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Chapter 13

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Chapter 13:

13.1: Category 12:-Striving Collectively for Excellence

Introduction:

Achievement Orientation

The competency has been described as setting challenging goals for self and others where

there is a fifty-fifty chance of achieving it, it is a definite stretch but not unrealistic or

impossible. Also at the highest levels of achievement orientation people are expected to take

ustained actions to achieve their goals (Spencer and Spencer, 1991). As we saw the teams co-

created challenging and difficult goals and strived for them at a collective basis despite

challenges and obstacles.

The following interview excerpts depict how team acted and strived to achieve challenging

and difficult goals. The interviews are from a number of people who led or took part in teams

and they talk of continuous efforts of teams and their members. The excerpts are as below:

13.2 Constant Comparison: Interviews and Events

a) Surya Rao Dy. G M Internal Audit and Ex-Coach

‘…everyone stretched out to extra effort and at the end the achieved the results successfully.

They realize that happened due to Collective aspirations towards achieving common goal,

which they truly care for with strong desire. Working in Teams by complementing Skills each

other drives each individual to enhance their skills and competencies to higher pedestal…’

b )Pranay Kumar Patna Depot , Designation

‘This is how we are focused and we are thinking and we are really putting up efforts.

Immediately the results are not looking up but within 6 months, these results will…the market

share was eventually for HPCL. It was abysmally low. It was very low- about 17% we were

having MS (market share) whereas our competitors, BPC they were having 24% and IOC

was having the balance of the same. So to overcome, it was a very very herculean task, a very

difficult task and to overcome it the planning has to be … we can overcome them.

c) M P Eshwar C&MD Instrumentation Limited (a PSU) and Ex-Coach at HPCL

‘…Though it is time taking, it is worth the efforts. For continuous results we need to

persevere with our efforts continuously. There are boundless opportunities and endless

possibilities facilitated by the Project Ace which is playing a pivotal role …’

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d) V G Ramaswami, Manager HQO and Ex-Coach

smile and a sense of achieving something great for the organization thru a combined effort

but also made un stinted effort in understanding of the new rules of the game and were

instrumental in realizing the change and be part of the change…It was also a pleasant

surprise to HPCL management in terms of reversing the trend and replacing the old beliefs

with new one the seeds of change in the organization.

The excerpts above were analyzed for codes that were grounded in the data. Atlas.ti was used

the codes that were derived are as under:

1. Difficult and Challenging goals derived from Co-Created Visions and Strategy

2. Continuous Effort to meet goals

3. Positive Change in Collective Beliefs on achieving difficult Goals

4. Achieving desired results

Thereafter two interview excerpts talk on the Oil Industry Strike, where government

companies went on strike, except HPCL. Since the oil marketing companies were at that time

only in the public sector HPCL officers took on the challenge of catering to the nation’s

needs for several days.

f) Supporting data

a) News 1

Figure 13.1: Snap shot news item

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b) News 2

A news item in Hindustan Times is shown below:

“Petroleum secretary R.S. Pandey, however, admitted that as many as 40 per cent petrolpumps of Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation in Delhi had alreadygone dry. IOC chairman Sarthak Behuria said, “If the strike continues, we might see dry-outsfrom tomorrow.”

However, reports from all metros said only Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) dealerswere functioning, as HPCL officers did not join the strike.”(Source: website , HT)

g) R Radhakrishnan, now General Manager HPCL talks on the strike Excerpts as

under:

‘...We have experienced that during the last year oil company officers strike. HPCL people

did not participate in the Oil company officers strike last January 2009- lasted for more than

two days hrs. During the entire we were the sole suppliers to the nation. From the petrol up

attendant whose hands were swollen, and all the officers took at the challenge …amount of

good will we have generated market share of 25%...we could supply to 66% of the nations

need …absolute volumes…leaders in sales growth…why should be leaders in absolute sales

volume…’

h) Arun Balakrishnan Ex-Chairman and Managing Director HPCL –Excerpt as under:

‘…the public sector companies in India, the officers started forming associations. They used

to demand …all the officers associations got together and they wanted a higher salary than

what the government was willing to give. …I said to go on strike or not to go on strike is

your decision as an employee, as an officer of the company, but we feel that is not the right

thing to do. … And we were the only company which didn’t go on strike. Not only not go on

strike, my colleagues worked, probably when there was four days when there was strike if

they were working eight hours a day they worked something like 20 hours a day…and all of

these, all of them kept the shop open because our market share is only 25%. But when

there’s a strike the others wanted to come to us and take our fuel. So we had to operate

something like 20 hours a day…. That’s the proof of the pudding really.’

The codes that arise from the interviews:

5. Extraordinary Efforts to meet the challenges

6. Collective Striving to serve nation and customers

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13.3 The concepts that arise under the category: Striving Collectively for Excellence is:

1. Setting difficult and challenging goals derived from Co-Created Visions

2. Continuous Effort to meet goals

3. Positive Change in Collective Beliefs on achieving difficult Goals

4. Achieving desired results

5. Extraordinary Efforts to meet the challenges

6. Collective Striving to serve nation and customers

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The Codes and concepts, strategies and results are mapped in Atlas.ti and displayed below:

Figure 13.2 (The interviews and the earlier chapters talk of both Setting difficult and challenging goals and sustained efforts to achieve them

which is to the researcher collective achievement orientation)

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13.4 Theoretical Contribution:

It is seen that the co-created vision led to setting up of challenging and difficult goals out of

choice. They talked about how they believed that the goals were achievable. This is important

since the goals must look realistic and achievable to achievement oriented people for

pursuing them since achieving goals is deeply satisfying for achievement orientated people.

They may recognize that the goal may not be reached by everybody, but subjectively they

feel that are better able to reach it than most people (McClelland & Winter, Motivating

Economic Achievement, 1971).

Collectively as is seen from this chapter people strived to attain the challenging goals. This

collective achievement orientation in the teams arising from the co-created vision involving

thousands of people does not find mention in research literature in any public sector company

in India.