1.

1 INTRODUCTION

Work is an integral part of our everyday life, as it is our livelihood or career or business. On
an average we spend around twelve hours daily in the work place that is one third of our entire
life. It does influence the overall quality of our life. It should yield job satisfaction, give peace of
mind, a fulfillment of having done a task, as it is expected, without any flaw and having spent the
time fruitfully, constructively and purposefully. Even if it is a small step towards our lifetime
goal, at the end of the day it gives satisfaction and eagerness to look forward to the next day.

MEANING OF QUALITY OF WORK LIFE:

Quality of work life has different meanings to different people. Quality of work life is a
process by which an organization responds to employee needs for developing mechanisms to
allow them to share fully in making the decisions that design their lives at work.

The term refers to the favourableness or unfavourableness of a total job environment for
people. QWL is the degree to which members of organization are able to satisfy their personal
needs though their experience in the organization.

DEFINITION:

QWL can be defined as, “The quality of relationship between employees and the total
working environment’’

The work in American Institute 1980 has quality of work life in terms of employees’
perception as their physical and mental well being at work.

Quality of work life is the degree to which members of a work organization are able to satisfy
important personal needs through their experiences in the organization. The institute has defined
some areas that were most important work life issues during the 1980’s.

- J. Lloyd Suttle
WORK LIFE ISSUES:

 Motivation

 Reward And Compensation System

 Environment & Human Relations

 Career Prospects:

 Job Satisfaction

 Job Security

 Welfare Measures

 Training And Development

 Stress Level & Work-Life Balance

 Participative management

 Democracy in work place

 Job enrichment

FEATURES:

The aim of QWL is to identify and implement alternative programs to improve the quality of
professional as well as personal life of an organization’s employees.

 It enables workers to identify his role in the whole process performed.

 It envisages equal treatment of employees and their right to privacy and freedom in
speech.

 It is characterized by serving the more basic needs of the workers as well as their higher
order needs.

FUNCTIONS:
 The basic functions of quality of work life are as follows:
 It seeks the employee the higher skills or work and to provide environment
that encourages them is improve their skills,
 It leads to the favorable or unfavorable quality at family life and life
satisfaction,
 It acts as best motivating factor for better working.
THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT’S ROLE:

Perhaps the most crucial role of the department is winning the support of key managers.
Management support – particularly top management support appears to be an almost universal
prerequisite for successful QWL programs.

The department also has both a direct and indirect influence on employee motivation and
satisfaction.

Satisfaction
Q
Direct
U
Orientation A
L
Training and I
T
Development
Y
Human Career Planning
Resource O
Departme Counselling F Supervisor Employee
nt Indirect W
Safety and O
R
Health policies K

Compensation practices L
I
Other policies and Practice
F
E

Motivation
 As the above figure illustrates, the department makes direct contact with employees and
supervisors through orientation, training and development, career planning, and counselling
activities. At the same time, these activities may help a supervisor do a better job of motivating
employees.

1.2 INDUSTRY PROFILE

The automobile industry occupies a prominent place in the world. The automobile has enabled
people to travel and transport goods farther and faster and has opened wider market areas of business
and commerce. The auto industry has also reduced the overall cost of transportation by using methods
such as mass production, mass marketing and globalization of production. The manufacture, exports
and servicing of automobile have become key elements of industrial economies. The automobile
consist of cars, trucks, buses, scooters, motorcycles ete. are manufactured and exported on a large
scale along with auto accessories, auto parts, tyres and tubes, brakes and auto electrical spares etc.
The automobile industry provides jobs for millions of people, generates billions of dollars in
worldwide revenues and provides the basis for a multitude of related service and support industries.
Automobile manufacturers and exporters are global players. They have taken advantage of the
continuously liberalized world trade ion terms of exports and have opted for local
production/investment in countries with still well protected markets. Automobile industry of India is
now finding increasing recognition worldwide and a beginning has been made in exports of vehicle as
well as components. The automobile industry along with the component industry is also contributing
to the export efflort to the country.

Indian auto components industry touched an estimated production of US$10 billion in 2005-06, an
increase of 14.94% than the previous year. Exports touched US$1.8 billion in 2005-06, accounting
for 18% of the total production. Three countries namely Thailand, China and India are expected to
gain from the outsourcing trend. Based on product categories, the auto ancillary industry can be
divided into segments like Engine parts, Drive transmission and Steering parts, Suspension and Brake
parts, Electrical parts, Equipment and other parts.
Surge in automobile industries since the nineties has led to robust growth of the auto component
sector in the country. In tandem with the industry trends, the Indian component sector has shown
great advances in recent years in terms of growth, spread, absorption of new technologies and
flexibility. Indian auto component industry has seen major growth with the arrival of world vehicle
manufacturers from Japan, Korea, US and Europe, Today, India is emerging as one of the key auto
components canter in Asia and is expected to play a significant role in the global automotive supply
chain in the near future.

The auto parts industry has emerged as one of indian’s fastest growing manufacturing sectors and
globally competitive one. The Auto components industry in India is dominated by around 500
players, which contribute more than 85 percent of India’s production. The industry has very deep
forward and backward linkages with almost every other engineering manufacturing sector of the
economy. It supports industries like automobiles, machine tools, steel aluminum, rubber, plastics,
electrical, electronics, forgings and machining.

India has also emerged as an outsourcing hub for auto parts for international companies such as ford,
General motors, Daimler Chrysler, Fiat, Volkswagen and Toyota. India enjoys cost advantage with
regard to castings and forgings. The manufacturing costs in India are 25 to 30 percent lower than its
western counterparts. India’s competitive advantage does not come from cost alone, but from its full
service supply capability.

