resources; Sunil Sinha, chief of group quality management services; Ritu Anand, Vice President and Deputy Global Head, Human Resource, Tata Consultancy Services and Ajay Kumar, Vice President, Communications, Tata Industries. The group corporate centre endorsed the group affirmative action policy in April 2007, affirming a policy of positive discrimination where, everything else being equal, Tata companies were exhorted to employ more members of the SC/ST communities and engage more firms owned by SC/ST members as business associates. In the last three years, several companies in Tata group have initiated several efforts under the four Es such as Employment, Employability, Entrepreneurship and Education. The organization believes in being an equal opportunity employer, where every individual has an equal opportunity, irrespective of caste, creed or religion. It also believes in the fact that what comes from society must go back to society multifold! In this case they have hired from the local community from where operate out of and have taken several initiatives to support the community, including the perspective of affirmative action requirements. The company believes in the credo “we will be a healthy wealthy, sharing, caring, clean and green, corporation that will be the envy of Indian industries”
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True to its credo and its affirmative action policy, the organization will invest part of the companies’ resources in improving them. The government has been apprised of these initiatives and has expressed its satisfaction. Currently, 56 Tata companies have initiated activity with reference to affirmative action within their Indian operations. Forty-seven of these companies have active agendas on the four Es. Tata companies are exploring newer and more innovative ways to assimilate SC/ST communities into the mainstream and give them a helping hand. While much is being done, much more remains to be done and the Tata companies who are working in this field are quick to acknowledge this fact. However, 56 Tata companies have already shown that it is possible to bring about this change. At Titan, various initiatives under the 4 E's were being finalized and put into place, in this connection, the overall affirmative action policy of titan has also been finalized and has been shared with all employees. The affirmative action policy of the Titan Industries Ltd was declared on 04th October, 2010 by its Managing Director Mr.Bhaskar Bhat. Till date Titan has played a balanced role in ensuring that the investments and focus stays on course in all four areas of E’s. Going forward, there will be additional emphasis in the areas of education, employment, employability and entrepreneurship, in that order. At the same time sustaining the initiatives already taken in these areas since inception. The following list will give us a clear picture about the affirmative action program which is carried out by Titan Industries Limited in the four areas. 1.2.1 EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE UNDER AAP
Titan Industries have been striving for the educational cause of the SC/ST in the spirit of affirmative action. Though the affirmative action was declared as a policy by the government of India in 2007, Titan Industries has been practicing the scheme of providing scholarships to lower socio backward people mostly covering the SC/ST for the past several years. Its primary focus population includes SC/ST from Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri. The objective of the scheme is to identify and encourage meritorious students who are natives of these two districts. It is given to students to pursue education in science, engineering, and medicine. Candidates were shortlisted through a process of interviews where the factors such as socio economic background, marks in SSLC/12th std / degree, assessment of aptitude to use the scholarship benefit effectively are gauged.
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After the affirmative action has been initiated in the year 2010, the scope of Titan plans was broadening in Salem, Krishnagiri, Namakkal, Hosur & Mettur by adopting Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) in these places through an MOU with Tamilnadu state government, the organization provided various material support to the institutions along with skill development training to the welfare of teachers and students. The organization conducted various training programs for the betterment of the students in ITI in these four institutes. The affirmative action team in the organization has been tracking the needs and necessities of government ITI in these four places. Time based needs such as banners for admissions, stationery support and campaign to attract rural students towards ITI in various rural areas are conducted regularly.
1.2.2 EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE UNDER AAP The organization has been fulfilling its obligation towards society at large ever from the inception of the company. The principles of recruitment of employees from the socio- economically backward areas have been deep routed in their way. The company has committed resources, both money and manpower at the level of each initiative, where there has been a direct impact on the benefit and support to the affirmative action category the company goes all the way in supporting such initiatives through effective use of manpower and capital. As part of its policy on affirmative action, Titan encourages positive discrimination in recruitment of its people, be it new or replacement for an existing position. Preference is given to SC/ST candidate, when all other parameters of performance are equal, with respect to the job on hand. The company has modified its application forms to incorporate disclosure on AA status which has enabled the SC/ST people to transparently capture information at the time of recruitment itself. Currently there are 8.85% of SC/ST employees in the industry altogether. The recruitment in the organization takes place in four categories. Both the people in hr and the business functions which are part of the recruitment process are well aware and trained on this affirmative action process need. In addition to these the organization has ensured the sustenance of the existing population of SC/ST in there CSR program i.e. both women empowerment program (meadows) and karigar parks.
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A few words about women empowerment program: right from the inception, the company has been committed to the well being of the socio economically backward people, in particular the women in the region of Hosur where it operates. Towards that the company has tied up with an NGO-Myrada (Mysore rural development agency) to form self help groups, with women taken from the most backward districts of the district and supported them in earning their own livelihood. Today close to 16% of employees in meadows belong to the SC/ST category. The company offloads some of its low value adding operations to this group, and supports them through basic training and infrastructure. Inception of Karigar Park: It is a community which works in the jewellery industry and has been the most neglected and exploited in the industry. The areas of neglect start from the very basic hygiene and living conditions, apart from work timings. Towards this Titan has brought in several professional practices and is transforming the way in which these karigars are being treated. This group employs totally about 25% of its workforce from the SC/ST category. The company has initiated several steps like signing up with NGOs, Cap Foundation and Unnati.
1.2.3 EMPLOYABILITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE UNDER AAP Employability refers to a person's capability of gaining initial employment, maintaining employment, and obtaining new employment if required. Employability is the capability to move self-sufficiently within the labor market to realize potential through sustainable employment. For individuals, employability depends on the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) they possess, the way they use those assets and present them to employers, and the context within which they seek work. The Organization strives to promote employability in many ways directly and indirectly. One of the key initiatives which the company has undertaken has been the creation of a Basic Training Centre. This centre which is approved by the government functions within Titan and trains people over a three year period in basic courses such as fitting etc. The key feature of this program is that students are picked up from the lower income group / socio economic strata of the society and provided with rigorous training from the district of Krishnagiri. The Organization makes a conscious effort through positive discrimination and pick up SC/ST candidates. Post completion of training, they attend the ITI course examinations and achieve the ITI /NCTVT certificate (recognized by the Government of India) based on which they are able to get jobs in industry.
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Other initiative of the organization is Apprentice Scheme: Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices (or in early modern usage "prentices") or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships. Most of their training is done while working for an employer who helps the apprentices learn their trade, in exchange for their continuing labour for an agreed period after they become skilled. Theoretical education may also be involved, informally via the workplace and/or by attending vocational schools while still being paid by the employer. The Titan Industry is committed to give one of the best training to the government of India apprentices under the act of apprentice scheme. Apprentices under various trades are taken for one year training under the provisions of the Apprentices Act. Generally students from institutes near the manufacturing units are given preference, with focus on candidates from socio-economically backward families. The current batch of Basic Training Center contains 36% Students belonging to SC/ST category. Most of the students end up in getting good jobs once having completed apprentice scheme in Titan. The No. of SC/ST students have keep on increasing through the past years.
1.2.4 ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMET INITIATIVE UNDER AAP Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as "one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods". The most obvious form of entrepreneurship is that of starting new businesses (referred as Startup Company); however, in recent years, the term has been extended to include social and political forms of entrepreneurial activity. When entrepreneurship is describing activities within a firm or large organization it is referred to as intra-preneurship and may include corporate venturing, when large entities spin-off organizations. The company has predominately initiated two powerful entrepreneurship initiatives; The Women Empowerment Program, the Meadows and the Karigar Parks. These two which have been around for many years have played a vital role in corporate sustainability as well, apart from providing entrepreneurial capabilities as well. About 42% of them belong to SC/ST category. The number of SC/ST participants in Meadows program increased from 135 to 160 and the Karigar Parks from 139 to 153. All these initiatives create a socially and ethically responsible business entity and helps in long term sustainability thus ensuring value growth for all stakeholders.
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1.3 INTRODUCTION TO WATCH INDUSTRY
Wrist Watches form an integral part of the personality of individuals in the present era. Earlier seen as a luxury item, they are now witnessing a fundamental change in perception, and are now gaining respect as an essential utility item. For the watch industry, time seems in its favour what with the liberalization of the Indian market coupled with the rising purchasing power of the young and consumerist Indians. Electronic watches were introduced in the world market in the early seventies. They came to India in 1979 but had to be withdrawn due to problems with the product. Indian watches market was for long dominated by public sector organizations like Hindustan Machine Tools Ltd. (HMT) and Allwyn (also famous for its refrigerators once upon a time!), and has now left the pioneers far behind or nowhere in market by private sector enterprises like Titan, Sonata, Ajanta and Timex along with foreign entities jostling for display space in the smallest of shops selling these products.HMT Ltd (HMT) introduced its electronic watches in 1981 and was followed by Hyderabad Allwyn Limited (Allwyn),organizations such as Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT), Semi Conductor Complex Ltd. (SCL), etc. introduced watches but was not successful. By mid eighties many smaller companies, originally manufacturing mechanical watches, diversified into electronic watches. In 1987 Titan Watches Ltd. (Titan) a joint venture of Tata Sons and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation entered the market and shortly established itself as a major manufacturer. Before the establishment of HMT as the dominant player in the Indian markets, the country was solely dependent on imports to meet the internal demand. However, establishment of HMT as the leading player in the wrist watch segment in the 1960’s, changed the scenario. In post liberalization India, the market stood to witness intense competition between foreign and Indian manufacturers like Timex, Titan, Movado, Longines, Rado, Rolex, Fréderique Constant, Mont Blanc, Swatch, and many others. Many watch makers have made significant inroads in the industry and others are in the process of establishing themselves. Besides this, buyers are extremely choosy about the brand and type of wrist watches they wear. Being extremely brand conscious, their tastes have evolved over the years and have gone beyond the realms of durability to choose in terms of aesthetics and elegance. Thus it is a buyer’s market with multitude of designs that have entered and flooded the market place.
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Many customers prefer mechanical and automatic watches, while others prefer quartz watches. Newer segments are also on rise such as ladies watches, children’s watches and gent’s watches. Customers usually base their preferences and buying decisions on a variety of factors like price, durability, utility, aesthetic appeal and brand name. A combination of all these points ultimately forms the customer’s buying decision that translates into the purchase of a watch. Since the early 1990’s, Indian customers are relying more on departmental stores and shopping malls to purchase their wants and needs. This has come as a boon for watch manufacturers and dealers, who are now looking forward to utilize these new outlets to reach out to the Indian masses. Watch manufacturers are looking at a suitable mix to market their products ranging from exclusive retail outlets to display sections in malls and large departmental stores.
1.3.1 INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN WATCH INDUSTRY The sheer size of India shows promise. The economic growth that the country has seen in the last two decades has been phenomenal. Added to this is the ever increasing purchasing power of the average Indian. This directly impacts the bearing of the retail industry. The size of the Indian watch market is estimated to be about US $195 million annually. The forecasted annual growth is at 10%. The Indian watch market is set to more than double in the next five years to around Rs 8,500 crore growing at 10-15 per cent every year, driven by youth and premium segment of consumers. As per the report - Indian Time Wear Industry 2010 published by All India Federation of Horological Industries (AIFHI) and consultancy firm Technopak Advisors, the current size of watch market in India is about Rs 4,000-4,200 crore. In the past few years, the sector has seen a growth of 8 -10 per cent, it is said. Technopak Chairman Arvind K Singhal said factors like growing economy, increasing consumerism, strong middle class and a large number of high net worth individuals, would favor the growth of the market. Even expansion of modern retail in India will further fuel the growth of the sector as a watch is increasingly transforming into a lifestyle product from being just a time-keeping device, the report said. In terms of volumes, the organized players currently command 40 per cent of the industry (around 460 lakh units annually) and the rest 60 per cent by the unorganized segment, which consists of smuggled watches, cheap imported watches and those assembled by small unorganized players.
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However, in value terms, around 60 per cent of the total watch market in India is controlled by organized players that include domestic firms such as Titan, Timex, Maxima and HMT, and a host of international brands and companies such as LVMH, Seiko, the Swatch Group, Chanel and others. According to AIFHI President Yashovardhan Sabbo, the sector is still facing several bottlenecks and challenges such as high import duties and varied taxations. Foreign Direct Investment restrictions on single brand retail in India and the grey market are also areas of concern, according to AIFHI. The report also suggests that the government should incentivize companies, both international and domestic, to make India as a manufacturing hub, especially in the sub Rs 1,000 watches, which are dominated by counterfeits and cheap Chinese imports."For most of the international watch brands, India is one of the top priority markets in the world. The report also pointed out that watch penetration in India is currently estimated at 27 per cent, which is amongst the lowest in the world. Only 3.5 per cent of the country's total population owns multiple watches, it said. Titan Industries commands more than 50% of the organized watch market. HMT has a share of 10-15% due to its retail clout in urban and rural India built over four decades. Brands such as Timex, Maxima and Citizen makeup a majority of the rest of the competition.
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1.4 INTRODUCTION TO TATA GROUP
Tata Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in the Bombay House in Mumbai, India. In terms of market capitalization and revenues, Tata Group is the largest private corporate group in India. Started as a textile trading company, today the TATA Group is one of India’s biggest and most respected business organizations with revenues of $17.8 billion (Rs.799, 118 million), the equivalent of about 2.8 percent of India’s GDP. It has interests in communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. The Tata Group has operations in more than 80 countries across six continents and its companies export products and services to 80 nations. The beginnings of the Tata Group can be traced back to 1868, when Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata established a trading company dealing in cotton in Bombay
(now Mumbai), British India. This was followed by the installation of 'Empress Mills' in Nagpur in 1877. Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay (now Mumbai) was opened for business in 1903. Sir Dorab Tata, the eldest son of Jamsetji Tata became the chairman of the group after his father's death in 1904. Under him, the group ventured into steel production (1905) and hydroelectric power generation (1910). After the death of Dorab Tata in 1934, Nowroji Saklatwala headed the group till 1938. He was succeeded by Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata. The group expanded significantly under him with the establishment of Tata Chemicals (1939), Tata Motors, Tata Industries (both 1945), Voltas (1954), Tata Tea (1962),Tata Consultancy Services (1968)
and Titan Industries (1984). Ratan Tata, the incumbent chairman of the group succeeded JRD Tata in 1991.The Tata Group comprises 114 companies and subsidiaries in eight business sectors, 27 of which are publicly listed. 65.8% of the ownership of Tata Group is held in charitable trusts. Companies which form a major part of the group include Tata Steel (including Tata Steel Europe), Tata Motors (including Jaguar and Land Rover), Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Technologies, Tata Tea ,Tata Chemicals, Titan Industries, Tata Power, Tata Communications, Tata Sons, Tata Teleservices and the Taj Hotels. The group takes the name of its founder, Jamsedji Tata, a member of whose family has almost invariably been the chairman of the group.
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The current chairman of the TATA group is Ratan Tata, who took over from J. R. D. Tata in 1991 and is one of the major international business figures in the age of globality. The company is currently in its fifth generation of family stewardship. TATA Group's 114 companies are held by its main company TATA Sons and the main owner of this Tata Sons is not Ratan Tata but various charitable organizations developed and run by TATA Group. Out of which JRD TATA Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust are holding 35%. Other 65% ownership of Tata Sons which is the key holding company of the other 114 Tata Group Company is held by various charitable organizations. The Groups 32 publicly listed enterprises, among them standout names such as Tata steel; Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Tata Tea and Titan have a combined market capitalization that is the highest among Indian business houses in the private sector. The TATA Group of companies shares a set of five core values. Integrity, Understanding, Excellence, Unity and Responsibility. The Tata Group also has a written policy on ethics called the Tata Code of Conduct and Ethics. Counsellors communicate and help implement the Code. Titan aims to provide the Tata Code of Ethics in booklet form to every employee of the company and all its vendors and franchisees, who are required to follow the same standards of conduct including the prohibition against employing child labour. Titan has 35 counsellors available to help with problems that may arise in the company. Titan also has policy documents on child labour, disaster management, employing disabled persons, environmental protection, HIV / AIDS and sexual harassment.The TATA name today is synonymous with leadership and trust.
