Seminar on “Ethical Management”

How important are ethics in business?????? Is business today losing ethics!!!!!!!! In today’s highly competitive world can a small organisation survive while walking on ethical values??????? What is CSR?????

A seminar on “Ethical Management” as a part of Training program on personnel management and H.R was held at NIFT TEA. The speaker was Mrs. Doris Gerber who has a wide range of experience in the industry across the globe in serving the business as a sourcing and production advisor, social auditor, consultant trainer etc.

Mr. Gokarnesan, Principal of NIFT TEA in his welcome explained the importance of ethical values and told the audience about the hostility around, which is a result of lack of ethics. He shared his thoughts on ethical & moral values and expressed his fear on today’s generation who loses their interest on the same. He mentioned about the importance of good moral values and positive thinking.

Mrs. Doris Gerber explained the humanitarian idealism to operational reality. With an example from one of our neighbouring country, she warned that the new media can identify and show instantly abusive situations anywhere in the world. She explained about Free trade system and reminded that norms and standards had become powerful tool to protect the market. She also added that Globalization increases competition and facilitates the comparison.

Commitment of general management, sustainable development committee at management level, Code of conduct for social and environmental compliance, Social Audits and Corrective Action Plan (CAP) a database of all suppliers and contractors, their degree of compliance and current activities and results, Annual sustainable development, warning procedure, regular external communication etc were explained as the pillars of an Ethical Policy. Three methodologies of ethical management were explained. Internal, external or both combined. That could be either permanent or before starting a new business relationship.

Conclusion of the seminar was CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) or Social and Environmental Compliance, a sustainable issue which must be first applied internally, was explained.

Valuable suggestions, advises, examples were given etc. and finally she requested the participants to follow the rules and regulations by state/local government which will cover almost all norms of these international standard compliances. Hence the seminar was useful for the managers, entrepreneurs and other participants for inculcating ethical values and recognizing their Corporate Social Responsibility.

QUALITIES OF AN EFFECTIVE MANAGER

You have been working your way up the company’s ladder, to acquire, a position you have always dreamed of, a management position. You are confident that with your abilities you will do a great job, but a month or so down the line, you realize that road is not as smooth as it appeared

Well, you are not the only one. Most people have failed to succeed as managers, simply because they lack those basic initiators which could lead them to their dream position. Although a successful manager acquires a lot of qualities which sets him apart from others following are the most common and basic qualities of a successful manager:

Honesty you will have to deal with many problems and challenges. From time to time, you will have to make some tough choices. Those that you manage will look to you for re-assurance. Your superiors should trust that whatever you are doing is in the best interest of the company not for any personal gain At the same time, your subordinates should trust your actions and words. Credibility and reliability is the most important quality of an effective manager which comes with honesty.

Communication. A successful manager must be an effective communicator, both orally and in written form. He/she should portray confidence and professionalism while speaking to employees as well as clients and customers. World’s best leaders have been best orators. Your communication skill leads you climb the ladder of success.

Interpersonal Skills. You cannot be a good manager if you don't know how to handle people. From employees, to clients, vendors, etc, a successful manager knows how to stay on top when it comes to interacting and dealing with people. If you are not good at dealing with people internally or outside organization, a management position is not for you.

Activeness and Independence. A successful manager is not someone who will go to his boss all the time to seek guidance. He should be aware of what is going on in the organization at a particular point of time and what could be the prompt and beneficial step for a particular situation. This way, he will be well equipped to train his subordinates and pass on well-informed instructions, rather than beating around the bush or running to his boss every time.

Leadership. In an organization you have to lead a team many a times. In order to succeed in management, you must be an effective leader. You should be able to combine all the other qualities of good management with some leadership traits, such as the ability to motivate your employees, resolve conflict, make sound decisions, listen to your employees, etc.

Team Building. Working in teams is the most common and important practice being followed in every organization today. Employees perform better when they work together as a team. And since an organization's success depends on employees' performance, a great manager is one who can build a strong team. While things may not always be harmonic at work, it is the duty of the manager to ensure that at least for the most part, there is a strong feeling of togetherness in the work place.

Stress Management.Management involves a lot of stress due to the work pressure and daily activities, and this can be almost on a daily basis. A good manager must be in position to withstand all this. He/she must remain grounded and firm, while keeping calm in handling situations. Most managers fail because they don't know how to manage stress without blowing off their heads.

Seminar on “Quality Improvement in Wet processing”

Diagnostic study reveals that the rejection of export orders is mainly due to the lack of quality in finished product due to non adoption of quality standards and specifications required by the buyers.

