Management Command Problem: Infosys Case Study

Management Command Problem: Infosys Case Study Introduction Infosys is one of the pioneers of Information Technology in India, started in the year 1981. This company has strived for success and has achieved or accomplished most of its goals through determination. It has also been recognized as one of the best companies in India and globally, with vision for success. Aided by its organizational skills, Infosys is an Indian multinational corporation that remains on the lead. The company provides IT services to a number of multinational companies, a move that has enabled this company to progress rapidly.

However, there are a number of challenges that face this company in terms of management and operations. This paper examines the key strategic issues that Infosys is facing and the way forward as a strategic way for remaining competitive in the future.

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Key strategic issue facing the organization The main risk that Infosys is facing at the moment is management command or communication. This is a big issue that can take a company with the best reputation to the lower ground instantly. If the management does not take into consideration the needs and or problems facing employees at the lower level, then there will incidences of under-performance, inefficiency and lower productivity. Employees at Infosys realized that their duties at work are not satisfying as expected (Delong, 2006). It is therefore important that the efforts of employees be recognized and awarded accordingly. Consequently if this issue is not addressed with immediate effect, then the employees will feel as if they are being deprived of their rights. This feeling will then tarnish the company’s image because there will be underperformance.

Underperformance comes with a number of negative results such as poor service and inefficiency, just to mention a few.

Another possible consequence that may arise if the issue of management command is not resolved is “employee drop-out”. Employees will definitely leave for better companies where their efforts and skills are recognized and appreciated. If this is the case, then Infosys will have a major problem in terms of recruiting. They will spend more recruiting employees with equal or similar skills to those that have already left the company. This comes with a negative price which is “increased costs”. Recruiting new employees and putting them into training is costly. I believe this is not the scenario that Infosys wants to face in the future.

Along with current problems facing Infosys, there are a number of other challenges that may as well be faced within the organization. The company may face a major problem of becoming a stronger partner of global or multinational companies. This can however be resolved

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if the Infosys management considers to globalize the company. This will enable the company to have a recognizable brand which is the main path through which clients and or customers flow.

Options/Alternatives There are a number of alternatives that can be put in place by the Infosys management in order to achieve success in the future. The top management must learn to be more open to the middle and lower management and vice versa. Being open creates a room for learning, thereby increasing one’s skills and knowledge. People must therefore learn from each other; whether one is from the top management, middle or lower, people can learn from all angles. Speed is also another element that is of great importance for future success of Infosys. The rate at which issues are resolved in a company will determine the overall output. Employees must as well be motivated towards being more efficient and productive. This will boost the ability of employees to continually foster new ideas and innovation.

Excellence in execution is also another measure that must be considered by the management at Infosys. This means that the management should always consider ideas that are likely to excel presently and in future; they should not dwell with ideas that are outdated.

Training and information is important in any organization. It ensures that every person within the organization is proficient in their roles, with respect to their units. However, this can turn out to be a disaster if not well implemented. It can create boundaries within departments, thereby making it challenging to disseminate information (Gido & Clements, 2009).

If employees have little or no faith in any business filed, then priorities will differ and they will be dissatisfied. Likewise, employees with little knowledge about the operations of an organization will find it difficult to understand information. Minimal exposure to this type of management is also another problem that must be well addressed. In a situation whereby

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someone is not exposed to certain procedures of documents, the person will tend to see these procedures or documents as confusing or useless. This is simply because he or she has no idea of what is going on (Gido & Clements, 2009). Employees must be brought to speed with current concepts that are practiced within the organization. However, it does not mean that every worker will find the information worth; some will have no interest at all.

Recommendations Openness and Transparency The most important virtues in any business industry are openness and transparency. The managers (top management) must ensure that there is communication between them and executives below the managerial level. The main importance of this kind of interaction is to ensure that every detail of the employees is dealt with accordingly. This will also enable the management to understand issues that affect employees and also make it easy to solve them.

Openness has to be reflected in operations, human resource, as well as within the relationships with clients. Transparency and openness also helps to manage the credibility of a company.

Clients with negative image of the company can get to change their perspective just because a company is practicing these virtues. However, if this is not done as expected, then the company is risking to loose integrity of its own people.

Excellence and execution These two virtues (also joined together as “execution excellence”) are also important in determining the growth of an organization. Many organizations lack the agility to keep up with the required pace in executing tasks. The main aspect that a company should consider is that strategy and execution must always be translated into traction. This can work pretty well if the management sits back and sets goals for each employee (Richardson, 2007). The main advantage

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of setting goals is to translate strategies at lower levels into goals that are grounded in specificity.