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CHAPTER 1.5: INTRODUCTION TO TITAN INDUSTRIES
Titan Industries is the world's fifth largest wrist watch manufacturer and India's leading producer of watches under the Titan, Fastrack, Sonata, Nebula, RAGA, Regalia, Octane & Xylys brand names. It is a joint venture between the Tata Group, and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO). Its product portfolio includes watches, accessories and jewellery, in both contemporary and traditional designs. It exports watches to about 32 countries around the world with manufacturing facilities
in Hosur, Dehradun, Goa and manufactures precious jewellery under the Tanishq brand name, making it India's only national jewellery brand. It is a subsidiary of the TATA group. Titan watch division was started in 1987. At launch it was the third watch company in India after HMT and Allwyn. Titan formed a joint venture with Timex, which lasted until 1998, and setup a strong distribution network across India. As of 2010, Titan watches account for a 60% share of the total Indian market and are also sold in about 40 countries through marketing subsidiaries based in London, Aden, Dubai and Singapore. Titan watches are sold in India through retail chains controlled by Titan Industries. Titan Industries has claimed to have manufactured the world's slimmest wrist watch - Titan Edge. Produced indigenously after four years of research and development, the Titan Edge has a total slimness of just 3.5 mm and a wafer thin movement of 1.15 mm. Apart from the Titan Edge, Titan also offers Steel, Regalia, Raga, Fastrack, Technology, Nebula, Bandhan, Sonata, Octane. Fastrack is a popular brand among youth in India. Fastrack watches come in a variety of styles, shapes and colours. On 4th March, 2010, Titan Industries announced the launch of its very first Titan flagship store located at Bandra Linking Road, Mumbai. Store is spread over a spacious 2,500 sq ft (230 m2) and houses more than 1500 watches on display from Titan like Purple, Automatics, Orion, Raga, Edge, Nebula, and many more. Precision Engineering Division of Titan was started in 2002. It has become one of the leading manufacturers of Precision Parts for Automotive and Aerospace Industries. The diverse product range includes pointers, dashboard clusters like fuel gauge, temperature gauge, gear shift indicators, clocks for automobiles and any kind of injection moulded plastic parts, electromechanical assemblies for automobiles, all kinds of pressed and turned parts for automobiles.
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The Tooling Sector of Precision Engineering Division manufactures all kinds of Press Tool, Molds, Jigs, and Fixtures for various industries. Titan Automation Solution, a part of Precision Engineering Division is a leading Automation Solution Provider for all kind of industries. They made significant contributions to add value during the product development stages of the low-cost water purifier, Tata swach, developed by Tata Chemicals. The Automation Solution applied its precision engineering capabilities to supply automation solutions for the development of special assembly presses that enabled mass production of Tata swach. Tanishq is currently the most prominent jewellery brand of India, and it pioneered the concept of branded jewellery and ornaments in India. The name Tanishq has been formed by combining "Ta" (the first two letters of Tata) and "Nishk or Nishkh" (meaning gold coin or necklace in Sanskrit). Tanishq is India's largest jewellery brand with a wide range of jewellery in 22Kt pure gold studded with diamonds or coloured gems. It is the fastest growing jewellery brand in India. Tanishq, established in 1995, challenged the established family jeweller and introduced new rules in precious jewellery; a category as old as civilization. Tanishq challenged the age-old jeweller's word with Tata's guaranteed purity. Tanishq's initial foray into the jewellery business was a failure though. Tanishq at first introduced 18 Kt gold jewellery advertising 18 Kt as the 'international standard.' This less pure gold was completely rejected by the market dominated by (purported) 22 Kt gold. Later on, it exploded the market with facts about rampant impurity across India. It introduced technology-backed challenge in a category completely governed by blind individual trust. Tanishq has set up production and sourcing bases with thorough research of the jewellery crafts of India. The 135,000 sq ft (12,500 m2) factory is equipped with the latest and most modern machinery and equipment. The factory complies with all labour and environmental standards, located at Hosur, Tamil Nadu. The brand brings together the work of karigars, who specialize in different styles of making jewellery. Karigars, who continue to be an exploited lot with other jewellers, are paid fair remuneration and work under good working conditions in Tanishq. Prescription Eyewear Division (PEW) business is Titan's latest retailing venture. The company now has 48 stores under the "Titan Eye+" brand across the country. Equipped with best certifications such as AS 9100B for the aerospace segment, TS 16949 for the automotive segment and the coveted Ford Q1 status - the highest supplier recognition from Ford – Titan Industries also offers fully integrated automation solutions.
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CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1 DEFINING AFFIRMATIVE ACTION (AA)
Bossuyt (2002) states that “Affirmative action is a coherent packet of measures, of a temporary character, aimed specifically at correcting the position of members of a target group in one or more aspects of their social life, in order to obtain effective equality.” [1] Sheth D.L (1987) states that terms such as ‘Preferential Treatment Policies’ or ‘Reservations’ or ‘Positive Discrimination’ are often covered under the concept of Affirmative Action. However, the above mentioned report has claimed that the term “Positive Discrimination” makes no sense. “In accordance with the new general practice of using the term “discrimination” exclusively to designate “arbitrary”, “unjust” or “illegitimate distinctions”, the term “positive discrimination” is a contradiction in terminis: either the distinction in question is justified and legitimate, because not arbitrary, and cannot be called “discrimination”, or the distinction in question is unjustified or illegitimate, because arbitrary, and should not be labeled “positive”. [2]
2.2 HISTORY OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Cunningham. CD(2003) states that in the Indian context, reservations were introduced during the last decades of the 19th century at a time when the subcontinent could be broadly divided according to two main forms of governance – British India and the 6000 princely states. It should not surprise us then that the very first records of implementing reservation policies are from these princely states. “India developed affirmative programmes as early as 1927, and was probably the first in the world to create a specific constitutional provision authorizing affirmative action in government employment” [3]
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2.3 ORIGIN OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Clinton Administration's Affirmative Action Review (1995) states that the term "affirmative action" was first used in the United States. It first appeared in Executive Order 10925, which was signed by President John F. Kennedy on March 6, 1961, and it was used to refer to measures to achieve non-discrimination. In 1965, President Lyndon B.
Johnson issued Executive Order 11246 which required federal contractors to take "affirmative action" to hire without regard to race, religion and national origin. In 1968, gender was added to the anti-discrimination list [4].
2.4 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN INDIA AND THE UNITED STATES
Darity, William and Ashwini Deshpande (2003) state that caste in India and race in the USA are often compared for their institutional similarities, and also because these categories form the social basis on which the affirmative action program in the two countries is based. While disadvantage and discrimination produce similar outcomes for certain groups within caste- or race-divided societies, it is important to understand the differences between the two systems. If race is a system of ascriptive or color-based disparities, caste can be called a system non-ascriptive or non-color based disparities [5]
2.5 CASTE BASED DISCRIMINATION:
Birdsall and Sabot (1991) took a note of insights from economic theories which clearly indicate that caste-based market discriminations concern policy-makers, not only because they enhance inequality and produce unequal opportunities, but also because they are retrogressive for economic growth [6]. For urban areas Banerjee and Knight (1991) observed that, “there is indeed discrimination by caste, particularly job discrimination and that discrimination appears to operate at least in part through traditional mechanism, with untouchables disproportionately represented in poorly-paid-dead-end jobs. Discrimination is greatest in operative jobs, in which contacts are more important for recruitment, compared with white-collar jobs in which recruitment involves formal methods [7]
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2.6 LINKAGES IN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Desai and Kulkarni (2008) compare educational achievements of different levels among hindus along with that of other upper castes, dalit, adivasis, and muslims between the years of 1983 to 2000. Although the primary school enrollment at all income levels are higher for hindu and other upper castes over this period, the study shows that there is a declining trend in the gap between hindus and other groups at the higher income levels. It implies that while affirmative action in employment seems to have contributed to higher primary school enrollment over the years, improvement in economic condition increased the effectiveness of the program. That is, households with better economic conditions benefited more from the job reservation as it helped improve enrollment in schools. [8]
What is the combined impact of affirmative action in education and employment? Xaxa (2002) in his study of the quota system in the admission to the University of Delhi finds that even after implementation of the this system in higher education and in government and semi-government jobs for SCs/STs/OBCs, the quotas remain largely unfulfilled in several places[9].
Chakravarthy and Somanathan (2008) compare the job market achievements of the SCs/STs and general candidates among Indian Institute of Management (IIM) graduates. They find no significant difference between the two categories’ wages once the academic performance (grade point average or GPA) is taken into account when fixing the wages. However, when academic performance is not taken into account (or controlled for), the average wages of SC/ST candidates tend to be lower than those of the general candidates. On an average, the GPA of SC/ST candidates were also found to be less than those of the general candidates. This implies that the weaker background of the SC/ST students admitted through the reservation policy adversely affects their job market achievements because of lower GPA [10].
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Weisskopf (2004) commented that even if the SC/ST candidates are given the opportunity to study at higher education institutions, their weak educational background should be taken care of before they reach the job market. This is consistent with the argument that the preferentially selected students would also need to be given significant human and financial support, if the reservation policy is to fully serve the purpose of eliminating the differences [11].
2.7 DISCONTENT TO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN INDIA
Primary objective of the reservation policy is to create equality of opportunities on a material basis and elimination of unjust inequalities, whereas the secondary objective is the responsibility of ensuring efficiency for minimum unavoidable costs and minimizing costs and maximizing potential benefits. One of the inescapable dilemmas of the caste-based affirmative action policies is that they cannot but help intensify caste identities. Caste consciousness has increased enormously and affirmative action has played a part in that by increasing and intensifying caste consciousness. But, affirmative action alone cannot be responsible. Today the caste system has weakened but the caste identity has intensified its position. It is admirable that the socially disadvantaged people have used the tool of inequality to seek equality. But today the affirmative action programme has become a political tool of mobilizing people during the elections and secures the votes. The principle of secularism, social justice and equality are under the threat. “Another aspect of inequality which relates to affirmative action and that is the creation of a new middle class in India. It is not as if people rank each other only in terms of caste. Occupation, education and income have become increasingly important in Indian society. Now it is true that the different castes are not equally represented through the entire hierarchy of occupations. The upper castes are more common in the superior non manual occupations. There is an overrepresentation of the upper castes in such occupations. And there is an overwhelming overrepresentation of the lower castes in the inferior, menial and manual occupations. Affirmative action has played a role in shaking up in this (Beteille, Andre, 2002) [10]
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CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 INTRODUCTION Research can be defined as the search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method. The primary purpose for basic research (as opposed to applied research) is discovering, interpreting, and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe. 3.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM ? ? ? ? ? Afffrimative action program is initiated at Titan Industries Ltd only in October 2010, So no clear framework exists till date. Titan is not still successful in implementing Affirmative Action Program due to various issues. More than Rs. 85 lakhs per annum which is allocated for Affirmative Action Program plans by TATA Group to its 116 companies are not utilized properly Training need analysis among the trainees is incomplete. The purpose of this project is to find the effectiveness of education based affirmative action training among the trainees and recommend a framework on education option alone. 3.3 NEED FOR THE STUDY: ? Affirmative Action Program in India generally denotes that apart from protective legislation from the government procedures, these provisions of developmental measures had the potential to bring about the integration in the society. ? Till early 2007, private sector Indian industry was caste blind, unlike the public sector which had job reservations for Reserved Category youth. but there were no figures as to the caste affiliation of its employees.
19
?
This study will examine the education needs of trainees specially belonging to reserved category to upgrade to social integration.
3.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 3.4.1 Primary Objective The primary objectives of the study are ? ? ? To assess the effectiveness of the Afffrimative Action Program implemented by Titan industries. To identify the needs of the trainee beneficiaries. To identify the needs of the adopted institutions.
3.4.2 Secondary Objective ? To recommend programs to be included in the Affirmative Action Program (Faculty and Trainees) in order to achieve its stated objectives.
3.5 PERIOD OF STUDY The study was conducted for a period of two months from May 2nd 2011 to July 2nd 2011. 3.6 TYPE OF RESEARCH As the study was undertaken with the purpose of identifying the effectiveness of the affirmative action program it is an applied research. This research is descriptive because the researcher has no control over the variables. 3.7 SURVEY RESEARCH The research was undertaken through a survey. In this research the researcher studied the population by taking the whole population to discover the relative incidence, distribution and interrelation of sociological and psychological variables. 3.8 REVIEW OF LITERATURE After formulating the research problem the researcher went in search of literature so as to proceed with the study.
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3.9 SAMPLE DESIGN
3.9.1 UNIVERSE There were 101 trainees in Government Industrial Training Institute, Hosur and 34 Trainees in TITAN In-house Industrial Training Institute, Hosur.
3.9.2 SAMPLE SIZE The data was collected from all 135 trainees of the population. 3.9.3 TYPE OF SAMPLING: The sample was collected from the whole population. 3.9.4 DATA COLLECTION: The researcher has collected both primary data as well as secondary data. Primary data sources include personal interview through structured questionnaires and focus group discussion. Secondary data sources include references from EBSCO, CII reports, industrial magazines etc…. To determine the effectiveness of affirmative action program, data was collected through personal interview with a structured questionnaire involving the following sections. Section A – Demographic Details. Section B – Effectiveness of Affirmative Action Program Section C – Need Analysis 3.9.5 DATA ANALYSIS The data collected was analyzed using percentage analysis. 3.10 LIMITATIONS The data collected for the sample may not reflect the whole. As the topic is wide spread all matters regarding the study could not be analyzed within the stipulated time. The researcher is limited in accessing other areas except hosur where the affirmative action program is implemented such as Salem, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri and Namakkal.
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CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
SECTION 4.1 – DEMOGRAPHIC DETAILS Table 4.1 AGE OF RESPONDENTS
Age
15 -17 18 – 20 21 -23 24 -27 Total
No of respondents
30 93 9 3 135
Percentage (%)
22.2 68.8 6.6 2.2 100
Figure 4.1 AGE OF RESPONDENTS
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 68.8%) of the respondents belong to the age group of 18 – 20 years.
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Table 4.2 GENDER OF RESPONDENTS
S.No
1 2
Gender
Male Female Total
No of respondents
120 15 135
Percentage (%)
88.89 11.11 100
Figure 4.2: GENDER OF RESPONDENTS
INTERPRETATION: Mostly (about 89%) of the respondents are Male. There are very few girl students.
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Table 4.3 CASTE STATUS OF RESPONDENTS
Caste Scheduled tribes Scheduled caste Most backward caste Backward caste Forward caste Others Total
No of respondents 2 47 43 42 1 0 135
% 1.48 34.81 31.85 31.11 0.74 0 100
Figure 4.3 CASTE STATUS OF RESPONDENTS
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 98%) of the respondents belong to the Scheduled Caste, Backward Caste and Most Backward Castes. There were only one student from the Forward Caste and two students from the Scheduled Tribe.
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Table 4.4 LIVING AREA OF RESPONDENTS
Living area Rural Urban Tribal Total
No of respondents 74 60 1 135
Percentage (%) 54.81 44.44 0.74 100
Figure 4.4: LIVING AREA OF RESPONDENTS
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 55%) of the respondents belong to the rural and the rest were from urban area. There was only one trainee from the tribal area.
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Table 4.5 SELECTION CRITERIA OF RESPONDENTS
Selection criteria Merit Reservation Total
No of respondents 106 29 135
Percentage (%) 78.51 21.49 100
Figure 4.5 SELECTION CRITERIA OF RESPONDENTS
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 79%) of the respondents are selected for admission based on their merit.
