SECTION B : ANSWERS TO CASE STUDIES

9. A private company is known for its efftciency, transparency and employee welfare.

The company though owned by a private individual has a cooperative character where employees feel a sense of ownership. The company employs nearly 700 personnel and they have voluntarily decided not to form a union.

One day suddenly in the morning, about 40 men belonging to a political party gatecrashed into the factory demanding jobs in the factory. They threatened the management and employees, and also used foul language. The employees feel demoralized. It was clear that those people who gate-crashed wanted to be on the payroll of the company as well as continue as the volunteers/ members of the party.

The company maintains high standards in integrity and does not extend favours to civil administration that also includes law enforcement agency. Such incidents occur in public sector also.

(a) Assume you are the CEO of the company. What would you do to diffuse the volatile situation on the date of gate-crashing with the violent mob sitting inside the company premises?

(b) What could be the long-term solution to the issue discussed in the case?

(c) Every solution/action that you suggest will have a positive and a negative impact on you (as CEO), the employees and the performance of the employees. Analyse the consequences of each of your suggested actions. (250 words, 20 marks)

Ans. • The CEO should tactically ensure that the crowd does not injure anyone or damage property. He should also ensure the security of hazardous equipment or materials on the factory premises. Although the company has in-house security, its personnel have been overpowered. Security personnel should be effectively deployed for this purpose. The management should avoid needless risks.

• The unruly mob that entered the factory is guilty of trespassing. They are guilty of intimidating the workers and management and this is an offence. These aspects have to be handled by police. The CEO should inform the police of the situation.

• Before the police come and take charge of the situation, CEO and his team should try to reason with the mob. Since it is impossible to talk to all of them, they should ask a

few leaders to join them in discussion. In this way, they can keep them engaged, and prevent any untoward incidents.

• While awaiting the arrival of the police or thereafter, the CEO should reason with the leaders of the mob. He can explain that as a commercial entity facing competition, it cannot carry non performing people on its rolls without becoming unviable. CEO should request the leaders to peacefully leave the factory.

• Long term solution is linked with unemployment problem, and with irresponsible behaviour of political parties and workers. CEO can explain matters to party leaders and government.Heshouldexplaintheneedforprotectingindustries;otherwisetheymaymove away, and make government and party unpopular. CEOshould also strengthen in house security. (260 words)

10. You are the Sarpanch of a Panchayat. There is a primary school run by the government in your area. Midday meals are provided to children attending the school. The headmaster has now appointed a new cook in the school to prepare the meals. However, when it is found that cook is from Dalit community, almost half of the children belonging to higher castes are not allowed to take meals by their parents. Consequently the attendance in the schools falls sharply. This could result in the possibility of discontinuation of midday meal scheme, thereafter of teaching staff and subsequent closing down the school.

(a) Discuss some feasible strategies to overcome the conflict and to create right ambiance.

(b) What should be the responsibilities of different social segments and agencies to create positive social ambiance for accepting such changes? (250 Words, 20 marks)

Ans. The attitude of the upper caste parents is a hangover of past practice of untouchability. They have to be persuaded to change their attitudes. It is best to appeal to their best sentiments and request them to follow national laws, policy and ethos. The following points can be stressed:

• The fight against untouchability was a part of our independence movement.

• MahatmaGandhi himselfinitiatedthe movement, and made it a centrepiece of national policy.

• Their action will create disunity among children, and will spoil the school atmosphere.

• Their action will create a bad impression about the village in the whole country.

• If as a result of their stand, the school closes down, the entire village will suffer.

• The matter is not confined to the school but would create disharmony in the village.

An effort should be made to reach out to the enlightened and modern youth among the upper castes, and ask them to persuade their families to change their stand. The youth should be reminded about the unequivocal opposition to untouchability which many great saints and sages voiced, and their preaching about brotherhood of men.

Local officials and volunteers should organize community kitchens and feasts open to all villagers. Attempts should be made to strengthening fellow feelings.