Quality improvement in wet processing has become necessary in present scenario for sustainable growth and continual improvement of apparel industry by following the scientific quality tools.

The seminar focused on Constraints faced in Material Management, challenges in transfer of material & its impacts on product quality, solutions to address identified constraints & challenges, improving the handling and storage of hazardous chemicals and substances, continuous monitoring and reporting of process performance by ‘Key Performance Indicators’

It supports micro, small and medium scale enterprises in the cluster about the standards to be followed in each process of Wet Processing.

The session was well received by the audience; the participants were from the diversified industrial sectors.12 participants from 5 companies participated. Of which conversion rate for implementing the QIP is 100%. Two other participants who are essentially venture capitalists, have expressed their satisfaction and assesed that the session was highly informative .

Training Program in "Financial & Cost Management Techniques in Garment Industry"

Many garment units at Tirupur are owned by first generation entrepreneurs with home grown knowledge. Their experience is to be shaped with contemporary wisdom in the areas like Working Capital Management, preparation of Quotations based on scientific Costing Methods, and introduction of Management Information System (MIS), to empower them to make right decision at right time.

The program was completely focussed on sensitising the people from the industry on the necessity and practical implementation of financial management techniques and its implications on the balance sheet of the company altering their profits and lost. The concepts were introduced through live cases which have been chosen from the cluster and the whole program was designed well structured by the BDSP after extensive field study. The session was highly interactive with the participants engaged in solving problems and group discussions. Hence they experienced with proof the importance of various financial management principles and how it affects their balance sheet either positively or negatively. The factors causing financial imbalances where analysed and the methods to find solutions in various situations were also discussed.

Training were given in following areas:

• Preparing quotations for orders.
• Planning deliveries.
• Working Capital planning.
• Cash Budgeting.
• Cost of rework.
• MIS in garment industry

A prolonged session was demanded by the participants and they expressed their interest in implementing the principles and sited the need of intense training in this area.

Barricades

Case Study

One of the major areas of weakness identified during the diagnostic study in the cluster is lack of human resources skill at all levels viz. at shop floor, managerial and entrepreneurial levels. While skill up gradation at shop floor level is routine and basic one, developing the skill of the managers is vital and technical, as they deploy and control all resources of production. Their role is still more important, in the cluster, since the first generation entrepreneurs solely depend on their skill for execution.

The cluster has grown gradually without employing systematic approach in the management. There is no standard operational system in the industry. There is no role clarity for the managers. There is no prescribed qualification too for appointing a person for a particular post. The whole system operates on previous experience.

Most of the managers in the cluster are not having formal technical or managerial knowledge. Often problems arise among the various department in the firm and with other firms in the supply chain due to improper specification and communications. Issues relating to rejection; disputes relating to quality; delay in production and delivery are mainly due to lack of managerial skill in the relevant area; and lack of coordination and communication among them.

They are not aware the hidden losses that are added to the production cost, due to their inefficiency and lack of knowledge on the subject; say material management and production planning. For example, neither the production manager nor the processing manager are aware of the hidden loss that are added to the cost of production, on account of delay in taking the fabric, when it comes to the dyeing unit. On an average, the knitted fabric will be lying idle for nearly 20 days in the dyeing units for want approval of color shades from the buyer. Had the production manager informed about the expected date of receipt of the fabric and the color that is required to be made while making production plan, the organization would have saved a sum of Rs. On account inventory cost for 20 days for the average consignment size of Rs. 40 lakhs.

Managers in the cluster are also not aware of the developments that are taking place elsewhere relating to the industry and the bench marking production processes.  They are in activity trap. They also do not have the time and opportunities in the cluster to upgrade the skill in the relevant areas.

Therefore, it is required to continuously raise awareness among the managers and to create a permanent mechanism in the cluster to continue the activities even after completion of the project. Since, the Government of India is also focusing on upgrading HR skills and allocating funds, it is required to promote an independent body which will work for the benefit of the members by availing support from the schemes.

Constant efforts were made to mobilize members for such ‘Knowledge Network’ sensitizing the need and importance of such network. As a result of the efforts taken, nearly 300 executives have shown interest to become members of the ‘network’ by agreeing to pay nominal subscription of Rs.250/- per annum. It has now been identified as PROGRESSIVE MANAGERS’ FORUM, and the ‘Bye laws of the Forum’ have been submitted for approval and registration.