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Table 4.6 EDUCATIONAL SPENDING OF RESPONDENTS
Course Fee
1 Lakh Total
No.of.Respondents
120 15 0 0 135
Percentage %
88.89 11.11 0 0 100
Figure 4.6 EDUCATIONAL SPENDING OF RESPONDENTS
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 89%) spend below Rs.10000 per annum for their education.
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Table 4.7 RESPONDENTS RECEIVING SCHOLARSHIP
Scholarships Yes No Total
No.of.Respondents Percentage (%) 81 54 135 60 40 100
Figure 4.7 RESPONDENTS RECEIVING SCHOLARSHIP
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 60%) of the respondents receive scholarships from government.
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Table 4.8 RATING ABOUT THE FEATURES OF INSTITUTE
Feel about Institute Extremely Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Extremely Dissatisfied Total
No.of.Respondents 64 41 23 7 0 135
Percentage (%) 47.40 30.37 17.03 5.18 0 100
Figure 4.8 RATING ABOUT THE FEATURES OF INSTITUTE
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 48%) of the respondents are highly satisfied with the institute.
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Table 4.9 QUALITY OF EDUCATION
Quality of Education Excellent Good Fair Poor Total
No of Respondents 65 41 27 2 135
Percentage (%) 48.14 30.37 20 1.48 100
Figure 4.9 QUALITY OF EDUCATION
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 49%) of the respondents feel excellent about the quality of education provided.
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TABLE 4.10 SKILLS OF FACULTY
Feel about Faculty Excellent Good Fair Poor Total
No of Respondents 56 61 16 2 135
Percentage (%) 41.48148 45.18519 11.85185 1.481481 100
Figure 4.10 SKILLS OF FACULTY
INTERPRETATION: Majority of the respondents (about 46%) feel good about the skills of faculty.
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Table 4.11 PARTICIPATION IN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Extracurricular Activities Yes No Total
No.of.Respondents 5 130 135
Percentage (%) 3.70 96.30 100
Figure 4.11 PARTICIPATION IN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 96%) of the respondents do not take part in extracurricular activities.
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Table 4.12 JOB PLACEMENT ACTIVITIES
Job placements Yes No Total
No.of.respondents Percentage (%) 105 30 135 77.78 22.22 100
Figure 4.12 JOB PLACEMENT ACTIVITIES
INTERPRETATION: Majority of the respondents (about 78%) are aware of job placements in their campus.
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SECTION 4.2 - EFFECTIVENESS OF TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM
Table 4.13 AWARENESS LEVEL OF TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
Awareness of TITAN Affirmative action Program Yes No Total
No.of.Respondents Percentage (%) 81 54 135 60 40 100
Figure 4.13 AWARENESS LEVEL OF TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 60%) of the respondents are aware of TITAN affirmative action program in their campus. Still there is a significant portion of students (40%) who were not aware of the affirmative action program.
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Table 4.14 PARTICIPATION OF RESPONDENTS IN TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
Earlier Participation in TITAN Affirmative action Program Yes No Total
No.of.Respondents Percentage (%) 61 74 135 45.18 54.82 100
Figure 4.14 PARTICIPATION OF RESPONDENTS IN TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 55%) of the respondents have not participated in the earlier event of Titan affirmative action programme in their campus.
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Table 4.14(A) PARTICIPATION OF RESPONDENTS IN VARIOUS PROGRAMS HELD UNDER TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
Program Varieties Spoken English Quality of life Career Guidance Higher Education Tips Leadership Skills Personality Development Creativity Skills Total
Respondents 0 31 0 0 30 0 0 61
% 0 50.81 0 0 49.18 0 0 100
Figure 4.14(A) PARTICIPATION OF RESPONDENTS IN VARIOUS PROGRAMS HELD UNDER TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 51%) of the respondents have participated in the “Quality of life” event. Leadership skills were also almost equally attended with about 49% of the students having attended the progarmme.
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Table 4.15: SATISFACTION LEVEL INTO THE TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM
Rating of AAP Highly satisfied Somewhat satisfied Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied Somewhat Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied Total
No.of.Respondents 53 61 21 0 0 135
Percentage (%) 39 45 16 0 0 100
Figure 4.15 SATISFACTION LEVEL INTO THE TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 45%) of the respondents are somewhat satisfied with the Titan affirmative action program.
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Table 4.16 IMPACT ON PERSONALITY BY TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
Impact on Personality Very Positive Impact Somewhat Positive Impact Somewhat Negative Impact very negative Impact Not much Impact Total
No.of.Respondents 36 59 3 5 32 135
Percentage (%) 26.67 43.77 2.22 3.70 23.70 100
Figure 4.16 IMPACT ON PERSONALITY BY TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 44%) of the respondents are somewhat satisfied that TITAN affirmative action program will have an impact on their personality.
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Table 4.17 CAPABILITY OF SC/ST STUDENTS AND ITS IMPACT BY TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
Capability Enhancement Strongly Agree Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly Disagree Total
No.of.Respondents 36 61 21 16 1 135
Percentage (%) 26.67 45.18 15.55 11.85 0.74 100
Figure 4.17 CAPABILITY OF SC/ST STUDENTS AND ITS IMPACT BY TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
INTERPRETATION: Majority of the respondents (about 46%) agree that TITAN Affirmative action program helps them in enhancing the capability of SC/ST Students.
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Table 4.18 REALIZING THEIR POTENTIAL TO BECOME A PRODUCTIVE MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY THROUGH TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
To realize potential Strongly Agree Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly Disagree Total
No.of.Respondents 29 59 13 15 19 135
Percentage (%) 21.48 43.70 9.62 11.11 14.07 100
Figure 4.18 REALIZING THEIR POTENTIAL TO BECOME A PRODUCTIVE MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY THROUGH TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
INTERPRETATION: Majority (44%) of the respondents agree that Titan affirmative action program helps them in bringing their potential to become a productive member of the society.
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FACULTY NEED ANALYSIS
Table 4.19 MASTER TABLE ON FACULTY ANALYSIS
S.NO
PARTICULARS
BELOW AVERAGE
AVERAGE
GOOD
VERY GOOD
EXCELLENT
AGG TOTAL
AVERAGE
RANK
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Academic achievements Quality of Writing Creative & Original thoughts Disciplined work habits Motivation Leadership Integrity Self Confidence Concern for others Initiative & Independence
18 7 9 4 3 20 9 11 9 4
30 19 13 11 15 13 21 6 13 11
20 31 20 27 23 28 23 15 20 27
38 25 34 35 38 32 36 39 34 35
29 53 59 58 56 42 46 64 59 58
435 503 526 537 534 468 494 544 526 537
3.22 3.72 3.89 3.97 3.95 3.46 3.65 4.02 3.89 3.97
10 7 5 2 4 9 8 1 5 2
The above table presents the respondents evaluation of their faculty under ten different categories. A five point Likert Scale was used to collect their responses as Below Average (1 Point), Average (2 Point), Good (3 Point), Very good (4 Point) & Excellent (5 Point). Overall rating was given by calculating the average of total scores. Each criterion had a minimum average of 1 and maximum average of 5.A core of 3.5 and above was benchmarked as high and score below 3.5 was considered low.
INTERPRETATION:
Except academic achievement and leadership, faculties were rated high on all other criteria. Self confidence was the only criterion with a score above 4 points.
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SECTION 4.3 - NEED ANALYSIS
Generally the needs of trainees and students can be classified into five various segments such as life skills development, knowing self areas, educational planning activities, interpersonal activities and career development skills. To understand the trainee and student’s needs the researcher provided a list of 10 variables in each segments as classified above. Under each category 8 to 10 variables were listed. The respondents were requested to mark whether the variable is important or not important, whether they receive any assistance or not and finally whether the respondent needed further help or not. The needs of students and trainees can be accessed on the skills that are important to the respondents, in which they are not receiving assistance but they need assistance. The detailed table enumerating the above classification is displayed below for reference.
Table 4.20 Category classification S.No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Category A B C D E F G H Important or Not Important Important Important Important Important Not Important Not Important Not Important Not Important Receiving assistance or Not receiving assistance Not receiving assistance Receiving assistance Not receiving assistance Receiving assistance Not receiving assistance Receiving assistance Not receiving assistance Receiving assistance Need Help or Do not need help Need help Need help Do not need help Do not need help Need help Need help Do not need help Do not need help
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LIFE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT Importance of Life Skills in Individual Life
Life skills are a set of human skills acquired via teaching or direct experience that are used to handle problems and questions commonly encountered in daily human life. The subject varies greatly depending on societal norms and community expectations. Life skills are defined as skills which can provide with a better perspective on life, skills which can allow you to maintain a higher awareness of both about our self and the world around us.
TABLE 4.21 LIFE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
S.No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Category
To improve my study skills and habits. To develop my test-taking skills. To learn how to handle pressure from friends, teachers, family, or myself. To learn how to make decisions and solve problems. To learn how to set goals in my life. To learn how to manage my time better. To learn how to get more out of my life through leisure time activities.
A
58 23 34 21 73 62 14
B
21 28 21 29 39 13 16
C
2 31 45 51 11 17 36
D
13 18 4 4 3 14 47
E
6
F
12
G
9 11 2 5 0 9 0
H
14 1 11 6 7 15 0
17 6 18 0 0 2 5 16 0 0
21 1
INTERPRETATION: Three variables were found to be important for which the trainees don’t receive assistance and they need further support. These areas are Goal setting (73 – Category A), Time management (62 – Category A) and Developing study skills (58 -Category A).
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KNOWING ABOUT SELF Importance of Knowing about Ourselves
The greatest thing we can have in life is knowledge of ourselves. The more we know about ourselves, the better the decisions we can make for our own life. Conversely, the less we know about ourselves, the worse our decisions. The more we know about ourselves, the more we can know about other people because we can apply the same analysis what we did to ourselves on others. In friendships and relationships, if we know ourselves, we can create that perfect relationship because we know what we need and can communicate it.
Table 4.22 KNOWING ABOUTSELF S.No Category 1 To identify my strengths and Weakness. 2 To develop more confidence in myself. 3 To understand my personal values. 4 5 6
To learn more about grooming and personal care. To know about how the expectations of others affect my life. To develop my Creativity (r) artistic abilities.
A 61 24 35 18 23 54 B 20 34 21 33 21 43 C 3 45 12 12 35 11 D 24 5 8 12 28 13 E 7 13 23 27 13 2 F 15 7 17 18 1 4 G 2 5 11 1 0 6 H 3 2 8 14 14 2
INTERPRETATION: Two variables which are found to be important in which the respondents don’t receive assistance but they need further support these areas as Identifying their SWOT (61 – Category A) and Developing Creativity skills (54 -Category A).
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EDUCATIONAL PLANNING ACTIVITIES
Importance of Educational Planning in Individual Life The purpose and process of educational planning is to state and develop goals. After this is done, planners develop strategies that are both effective and efficient in order to reach the goals at hand. So planning plays an important role in each individual life.
Table 4.23 EDUCATIONAL PLANNING
S.No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Category
Educational Planning helps to understand the importance of graduating from College (r) School Educational Planning helps in selecting the right courses for me. Educational Planning helps to become more aware of my educational options after College (r) School Educational Planning helps to know about financial aid for continuing my education after College (r) School. Educational Planning helps to learn how to choose an educational or training program that will be right for me. Educational Planning helps to learn more about college entrance requirements. Educational Planning helps to know how and when to select a college major. Educational Planning helps to have counseling about my educational planning. Educational Planning helps to talk to the college admissions counselors about my career plans.
A 23 54 18 61
B 21 43 33 20
C 35 11 12 3
D 28 13 12 24
E 13 2 27 7
F 1 4 18 15
G 0 6 1 2
H 14 2 14 3
24
34
45
5
13
7
5
2
14 73 18 35
16 39 33 21
36 11 12 12
47 3 12 8
21 2 27 23
1 0 18 17
0 0 1 11
0 7 14 8
INTERPRETATION:
Three variables were found to be important for which the trainees don’t receive assistance and they need further support. These areas are Selecting college major (73 – Category A), Financial aid for further education (61–Category A) and Selecting the right course (58 -Category A).
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INTER-PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP ACTIVITIES Importance of Interpersonal Relationship in Individual Life
Interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring good interpersonal relationships among the employees in an organization can help attain organizational objectives within a specific time period, with accuracy and effectiveness. Interpersonal relations have their own importance in a multi-cultured corporation or organization as it enhances better communication and thus a better understanding among the co-workers; as a result they learn to respect each other's cultural values and the style of working that is majorly influenced by one's culture and tradition.
Table 4.24 INTER-PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP ACTIVITIES
S.No 1 2 3 4 5
Category
Interpersonal relationship used to be able to get along better with Facilitator. Interpersonal relationship used to be able to get along better with other peers. Interpersonal relationship used to be able to get along better with my family. Interpersonal relationship used to understand the changing roles of men and women in today's society. To gain a better understanding of people of different races and cultural backgrounds.
A
32 23 34 21 89
B
21 28 21 29 23
C
43 31 45 51 11
D
13 18 4 4 3
E
6
F
12
G
7 11 2 5 0
H
2 1 11 6 7
17 6 18 0 0 2 16 0
INTERPRETATION:
Only one variable has found to be important in which the trainees don’t receive assistance and they need further support. This is understanding people of various race and culture (89 – Category A).
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CAREER DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES Importance of Career development in Individual Life
Career development represents the entire sequence of activities and events related to an individual's career. Career development encompasses acquiring of educational qualifications and certifications, career path, self-actualization as an individual, shifting of careers and career growth, learning curve and recognitions or felicitations.
Table 4.25: CAREER DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES S.No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Category
Career Development helps to explore how various jobs could affect my lifestyle. Career Development helps to know more about job opportunities in my career interest areas. Career Development helps to know more about training requirements for jobs I might like. Career Development helps to understand the changing Behavior of careers for both men and women. Career Development helps to know how important people influence my career choice. Career Development helps to have counseling about my career plans. Career Development helps to know more about possible careers and the Cultures of work. Career Development helps to understand how my values relate to my career plans. Career Development helps to know how my personality and preferred method of learning relate to my career plans. A 73 44 18 61 24 14 34 18 35 B 39 43 33 20 34 16 23 33 21 C 11 21 12 3 45 36 34 12 12 D 3 13 12 24 5 47 36 12 8 E 2 2 27 7 13 21 5 27 23 F 0 4 18 15 7 1 2 18 17 G 0 6 1 2 5 0 0 1 11 H 7 2 14 3 2 0 1 14 8
INTERPRETATION:
Two variables were found to be important in which the trainees don’t receive assistance and they need further support. These areas are Understanding the jobs which are suited for the lifestyle (73 – Category A) and the changing behavior of men and women in the society (61 – Category A).
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SECTION 4.4 - REPORT ON THE FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION
A Focus group was held in Government Industrial Training Institute, Hosur on June 18th, 2011.It was a single group with 8 members. Among the 8 Members – 5 seniors and 3 juniors, the discussion lasted for 2 hours. The members were asked to discuss about two openended questions which were issues within their campus that were to be redressed and other additional facility needed in the campus were discussed.
INTERPRETATION
The concern of the students now is restroom facilities, library facility, lack of qualified trainers in the field, no proper academics support due to which the rate of dropout is increased to 15%. Even though they have the computer lab but they lack the basic necessity of computer lab UPS. There is often power failure and the students find difficult to operate. The additional features that are required are English daily newspaper, library for students use and uniform facility.
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CHAPTER 6 – SUMMARY &CONCLUSION 6.1 FINDINGS
6.1.1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS FROM DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE ? Majority (about 68.8%) of the respondents belong to the age group of 18 – 20 years. ? Mostly (about 89%) of the respondents are Male. There are very few girl students. ? Majority (about 98%) of the respondents belong to the Scheduled Caste, Backward Caste and Most Backward Castes. There were only one student from the Forward Caste and two students from the Scheduled Tribe. ? Majority (about 55%) of the respondents belong to the rural and the rest were from urban area. There was only one trainee from the tribal area. ? Majority (about 79%) of the respondents are selected for admission based on their merit.
