Communication Barriers That Led To The Strike-: Organizational Structure

MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LIMITED
About the MSIL Strike
India's largest passenger car company, Maruti Suzuki, struggled for almost a year with several worker’s strikes that
halted the production at Manesar plant. The labour unrest began when the employees of MSIL went on an
indefinite strike, demanding revisions to their wages, incentives and improvement in working conditions. The
discord between the top management and its workers continued on and off and peaked in the year 2012. On 18th
July 2012, it was hit by the worst labour incidents with one senior official being killed and several injured
Communication Barriers that led to the strike-
Organizational structure
● The top management was rigid and authoritative in nature which is evident from the fact that
instead of resolving the issues of workers they kept compelling the workers to sign ‘Good conduct
bond’ to take control of the situation.
● There was only unidirectional communication within the company, wherein the top management
just instructed the workers, while the workers themselves were not able to communicate their
problems such as long working hours, low wages and appalling working conditions. This led the
workers to form a union so that their voices could be heard.
Difference in status
● MSIL being the leading Indian car manufacturer at that time, workers felt reluctant to put forth
their demands as they wanted to remain associated with such successful company thus leading to
creation of gap between workers and top management.
● Since the top management did not pay heed to the workers’ concerns, naturally there was a
perception of a difference in status between the workers and the management which led to the
workers forming their own union.
Unethical communication
● There was no proper communication to dealers about the waiting period of various models. Dealers
were asked to continue taking bookings in spite of lockdown at Manesar unit
● Customers were also kept in dark about car delivery timelines against booking
Lack of Trust
● There was a trust deficit between the management and the workers as the management tried to
pressurize the workers against joining the new union and wanted to force them to sign the agreement
that they would continue to be members of the pro-management union- MUKU
● In 2011, registration of the new union, MSEU was rejected and thereafter, 11 workers were
dismissed and 10 more were suspended which widened the trust deficit between the workers and
management.
● There was also a lack of trust between the HR Staff and workers. The worker’s perception of HR
executives is a major cause of concern. They feel neglected and they believe that their demands for a
wage raise and better working conditions are being ignored by the HR executives,who are agents of
the top management.
Message Complexity
● From the very beginning, there is no understanding between the company and its workers. The
company tried to stop the new workers union but it never intended to listen as to why there’s a need
for workers union and the workers also failed to explain the significance of the new union amicably to
the company. There was no clear message conveyed by both sides, leading to a breakdown in
communication.
● Even after the initial negotiations, there was no clear agreement between the two parties about
how to proceed further and both the company as well as the workers, misinterpreted the message
resulting in protests and violence leading to a life being lost and numerous injuries.
● Despite MSIL being India's number one manufacturing company and having the best customer
satisfaction index, the company failed to communicate a message that instilled employee’s trust and
made them feel like they were contributing meaningfully.
Information Overload
● Owing to good performance of some of its models, the company was focussed on ramping up the
production and overlooked the basic demands of workers like regulating work hours, increased
pay/bonuses, etc. This resulted in workers feeling ignored thus leading to strikes.
Incorrect choice of medium -
● Employees being forced to sign a good conduct bond that restricts them from expressing any
irregularities is clearly a bad practice.
● Workers used violence to put up their demands to management resulting in loss of life when they
could have used other peaceful means to put up their demands to management
Difference in perspective
● The top management only cared about their sales volume and profits while the workers were more
concerned about their working conditions and wages. This difference in perspective also led to the
breakdown in communication.
Recommendations
● Bridging the gaps of Organizational Hierarchy: There was a communication gap between the
workers and top management because of a strong hierarchical structure. If they could have listened to
the workers and understood their concerns, they could have handled the situation more efficiently.
The Management should have opted for a two way communication policy.
● Building trust through direct communication: Top management could have been more transparent
to its dealers and customers by acknowledging the issues that they were facing. Top management
should have shown more trust and empathy towards their workers instead of forcing them to not form
the MSEU union.
● Transparent Fair Judgemental Decision Communication : The management could have taken fair,
reasonable decisions passed through various iterations of different level management team before
firing employees without prior notice to them. This could have relucted the serious tensions arised
among employees which lead one employee burned alive.
● The management could have deployed a Suggestion scheme in which the workers would have
raised their concerns and the senior officials were to reply within a stipulated time.
● After facing strikes several times, the top management should have been alarmed and would have
tried to dissolve the tension between union and the management by conducting meetings or sessions
with the union. By this both the parties could have come to a common point after negotiating.
● Instead of pressurizing laborers not to join MUKU, management could have made amendments in
the MSEU itself to resolve issues amicably.
● Resolving the difference in perspective of top management and labourers: management could have
formed a common goal for the whole organization.
● Both the labourers and top management should have put their issues on the same table.
● MSIL should have held talks with workers to settle the situation as the employer of a top
manufacturing firm in India.

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MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LIMITED

About the MSIL Strike

Communication Barriers that led to the strike-

Incorrect choice of medium -

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