Thelocal Panchayat has to activelypersuadethe upper castes. Thedistrict collector,district development officer and social welfare department should join the effort. NGOs and religious groups can be inducted for persuading the upper castes. Teachers and opinion leaders can try to change the views of villagers. (261 words)

11. One of the scientists working in the R & D laboratory of a major pharmaceutical company discovers that one of the company’s bestselling veterinary drugs, B has the potential to cure a currently incurable liver disease that is prevalent in tribal areas. However, developing a variant of the drug suitable for human beings entailed a lot of research and development having a huge expenditure to the extent of R 50 crores. It was unlikely that the company would recover the costs as the disease was rampant only in poverty-stricken area having very little market otherwise.

If you were the CEO, then—

(a) identify the various actions that you could take;

(b) evaluate the pros and cons of each of your actions. (250 words, 20 marks)

Ans. As companies normally aim at profit maximization, the pharmacy firm can abandon the proposal as unworkable. While justifiable from company’s individual economic perspective, social and humanitarian concerns militate against it.

As development and production are commercially unviable, the drug can be produced under the company’s corporate social responsibility activities (CSR). Profit making companies have to spend a prescribed percentage of their profits on CSR. If the company is making enough profits, this will be an ideal solution.

If CSR budget cannot cover the needed Rs 50 crore, the project can be implemented in phases. These two options also require finance for input costs from year to year. If the scale of needed production is small, the company can find resources within its CSR. Otherwise, it will have to look wholly or partly for government resources. For such good cause in tribal areas, funds can be easily arranged from tribal sub plans or from Health or social welfare departments. In this scenario also, there are no disadvantages to the company.

If the company lacks resources to finance the project, it can follow one of the possible alternatives:

• Seek support from Indian or foreign philanthropic groups.

• Request government to support the research and then subsidize the production costs to the necessary extent.

• Transfer the whole project along with the information base to another big pharmacy unit with adequate CSR budget.

One way or another development of the drug needed in tribal areas should be promoted without loss of time. (250 words)

12. There is a disaster-prone State having frequent landslides, forest ftres, cloudbursts, flash floods and earthquakes, etc. Some of these are seasonal and often unpredictable. The magnitude of the disaster is always unanticipated. During one of the seasons, a cloudburst caused devastating floods and landslides leading to high casualties. There was major damage to infrastructure like roads, bridges and power generating units. This led to more than 100000 pilgrims, touristsandother locals trapped across different routes and locations. The people trapped in your area of responsibility included senior citizens, patients in hospitals, women and children, hikers, tourists, ruling party’s regional president along with his family, additional chief secretary of the neighbouring State and prisoners injail.

As a civil services offtcer of the State, what would be the order in which you would rescue these people and why? Give justiftcations. (200 words)

Ans. Those at greatest risk or need should be rescued first. The first group can be patients in hospital, the most vulnerable and needing medical care.

The next in priority can be the weak elderly more prone than others to life threatening attacks.

Next, women and children should be evacuated. Children are vulnerable and women are their natural caretakers.

If trekkers are trapped in hazardous locations, they will get priority. Otherwise, they can handle most situations on theirown.

If hikers are at no risk, we should evacuate tourists before them. Unlike trekkers, they are unlikely to have any resources for handling the emergency.

If the location of prison is safe, prisoners can be left as they are, after arranging for food and medicines.

Additional chief secretary (ACS) of the neighbouring state would be accompanied by local officers.Being experienced, if there is no immediate risk, he/she will cope with thesituation together with local officials.

Regional party leader should be evacuated before the ACS. He would also be accompanied by his party volunteers; but as he is accompanied by his family, he should be rescued before ACS.

However, once a rescue team reaches an area, it may evacuate everyone present regardless of their age, sex, medical condition and occupation. (210 words)

13. You are heading a district administration in a particular department. Your senior offtcer calls you from the State Headquarters and tells you that a plot in Rampur village is to have a building constructed on it for a school. A visit

is scheduled during which he will visit the site along with the chief engineer and the senior architect. He wants you to check out all the papers relating to it and to ensure that the visit is properly arranged. You examine the ftle which relates to the period before you joined the department. The land was acquired from the local Panchayat at a nominal cost and the papers show that clearance certiftcates are available from the two of the three authorities who have to certify the site’s suitability. There is no certiftcation by the architect available on ftle. You decide to visit Rampur to ensure that all is in order as stated on ftle. When you visit Rampur, you ftnd that the plot under reference is part of Thakurgarh Fort and that the walls, ramparts, etc., are running across it. The fort is well away from the main village; therefore a school here will be a serious inconvenience for the children. However, the area near the village has potential to expand into a larger residential area. The development charges on the existing plot, at the fort, will be very high and the question of heritage site has not been addressed. Moreover, the Sarpanch, at the time of acquisition of the land, was a relative of your predecessor. The whole transaction appears to have been done with some vested interest.