? Majority (about 89%) spend below Rs.10000 per annum for their education.
? Majority (about 60%) of the respondents receive scholarships from government.
? Majority (about 48%) of the respondents are highly satisfied with the institute.
? Majority (about 49%) of the respondents feel excellent about the quality of education provided. ? Majority of the respondents (about 46%) feel good about the skills of faculty. ? Majority (about 96%) of the respondents do not take part in extracurricular activities. ? Majority of the respondents (about 78%) are aware of job placements in their campus. 6.1.2. EFFECTIVENESS OF TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM ? Majority (about 60%) of the respondents are aware of TITAN affirmative action program in their campus. Still there is a significant portion of students (40%) who were not aware of the affirmative action program. ? Majority (about 55%) of the respondents have not participated in the earlier event of Titan affirmative action programme in their campus.
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? Majority (about 51%) of the respondents have participated in the “Quality of life” event. Leadership skills were also almost equally attended with about 49% of the students having attended the progarmme. ? Majority (about 45%) of the respondents are somewhat satisfied with the Titan affirmative action program. ? Majority (about 44%) of the respondents are somewhat satisfied that TITAN affirmative action program will have an impact on their personality. ? Majority of the respondents (about 46%) agree that TITAN Affirmative action program helps them in enhancing the capability of SC/ST Students. ? Majority (44%) of the respondents agree that Titan affirmative action program helps them in bringing their potential to become a productive member of the society.
6.1.3. NEED ANALYSIS
? Three variables were found to be important for which the trainees don’t receive assistance
and they need further support. These areas are Goal setting (73 – Category A), Time management (62 –Category A) and Developing study skills (58 -Category A). ? Two variables which are found to be important in which the respondents don’t receive assistance but they need further support these areas as Identifying their SWOT (61 – Category A) and Developing Creativity skills (54 -Category A). ? Three variables were found to be important for which the trainees don’t receive assistance and they need further support. These areas are Selecting college major (73-Category A), Financial aid for further education (61- Category A) and Selecting the right course (58 Category A). ? Only one variable has found to be important in which the trainees don’t receive assistance and they need further support. This is understanding people of various race and culture (89 – Category A).
? Two variables were found to be important in which the trainees don’t receive assistance
and they need further support. These areas are Understanding the jobs which are suited for the lifestyle (73 – Category A) and the changing behavior of men and women in the society (61 – Category A).
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6.2 SUGGESTIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Titan industries has been initiating the affirmative action in a phase by phase manner; still its focused area is very narrow, which is the main issue at this point of time. The affirmative action program has come with the main focus to uplift SC/ST in various segments such as education, employment, employability and entrepreneurship. But the organization has focused on the education option alone. During the project tenure and even before that it was found that the affirmative action program is executed wholly by Learning and Development department in addition to their normal works. Learning and Development department already contains a restricted workforce (5 Staff) by which the Initiative of the affirmative action program could not be taken solely due to their normal course of work. Thus it does not get required attention. Creation of a special designation officer for the execution of affirmative action program is strongly recommended. The officer appointed in this regard has to execute various roles and responsibilities. The Job description of the proposed AA officer is listed herewith. A. Designation : Affirmative Action Program officer B. Areas of operations: All matters concerning Affirmative action program at various levels in concerning to AA Policy of the organization. C. Role Jurisdiction: General Administration, Training and Human Systems. D. Co-ordination: Mostly External Areas such as interaction with college principle, student, NGO, Community Leaders, Socio-Economic People, Training Faculty etc. E. Major Responsibilities
? Preparing affirmative action program calendar ? Building institutional and transactional relationship between the college institute
heads, nongovernmental organization heads community leaders etc.
? Setting out various terms and conditions for the program execution, payments to
faculty, sponsorships to institutes etc.
? Generate policies and procedures for continuous identification of training needs of the
students of various adopted government industrial training institutes and the in house Basic Training Center.
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? Organize appropriate training programmes at regular point of time by engaging
suitable faculty from within the organization (Internal Trainer) or external faculty (External Trainer)
? Perpetual review of situations as regards to the training conducted, employability
skill, entrepreneurship etc.
? Evolve management information system reports at regular intervals and consolidate
the reports during the audit period.
? Effective interface with the organization and the other departments ? Effective documentation system to be known.
If the officer is not able to be appointed at any scenario atleast job enlargement to any one official in the Learning & Development has to be provided to check out for the smooth flow of the above said program. Along with Education, Employment and Employability, the concentration has to be shifted towards Entrepreneurship. Collaboration with NGO’s and other welfare clubs on various terms and contracts can be made out to create a basement in this point of time. The Recommended training programs for educational development of trainees to achieve the targets are herewith attached. This is based upon the need analysis done ? Basic Module on Decision making Skills ? Preliminary sessions on Time management ? Session on stress Management ? Developing Creativity Skills ? Sessions on Knowing ourselves (our SWOT) ? Cultural changes and the roles ? Complete session on Tips to attend Interview (r) Group Discussion. ? Package on Communication Builder. ? Preliminary session on Interpersonal relations. These kinds of programs are conducted by Vardhman Threads India ltd, Sona Koyo steering systems private limited, Oberai Motors, Maruthi Suzuki India ltd, Hindustan Zinc Limited, etc… to achieve the targets under the affirmative action programs. When these programs are given at interest of the participants the better would be the response of the participants which would give out a huge return on investment.
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6.3 CONCLUSION
The history of Titan Industries in mainstreaming the socio- economic underprivileged communities dates back to previous century scholarships to students, stationary support etc. After the Implementation of affirmative action, the group had started roaring, in huge fashion. By adopting Government ITI’s in all around basis in various districts, effective campaign to create entrepreneurs in rural hubs, scholarships, steps to create awareness of technical education in rural hubs and sponsoring them, were the initiatives seeded up to date. Watering the seeds on a timely basis will give out the desired results.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Articles Referred
Bossuy M, 2002, “Prevention of Discrimination – The Concept and Practice of Affirmative Action”, Commission on Human Rights, United Nations,pp.3. Cunningham, C.D.2003, “Lessons on Affirmative Action from India, The Sub continental” available at www.thesubcontinental.org. Birdsall, Nancy and Richard Sabot (1991): ‘Unfair Advantage–Labour Market Discrimination in Developing Countries’, World Bank. Banerjee, Biswjit and J B Knight (1985): ‘Caste Discrimination in Indian Urban Labour Market’, Journal of Developing Economics. Desai, Sonalde and Veena Kulkarni (2008): “Changing Educational Inequalities in India in the Context of Affirmative Action”, Demography, 45(2), May. Xaxa, Virginius (2002): “Ethnography of Reservation in Delhi University”, Economic & Political Weekly, 37(28), 13 July. Chakravarthy, Sujoy and E Somanathan (2008): Discrimination in an Elite Labor Market? Job Placements at IIM-Ahmedabad”, Economic &Political Weekly, 43(44), 1 November. Darity, William and Ashwini Deshpande (2003): Boundaries of Clan and Colour, Routledge, New York Beteille, Andre, 2002, Caste, Inequality and Affirmative Action, International Institute of labour Studies, Geneva, Switzerland, pp.9-10. Lakshmanasamy, T. and Madheswaran, S. (1995): “Discrimination by community: evidence from Indian Scientific and technical labor market”, Indian Journal of Social Sciences, Vol 8, No. 1,pp.59-77.
Books Referred
The Affirmative Action Debate By George E. Curry & Cornel West Affirmative Action: Social Justice or Unfair Preference? By Albert G. Mosley Affirmative Action and Representation By Anthony A. Peacock
Websites Referredhttp://siteresources.worldbank.orghttp://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1198102,00.htmlhttp://www.karr.net/scheduled_castes_and_tribes/encyclopedia.htmhttp://www.ambedkar.org/News/reservationinindia.pdf www.titan.co.in www.cii.org
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CHAPTER 14: ANNEXURES - INTERVIEW SCHEDULE Dear Respondent; As part of my MBA Programme I have undertaken a research on affirmative action policy to find out its implications on student development. A few minutes of your valuable time to complete this questionnaire will be greatly appreciated.
J.GANESH KUMAR
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Name: Age: Sex: Male/Female College Name: Year of Study: Caste: Scheduled Tribes/ Scheduled Caste/Most Backward Caste/ Backward caste/Forward caste/others_________________ Languages Known: Living area: Rural (Village) / Urban (City) / Tribal (Hill). 2. On what Basis (Criteria) did you join this institute?(Put Tick Mark) Merit Category Reservation Category 3. What is the Total Course Fee that you pay for pursuing this course? Below 10000 10000-25000 25000-50000 Above 1 Lakh Yes No 4. Are you staying in Hostel? If yes, the Fee that you pay for residing in hostel Rs.________ Yes 5. Are you receiving any scholarships? If Yes, on what category ___________________ No
6. How do you feel about the Institute in overall category? Extremely Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Extremely Dissatisfied. 7. How do you specially feel about the Quality of Education provided here? Excellent Good Fair Poor
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8. How do you rate the skills / experience of the faculty?
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
9. Does the Institute Provide you any Extracurricular Activities? Yes No If yes, Please Provide the List of Activities Which have taken Place, _____________________________________________________________ 10. Does the Institute provide you practical training on career Development? Yes No 11. Does the organization provide any job placement offers either internally or externally? Yes No 12.Are you aware or heard of the Titan Affirmative Action Program in your campus? Yes No 13. Have you attended or participated in any of the Affirmative Action Programs conducted by TITAN Industries? Yes No 13 (a). If Yes, What kind of programs have you participated in? Spoken English Quality Of life Career Guidance Higher Education Tips Leadership Skills Personality Development Creativity Skills Received Uniform/Shoes Received Books 14. How do you rate the Affirmative Action Program conducted by the TITAN? Highly Satisfied Somewhat satisfied Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied Somewhat Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied. 15. Does the TITAN Affirmative Action Program have any impact on your personality or your personal skills? Very Positive Impact Somewhat Positive Impact Somewhat Negative Impact Very Negative Impact Not much impact
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16. Do you agree that TITAN Affirmative Action Program will enhance SC/ST community students to enhance their capability with access to quality education along with technical knowledge? Strongly agree Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly Disagree. 17. Do you agree that TITAN Affirmative Action Program will realize your potential and make you as a productive member of the society? Strongly agree Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly Disagree 18. If do you need any special program to be conducted or any suggestions for improvement of this program please do not hesitate to tell us. ________________________________________________________________________________________ 19. Faculty Evaluation: (Put a tick mark against each)
S.No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Particulars
Academic Achievements Quality of writing Creative & Original Thought Disciplined work habits Motivation Leadership Integrity Concern for others Self confidence Initiative & Independence
Below Average
Average
Good
Very Good
Excellent
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20. Please indicate how important each of the following aspects is for you…..
Important to me Receiving assistance or no assistance Need Further Help or No help
SNO 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
LIFE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT Life skill is used to improve my study skills and habits. Life skill is used to develop my test-taking skills. Life skill is used to learn how to handle pressure from friends, teachers and family. Life skill is used to learn how to make decisions and solve problems. Life skill is used to learn how to set goals in my life. Life skill is used to learn how to manage my time better. Life skill is used to learn how to get more out of my life through leisure time activities.
Or Not Important
Important to me SNO
Receiving assistance or no assistance
Need Further Help or No help
KNOWING MYSELF Knowing myself used to identify my strengths and Weakness. Knowing myself used to develop more confidence in myself. Knowing myself used to understand my personal values. Knowing myself used to learn more about grooming and personal care. Knowing myself used to know about how the expectations of others will affect my life. Knowing myself used to develop my Creativity (r) artistic abilities. Knowing myself used to discipline myself for better study habits.
Or Not Important
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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Important to me SNO EDUCATIONAL PLANNING Or Not Important
Receiving assistance or no assistance
Need Further Help or No help
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Educational Planning helps to understand the importance of graduating from College (r) School Educational Planning helps in selecting the right courses for me. Educational Planning helps to become more aware of my educational options after College (r) School Educational Planning helps to know about financial aid for continuing my education after College (r) School. Educational Planning helps to learn how to choose an educational or training program that will be right for me. Educational Planning helps to learn more about college entrance requirements. Educational Planning helps to know how and when to select a college major. Educational Planning helps to have counseling about my educational planning. Educational Planning helps to talk to the college admissions counselors about my career plans.
Important to me SNO INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP Or Not Important
Receiving assistance or no assistance
Need Further Help or No help
1 2 3
4 5
Interpersonal relationship used to be able to get along better with Facilitator. Interpersonal relationship used to be able to get along better with other peers. Interpersonal relationship used to be able to get along better with my family. Interpersonal relationship used to understand the changing roles of men and women in today's society. To gain a better understanding of people of different races and cultural backgrounds.
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SNO
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Important to me Or Not Important
Receiving assistance or no assistance
Need Further Help or No help
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8
9
Career Development helps to explore how various jobs could affect my lifestyle. Career Development helps to know more about job opportunities in my career interest areas. Career Development helps to know more about training requirements for jobs I might like. Career Development helps to understand the changing Behavior of careers for both men and women. Career Development helps to know how important people influence my career choice. Career Development helps to have counseling about my career plans. Career Development helps to know more about possible careers and the Cultures of work. Career Development helps to understand how my values relate to my career plans. Career Development helps to know how my personality and preferred method of learning relate to my career plans.
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doc_619966009.pdf
Titan Industries is a manufacturing company that produces India's largest and best-known range of personal accessories – watches, jewellery, sunglasses and prescription eye wear. Titan Industries was established in 1984 as a joint venture between the Tata group and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. The company brought about a paradigm shift in the Indian watch market, offering quartz technology with international styling, manufactured in a state-of-the-art factory at Hosur, Tamil Nadu.The project titled “A Study on the Affirmative Action Program at Titan Industries (Watch Division), Hosur” was carried out to understand the implications of affirmative action program among trainees. The purpose of this project was to find the effectiveness of education based affirmative action training among the trainees and recommend a framework on education option alone. Both the primary and secondary data were collected from 105 trainees with the help of personal interview through a structured questionnaire. The extent of trainee’s preference and their needs were analyzed by percentage analysis.
The major finding of the study were the respondents are highly satisfied with the institute facilities, the quality of education provided and skills of faculty. In regard to effectiveness of Titan affirmative action program 60% of respondents are only aware about the program in their campus. But still various activities have to be carried out for the effective execution of affirmative action program .The foremost one is appointment of a special designated officer which is highly recommended. Along with it various education based training programs are recommended on the basis of need analysis conducted among the trainees.
CHAPTER 1
1.1 INTRODUCTION TO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM
Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of our Nation, recognized the need to integrate the oppressed sections of society with the mainstream, and as a first step towards achieving this; he publicly acknowledged them as Harijans, people of God. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution and champion of human rights, also strove to annihilate caste-based discrimination and to reconstruct Indian society on the basis of equality of human beings. He gave a start in Article 46 of the 1950 India Constitution pronounces that “The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation”. Other social reformers also fought for the rights of these marginalized people. While these measures went a long way towards ensuring that members of the scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) in India received the rights due to them as citizens, stronger measures were needed to ensure their integration into mainstream society. Still India’s socially and economically underprivileged SC & ST have not been able to realize their full potential due to centuries-old social discrimination. The answer was affirmative action which would provide positive preferential treatment in allotment of jobs and access to higher education, as a means to accelerate the integration of the SC and ST with mainstream society. It also refers to the policies intended to promote access to education or employment aimed at a historically socio-politically non dominant group (typically minorities or women). The idea was that affirmative action, apart from protective legislation and the provision of developmental measures had the potential to bring about this integration. Till early 2007, private sector Indian industry was caste blind, unlike the public sector which had job reservations for SC/ST youth. Several Indian companies had a significant number of employees from the SC/ST communities but there were no figures as industry had no data on the caste affiliation of its employees.
