HRM / OB Case Study

Age Diversity at Ashok Leyland Ltd. : Narrowing the Generation Gap

OR

Abstract:
The case discusses the age diversity issues at Ashok Leyland Limited (ALL), India’s second largest commercial vehicle manufacturers. The case can be used to discuss the topics of generational differences and necessity of its effective management.

Ashok Leyland Limited (ALL) is a company with a long standing history in India’s industrial development. Started as an establishment aimed at Industrial development of India, the group grew into the manufacturers of Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCV). The company's growth, though slow, was marked by innovations. To compete with the foreign commercial vehicle manufacturers and stay fit in the market, company decided to recruit more youngsters. Soon, 40% of ALL’s workforce constituted of people less than 35 years of age. But the increasing attrition rate of its younger employees puzzled ALL. Searching for the reason ALL found out that the younger employees were undergoing a cultural shock. The system which revolved over experience was in need of change. A negligence in management of age diversity can spell serious troubles in an organisation. With more and more youngsters entering the workforce, managing age diversity has become a serious responsibility of managements across the globe.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• Debate on the role played by older executives and younger executives
• To understand how ALL transformed itself with a timely and effective overhauling of its organizational culture and debate on the role played by older and younger employees in ALL
• To discuss and debate on the right mix of experience (Older employees) and exuberance (younger employees) in an organizational DNA and explore the same for different industries.

Keywords : Diversity, Managing Diversity, Age diversity, Younger vs Older Employees, Generation Gaps, Managing Generation gaps, Transactional Analysis, Workplace diversity, Ashok Leyland, Organizational Culture, Organizational Change