With excellence and execution comes productivity. This is one of the many advantages or benefits of a company that practices these virtues. If implemented well, productivity can bring about time, priority and project management, effectiveness and efficiency. Productivity is a broad field and can be divided into two: Operational and strategic. Operational productivity is all about how one can handle work-flow and or crisis at the operation level. Strategic operation on the other hand reflects on one’s productivity in creating new strategies (Richardson, 2007).

Advantages of being transparent / decentralized Transparency in an organization ensures that the decision-making process is evenly distributed within the firm. This enables the entire workforce to concentrate on the vision and mission of the company. It also benefits large organizations like Infosys to have a large number of employees as well as spread over a number of geographical locations. The power of decision making can translate into greater accountability (Gido & Clements, 2009). This can make it easier for companies to groom future leaders. Decentralization also ensures that decisions are more informed as well as accelerated. Transparency is an outcome of decentralization, and means that there is less chance of making mistakes. It is also easy to spot any weak links that can affect the overall operation of the company. The greatest benefit of this type of governance is that it has an open field of promoting innovation. This is so because there are no or few people who are opposed to excellence.

Disadvantages of being transparent / decentralized Decentralized governance creates a battleground for competition, which is an unhealthy practice. This can lead to lack of coordination within the organization. It may also pose a greater problem especially when it comes to emergencies (Gido & Clements, 2009). Possibly, there may

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be independent opinions which may be a major hindrance. It also makes it hard to allocate work as well as evaluate work performance. It also promotes the population of employees due to the increase of generalists instead of specialists.

Recommendation/Immediate suggestion According to the analysis of Infosys, it is highly recommended that the management focuses on being open and transparent. The aim of this virtue is to join communications involving the organization as a whole (Christensen, 2002). An organization can be pressured if there is no proper communication in such a way that all the operations are negatively affected. It is evident that many organizations tend to brand their identity instead of their products.

Transparency is a central value in the sense that organizations are advocating for the benefits of it. Being transparent does not mean that the top management should disclose crucial information to the lower management; the type of information to be provided must be clearly defined and a strategic form of communication established.

Communication must never at any given point be mistaken for information.

Communication is a detailed conversation which serves to identify particular problems and possible solutions. Information on the other hand is not interactive and serves for the benefit of the sender. The management must ensure that all the employees feel as if they own the company.

This will make them perform better because they want to earn more as the company grows. This can be achieved only if the employees are taught what to expect from the company and where changes can occur or be implemented.

Implementation/Action Plan As Infosys internationalizes, it is important that they adapt to certain organizational cultures. This can be done by either reviewing the approaches used when making decisions or

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when forming consensus (Oswal, 2010). This will enable the entire Infosys family to meet the expectations of the clients. As the company grows, it is important that the use of certain policies is emphasized. For example, they can use the 360-degree appraisal at all levels of management.

This will not only foster team feedback but also the accountability of the entire team (Oswal, 2010). Productivity can yield to proper time, priority and project management, effectiveness and efficiency if implemented well. Productivity is a broad field and can be divided into operational and strategic. Operational productivity is all about how one can handle work-flow and or crisis at the operation level. If there is balance between the independence of employees and management, then there is a possibility that this strategy could be successful.

Conclusion As discussed in details, it shows that Infosys has plenty of best practices implemented. It has also been clearly discussed that a number of practices that are implemented by the company could lead to negative results; for instance the issue of transparency. Its main advantages in summary include improved productivity, efficiency, life quality, positive employee engagement, and a possible pipeline for talents. The challenges that could be faced when implementing this strategy can be very intense and can possibly force a company out of the market. If there is reduced organizational control, then this will make it hard for the company to make decisions, thereby performing badly. It is also stated that for a company to prosper it must ensure that trust is built from the top management through the middle management to the lower management.

There must also be a conducive, environment that makes the management feel safe when they want to be transparent. If there is silence, then this is a clear indication that there is doubt and suspicion.

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Christensen, T. L. (2002). Corporate communication: the challenge of transparency. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 7(3), 162-168.

Delong, J. T. (2006). Infosys (A): Strategic human resource management. President and fellows of Harvard College. Boston, MA. Gido, J., & Clements, J. P., (2009). Successful project management, fourth edition. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Oswal, P. (2010). The internationalization of Indian firms: strategic issues, organizational transformation, and performance. Retrieved May 01, 2012 from http://www1.unisg.ch/www/edis.nsf/SysLkpByIdentifier/3727/$FILE/dis3727.pdf Richardson, M. (2007). Execution excellence: Missing in action. Retrieved May 01, 2012 from http://www.sherpaalliance.com/virtuemart/72.html