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However, after Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s call to CII in May 2007 to pro-actively adopt an affirmative agenda to obviate the need for legislation, CII along with ASSOCHAM set up a Task Force headed by Dr JJ Irani, director of Tata Sons. The task force and Indian industry had assured Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh that it would draw up a robust affirmative action plan and two years later in this regard, it is Indian industry’s contention that an encouraging beginning has been made. The committee submitted its report to the prime minister, committing industry to a series of time-bound commitments of voluntary initiatives under the four Es: employment, employability, entrepreneurship and education. The affirmative action report recognizes that the industry does have a role in ensuring inclusive growth, though it’s a small one. The creation of the report diminishes the gap that existed between what was considered as social initiatives by the industry bodies and the political leadership. Simultaneously, it was made clear in repeated interactions with the political executive and with organizations representing the SC/ST communities that industry was unequivocally opposed to reservations. Within the above framework, private sector industry commits to concrete steps for social equity, defined as constructive measures for greater inclusiveness in industry for SC&ST in the workplace, in business partnerships, and in capacity building. From 2007, awareness has been created in industry of the importance of affirmative action to further social stability and cohesion. For any nation an educated, skilled, healthy and productive workforce is imperative to foster inclusive development and proper economic growth. The Indian industry appreciates the urgency of creating a pool of such workforce which the government on its own cannot guarantee. A beginning has been made in many companies to embed Affirmative Action for the SC/ST communities in their human resource and business processes.
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1.2 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGARM @ TITAN INDUSTRIES LTD
Generally as a practice, the private sector industry does not take into account, the caste identities of prospective employees in the employment process. However, the Government of India has impressed upon the industry and its related agencies like CII and ASSOCHAM to report on the caste identities of employees, as a committed step towards social equity. This action expected from the industry in terms of collation and regular reporting of the caste identity of its employees has been termed as “affirmative action” plan. The Tata group, with a legacy of commitment to the community, established the group forum for affirmative action in november 2007. The forum is headed by Dr Irani and comprises B Muthuraman, vice chairman, Tata steel, Ravi Kant, vice chairman, Tata Motors; Praveen Kadle, Managing Director, Tata Capital, Satish Pradhan, Chief of Group Human Resources; Sunil Sinha, chief of group quality management services; Ritu Anand, Vice President and Deputy Global Head, Human Resource, Tata Consultancy Services and Ajay Kumar, Vice President, Communications, Tata Industries. The group corporate centre endorsed the group affirmative action policy in April 2007, affirming a policy of positive discrimination where, everything else being equal, Tata companies were exhorted to employ more members of the SC/ST communities and engage more firms owned by SC/ST members as business associates. In the last three years, several companies in Tata group have initiated several efforts under the four Es such as Employment, Employability, Entrepreneurship and Education. The organization believes in being an equal opportunity employer, where every individual has an equal opportunity, irrespective of caste, creed or religion. It also believes in the fact that what comes from society must go back to society multifold! In this case they have hired from the local community from where operate out of and have taken several initiatives to support the community, including the perspective of affirmative action requirements. The company believes in the credo “we will be a healthy wealthy, sharing, caring, clean and green, corporation that will be the envy of Indian industries”
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True to its credo and its affirmative action policy, the organization will invest part of the companies’ resources in improving them. The government has been apprised of these initiatives and has expressed its satisfaction. Currently, 56 Tata companies have initiated activity with reference to affirmative action within their Indian operations. Forty-seven of these companies have active agendas on the four Es. Tata companies are exploring newer and more innovative ways to assimilate SC/ST communities into the mainstream and give them a helping hand. While much is being done, much more remains to be done and the Tata companies who are working in this field are quick to acknowledge this fact. However, 56 Tata companies have already shown that it is possible to bring about this change. At Titan, various initiatives under the 4 E's were being finalized and put into place, in this connection, the overall affirmative action policy of titan has also been finalized and has been shared with all employees. The affirmative action policy of the Titan Industries Ltd was declared on 04th October, 2010 by its Managing Director Mr.Bhaskar Bhat. Till date Titan has played a balanced role in ensuring that the investments and focus stays on course in all four areas of E’s. Going forward, there will be additional emphasis in the areas of education, employment, employability and entrepreneurship, in that order. At the same time sustaining the initiatives already taken in these areas since inception. The following list will give us a clear picture about the affirmative action program which is carried out by Titan Industries Limited in the four areas. 1.2.1 EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE UNDER AAP
Titan Industries have been striving for the educational cause of the SC/ST in the spirit of affirmative action. Though the affirmative action was declared as a policy by the government of India in 2007, Titan Industries has been practicing the scheme of providing scholarships to lower socio backward people mostly covering the SC/ST for the past several years. Its primary focus population includes SC/ST from Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri. The objective of the scheme is to identify and encourage meritorious students who are natives of these two districts. It is given to students to pursue education in science, engineering, and medicine. Candidates were shortlisted through a process of interviews where the factors such as socio economic background, marks in SSLC/12th std / degree, assessment of aptitude to use the scholarship benefit effectively are gauged.
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After the affirmative action has been initiated in the year 2010, the scope of Titan plans was broadening in Salem, Krishnagiri, Namakkal, Hosur & Mettur by adopting Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) in these places through an MOU with Tamilnadu state government, the organization provided various material support to the institutions along with skill development training to the welfare of teachers and students. The organization conducted various training programs for the betterment of the students in ITI in these four institutes. The affirmative action team in the organization has been tracking the needs and necessities of government ITI in these four places. Time based needs such as banners for admissions, stationery support and campaign to attract rural students towards ITI in various rural areas are conducted regularly.
1.2.2 EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE UNDER AAP The organization has been fulfilling its obligation towards society at large ever from the inception of the company. The principles of recruitment of employees from the socio- economically backward areas have been deep routed in their way. The company has committed resources, both money and manpower at the level of each initiative, where there has been a direct impact on the benefit and support to the affirmative action category the company goes all the way in supporting such initiatives through effective use of manpower and capital. As part of its policy on affirmative action, Titan encourages positive discrimination in recruitment of its people, be it new or replacement for an existing position. Preference is given to SC/ST candidate, when all other parameters of performance are equal, with respect to the job on hand. The company has modified its application forms to incorporate disclosure on AA status which has enabled the SC/ST people to transparently capture information at the time of recruitment itself. Currently there are 8.85% of SC/ST employees in the industry altogether. The recruitment in the organization takes place in four categories. Both the people in hr and the business functions which are part of the recruitment process are well aware and trained on this affirmative action process need. In addition to these the organization has ensured the sustenance of the existing population of SC/ST in there CSR program i.e. both women empowerment program (meadows) and karigar parks.
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A few words about women empowerment program: right from the inception, the company has been committed to the well being of the socio economically backward people, in particular the women in the region of Hosur where it operates. Towards that the company has tied up with an NGO-Myrada (Mysore rural development agency) to form self help groups, with women taken from the most backward districts of the district and supported them in earning their own livelihood. Today close to 16% of employees in meadows belong to the SC/ST category. The company offloads some of its low value adding operations to this group, and supports them through basic training and infrastructure. Inception of Karigar Park: It is a community which works in the jewellery industry and has been the most neglected and exploited in the industry. The areas of neglect start from the very basic hygiene and living conditions, apart from work timings. Towards this Titan has brought in several professional practices and is transforming the way in which these karigars are being treated. This group employs totally about 25% of its workforce from the SC/ST category. The company has initiated several steps like signing up with NGOs, Cap Foundation and Unnati.
1.2.3 EMPLOYABILITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE UNDER AAP Employability refers to a person's capability of gaining initial employment, maintaining employment, and obtaining new employment if required. Employability is the capability to move self-sufficiently within the labor market to realize potential through sustainable employment. For individuals, employability depends on the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) they possess, the way they use those assets and present them to employers, and the context within which they seek work. The Organization strives to promote employability in many ways directly and indirectly. One of the key initiatives which the company has undertaken has been the creation of a Basic Training Centre. This centre which is approved by the government functions within Titan and trains people over a three year period in basic courses such as fitting etc. The key feature of this program is that students are picked up from the lower income group / socio economic strata of the society and provided with rigorous training from the district of Krishnagiri. The Organization makes a conscious effort through positive discrimination and pick up SC/ST candidates. Post completion of training, they attend the ITI course examinations and achieve the ITI /NCTVT certificate (recognized by the Government of India) based on which they are able to get jobs in industry.
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Other initiative of the organization is Apprentice Scheme: Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices (or in early modern usage "prentices") or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships. Most of their training is done while working for an employer who helps the apprentices learn their trade, in exchange for their continuing labour for an agreed period after they become skilled. Theoretical education may also be involved, informally via the workplace and/or by attending vocational schools while still being paid by the employer. The Titan Industry is committed to give one of the best training to the government of India apprentices under the act of apprentice scheme. Apprentices under various trades are taken for one year training under the provisions of the Apprentices Act. Generally students from institutes near the manufacturing units are given preference, with focus on candidates from socio-economically backward families. The current batch of Basic Training Center contains 36% Students belonging to SC/ST category. Most of the students end up in getting good jobs once having completed apprentice scheme in Titan. The No. of SC/ST students have keep on increasing through the past years.
1.2.4 ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMET INITIATIVE UNDER AAP Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as "one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods". The most obvious form of entrepreneurship is that of starting new businesses (referred as Startup Company); however, in recent years, the term has been extended to include social and political forms of entrepreneurial activity. When entrepreneurship is describing activities within a firm or large organization it is referred to as intra-preneurship and may include corporate venturing, when large entities spin-off organizations. The company has predominately initiated two powerful entrepreneurship initiatives; The Women Empowerment Program, the Meadows and the Karigar Parks. These two which have been around for many years have played a vital role in corporate sustainability as well, apart from providing entrepreneurial capabilities as well. About 42% of them belong to SC/ST category. The number of SC/ST participants in Meadows program increased from 135 to 160 and the Karigar Parks from 139 to 153. All these initiatives create a socially and ethically responsible business entity and helps in long term sustainability thus ensuring value growth for all stakeholders.
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1.3 INTRODUCTION TO WATCH INDUSTRY
Wrist Watches form an integral part of the personality of individuals in the present era. Earlier seen as a luxury item, they are now witnessing a fundamental change in perception, and are now gaining respect as an essential utility item. For the watch industry, time seems in its favour what with the liberalization of the Indian market coupled with the rising purchasing power of the young and consumerist Indians. Electronic watches were introduced in the world market in the early seventies. They came to India in 1979 but had to be withdrawn due to problems with the product. Indian watches market was for long dominated by public sector organizations like Hindustan Machine Tools Ltd. (HMT) and Allwyn (also famous for its refrigerators once upon a time!), and has now left the pioneers far behind or nowhere in market by private sector enterprises like Titan, Sonata, Ajanta and Timex along with foreign entities jostling for display space in the smallest of shops selling these products.HMT Ltd (HMT) introduced its electronic watches in 1981 and was followed by Hyderabad Allwyn Limited (Allwyn),organizations such as Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT), Semi Conductor Complex Ltd. (SCL), etc. introduced watches but was not successful. By mid eighties many smaller companies, originally manufacturing mechanical watches, diversified into electronic watches. In 1987 Titan Watches Ltd. (Titan) a joint venture of Tata Sons and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation entered the market and shortly established itself as a major manufacturer. Before the establishment of HMT as the dominant player in the Indian markets, the country was solely dependent on imports to meet the internal demand. However, establishment of HMT as the leading player in the wrist watch segment in the 1960’s, changed the scenario. In post liberalization India, the market stood to witness intense competition between foreign and Indian manufacturers like Timex, Titan, Movado, Longines, Rado, Rolex, Fréderique Constant, Mont Blanc, Swatch, and many others. Many watch makers have made significant inroads in the industry and others are in the process of establishing themselves. Besides this, buyers are extremely choosy about the brand and type of wrist watches they wear. Being extremely brand conscious, their tastes have evolved over the years and have gone beyond the realms of durability to choose in terms of aesthetics and elegance. Thus it is a buyer’s market with multitude of designs that have entered and flooded the market place.
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Many customers prefer mechanical and automatic watches, while others prefer quartz watches. Newer segments are also on rise such as ladies watches, children’s watches and gent’s watches. Customers usually base their preferences and buying decisions on a variety of factors like price, durability, utility, aesthetic appeal and brand name. A combination of all these points ultimately forms the customer’s buying decision that translates into the purchase of a watch. Since the early 1990’s, Indian customers are relying more on departmental stores and shopping malls to purchase their wants and needs. This has come as a boon for watch manufacturers and dealers, who are now looking forward to utilize these new outlets to reach out to the Indian masses. Watch manufacturers are looking at a suitable mix to market their products ranging from exclusive retail outlets to display sections in malls and large departmental stores.
1.3.1 INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN WATCH INDUSTRY The sheer size of India shows promise. The economic growth that the country has seen in the last two decades has been phenomenal. Added to this is the ever increasing purchasing power of the average Indian. This directly impacts the bearing of the retail industry. The size of the Indian watch market is estimated to be about US $195 million annually. The forecasted annual growth is at 10%. The Indian watch market is set to more than double in the next five years to around Rs 8,500 crore growing at 10-15 per cent every year, driven by youth and premium segment of consumers. As per the report - Indian Time Wear Industry 2010 published by All India Federation of Horological Industries (AIFHI) and consultancy firm Technopak Advisors, the current size of watch market in India is about Rs 4,000-4,200 crore. In the past few years, the sector has seen a growth of 8 -10 per cent, it is said. Technopak Chairman Arvind K Singhal said factors like growing economy, increasing consumerism, strong middle class and a large number of high net worth individuals, would favor the growth of the market. Even expansion of modern retail in India will further fuel the growth of the sector as a watch is increasingly transforming into a lifestyle product from being just a time-keeping device, the report said. In terms of volumes, the organized players currently command 40 per cent of the industry (around 460 lakh units annually) and the rest 60 per cent by the unorganized segment, which consists of smuggled watches, cheap imported watches and those assembled by small unorganized players.
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However, in value terms, around 60 per cent of the total watch market in India is controlled by organized players that include domestic firms such as Titan, Timex, Maxima and HMT, and a host of international brands and companies such as LVMH, Seiko, the Swatch Group, Chanel and others. According to AIFHI President Yashovardhan Sabbo, the sector is still facing several bottlenecks and challenges such as high import duties and varied taxations. Foreign Direct Investment restrictions on single brand retail in India and the grey market are also areas of concern, according to AIFHI. The report also suggests that the government should incentivize companies, both international and domestic, to make India as a manufacturing hub, especially in the sub Rs 1,000 watches, which are dominated by counterfeits and cheap Chinese imports."For most of the international watch brands, India is one of the top priority markets in the world. The report also pointed out that watch penetration in India is currently estimated at 27 per cent, which is amongst the lowest in the world. Only 3.5 per cent of the country's total population owns multiple watches, it said. Titan Industries commands more than 50% of the organized watch market. HMT has a share of 10-15% due to its retail clout in urban and rural India built over four decades. Brands such as Timex, Maxima and Citizen makeup a majority of the rest of the competition.
