Case Study 2: "Makar" is a textile manufacturing unit located in the city of Jaipur. It has enough infrastructure and a good workforce. The organisation specialised in making shirts and suits where the supplies are sourced in Rajasthan only. The organisation is run by a CEO, Mr. Mukund, a well-known, educated, experienced, businessman with humanity approach. Mr. Mukund considered the employees as assets and have contributed to competitive advantage to the organisation. Therefore, he wants to keep the workforce frequently updated, in preparation to face the challenging competitors. Mr. Mukund, who heads the production himself, developed an efficient top management group which includes Mr. Prem, the Head of Marketing Department; Ms. Mrunal, the Head of HR; and Mr. Vaidya, the Head of Finance. All the department heads are supportive with the ways Mr. Mukund handles the workforce. They also believe that, satisfied, educated, and dedicated workforce are the keys to success in any organisation and money spent on employees will always be an investment to the organisation. In this manner, training and development become a day of activity in the organisation. This is when, employees are trained by well-versed trainers in specific areas. The organisation also encourages the employees to further their studies as part of the career development programme by giving them financial support. The employees of Makar are very satisfied with these kinds of support from the organisation and they realised that being with Makar, their personal growth will be assured. Due to this, Makar has many advantages like a highly trained and qualified workforce, highest quality of supplies assured, low attrition rate, dedicated workforce, meeting the targets on time, and satisfied workforce One day, the employees of Makar were saddened when the news hit the office that Mr. Mukund has decided to handover the CEO position to his only son, Mr. Mithun who has just completed his studies and returned to India, Now it has been three months since Mr. Mithun took over. From day one, he started auditing in almost all the departments with a motto to reduce cost. He receives a statistics report that shows compensation is the highest cost born by the company compared to other cost incurred in the organisation. He called up Ms. Mrunal the Head of HR and asked her to come out with a plan to reduce the labour cost to 30% by laying-off employees. Ms. Mrunal was taken aback when she heard the instruction. He then says to Mr. Mithun, "Sir, it is my responsibility to tell you that the workforce which we have, is excellent, well-trained, loyal, and self-motivated. In the event of a lay-off, competitors will take advantage of our new situation. Can we think of other options instead of laying-off?" However, Mr. Mithun refused to listen to Ms. Mrunal suggestions. Finally, left with no options, Ms. Mrunal reduced the workforce by 30%. One day, in his office Mr. Mithun was discussing with Ms. Mrunal that the labor cost in the organisation has been reduced to a great level. This means increases in the net profit. After listening to the statement, Ms. Mrunal replied, "it is well said that we managed to reduce the labor cost and increased our profit. But it is truer that we have missed a great opportunity to growth when we lost our wealth to the competitors." 1. Discuss the statement by Ms. Mrunal, "Employees are the competitive advantage of Makar." (3 Marks) 2. Provide judgement towards the actions taken by Mr. Mithun to reduce the labor cost. In your opinion, was it a successful strategy? (4 Marks) 3. "It is well said that we managed to reduce the labor cost and increased our profit. But it is truer that we have missed a great opportunity to grow when we lost our wealth to the competitors." Do you agree with Ms. Mrunal's statement? Justify your answer. (3 Marks) 4. From the above case study, identify and explain ONE (1) opportunity that Makar missed due to the lay-off exercise. (3 Marks) [Total: 13 Marks)