UNIT - III

UNIT – III

3. RISK MANAGEMENT

DEADLY FACTORY FIRES IN INDIA ILLUSTRATE NEED FOR STRONGER RISK MANAGEMENT

The report entitled “Deadly factory fires in India Illustrate Need for Stronger Risk Management” by Joe Crampton emphasizes on the urgent need for foreign organizations to have good risk management-strategies when they decide to outsource their manufacturing activities to India.

                       INDIA AS A MAJOR OUTSOURCING CENTRE

India has become a major resource centre for big corporations around the world. As India has a huge labour market, many businesses rely on the country as a key component to manufacturing operations. Foreign corporations frequently employ manufacturers and factories in foreign countries in an effort to minimize labour costs. But if these corporations fail to implement good risk management strategies, they have to encounter problems in all the three business areas-brand reputation, operational efficiency and revenue.

                     

 The writer refers to the United States and other developed countries which have strict safety and compliance standards.  He says that outsourcing manufacturing activities in South Asia is fraught with difficulties. Some of these difficulties include social issues like

Ø  The use of child labour

Ø  Sweatshops

Ø  Poor worker safety

        LACK OF SAFETY NORMS IN FIRE WORKS FACTORIES ACROSS ASIA          

               The writer reports of a fire accident that occurred in September 2012 in a cracker unit in Sivakasi. The fire killed 38 workers and destroyed the entire unit. It also spread to a number of conjoined factories and ignited the recently manufactured fireworks. The heat hurt many villages and firefighters struggled for more than five hours to extinguish it.

                      Crampton adds that the fire services in South Asia are among some of the least developed in the world. Industrial zones IN India are spreading into residential zones and are characterized by ramshackle slums with several chances for a catastrophe. According to the reports of Risk Management Monitor, in Bangladesh alone, there have been more than 600 factory fire deaths over the last 5 years.

                      According to Business Insider notes, several factors are responsible to make death traps of factories across South Asia. The working conditions here are extremely bad. In many cases, the exits are padlocked; the basements are used as storerooms for highly flammable raw materials. No fire escapes are installed and smoke alarms and sprinkler systems are not even heard of.

                

  CONCLUSION

  Outsourcing and utilizing third-party vendors can be a big boon for businesses (foreign corporations) but they include many financial and social risks. Hence if companies decide to go this route, they need to utilize and extend best risk management solutions and practices to ensure that they enjoy a profitable relationship with these suppliers and also mitigate losses by frequently assessing and monitoring risks.

Q) What were the tragic consequences of Om Shakthi Fireworks disaster that occurred on 5^th September, 2012? (EXTERNAL EXAM – JUNE 2014)

Ans. Refer page 53, Reading Comprehension Passage from ‘Skills Annexe’.

EPITOME OF WISDOM

3. LEELA’S FRIEND – R. K. NARAYAN

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan (1906 – 2001) is one of the best India novelists writing in English. ‘Malgudi Days’ is an immensely enjoyable collection of short stories by R. K. Narayan. Malgudi is a fictional town in South India.

SUMMARY

‘Leela’s Friend’ is a story taken from ‘Malgudi Days’ which is a collection of short stories written by  R.K.Narayan. It shows the affectionate bonding between a little girl Leela and their servant Sidda.

            

ABOUT LEELA’S FAMILY /  THE NEWLY APPOINTED SERVANT SIDDA

            Leela’s mother Kamala works hard around the home. She complains to her husband to find a servant to help her. Meanwhile Sidda, a homeless poor boy comes to their gate in search of job. Leela’s father SivaSanker learns from Sidda that the family for whom he earlier worked  had left the town. Hence he is in need of a job. SivaSanker finds nothing objectionable about him. He calls his wife and she too is satisfied seeing Sidda. Leela, their five year old daughter comes out and she too likes the boy. Sidda is appointed as a servant on an agreement of two meals a day and four rupees a month. In return he has to wash clothes, tend the garden, run errands, chop wood and look after Leela.

FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN LEELA AND SIDDA

Sidda is a likeable boy who gets on well with the family. He becomes a good friend of Leela. They often play together with a ball. Sidda throws the ball upward and when it comes down, he tells Leela that the ball has touched the moon. He also pretends to have touched the moon many times from a coconut tree. The innocent girl believes every word of Sidda. She also expresses her desire to touch the moon. She is surprised to see that wherever they move the moon is there. She claps in joy. Sidda tells her that he knows the moon and that the moon follows his command.

            At the end of the day, Leela plays the teacher to Sidda. Sidda doesn’t know to read and write. So Leela tries to teach him with her little knowledge. She writes a letter or draws a cat or crow and asks him to copy it. But he is a poor performer. Yet Leela doesn’t give up. She continues to teach him and this goes on for many hours. Sidda feels relieved by falsely telling her that her mother is calling her for dinner. Every night Sidda tells a nice story to put Leela to sleep. Day by day he becomes her close companion. A sweetening relationship is established between them.  

SIDDA SUSPECTED AND CONVICTED

            One evening when Sidda goes out to buy sugar, Leela accompanies him. When they return home, Leela’s mother noticed that the gold chain around Leela’s neck is missing. She becomes furious and slaps Leela. She becomes suspicious of Sidda and calls him at once. Sidda defends himself feebly but leaves the house without informing anyone. Leela’s parents abuse Sidda but feel relieved that at least he spared the child and didn’t kill her for the sake of gold. SivaSanker informs the police. The police Inspector scolds SivaSanker for hiring Sidda without consulting him. He also suspects him to be the same criminal who stole jewellery from children more than half a dozen times. Finally Sidda is arrested by the police. When he doesn’t reveal anything about the chain even after repeated enquries, he is sent to jail. Meanwhile the mother is incapable of amusing the child. Leela continues to ask for Sidda. She screams that Sidda didn’t steal the chain. But no one listens to her. After a few days, Leela’s mother finds the chain in the tamarind pot. She enquires Leela but she answers that she does not remember if she put the chain there. Leela’s parents decide to tell the inspector about it. However SivaSanker is not sorry for what they have done. On the other hand, he defends himself saying that such a criminal should never have a place in their house.

MESSAGE

“Leela’s Friend” conveys the moral that one should never blame anyone without knowing the truth. The story describes the innocence of childhood on one hand and the bitter reality of adulthood and the prejudice of people on the other. In India, poverty and lack of education are prejudiced against and poor people are discriminated against. However the children are free from prejudice and hence appreciate the true value of their servants.

SIDDA’S CHARACTER : In India, poverty and lack of education are prejudiced against. Poor people are often discriminated. They are not allowed to move equally with the rich people. In the story, Sidda is not allowed to sit in the chairs at home. He is asked to sleep outside the house. He is often abused by Leela’s mother. Being poor, Sidda was always submissive. He did not possess the courage to oppose the cruel hierarchy which oppressed him. But when he was blamed of theft, Sidda got scared and left the house. Even during enquiry, he kept silent because he didn’t know anything about the chain. However he was happy in the company of Leela. He bore her with patience. He showered his affection on her and always kept her happy.

LEELA’S CHARACTER: Children are free from prejudice and appreciate the true value of their servants. Leela is very fond of Sidda. His company gave her supreme happiness. Money and status have least value for her. She doesn’t suspect Sidda nor is she bothered to know if he were the thief. She misses him and waits for his return. Theirs is an example of true and ideal friendship and of innocent childhood. Leela was valued by her parents and they listened to her demand and decisions. But in the matters of prejudice, she could never convince them.

SIVASANKER’S CHARACTER: SivaSanker and his wife on the other hand, represent the cruel hierarchy of the rich-class society of India. They are stubborn, principled and are influenced by caste prejudice. They are never ready to confess. They value their daughter’s words and appoint Sidda as a servant taking her approval. But they are not ready to listen to her when it comes to the matters of prejudice. Even after Sidda’s innocence is proved, they don’t feel much sorry for their behavior.