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1.4 INTRODUCTION TO TATA GROUP
Tata Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in the Bombay House in Mumbai, India. In terms of market capitalization and revenues, Tata Group is the largest private corporate group in India. Started as a textile trading company, today the TATA Group is one of India’s biggest and most respected business organizations with revenues of $17.8 billion (Rs.799, 118 million), the equivalent of about 2.8 percent of India’s GDP. It has interests in communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. The Tata Group has operations in more than 80 countries across six continents and its companies export products and services to 80 nations. The beginnings of the Tata Group can be traced back to 1868, when Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata established a trading company dealing in cotton in Bombay
(now Mumbai), British India. This was followed by the installation of 'Empress Mills' in Nagpur in 1877. Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay (now Mumbai) was opened for business in 1903. Sir Dorab Tata, the eldest son of Jamsetji Tata became the chairman of the group after his father's death in 1904. Under him, the group ventured into steel production (1905) and hydroelectric power generation (1910). After the death of Dorab Tata in 1934, Nowroji Saklatwala headed the group till 1938. He was succeeded by Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata. The group expanded significantly under him with the establishment of Tata Chemicals (1939), Tata Motors, Tata Industries (both 1945), Voltas (1954), Tata Tea (1962),Tata Consultancy Services (1968)
and Titan Industries (1984). Ratan Tata, the incumbent chairman of the group succeeded JRD Tata in 1991.The Tata Group comprises 114 companies and subsidiaries in eight business sectors, 27 of which are publicly listed. 65.8% of the ownership of Tata Group is held in charitable trusts. Companies which form a major part of the group include Tata Steel (including Tata Steel Europe), Tata Motors (including Jaguar and Land Rover), Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Technologies, Tata Tea ,Tata Chemicals, Titan Industries, Tata Power, Tata Communications, Tata Sons, Tata Teleservices and the Taj Hotels. The group takes the name of its founder, Jamsedji Tata, a member of whose family has almost invariably been the chairman of the group.
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The current chairman of the TATA group is Ratan Tata, who took over from J. R. D. Tata in 1991 and is one of the major international business figures in the age of globality. The company is currently in its fifth generation of family stewardship. TATA Group's 114 companies are held by its main company TATA Sons and the main owner of this Tata Sons is not Ratan Tata but various charitable organizations developed and run by TATA Group. Out of which JRD TATA Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust are holding 35%. Other 65% ownership of Tata Sons which is the key holding company of the other 114 Tata Group Company is held by various charitable organizations. The Groups 32 publicly listed enterprises, among them standout names such as Tata steel; Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Tata Tea and Titan have a combined market capitalization that is the highest among Indian business houses in the private sector. The TATA Group of companies shares a set of five core values. Integrity, Understanding, Excellence, Unity and Responsibility. The Tata Group also has a written policy on ethics called the Tata Code of Conduct and Ethics. Counsellors communicate and help implement the Code. Titan aims to provide the Tata Code of Ethics in booklet form to every employee of the company and all its vendors and franchisees, who are required to follow the same standards of conduct including the prohibition against employing child labour. Titan has 35 counsellors available to help with problems that may arise in the company. Titan also has policy documents on child labour, disaster management, employing disabled persons, environmental protection, HIV / AIDS and sexual harassment.The TATA name today is synonymous with leadership and trust.
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CHAPTER 1.5: INTRODUCTION TO TITAN INDUSTRIES
Titan Industries is the world's fifth largest wrist watch manufacturer and India's leading producer of watches under the Titan, Fastrack, Sonata, Nebula, RAGA, Regalia, Octane & Xylys brand names. It is a joint venture between the Tata Group, and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO). Its product portfolio includes watches, accessories and jewellery, in both contemporary and traditional designs. It exports watches to about 32 countries around the world with manufacturing facilities
in Hosur, Dehradun, Goa and manufactures precious jewellery under the Tanishq brand name, making it India's only national jewellery brand. It is a subsidiary of the TATA group. Titan watch division was started in 1987. At launch it was the third watch company in India after HMT and Allwyn. Titan formed a joint venture with Timex, which lasted until 1998, and setup a strong distribution network across India. As of 2010, Titan watches account for a 60% share of the total Indian market and are also sold in about 40 countries through marketing subsidiaries based in London, Aden, Dubai and Singapore. Titan watches are sold in India through retail chains controlled by Titan Industries. Titan Industries has claimed to have manufactured the world's slimmest wrist watch - Titan Edge. Produced indigenously after four years of research and development, the Titan Edge has a total slimness of just 3.5 mm and a wafer thin movement of 1.15 mm. Apart from the Titan Edge, Titan also offers Steel, Regalia, Raga, Fastrack, Technology, Nebula, Bandhan, Sonata, Octane. Fastrack is a popular brand among youth in India. Fastrack watches come in a variety of styles, shapes and colours. On 4th March, 2010, Titan Industries announced the launch of its very first Titan flagship store located at Bandra Linking Road, Mumbai. Store is spread over a spacious 2,500 sq ft (230 m2) and houses more than 1500 watches on display from Titan like Purple, Automatics, Orion, Raga, Edge, Nebula, and many more. Precision Engineering Division of Titan was started in 2002. It has become one of the leading manufacturers of Precision Parts for Automotive and Aerospace Industries. The diverse product range includes pointers, dashboard clusters like fuel gauge, temperature gauge, gear shift indicators, clocks for automobiles and any kind of injection moulded plastic parts, electromechanical assemblies for automobiles, all kinds of pressed and turned parts for automobiles.
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The Tooling Sector of Precision Engineering Division manufactures all kinds of Press Tool, Molds, Jigs, and Fixtures for various industries. Titan Automation Solution, a part of Precision Engineering Division is a leading Automation Solution Provider for all kind of industries. They made significant contributions to add value during the product development stages of the low-cost water purifier, Tata swach, developed by Tata Chemicals. The Automation Solution applied its precision engineering capabilities to supply automation solutions for the development of special assembly presses that enabled mass production of Tata swach. Tanishq is currently the most prominent jewellery brand of India, and it pioneered the concept of branded jewellery and ornaments in India. The name Tanishq has been formed by combining "Ta" (the first two letters of Tata) and "Nishk or Nishkh" (meaning gold coin or necklace in Sanskrit). Tanishq is India's largest jewellery brand with a wide range of jewellery in 22Kt pure gold studded with diamonds or coloured gems. It is the fastest growing jewellery brand in India. Tanishq, established in 1995, challenged the established family jeweller and introduced new rules in precious jewellery; a category as old as civilization. Tanishq challenged the age-old jeweller's word with Tata's guaranteed purity. Tanishq's initial foray into the jewellery business was a failure though. Tanishq at first introduced 18 Kt gold jewellery advertising 18 Kt as the 'international standard.' This less pure gold was completely rejected by the market dominated by (purported) 22 Kt gold. Later on, it exploded the market with facts about rampant impurity across India. It introduced technology-backed challenge in a category completely governed by blind individual trust. Tanishq has set up production and sourcing bases with thorough research of the jewellery crafts of India. The 135,000 sq ft (12,500 m2) factory is equipped with the latest and most modern machinery and equipment. The factory complies with all labour and environmental standards, located at Hosur, Tamil Nadu. The brand brings together the work of karigars, who specialize in different styles of making jewellery. Karigars, who continue to be an exploited lot with other jewellers, are paid fair remuneration and work under good working conditions in Tanishq. Prescription Eyewear Division (PEW) business is Titan's latest retailing venture. The company now has 48 stores under the "Titan Eye+" brand across the country. Equipped with best certifications such as AS 9100B for the aerospace segment, TS 16949 for the automotive segment and the coveted Ford Q1 status - the highest supplier recognition from Ford – Titan Industries also offers fully integrated automation solutions.
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CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1 DEFINING AFFIRMATIVE ACTION (AA)
Bossuyt (2002) states that “Affirmative action is a coherent packet of measures, of a temporary character, aimed specifically at correcting the position of members of a target group in one or more aspects of their social life, in order to obtain effective equality.” [1] Sheth D.L (1987) states that terms such as ‘Preferential Treatment Policies’ or ‘Reservations’ or ‘Positive Discrimination’ are often covered under the concept of Affirmative Action. However, the above mentioned report has claimed that the term “Positive Discrimination” makes no sense. “In accordance with the new general practice of using the term “discrimination” exclusively to designate “arbitrary”, “unjust” or “illegitimate distinctions”, the term “positive discrimination” is a contradiction in terminis: either the distinction in question is justified and legitimate, because not arbitrary, and cannot be called “discrimination”, or the distinction in question is unjustified or illegitimate, because arbitrary, and should not be labeled “positive”. [2]
2.2 HISTORY OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Cunningham. CD(2003) states that in the Indian context, reservations were introduced during the last decades of the 19th century at a time when the subcontinent could be broadly divided according to two main forms of governance – British India and the 6000 princely states. It should not surprise us then that the very first records of implementing reservation policies are from these princely states. “India developed affirmative programmes as early as 1927, and was probably the first in the world to create a specific constitutional provision authorizing affirmative action in government employment” [3]
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2.3 ORIGIN OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Clinton Administration's Affirmative Action Review (1995) states that the term "affirmative action" was first used in the United States. It first appeared in Executive Order 10925, which was signed by President John F. Kennedy on March 6, 1961, and it was used to refer to measures to achieve non-discrimination. In 1965, President Lyndon B.
Johnson issued Executive Order 11246 which required federal contractors to take "affirmative action" to hire without regard to race, religion and national origin. In 1968, gender was added to the anti-discrimination list [4].
2.4 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN INDIA AND THE UNITED STATES
Darity, William and Ashwini Deshpande (2003) state that caste in India and race in the USA are often compared for their institutional similarities, and also because these categories form the social basis on which the affirmative action program in the two countries is based. While disadvantage and discrimination produce similar outcomes for certain groups within caste- or race-divided societies, it is important to understand the differences between the two systems. If race is a system of ascriptive or color-based disparities, caste can be called a system non-ascriptive or non-color based disparities [5]
2.5 CASTE BASED DISCRIMINATION:
Birdsall and Sabot (1991) took a note of insights from economic theories which clearly indicate that caste-based market discriminations concern policy-makers, not only because they enhance inequality and produce unequal opportunities, but also because they are retrogressive for economic growth [6]. For urban areas Banerjee and Knight (1991) observed that, “there is indeed discrimination by caste, particularly job discrimination and that discrimination appears to operate at least in part through traditional mechanism, with untouchables disproportionately represented in poorly-paid-dead-end jobs. Discrimination is greatest in operative jobs, in which contacts are more important for recruitment, compared with white-collar jobs in which recruitment involves formal methods [7]
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2.6 LINKAGES IN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Desai and Kulkarni (2008) compare educational achievements of different levels among hindus along with that of other upper castes, dalit, adivasis, and muslims between the years of 1983 to 2000. Although the primary school enrollment at all income levels are higher for hindu and other upper castes over this period, the study shows that there is a declining trend in the gap between hindus and other groups at the higher income levels. It implies that while affirmative action in employment seems to have contributed to higher primary school enrollment over the years, improvement in economic condition increased the effectiveness of the program. That is, households with better economic conditions benefited more from the job reservation as it helped improve enrollment in schools. [8]
What is the combined impact of affirmative action in education and employment? Xaxa (2002) in his study of the quota system in the admission to the University of Delhi finds that even after implementation of the this system in higher education and in government and semi-government jobs for SCs/STs/OBCs, the quotas remain largely unfulfilled in several places[9].
Chakravarthy and Somanathan (2008) compare the job market achievements of the SCs/STs and general candidates among Indian Institute of Management (IIM) graduates. They find no significant difference between the two categories’ wages once the academic performance (grade point average or GPA) is taken into account when fixing the wages. However, when academic performance is not taken into account (or controlled for), the average wages of SC/ST candidates tend to be lower than those of the general candidates. On an average, the GPA of SC/ST candidates were also found to be less than those of the general candidates. This implies that the weaker background of the SC/ST students admitted through the reservation policy adversely affects their job market achievements because of lower GPA [10].
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Weisskopf (2004) commented that even if the SC/ST candidates are given the opportunity to study at higher education institutions, their weak educational background should be taken care of before they reach the job market. This is consistent with the argument that the preferentially selected students would also need to be given significant human and financial support, if the reservation policy is to fully serve the purpose of eliminating the differences [11].
2.7 DISCONTENT TO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN INDIA
Primary objective of the reservation policy is to create equality of opportunities on a material basis and elimination of unjust inequalities, whereas the secondary objective is the responsibility of ensuring efficiency for minimum unavoidable costs and minimizing costs and maximizing potential benefits. One of the inescapable dilemmas of the caste-based affirmative action policies is that they cannot but help intensify caste identities. Caste consciousness has increased enormously and affirmative action has played a part in that by increasing and intensifying caste consciousness. But, affirmative action alone cannot be responsible. Today the caste system has weakened but the caste identity has intensified its position. It is admirable that the socially disadvantaged people have used the tool of inequality to seek equality. But today the affirmative action programme has become a political tool of mobilizing people during the elections and secures the votes. The principle of secularism, social justice and equality are under the threat. “Another aspect of inequality which relates to affirmative action and that is the creation of a new middle class in India. It is not as if people rank each other only in terms of caste. Occupation, education and income have become increasingly important in Indian society. Now it is true that the different castes are not equally represented through the entire hierarchy of occupations. The upper castes are more common in the superior non manual occupations. There is an overrepresentation of the upper castes in such occupations. And there is an overwhelming overrepresentation of the lower castes in the inferior, menial and manual occupations. Affirmative action has played a role in shaking up in this (Beteille, Andre, 2002) [10]
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CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 INTRODUCTION Research can be defined as the search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method. The primary purpose for basic research (as opposed to applied research) is discovering, interpreting, and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe. 3.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM ? ? ? ? ? Afffrimative action program is initiated at Titan Industries Ltd only in October 2010, So no clear framework exists till date. Titan is not still successful in implementing Affirmative Action Program due to various issues. More than Rs. 85 lakhs per annum which is allocated for Affirmative Action Program plans by TATA Group to its 116 companies are not utilized properly Training need analysis among the trainees is incomplete. The purpose of this project is to find the effectiveness of education based affirmative action training among the trainees and recommend a framework on education option alone. 3.3 NEED FOR THE STUDY: ? Affirmative Action Program in India generally denotes that apart from protective legislation from the government procedures, these provisions of developmental measures had the potential to bring about the integration in the society. ? Till early 2007, private sector Indian industry was caste blind, unlike the public sector which had job reservations for Reserved Category youth. but there were no figures as to the caste affiliation of its employees.
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?
This study will examine the education needs of trainees specially belonging to reserved category to upgrade to social integration.
3.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 3.4.1 Primary Objective The primary objectives of the study are ? ? ? To assess the effectiveness of the Afffrimative Action Program implemented by Titan industries. To identify the needs of the trainee beneficiaries. To identify the needs of the adopted institutions.
3.4.2 Secondary Objective ? To recommend programs to be included in the Affirmative Action Program (Faculty and Trainees) in order to achieve its stated objectives.
3.5 PERIOD OF STUDY The study was conducted for a period of two months from May 2nd 2011 to July 2nd 2011. 3.6 TYPE OF RESEARCH As the study was undertaken with the purpose of identifying the effectiveness of the affirmative action program it is an applied research. This research is descriptive because the researcher has no control over the variables. 3.7 SURVEY RESEARCH The research was undertaken through a survey. In this research the researcher studied the population by taking the whole population to discover the relative incidence, distribution and interrelation of sociological and psychological variables. 3.8 REVIEW OF LITERATURE After formulating the research problem the researcher went in search of literature so as to proceed with the study.
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3.9 SAMPLE DESIGN
3.9.1 UNIVERSE There were 101 trainees in Government Industrial Training Institute, Hosur and 34 Trainees in TITAN In-house Industrial Training Institute, Hosur.
3.9.2 SAMPLE SIZE The data was collected from all 135 trainees of the population. 3.9.3 TYPE OF SAMPLING: The sample was collected from the whole population. 3.9.4 DATA COLLECTION: The researcher has collected both primary data as well as secondary data. Primary data sources include personal interview through structured questionnaires and focus group discussion. Secondary data sources include references from EBSCO, CII reports, industrial magazines etc…. To determine the effectiveness of affirmative action program, data was collected through personal interview with a structured questionnaire involving the following sections. Section A – Demographic Details. Section B – Effectiveness of Affirmative Action Program Section C – Need Analysis 3.9.5 DATA ANALYSIS The data collected was analyzed using percentage analysis. 3.10 LIMITATIONS The data collected for the sample may not reflect the whole. As the topic is wide spread all matters regarding the study could not be analyzed within the stipulated time. The researcher is limited in accessing other areas except hosur where the affirmative action program is implemented such as Salem, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri and Namakkal.