NIFT-TEA College of Knitwear Fashion has been made as the nodal agency for implementation. So far, 3 seminars were organized on identified topics like, (a) Developments in the competing countries (b) Application of ICT for improving organizational efficiency and (c) Opportunities for Product Diversification in the cluster. Members are showing interest to attend the seminar even on Sundays.

Based on the feedback received from them serious training program and short term courses have been planned for the year 2010-11,in the areas like industrial engineering, lean and six sigma green belt,  personnel management, materials management etc. Thus a foundation has been laid for developing HR skill in the cluster.

Training Program in "Material Management in Garment Industry"

One day training programme has been conducted which was focused on various materials management tools that could be applied in sourcing, material planning and inventory control; that in turn will improve the quality, reduce time delayed in production and cost in carrying the inventory.

It has been proposed to conduct short term courses for the benefit of the managers and entrepreneurs in the cluster in the coming months, in various management principles after identifying the time which will be more suitable for them to make the programme more useful and beneficial to the garment industry at Tirupur.

Seminar on "Opportunities for Product Diversification"

Even after  decades of existence  Tirupur Knitwear Cluster is concentrating mainly on  high volume, standard cotton garments,  which  has low unit value realisation (UVR), even though opportunities exists to diversify its products like sportswear, swim wear  and other functional textiles.

Reasons for the situation are many, like lack of awareness about the existence of market potential for such products, non availability information and technical support etc. Therefore, efforts were taken under the Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Finance and Development Project (MSMEFD Project) of World Bank, to sensitise the opportunities that are existing for the exporters and the  sources for getting technical support to manufacture such value added garment through a seminar on ‘Opportunities for Product Diversification at NIFT –TEA College of Knitwear Fashion between on 21 February 2010 between 10.30 AM to 4.00PM.

Dr.Mike G Bartle an international expert in manufacturing sportswear and performance wear; and is associated with  manufacturing sportswear for  leading international brands in the category,  delivered  lecture on the opportunities that exists for the knitwear manufacturers in Tirupur to diversify their product. He also illustrated, how a small organization started with 6 knitting machines in the UK have grown as an organization of international repute in sportswear, by integrating all the required facilities, gradually over period. He explained that product diversification need not be on larger scale, as any one presumes; it can be started with moderate investment and by utilising the surplus capacity that are available locally. He also informed that it was not necessary to start the business only by associating with big brands, one can work with even with smaller brands, or they can have their own brand too, considering the size of the market countries like India has.

However, he emphasized the technology involved; and the chemicals and process to be applied should be of world standard. But for that, it would be difficult to survive in the market, as it requires to consider various functional aspects like moisture absorption, anti microbial, anti static aspects in the garments.

Presently Dr. Mike G Barle is President of Society for Dyer’s and Colourists, the U.K .

Mr. C N Sivaramakrishnan, Consultant for specialized finishing in Mumbai and Honorary Secretary of Society for Dyers and Colourists, India, explained  various types of finishing that could be given on the garments like  water repellant, fire retardant, insect repellant etc. to make them most profitable  one for the entrepreneurs in the retail  market.

Mr.Parvez Koatadia, Country Manager,  Society of Dyers and Colourists (SDC), India explained the   activities that are taken by the Society for propagating professional knowledge in colour and the efforts taken by them to support the students, institutions and the professionals to  enhance their knowledge in colour;  and the benefits that may accrue for the members of the Society.

Mr.S.Samiappan, President, Dyers Association of Tirupur inaugurated the seminar and explained the need for organizing such seminar to enrich the knowledge of the entrepreneurs in the knitwear cluster.

Mr.Raja M. Shunmugam, Chairman, NIFT-TEA College of Knitwear Fashion emphasized the need for inculcating such knowledge to the managers and to the students of NIFT-TEA College of Knitwear Fashion to empower them to serve to the industry better. He also advised to M/s Apex Cluster Development Services Pvt. Ltd, the consultants for implementing the project, to conduct more prgorammes in areas like Lean Manufacturing to reduce the cost of operation in the industry and to make them more competitive.

Mr. S. Periyasamy, Deputy Director, Textiles Committee delivered  key note address  and explained the  need for the industry  to  transform itself  by adopting  technological  changes in  every  functional aspects to survive in the competition.

Mr.S.S.Sankaramoorthi , Senior Technical Advisor, Apex Cluster Development Services Pvt. Ltd welcomed the  dignitaries and the  participants of the seminar; and assured to incorporate the  suggestions s that were put forth by the Chairman of NIFT-TEA College of Knitwear  Fashion in the action plan of the project for the coming years to ensure that human resources skills in the cluster become pillar stones for the growth of the Tirupur Knitwear cluster.