(a) List the likely vested interests of the concerned parties.

(b) Some of the options for action available to you are listed below. Discuss the merits and demerits of each of the options:

(i) You can await the visit of the superior offtcer and let him take a decision.

(ii) You can seek his advice in writing or on phone.

(iii) You can consult your predecessor/colleagues, etc., and then decide what to do.

(iv) You can ftnd out if any alternate plot can be got in exchange and then send a comprehensive written report.

Can you suggest any other option with proper justiftcation?

(250 words/25 marks)

Ans. (a) As area near village has potential for residential development, builders could be interested in it. The Sarpanch could be colluding with potential developers. The predecessor of the present incumbent could be involved due to family ties with Sarpanch. Some Panchayat office bearers could also be hoping for kick-backs from builders. It is strange that the school building has been proposed far from village on (a likely) heritage site.

(i) It is not clear whether the decision-making power is with the visiting team or the officer. If it is with them, he has to await their visit. But he has to verify matters and apprise them of facts.

(ii) If the decision vests with the senior officer, the question of seeking his advice will not arise. He can definitely talk to the seniors and tell them of the problems with the proposed construction. Even if the power rests with him, he can consult them in this complicated case.

(iii) Officers have to decide matters on their own, with the help of supporting office staff. There is no harm in consulting the predecessor, though he may be involved in hiding some facts.

(iv) The fourth option can be certainly explored. As the proposed site has many problems, he can explore whether an alternative is available. Then he can inform the seniors.

One more option is to prepare a report covering the problems with the present site, locate alternatives, and show them to seniors during their visit. They can then take a final decision. (252 words)

14. You are recently posted as district development offtcer of a district. Shortly thereafter you found that there is considerable tension in the rural areas of your district on the issue of sending girls to schools.

The elders of the village feel that many problems have come up because girls are being educated and they are stepping out of the safe environment of the household. They are of the view that the girls should be quickly married off with minimum education. The girls are also competing for jobs after education, which have traditionally remained in boys’ exclusive domain, adding to unemployment amongst male population.

The younger generation feels that in the present era, girls should have equal opportunities for education and employment, and other means of livelihood. The entire locality is divided between sexes in both generations. You come to know that in Panchayat or in other local bodies or even in busy crosswords, the issue is being acrimoniously debated.

One day you are informed that an unpleasant incident has taken place. Some girls were molested, when they were en-route to schools. The incident led to clashes between several groups and a law and order problem has arisen. The elder after heated discussion have taken a joint decision not to allow girls to go to school and to socially boycott all such families, which do not follow their dictate.

(a) What steps would you take to ensure girls’ safety without disrupting their education?

(b) How would you manage and mould patriarchist attitude of the village elders to ensure harmony in the inter-generational relations?

(250 Words, 25 marks)

Ans. Government officers have to faithfully implement government policies for girls’ education. The schools which girls from the trouble spot village are attending and the route they follow have to be identified. If schools are within walking distance, police can be deployed at strategic points on the routes when girls go to and return from schools. Police should carefully screen anti-social elements loitering on these routes at those times. Bonds or sureties for good conduct can be taken from them under preventive sections of CRPC. The girls can be trained in primary self-defence. They can be asked to move in groups and avoid going alone. Village voluntary youth groups can be enlisted for security of girls.

The elders are anxious since girls are moving out of their safe domestic environment. They may be concerned about the social impacts of girls’ education. However, they essentially have in their hearts the welfare and progress of their girls. They have to be gently and sympathetically told about the benefits of education for girls, and how it will immensely benefit their families and open up new horizons in their life. In the new technology driven world, uneducated girls will be left hopelessly behind. It should be explained to the elders that the potential of their girls will go to waste unless nurtured by education. They should be shown pictures of Indian women who scaled great heights in many fields. He should add that by denying education they would be greatly harming the girls. He should reassure elders about girls’ safety and list the security steps taken. (263 words)