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CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
SECTION 4.1 – DEMOGRAPHIC DETAILS Table 4.1 AGE OF RESPONDENTS
Age
15 -17 18 – 20 21 -23 24 -27 Total
No of respondents
30 93 9 3 135
Percentage (%)
22.2 68.8 6.6 2.2 100
Figure 4.1 AGE OF RESPONDENTS
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 68.8%) of the respondents belong to the age group of 18 – 20 years.
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Table 4.2 GENDER OF RESPONDENTS
S.No
1 2
Gender
Male Female Total
No of respondents
120 15 135
Percentage (%)
88.89 11.11 100
Figure 4.2: GENDER OF RESPONDENTS
INTERPRETATION: Mostly (about 89%) of the respondents are Male. There are very few girl students.
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Table 4.3 CASTE STATUS OF RESPONDENTS
Caste Scheduled tribes Scheduled caste Most backward caste Backward caste Forward caste Others Total
No of respondents 2 47 43 42 1 0 135
% 1.48 34.81 31.85 31.11 0.74 0 100
Figure 4.3 CASTE STATUS OF RESPONDENTS
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 98%) of the respondents belong to the Scheduled Caste, Backward Caste and Most Backward Castes. There were only one student from the Forward Caste and two students from the Scheduled Tribe.
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Table 4.4 LIVING AREA OF RESPONDENTS
Living area Rural Urban Tribal Total
No of respondents 74 60 1 135
Percentage (%) 54.81 44.44 0.74 100
Figure 4.4: LIVING AREA OF RESPONDENTS
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 55%) of the respondents belong to the rural and the rest were from urban area. There was only one trainee from the tribal area.
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Table 4.5 SELECTION CRITERIA OF RESPONDENTS
Selection criteria Merit Reservation Total
No of respondents 106 29 135
Percentage (%) 78.51 21.49 100
Figure 4.5 SELECTION CRITERIA OF RESPONDENTS
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 79%) of the respondents are selected for admission based on their merit.
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Table 4.6 EDUCATIONAL SPENDING OF RESPONDENTS
Course Fee
1 Lakh Total
No.of.Respondents
120 15 0 0 135
Percentage %
88.89 11.11 0 0 100
Figure 4.6 EDUCATIONAL SPENDING OF RESPONDENTS
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 89%) spend below Rs.10000 per annum for their education.
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Table 4.7 RESPONDENTS RECEIVING SCHOLARSHIP
Scholarships Yes No Total
No.of.Respondents Percentage (%) 81 54 135 60 40 100
Figure 4.7 RESPONDENTS RECEIVING SCHOLARSHIP
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 60%) of the respondents receive scholarships from government.
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Table 4.8 RATING ABOUT THE FEATURES OF INSTITUTE
Feel about Institute Extremely Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Extremely Dissatisfied Total
No.of.Respondents 64 41 23 7 0 135
Percentage (%) 47.40 30.37 17.03 5.18 0 100
Figure 4.8 RATING ABOUT THE FEATURES OF INSTITUTE
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 48%) of the respondents are highly satisfied with the institute.
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Table 4.9 QUALITY OF EDUCATION
Quality of Education Excellent Good Fair Poor Total
No of Respondents 65 41 27 2 135
Percentage (%) 48.14 30.37 20 1.48 100
Figure 4.9 QUALITY OF EDUCATION
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 49%) of the respondents feel excellent about the quality of education provided.
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TABLE 4.10 SKILLS OF FACULTY
Feel about Faculty Excellent Good Fair Poor Total
No of Respondents 56 61 16 2 135
Percentage (%) 41.48148 45.18519 11.85185 1.481481 100
Figure 4.10 SKILLS OF FACULTY
INTERPRETATION: Majority of the respondents (about 46%) feel good about the skills of faculty.
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Table 4.11 PARTICIPATION IN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Extracurricular Activities Yes No Total
No.of.Respondents 5 130 135
Percentage (%) 3.70 96.30 100
Figure 4.11 PARTICIPATION IN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 96%) of the respondents do not take part in extracurricular activities.
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Table 4.12 JOB PLACEMENT ACTIVITIES
Job placements Yes No Total
No.of.respondents Percentage (%) 105 30 135 77.78 22.22 100
Figure 4.12 JOB PLACEMENT ACTIVITIES
INTERPRETATION: Majority of the respondents (about 78%) are aware of job placements in their campus.
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SECTION 4.2 - EFFECTIVENESS OF TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM
Table 4.13 AWARENESS LEVEL OF TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
Awareness of TITAN Affirmative action Program Yes No Total
No.of.Respondents Percentage (%) 81 54 135 60 40 100
Figure 4.13 AWARENESS LEVEL OF TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 60%) of the respondents are aware of TITAN affirmative action program in their campus. Still there is a significant portion of students (40%) who were not aware of the affirmative action program.
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Table 4.14 PARTICIPATION OF RESPONDENTS IN TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
Earlier Participation in TITAN Affirmative action Program Yes No Total
No.of.Respondents Percentage (%) 61 74 135 45.18 54.82 100
Figure 4.14 PARTICIPATION OF RESPONDENTS IN TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 55%) of the respondents have not participated in the earlier event of Titan affirmative action programme in their campus.
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Table 4.14(A) PARTICIPATION OF RESPONDENTS IN VARIOUS PROGRAMS HELD UNDER TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
Program Varieties Spoken English Quality of life Career Guidance Higher Education Tips Leadership Skills Personality Development Creativity Skills Total
Respondents 0 31 0 0 30 0 0 61
% 0 50.81 0 0 49.18 0 0 100
Figure 4.14(A) PARTICIPATION OF RESPONDENTS IN VARIOUS PROGRAMS HELD UNDER TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 51%) of the respondents have participated in the “Quality of life” event. Leadership skills were also almost equally attended with about 49% of the students having attended the progarmme.
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Table 4.15: SATISFACTION LEVEL INTO THE TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM
Rating of AAP Highly satisfied Somewhat satisfied Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied Somewhat Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied Total
No.of.Respondents 53 61 21 0 0 135
Percentage (%) 39 45 16 0 0 100
Figure 4.15 SATISFACTION LEVEL INTO THE TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 45%) of the respondents are somewhat satisfied with the Titan affirmative action program.
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Table 4.16 IMPACT ON PERSONALITY BY TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
Impact on Personality Very Positive Impact Somewhat Positive Impact Somewhat Negative Impact very negative Impact Not much Impact Total
No.of.Respondents 36 59 3 5 32 135
Percentage (%) 26.67 43.77 2.22 3.70 23.70 100
Figure 4.16 IMPACT ON PERSONALITY BY TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
INTERPRETATION: Majority (about 44%) of the respondents are somewhat satisfied that TITAN affirmative action program will have an impact on their personality.
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Table 4.17 CAPABILITY OF SC/ST STUDENTS AND ITS IMPACT BY TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
Capability Enhancement Strongly Agree Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly Disagree Total
No.of.Respondents 36 61 21 16 1 135
Percentage (%) 26.67 45.18 15.55 11.85 0.74 100
Figure 4.17 CAPABILITY OF SC/ST STUDENTS AND ITS IMPACT BY TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
INTERPRETATION: Majority of the respondents (about 46%) agree that TITAN Affirmative action program helps them in enhancing the capability of SC/ST Students.
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Table 4.18 REALIZING THEIR POTENTIAL TO BECOME A PRODUCTIVE MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY THROUGH TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
To realize potential Strongly Agree Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly Disagree Total
No.of.Respondents 29 59 13 15 19 135
Percentage (%) 21.48 43.70 9.62 11.11 14.07 100
Figure 4.18 REALIZING THEIR POTENTIAL TO BECOME A PRODUCTIVE MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY THROUGH TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM.
INTERPRETATION: Majority (44%) of the respondents agree that Titan affirmative action program helps them in bringing their potential to become a productive member of the society.
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FACULTY NEED ANALYSIS
Table 4.19 MASTER TABLE ON FACULTY ANALYSIS
S.NO
PARTICULARS
BELOW AVERAGE
AVERAGE
GOOD
VERY GOOD
EXCELLENT
AGG TOTAL
AVERAGE
RANK
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Academic achievements Quality of Writing Creative & Original thoughts Disciplined work habits Motivation Leadership Integrity Self Confidence Concern for others Initiative & Independence
18 7 9 4 3 20 9 11 9 4
30 19 13 11 15 13 21 6 13 11
20 31 20 27 23 28 23 15 20 27
38 25 34 35 38 32 36 39 34 35
29 53 59 58 56 42 46 64 59 58
435 503 526 537 534 468 494 544 526 537
3.22 3.72 3.89 3.97 3.95 3.46 3.65 4.02 3.89 3.97
10 7 5 2 4 9 8 1 5 2
The above table presents the respondents evaluation of their faculty under ten different categories. A five point Likert Scale was used to collect their responses as Below Average (1 Point), Average (2 Point), Good (3 Point), Very good (4 Point) & Excellent (5 Point). Overall rating was given by calculating the average of total scores. Each criterion had a minimum average of 1 and maximum average of 5.A core of 3.5 and above was benchmarked as high and score below 3.5 was considered low.
INTERPRETATION:
Except academic achievement and leadership, faculties were rated high on all other criteria. Self confidence was the only criterion with a score above 4 points.
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SECTION 4.3 - NEED ANALYSIS
Generally the needs of trainees and students can be classified into five various segments such as life skills development, knowing self areas, educational planning activities, interpersonal activities and career development skills. To understand the trainee and student’s needs the researcher provided a list of 10 variables in each segments as classified above. Under each category 8 to 10 variables were listed. The respondents were requested to mark whether the variable is important or not important, whether they receive any assistance or not and finally whether the respondent needed further help or not. The needs of students and trainees can be accessed on the skills that are important to the respondents, in which they are not receiving assistance but they need assistance. The detailed table enumerating the above classification is displayed below for reference.
Table 4.20 Category classification S.No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Category A B C D E F G H Important or Not Important Important Important Important Important Not Important Not Important Not Important Not Important Receiving assistance or Not receiving assistance Not receiving assistance Receiving assistance Not receiving assistance Receiving assistance Not receiving assistance Receiving assistance Not receiving assistance Receiving assistance Need Help or Do not need help Need help Need help Do not need help Do not need help Need help Need help Do not need help Do not need help
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LIFE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT Importance of Life Skills in Individual Life
Life skills are a set of human skills acquired via teaching or direct experience that are used to handle problems and questions commonly encountered in daily human life. The subject varies greatly depending on societal norms and community expectations. Life skills are defined as skills which can provide with a better perspective on life, skills which can allow you to maintain a higher awareness of both about our self and the world around us.
TABLE 4.21 LIFE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
S.No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Category
To improve my study skills and habits. To develop my test-taking skills. To learn how to handle pressure from friends, teachers, family, or myself. To learn how to make decisions and solve problems. To learn how to set goals in my life. To learn how to manage my time better. To learn how to get more out of my life through leisure time activities.
A
58 23 34 21 73 62 14
B
21 28 21 29 39 13 16
C
2 31 45 51 11 17 36
D
13 18 4 4 3 14 47
E
6
F
12
G
9 11 2 5 0 9 0
H
14 1 11 6 7 15 0
17 6 18 0 0 2 5 16 0 0
21 1
INTERPRETATION: Three variables were found to be important for which the trainees don’t receive assistance and they need further support. These areas are Goal setting (73 – Category A), Time management (62 – Category A) and Developing study skills (58 -Category A).
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KNOWING ABOUT SELF Importance of Knowing about Ourselves
The greatest thing we can have in life is knowledge of ourselves. The more we know about ourselves, the better the decisions we can make for our own life. Conversely, the less we know about ourselves, the worse our decisions. The more we know about ourselves, the more we can know about other people because we can apply the same analysis what we did to ourselves on others. In friendships and relationships, if we know ourselves, we can create that perfect relationship because we know what we need and can communicate it.
Table 4.22 KNOWING ABOUTSELF S.No Category 1 To identify my strengths and Weakness. 2 To develop more confidence in myself. 3 To understand my personal values. 4 5 6
To learn more about grooming and personal care. To know about how the expectations of others affect my life. To develop my Creativity (r) artistic abilities.
A 61 24 35 18 23 54 B 20 34 21 33 21 43 C 3 45 12 12 35 11 D 24 5 8 12 28 13 E 7 13 23 27 13 2 F 15 7 17 18 1 4 G 2 5 11 1 0 6 H 3 2 8 14 14 2
INTERPRETATION: Two variables which are found to be important in which the respondents don’t receive assistance but they need further support these areas as Identifying their SWOT (61 – Category A) and Developing Creativity skills (54 -Category A).
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EDUCATIONAL PLANNING ACTIVITIES
Importance of Educational Planning in Individual Life The purpose and process of educational planning is to state and develop goals. After this is done, planners develop strategies that are both effective and efficient in order to reach the goals at hand. So planning plays an important role in each individual life.
Table 4.23 EDUCATIONAL PLANNING
S.No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Category
Educational Planning helps to understand the importance of graduating from College (r) School Educational Planning helps in selecting the right courses for me. Educational Planning helps to become more aware of my educational options after College (r) School Educational Planning helps to know about financial aid for continuing my education after College (r) School. Educational Planning helps to learn how to choose an educational or training program that will be right for me. Educational Planning helps to learn more about college entrance requirements. Educational Planning helps to know how and when to select a college major. Educational Planning helps to have counseling about my educational planning. Educational Planning helps to talk to the college admissions counselors about my career plans.
A 23 54 18 61
B 21 43 33 20
C 35 11 12 3
D 28 13 12 24
E 13 2 27 7
F 1 4 18 15
G 0 6 1 2
H 14 2 14 3
24
34
45
5
13
7
5
2
14 73 18 35
16 39 33 21
36 11 12 12
47 3 12 8
21 2 27 23
1 0 18 17
0 0 1 11
0 7 14 8
INTERPRETATION:
Three variables were found to be important for which the trainees don’t receive assistance and they need further support. These areas are Selecting college major (73 – Category A), Financial aid for further education (61–Category A) and Selecting the right course (58 -Category A).
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INTER-PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP ACTIVITIES Importance of Interpersonal Relationship in Individual Life
Interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring good interpersonal relationships among the employees in an organization can help attain organizational objectives within a specific time period, with accuracy and effectiveness. Interpersonal relations have their own importance in a multi-cultured corporation or organization as it enhances better communication and thus a better understanding among the co-workers; as a result they learn to respect each other's cultural values and the style of working that is majorly influenced by one's culture and tradition.
Table 4.24 INTER-PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP ACTIVITIES
S.No 1 2 3 4 5
Category
Interpersonal relationship used to be able to get along better with Facilitator. Interpersonal relationship used to be able to get along better with other peers. Interpersonal relationship used to be able to get along better with my family. Interpersonal relationship used to understand the changing roles of men and women in today's society. To gain a better understanding of people of different races and cultural backgrounds.
A
32 23 34 21 89
B
21 28 21 29 23
C
43 31 45 51 11
D
13 18 4 4 3
E
6
F
12
G
7 11 2 5 0
H
2 1 11 6 7
17 6 18 0 0 2 16 0
INTERPRETATION:
Only one variable has found to be important in which the trainees don’t receive assistance and they need further support. This is understanding people of various race and culture (89 – Category A).
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CAREER DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES Importance of Career development in Individual Life
Career development represents the entire sequence of activities and events related to an individual's career. Career development encompasses acquiring of educational qualifications and certifications, career path, self-actualization as an individual, shifting of careers and career growth, learning curve and recognitions or felicitations.
