Kaivalyam

Political factors Tesla was able to set up its Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, China. The factory is the first wholly owned foreign auto factory in China. This shift, where China allows a foreign manufacturer to build their facility without partnering with local companies may mean that Tesla can tap the Chinese market without paying high tariffs on US cars (CNBC). However, Tesla might still risk retaliation from Chinese consumers amidst US-China trade war.   Economic factors More people are moving towards electric cars to save on the added expenses. All electric cars purchased during or after 2010 are eligible for a federal income tax credit of up to $7,500 ( US department of Energy ). These governmental incentives for electric automobiles could encourage people to buy more electric cars.   Also, the US government has incentives for plug-in hybrid cars from $2,500- $7,500 based on battery capacity. These plug-in hybrid cars have high-capacity batteries that can be charged to ...

Successful delivery of projects lays foundation for executing any organizational strategy. So, an organization that focuses on improving its project delivery capability can achieve excellence. Critical Chain by Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt is a 240 page business novel that introduces the idea of Critical chain. It is a method to plan and manage projects by focusing on resources required to execute the project. This critical chain idea introduced in the book is different from the concept of critical path. Critical path specifies on project activities that add up to give the longest duration. Critical chain on the other hand is the longest chain of dependent tasks. It might not be same as the critical path. The critical chain method or Theory of Constraints (TOC) focuses on dependencies related to resources, constraints etc. The author builds the concepts of critical chain to solve the questions below : Why are projects late? Are externalities really the reason that people usually co...

Mentoring in organizations has been defined as a developmental relationship between an individual (protégé) and a more senior and influential manager or professional (mentor) according to Dreher and Cox,19961. The traditional mentoring has been modified in many ways to fit modern organizations. According to mentorcloud.com2, 70% of fortune 500 companies have formal mentor training programs in place. They are designed to increase employee productivity and organizational benefits. In this challenging market place, employers are leaving no stone unturned to gain competitive advantages over others. A study released in 2010 by NPO Catalyst and Nationwide Insurance3 revealed that mentoring program can help organizations reduce turnover and increase overall performance of company. Despite the advantages, many companies are struggling to take full advantage of mentoring programs in their organization. This is why organizations should carefully plan, design implement, monitor these progr...

"Gender equity means fairness of treatment for men and women according to their respective needs. This also includes equal treatment or treatment that is different but which is considered equivalent in terms of rights, benefits, obligations, and opportunities" (UNESDOC). Gender equity is an integral part of Strategic human resource management. Gender equity (vs equality) talks about being fair to employees regardless of gender.In the past work environment was more conducive for men than women and this gave an unfair advantage to men in workplace. As times are changing and women are becoming independent, with the help of social media, the concerns which were not talked about before are being raised more often and in many cases said employees are leaving companies to look for more conducive work environment. This has caused a shortage of diverse talent. This change has forced companies to reconsider their stand and come up with new policies such as gender-neutral policies, ...

I recently listened a "HBR podcast" series on how to manage older people at work .These days, managers need to adapt to different kind of generations seen in workforce and act accordingly. It was mentioned that there are 5 generations in workplace today and methods that work with Gen X/Z may not work with millennials and vice versa. Expectations also change based on times and norms of that era. One of the trends being seen at workplace these days is younger managers with people under them who are much older and experienced and managing these “older” people requires additional care on the part of managers. The podcast talked about three cases pertaining to older generations and how they perceived, areas of age, experience, modern technology tools, etc. and how their views are the source of frustration for their younger counterparts. Managing of the diverse workforce and changing workforce demographics are related to strategic human resources management. Managers ...

I recently listened to Worklife with Adam Grant podcast about “ Creative Misfits ”. Adam Grant is an organizational Psychologist and in this podcast he talks about value of outsiders in workplace. He focuses more on “blacksheep” inside the company that could unlock creativity and success. Turns out this has been “Pixar’s” success formula and they thrived on self-disruption. Grant interviews Brad Bird - a writer, animator and director at Pixar and was considered as misfit elsewhere before he was hired by Pixar. The podcast uncovers unconventional hiring practices at Pixar and encourages HR to explore full potential of human assets without falling into routine thinking.  Pixar during its success, hired a “misfit/blacksheep”, Brad Bird. He was just fired from Disney and two other jobs as well. Pixar saw something in Brad despite his failures. I can’t imagine why would a company risk that in their popular times! After Brad was hired, he gathered blacksheeps like him inside ...