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Managing Human Resources in the Global Business EnvironmentSanjay Bhatia*

It is a great pleasure for me to be with you on theoccasion of this important "HR Conference 2007 onManaging Human Resources in the Global Business

Environment" and share my views on this importanttheme.

The theme of this HR Conference is indeed relevantto the challenging and fast changing times we live in.Before I share my thoughts with all of you,particularly the large number of future managers whoare attending this Conference, let me briefly touchupon the contours of this "New Age" that has dawnedupon us and the exciting challenges andresponsibilities that the younger generation will haveto face in the years ahead.

We have entered the era of Globalisation.Globalization can be defined as the integration ofeconomic, cultural, political, and social systems

through internationalization and localization.Thiscan be applied to many different fields.For example,in economics, 'globalization' may mean an economictrend that was previously limited to one's place buthas come to extend across the globe.On a broaderlevel it is usually assumed to include all fields,cultural, technological, etc.Technology has alsohelped in globalization like telephone. Email andintemet.They help in global transmission ofmessages.which has now become easier.Rapidgrowth and poverty reduction in India, and othercountries that were poor 20 years ago, has been apositive aspect of globalization.

India is fast emerging as a major player in manyfields. The economy has never been so buoyant. Thegrowth of GDP has been revolutionary over the pastfive years. Indeed, The Goldman Sachs' projectionsindicate that India's GDP will overtake Italy's by2020, France's by 2025, Germany's by 2030 andJapan's by 203 5 .Another authoritative study, which iswidely quoted in global business boardrooms, theA.T. Kearney Report, shows that India scores thehighest marks in terms of Locational Advantages forBusiness Process Outsourcing. According to a recentGlobal Youth Survey amongst 16-29 years oldsacross 17 countries, Indian youth are high onambition and happiness both.The economy isbooming and Indian CVs are in demandinternationally.

"inaugural Address on HR Conference "ManagingHuman Resources in the Global BusinessEnvironment" by Mr. Sanjay Bhatia, President,PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

As a result of all these optimistic forecasts aboutIndia's growing economy, more than 5 billion dollarsof foreign direct investments are flowing in and more

than 100 global companies have begun to outsourcetheir R&D facilities from India.Even the foreigninvestments made by Indian companies are on theincrease.

Ladies and Gentlemen and my talented youngfriends, this is just a glimpse of the New Age thatpromises so much and opens up such vast horizons.But we need to remind ourselves that these optimistictrends are nothing more than projections. In order tomake them come true, we must work hard to equipourselves with the knowledge and skills required tobuild the future and reap the harvest of the era ofeconomic growth and prosperity.There is no wayIndia can brush aside globalization. Whether we like

it or not, we are a part of the global world.To fulfill our potential, as a nation, to emerge as aneconomic super-power one of the biggest challengesis to mobilise and train our vast powerhouse ofhuman resources. Indeed, the country needs anexpanding army of managers and entrepreneurs. Weneed a supply of young men and women who are notonly educated and well versed in the basic principlesof management and administration, but who alsohave a finger on the pulse of change and a yearningand ability to learn new skills throughout theirworking lives.

Increasingly, effective mobilization of the right typeof human resources and moulding them to take onproductive responsibilities is becoming the realagenda and prime responsibility of Governments,corporate enterprises and educational institutions.

I am very glad that Lai Bhadur Shastri Institute ofManagement, Delhi is playing a proactive role insuch mobilization and is doing yeoman service byfacilitating interactive sessions with HR captains ofindustry so that students get insights into the latestmanagement trends. Encouraging students to preparebusiness proposals on commercially viable projectsalso helps towards getting a feel of what it takes to bean effective manager in a competitive environment.

In the present day competitive environment, industryand business have recognised the importance ofproductivity, quality, innovation and customer

satisfaction. It is a common belief that these arefunctions of technology. That is, new machines, newmanufacturing process, etc., are supposed to be thedeterminant factors. This is so but only partly,

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because a significant aspect is the man behind themachine - the man who uses the technology, and theman who implements the new system. Therefore,modernisation is called for not only of equipment ormachines but also the ways of thinking and doing

things.Therefore, human resources, specially theirinduction, training and orientation will be the key tothe success of industries. It will thus be appropriatethat the Human Resource as a profession takes stockof its own position at this juncture, as it is chargedwith the responsibility of providing, sustaining andretaining the right quality of manpower.

The success of enterprises is dictated by theinvolvement and participation of people in decisionmaking, development of human resources, de-centralisation, re-structuring, delegation of authority.Therefore, the agenda before us today is to involvecommitted participation of personnel in growth and

development and, thus, we must be capable of: Ensuring that the mind-set of people is receptive

to change;

Facilitating management initiatives; Managing cultural transitions like mergers and

alliances

Replacing top-down intervention withorganisation-wide participation, and

Following processes and practices whosesuccess can be evaluated.

For long-term success, we need to attract and retainthe best people in the Industry. To do that, we mustcreate a company in which every one is contributing

his or her best, in which every one is valued.Ahighly motivated workforce is a difficult advantageto competitors to replicate.High performance workpractices are those which improve employees'knowledge, skills and abilities and those that addressemployee motivation.

In the wake of liberalisation and emerging borderlessworld of today we, need to catch up with the benchmarking in terms of product, quality, price, serviceand customer satisfaction. To find an unassailableplace in the global market for our organisations, all ofus have to be committed to the assigned task and tomaximise value addition. Then only we can takepride from the human resources available inabundance in our country, which is capable ofpushing upwards to achieve excellence andprosperity. Each industrial organisation is seekingstrategic alliance with the world leader, and strivingto attain the bench marking of the world classorganisations, in pursuit of its vision of becoming aglobal player. Global competitiveness can be

achieved not through best technology and plants butby effectively motivating the people to perform toglobal standards.In the era of globalization Managersshould not only be taught how to meet the businesstargets but they should also acquire the capacity to be

resilient when things are not under the control.Theymust have fallback strategies if any sort of unforeseenevent occurs like crude oil prices rise/ sharply, ifglobal interest rates rise sharply or if there is a war insome part of the world. Thus, a new approach tomanaging people becomes absolutely critical.

What are the HR challenges in the globalized,knowledge driven organization? What wouldmotivate the new worker? What gives him/her jobsatisfaction? How do we train such a worker? Crosscultural differences create synergies or dead locks.Positioned at challenging and dangerous crossroads,HR is confronted with some of these questions today.

The truth is that there has been tremendous change in

the way today's managers need to interact within theirorganisations in order to perform at the highest level.Most people work within complex environmentswhere the skills required are different to those withintraditional hierarchical structures.In essence,management is nothing more than motivating otherpeople. It is often said that a good manager is a manwho isn't worried about his own career but rather thecareers of those who work for him.

Another important dimension is that new agemanagers always search for change, respond to it andexploit it as an opportunity. For this, knowledge hasto be improved and updated constantly. Learning is alifelong process of keeping abreast of change.

I have attempted to share with you some of thethoughts inspired by the theme of thisConference. I would like to conclude by leaving youwith a quote by our Past Hon"ble president A.P.J.Abdul Kalam "Ourvision 2020 ispredicated on the

belief that human resourcesare the most important determinant of overall development" The abovequote clearly spells out the importance of humanresource in building a nation vis-a-vis the humansociety

On this occasion, let me convey my best wishes toyou all.