Table 4.25: CAREER DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES S.No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Category
Career Development helps to explore how various jobs could affect my lifestyle. Career Development helps to know more about job opportunities in my career interest areas. Career Development helps to know more about training requirements for jobs I might like. Career Development helps to understand the changing Behavior of careers for both men and women. Career Development helps to know how important people influence my career choice. Career Development helps to have counseling about my career plans. Career Development helps to know more about possible careers and the Cultures of work. Career Development helps to understand how my values relate to my career plans. Career Development helps to know how my personality and preferred method of learning relate to my career plans. A 73 44 18 61 24 14 34 18 35 B 39 43 33 20 34 16 23 33 21 C 11 21 12 3 45 36 34 12 12 D 3 13 12 24 5 47 36 12 8 E 2 2 27 7 13 21 5 27 23 F 0 4 18 15 7 1 2 18 17 G 0 6 1 2 5 0 0 1 11 H 7 2 14 3 2 0 1 14 8
INTERPRETATION:
Two variables were found to be important in which the trainees don’t receive assistance and they need further support. These areas are Understanding the jobs which are suited for the lifestyle (73 – Category A) and the changing behavior of men and women in the society (61 – Category A).
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SECTION 4.4 - REPORT ON THE FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION
A Focus group was held in Government Industrial Training Institute, Hosur on June 18th, 2011.It was a single group with 8 members. Among the 8 Members – 5 seniors and 3 juniors, the discussion lasted for 2 hours. The members were asked to discuss about two openended questions which were issues within their campus that were to be redressed and other additional facility needed in the campus were discussed.
INTERPRETATION
The concern of the students now is restroom facilities, library facility, lack of qualified trainers in the field, no proper academics support due to which the rate of dropout is increased to 15%. Even though they have the computer lab but they lack the basic necessity of computer lab UPS. There is often power failure and the students find difficult to operate. The additional features that are required are English daily newspaper, library for students use and uniform facility.
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CHAPTER 6 – SUMMARY &CONCLUSION 6.1 FINDINGS
6.1.1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS FROM DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE ? Majority (about 68.8%) of the respondents belong to the age group of 18 – 20 years. ? Mostly (about 89%) of the respondents are Male. There are very few girl students. ? Majority (about 98%) of the respondents belong to the Scheduled Caste, Backward Caste and Most Backward Castes. There were only one student from the Forward Caste and two students from the Scheduled Tribe. ? Majority (about 55%) of the respondents belong to the rural and the rest were from urban area. There was only one trainee from the tribal area. ? Majority (about 79%) of the respondents are selected for admission based on their merit.
? Majority (about 89%) spend below Rs.10000 per annum for their education.
? Majority (about 60%) of the respondents receive scholarships from government.
? Majority (about 48%) of the respondents are highly satisfied with the institute.
? Majority (about 49%) of the respondents feel excellent about the quality of education provided. ? Majority of the respondents (about 46%) feel good about the skills of faculty. ? Majority (about 96%) of the respondents do not take part in extracurricular activities. ? Majority of the respondents (about 78%) are aware of job placements in their campus. 6.1.2. EFFECTIVENESS OF TITAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM ? Majority (about 60%) of the respondents are aware of TITAN affirmative action program in their campus. Still there is a significant portion of students (40%) who were not aware of the affirmative action program. ? Majority (about 55%) of the respondents have not participated in the earlier event of Titan affirmative action programme in their campus.
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? Majority (about 51%) of the respondents have participated in the “Quality of life” event. Leadership skills were also almost equally attended with about 49% of the students having attended the progarmme. ? Majority (about 45%) of the respondents are somewhat satisfied with the Titan affirmative action program. ? Majority (about 44%) of the respondents are somewhat satisfied that TITAN affirmative action program will have an impact on their personality. ? Majority of the respondents (about 46%) agree that TITAN Affirmative action program helps them in enhancing the capability of SC/ST Students. ? Majority (44%) of the respondents agree that Titan affirmative action program helps them in bringing their potential to become a productive member of the society.
6.1.3. NEED ANALYSIS
? Three variables were found to be important for which the trainees don’t receive assistance
and they need further support. These areas are Goal setting (73 – Category A), Time management (62 –Category A) and Developing study skills (58 -Category A). ? Two variables which are found to be important in which the respondents don’t receive assistance but they need further support these areas as Identifying their SWOT (61 – Category A) and Developing Creativity skills (54 -Category A). ? Three variables were found to be important for which the trainees don’t receive assistance and they need further support. These areas are Selecting college major (73-Category A), Financial aid for further education (61- Category A) and Selecting the right course (58 Category A). ? Only one variable has found to be important in which the trainees don’t receive assistance and they need further support. This is understanding people of various race and culture (89 – Category A).
? Two variables were found to be important in which the trainees don’t receive assistance
and they need further support. These areas are Understanding the jobs which are suited for the lifestyle (73 – Category A) and the changing behavior of men and women in the society (61 – Category A).
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6.2 SUGGESTIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Titan industries has been initiating the affirmative action in a phase by phase manner; still its focused area is very narrow, which is the main issue at this point of time. The affirmative action program has come with the main focus to uplift SC/ST in various segments such as education, employment, employability and entrepreneurship. But the organization has focused on the education option alone. During the project tenure and even before that it was found that the affirmative action program is executed wholly by Learning and Development department in addition to their normal works. Learning and Development department already contains a restricted workforce (5 Staff) by which the Initiative of the affirmative action program could not be taken solely due to their normal course of work. Thus it does not get required attention. Creation of a special designation officer for the execution of affirmative action program is strongly recommended. The officer appointed in this regard has to execute various roles and responsibilities. The Job description of the proposed AA officer is listed herewith. A. Designation : Affirmative Action Program officer B. Areas of operations: All matters concerning Affirmative action program at various levels in concerning to AA Policy of the organization. C. Role Jurisdiction: General Administration, Training and Human Systems. D. Co-ordination: Mostly External Areas such as interaction with college principle, student, NGO, Community Leaders, Socio-Economic People, Training Faculty etc. E. Major Responsibilities
? Preparing affirmative action program calendar ? Building institutional and transactional relationship between the college institute
heads, nongovernmental organization heads community leaders etc.
? Setting out various terms and conditions for the program execution, payments to
faculty, sponsorships to institutes etc.
? Generate policies and procedures for continuous identification of training needs of the
students of various adopted government industrial training institutes and the in house Basic Training Center.
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? Organize appropriate training programmes at regular point of time by engaging
suitable faculty from within the organization (Internal Trainer) or external faculty (External Trainer)
? Perpetual review of situations as regards to the training conducted, employability
skill, entrepreneurship etc.
? Evolve management information system reports at regular intervals and consolidate
the reports during the audit period.
? Effective interface with the organization and the other departments ? Effective documentation system to be known.
If the officer is not able to be appointed at any scenario atleast job enlargement to any one official in the Learning & Development has to be provided to check out for the smooth flow of the above said program. Along with Education, Employment and Employability, the concentration has to be shifted towards Entrepreneurship. Collaboration with NGO’s and other welfare clubs on various terms and contracts can be made out to create a basement in this point of time. The Recommended training programs for educational development of trainees to achieve the targets are herewith attached. This is based upon the need analysis done ? Basic Module on Decision making Skills ? Preliminary sessions on Time management ? Session on stress Management ? Developing Creativity Skills ? Sessions on Knowing ourselves (our SWOT) ? Cultural changes and the roles ? Complete session on Tips to attend Interview (r) Group Discussion. ? Package on Communication Builder. ? Preliminary session on Interpersonal relations. These kinds of programs are conducted by Vardhman Threads India ltd, Sona Koyo steering systems private limited, Oberai Motors, Maruthi Suzuki India ltd, Hindustan Zinc Limited, etc… to achieve the targets under the affirmative action programs. When these programs are given at interest of the participants the better would be the response of the participants which would give out a huge return on investment.
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6.3 CONCLUSION
The history of Titan Industries in mainstreaming the socio- economic underprivileged communities dates back to previous century scholarships to students, stationary support etc. After the Implementation of affirmative action, the group had started roaring, in huge fashion. By adopting Government ITI’s in all around basis in various districts, effective campaign to create entrepreneurs in rural hubs, scholarships, steps to create awareness of technical education in rural hubs and sponsoring them, were the initiatives seeded up to date. Watering the seeds on a timely basis will give out the desired results.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Articles Referred
Bossuy M, 2002, “Prevention of Discrimination – The Concept and Practice of Affirmative Action”, Commission on Human Rights, United Nations,pp.3. Cunningham, C.D.2003, “Lessons on Affirmative Action from India, The Sub continental” available at www.thesubcontinental.org. Birdsall, Nancy and Richard Sabot (1991): ‘Unfair Advantage–Labour Market Discrimination in Developing Countries’, World Bank. Banerjee, Biswjit and J B Knight (1985): ‘Caste Discrimination in Indian Urban Labour Market’, Journal of Developing Economics. Desai, Sonalde and Veena Kulkarni (2008): “Changing Educational Inequalities in India in the Context of Affirmative Action”, Demography, 45(2), May. Xaxa, Virginius (2002): “Ethnography of Reservation in Delhi University”, Economic & Political Weekly, 37(28), 13 July. Chakravarthy, Sujoy and E Somanathan (2008): Discrimination in an Elite Labor Market? Job Placements at IIM-Ahmedabad”, Economic &Political Weekly, 43(44), 1 November. Darity, William and Ashwini Deshpande (2003): Boundaries of Clan and Colour, Routledge, New York Beteille, Andre, 2002, Caste, Inequality and Affirmative Action, International Institute of labour Studies, Geneva, Switzerland, pp.9-10. Lakshmanasamy, T. and Madheswaran, S. (1995): “Discrimination by community: evidence from Indian Scientific and technical labor market”, Indian Journal of Social Sciences, Vol 8, No. 1,pp.59-77.
Books Referred
The Affirmative Action Debate By George E. Curry & Cornel West Affirmative Action: Social Justice or Unfair Preference? By Albert G. Mosley Affirmative Action and Representation By Anthony A. Peacock
Websites Referredhttp://siteresources.worldbank.orghttp://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1198102,00.htmlhttp://www.karr.net/scheduled_castes_and_tribes/encyclopedia.htmhttp://www.ambedkar.org/News/reservationinindia.pdf www.titan.co.in www.cii.org
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CHAPTER 14: ANNEXURES - INTERVIEW SCHEDULE Dear Respondent; As part of my MBA Programme I have undertaken a research on affirmative action policy to find out its implications on student development. A few minutes of your valuable time to complete this questionnaire will be greatly appreciated.
J.GANESH KUMAR
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Name: Age: Sex: Male/Female College Name: Year of Study: Caste: Scheduled Tribes/ Scheduled Caste/Most Backward Caste/ Backward caste/Forward caste/others_________________ Languages Known: Living area: Rural (Village) / Urban (City) / Tribal (Hill). 2. On what Basis (Criteria) did you join this institute?(Put Tick Mark) Merit Category Reservation Category 3. What is the Total Course Fee that you pay for pursuing this course? Below 10000 10000-25000 25000-50000 Above 1 Lakh Yes No 4. Are you staying in Hostel? If yes, the Fee that you pay for residing in hostel Rs.________ Yes 5. Are you receiving any scholarships? If Yes, on what category ___________________ No
6. How do you feel about the Institute in overall category? Extremely Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Extremely Dissatisfied. 7. How do you specially feel about the Quality of Education provided here? Excellent Good Fair Poor
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8. How do you rate the skills / experience of the faculty?
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
9. Does the Institute Provide you any Extracurricular Activities? Yes No If yes, Please Provide the List of Activities Which have taken Place, _____________________________________________________________ 10. Does the Institute provide you practical training on career Development? Yes No 11. Does the organization provide any job placement offers either internally or externally? Yes No 12.Are you aware or heard of the Titan Affirmative Action Program in your campus? Yes No 13. Have you attended or participated in any of the Affirmative Action Programs conducted by TITAN Industries? Yes No 13 (a). If Yes, What kind of programs have you participated in? Spoken English Quality Of life Career Guidance Higher Education Tips Leadership Skills Personality Development Creativity Skills Received Uniform/Shoes Received Books 14. How do you rate the Affirmative Action Program conducted by the TITAN? Highly Satisfied Somewhat satisfied Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied Somewhat Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied. 15. Does the TITAN Affirmative Action Program have any impact on your personality or your personal skills? Very Positive Impact Somewhat Positive Impact Somewhat Negative Impact Very Negative Impact Not much impact
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16. Do you agree that TITAN Affirmative Action Program will enhance SC/ST community students to enhance their capability with access to quality education along with technical knowledge? Strongly agree Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly Disagree. 17. Do you agree that TITAN Affirmative Action Program will realize your potential and make you as a productive member of the society? Strongly agree Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly Disagree 18. If do you need any special program to be conducted or any suggestions for improvement of this program please do not hesitate to tell us. ________________________________________________________________________________________ 19. Faculty Evaluation: (Put a tick mark against each)
S.No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Particulars
Academic Achievements Quality of writing Creative & Original Thought Disciplined work habits Motivation Leadership Integrity Concern for others Self confidence Initiative & Independence
Below Average
Average
Good
Very Good
Excellent
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20. Please indicate how important each of the following aspects is for you…..
Important to me Receiving assistance or no assistance Need Further Help or No help
SNO 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
LIFE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT Life skill is used to improve my study skills and habits. Life skill is used to develop my test-taking skills. Life skill is used to learn how to handle pressure from friends, teachers and family. Life skill is used to learn how to make decisions and solve problems. Life skill is used to learn how to set goals in my life. Life skill is used to learn how to manage my time better. Life skill is used to learn how to get more out of my life through leisure time activities.
Or Not Important
Important to me SNO
Receiving assistance or no assistance
Need Further Help or No help
KNOWING MYSELF Knowing myself used to identify my strengths and Weakness. Knowing myself used to develop more confidence in myself. Knowing myself used to understand my personal values. Knowing myself used to learn more about grooming and personal care. Knowing myself used to know about how the expectations of others will affect my life. Knowing myself used to develop my Creativity (r) artistic abilities. Knowing myself used to discipline myself for better study habits.
Or Not Important
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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Important to me SNO EDUCATIONAL PLANNING Or Not Important
Receiving assistance or no assistance
Need Further Help or No help
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Educational Planning helps to understand the importance of graduating from College (r) School Educational Planning helps in selecting the right courses for me. Educational Planning helps to become more aware of my educational options after College (r) School Educational Planning helps to know about financial aid for continuing my education after College (r) School. Educational Planning helps to learn how to choose an educational or training program that will be right for me. Educational Planning helps to learn more about college entrance requirements. Educational Planning helps to know how and when to select a college major. Educational Planning helps to have counseling about my educational planning. Educational Planning helps to talk to the college admissions counselors about my career plans.
Important to me SNO INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP Or Not Important
Receiving assistance or no assistance
Need Further Help or No help
1 2 3
4 5
Interpersonal relationship used to be able to get along better with Facilitator. Interpersonal relationship used to be able to get along better with other peers. Interpersonal relationship used to be able to get along better with my family. Interpersonal relationship used to understand the changing roles of men and women in today's society. To gain a better understanding of people of different races and cultural backgrounds.
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SNO
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Important to me Or Not Important
Receiving assistance or no assistance
Need Further Help or No help
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8
9
Career Development helps to explore how various jobs could affect my lifestyle. Career Development helps to know more about job opportunities in my career interest areas. Career Development helps to know more about training requirements for jobs I might like. Career Development helps to understand the changing Behavior of careers for both men and women. Career Development helps to know how important people influence my career choice. Career Development helps to have counseling about my career plans. Career Development helps to know more about possible careers and the Cultures of work. Career Development helps to understand how my values relate to my career plans. Career Development helps to know how my personality and preferred method of learning relate to my career plans.
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doc_619966009.pdf