LESSONS FROM MY CAREER; SYNTHESISING MANAGEMENT THEORY WITH PRACTICE – PART 6

by Sunil G Wijesinha

Having joined as a trainee and completed around eight years, including the three-year training period at the State Engineering Corporation (SEC), I was interested in expanding my horizons and knowledge. I always wanted multiple qualifications. My ambition was to be a CEO or a management consultant. I completed my engineering exams and my CIMA and was fully qualified in Productivity through the Institute of Management Services, UK.

I now wanted to join the private sector, so I selected a few well-known companies to write to. Unilever (Lever Brothers, as it was called then) had a productivity improvement unit doing some exciting work. I sent a letter indicating that I wished to join them in their productivity unit. At the interview, I was informed that my multidisciplinary qualifications may cause problems. “You are bound to interfere in the other departments you are qualified in. You are overqualified, and we would prefer not to employ you”. It was a surprise, but I had to stomach it.

Moving to Ceylon Tyre Corporation

There was an advertisement for the Industrial Engineer post at the Ceylon Tyre Corporation. I applied and was called for an interview. The interview Board was headed by Mr D G Dayaratne, the Chairman. My interview went well. I also chatted with the other applicants and thought I was the most suitable. That night, I made a request to my father, who was a schoolmate of Mr D G. Dayaratne. The request was to mention to Mr Dayaratne that I came for this interview because, in a government corporation, anything can happen if there is political influence.

I also did not forget to mention that I spoke with the other candidates and found I was the most suited. My father responded quickly: “Knowing Dayaratne, you will be selected if you are the most suitable. However, if I speak with Dayaratne, you will most likely lose your chance”. Mr D G Dayaratne was a legend in the Ceylon Civil Service and rose to become the Secretary to the Ministry of Education and Secretary to the Cabinet before he retired and took leading positions in the State Owned Business Enterprises.

I was appointed to the post. My father was right. After completing all formalities at SEC and preparing my handover report, I reported to the Personnel Manager of the Tyre Corporation only to be told that I needed a release letter from SEC. I did not know that you need a release letter when you leave one Corporation and go to another. I went back to the SEC for the letter. My boss, who was also unaware of the release letter requirement, told me he could release me only if I found a replacement who could perform the same role that I was performing. My multiple qualifications and willingness to undertake jobs over and above my basic requirements had backfired.

I handled the site accounts mainly to get accountancy experience and fulfil the requirements for Associate Membership of CIMA. Also, I carried out productivity improvement projects at the Lotteries Board site and the Peoples Bank Head office sites for the UK Institute of Management Services project requirements. Fortunately, just one of my batch mates had acquired the same qualifications. After he found a replacement and came over to the Building Research Institute where I was, I had my release letter.

I arrived at the Tyre Corporation on Saturday, January 1, 1977, without a wink of sleep after coming home at five in the morning after a 31st night party. My office was at the far end of the premises in a planter’s bungalow where the Russian engineers working on the tyre project had been billeted.

Ceylon Tyre Corporation was a gift from the Soviet Union, part of the then Government’s industrialisation programme, established in the 1960s. Similar to the Ceylon Steel Corporation and several others, it was established under the State Industrial Corporation Act No 49 of 1957.

Strategic handling of unions by the Chairman

Some friends of mine who got to know that I was joining the Tyre Corporation were horrified. Apparently, the perception was that it was controlled by violent unions. In fact, one friend of mine who knew more about the situation in my new workplace said, “You will never pass the maiyokka gaha handiya if there is trouble. I had already joined by then and did not see such a frightening environment. Explaining this, my new colleague at the Tyre Corporation told me, “Dayaratne had brought it under control, and there is nothing to fear now”.

According to the story I heard, there had been a very violent and disruptive union leader who was always very confrontational. One day he had called Chairman Dayaratna and said “there is an important unresolved issue and I am on my way to your office to settle it with you once and for all”. The chairman realising that this union leader may use foul and threatening language, immediately summoned the senior Heads of Departments for a meeting. “Can you please step into my office right now because I need to discuss an urgent matter?”

They were settling down at the “meeting” when the union leader arrived and used foul language on the Chairman. That was enough; the Chairman had the evidence of all the top management, and the union leader was interdicted. My new colleague inquired whether I had not seen a stocky man at the entrance to Tyre begging with an empty condensed milk tin. Indeed I had seen him and only then realised it was a former union leader. Chairman D G Dayaratne’s strategic move had worked, and all was peaceful. The lesson here is that strategic moves are even more critical than procedural HR, a philosophy I continuously believed in since then.

The long strike

I was barely settling in when several unions decided on strike action. It was a politically motivated move to pressurise the then Government at the tail end of its tenure. General elections were scheduled for July that year. The day of the walk out was an amazing sight. All the workers busy cleaning, oiling and greasing the machines before the walk-out time at 10 am. Why? Because the incentive scheme was so attractive, they wanted to ensure the machines worked well when they returned from the strike, to earn their usual incentives.

They walked off only after showering the machines with tender, loving care. It was amazing because stories abounded in those days when workers destroyed machines when they walked out on strike. Having nothing to do and fearing possible violence, we too decided to leave, two by two to avoid attention. Only an empty king coconut husk was thrown at me with hoots and shouts of “kannadi polonga” at the notorious junction.

We initially reported to the Ministry for a couple of days, and after that, we had an enforced holiday at home. We saw droves of tyre importers visiting the Ministry to get import permits for tyres. It was a marvellous opportunity for them making us wonder whether there was a connection to the strike The strike took a couple of months and was called off without the management yielding to any demands. It was a failure for the unions.

The aftermath of the failed strike

Tyre Corporation workers were well paid. Being a profitable corporation, the Board was generous to union demands. The workers wanted a continuation of their high incomes, not industrial strife. Every Saturday, they received some payment. The first Saturday was the overtime payment, the second was the salary advance payment, the third was the incentive payment, and the fourth was the salary payment. Three of these payments would be handed over to their wives.

But the incentive payment was a top secret and available for the workers’ own consumption. The third Saturday was arriving after the strike was called off, and there was no income because there was no production. The union leaders had to hide because the workers who had lost so much were searching for those leaders who messed up their ‘do as we please’ income to assault them. The lesson is that if an earning opportunity exists, and any unrest will deny them of their high incomes, workers’ propensity to create unrest is less. The incentive scheme was very attractive, and seeing its potential, I implemented such schemes wherever I went during the rest of my career. They made a significant difference in the incomes of the workers and the productivity and quality of the products and services.

(The next episode will highlight more experiences at the Tyre Corporation.)

(The writer is a consultant on Productivity and Japanese Management Techniques, Retired Chairman/Director of several Listed and Unlisted companies.
Awardee of the APO Regional Award for promoting Productivity in the Asia and Pacific Region. Recipient of the “Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays” from the Government of Japan.
He can be contacted through email at: bizex.seminarsandconsulting@gmail.com)