To encourage the smooth growth of the industry, the government of India has allowed automatic
approval for foreign equity investment up to 100 percent of manufacture of auto components. Further,
the engineering export promotion council under the aegis of ministry of commerce and industry,
Government of India, over the years has been engaged in promoting exports of engineering goods
including auto parts.

Besides the Automotive Components Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) represents the
Indian auto component industry. The enhancement, collection and dissemination of information. 5
Indian companies in the automotive sector have received the coveted Deming prize. Many
 international auto components major including Delphi, Visteon, Bosch and Meritor have set up
operations in India.

The domestic private players are Bharat forge Limited, Tata Auto component systems, Sundaram
Fasteners, Brakes India. The international private players are MICO, Visteon and Delphi.

1.2 COMPANY PROFILE

About the company

The TVS Group is India’s leading supplier of automotive components and one of the countries most
respected business conglomerates.

Originating as a transport company in 1911, it now comprises over 29 companies that

operate in diverse fields like automotive component manufacturing automotive and electronics.
Underlying the success of the group is an ethos of commitment to the values of Quality, service and
reliability. Continuous innovation and close customer interaction have enabled the group to consolidate
its position at the leading edge of the automotive industry.

Brakes India limited

Brakes India was incorporated in 1962 as a joint venture between TV Sundram Iyengar and sons Ltd and
Lucas Industries Plc.,UK,(currently TRW) to manufacture braking equipment for automotive and non-
automotive applications. The company’s manufacturing plants are located at Chennai, Sholinghur and
Polambakkam in Tamilnadu, Nanjangud in Karnataka and Gurgaon in Haryana. Brakes India caters to
over 60% of the domestic OEM market, besides exporting its products to over 35 countries worldwide. Its
Brake Divisions at Padi, Chennai, Sholingur, Polambakkam and Gurgaon are QS 9000 certified and the
Foundry Division is ISO 9002 certified. The company’s foundry division manufactures permanent mould
dye-castings, Grey Iron and SG castings using the disamatic process.

Sundaram polymers division manufactures engineering plastic compounds for various applications.

GLOBAL AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

Deming quality awards

 Sundaram Clayton.
 Lucas TVS.
 Brakes India.
 TVS motor company.
 Sundaram brake linings.

Jit grand pix award

 Lucas TVS(3 times).

Japan quality medal

 Sundaram clayton.s

TPM excellence awards

 Sundaram fasteners.
  Delphi- TVS.
 Brakes india.
 TVS motor company.
 TVS rubber.
 TVS tyres.

GM North America, best supplier award

 Sundaram fasteners for 5 consecutive years.

TVS BRAKES INDIA LIMITED- PADI, CHENNAI

Company details are given below:

Land Area 145 Acres

Built up Area 14064 sq. Metres

No. of Employees 319

Products Manufactured

For Car and MUV segments Caliper Disc Brakes

For LCV and HCV segments Cam Brakes

For all segments Lined Shoes

Quality System Certification QS 9000

2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

TAFEZAWA (1963) -

His study covered all possible aspects of work related life including:
 Work environment
 Job enrichment
 Employee’s participation in management
 Wage benefits and welfare
 Career outlook and development
The scope for improving skills and developing inherent potentialities has a significant role to
play in quality of work life. For a better quality of work life grievance redressed and feedback is
essential.

“THE TATA GROUP: HR CHALLENGES” BY A VASUDHA AND DORIS RAJAKUMARI

JOHN -

They discusses the HR Strategies employed by the Tata Group. In 2000, there was
considerable attrition in the junior and middle levels. Subsequently, the group launched an HR
revamp which evolved solution to these problems and implemented them, it adopted the policy
“attract good people, retain the better people and advance the best people.” The needs of the
employees were gathered through social survey (Research) and HR policy was framed in order
to satisfy the needs, thus opening up horizons for employees to grow within a group. To get
employees satisfied, Tata Group introduced Domestic Management Programme (DMP) which
helps families, particularly wives of employees, to manage change caused by their spouses’
increased corporate responsibilities. Based on the premise that happy employees lead to happy
customers, Special Thanks and Recognition System (STARS), a new HR initiative aimed at
‘awarding and recognizing achievement and exceptional performance instantaneously’, and “Joy
at the workplace”, which aims at team building and motivating employees, were initiated. TCS
takes online appraisals and employee satisfaction surveys with findings posted online which are
popular as shown by the rising employee satisfaction scores.

THE ARTICLE “STRATEGIES TO RETAIN HUMAN CAPITAL IN BUSINESS PROCESS

OUTSOURCING (BPO) INDUSTRY” BY R RAMAN –

It focuses on the retention strategies adopted by various Indian BPO companies (especially
the call centers), and proposes innovative strategies that these companies can adopt as a solution
for this herculean problem. . The article concludes by suggesting retention strategies like moving
into value creation and value enhancement processes of clients, changing perception of
employees from life style to career, clarity in their expectations, giving employees a choice of
reward etc.

PHILADELPHIA DECLARATION’S PRINCIPLES BY INTERNATIONAL LABOR

ORGANIZATION (ILO) –

Quality of work life is, however, not only the concern of the individual and of psychological
researchers. This concern was demonstrated globally by the United Nations sponsored
International Labor Organization (ILO). At the core of the ILOs social agenda is the creation of
more and better job opportunities. As far back as 1944, the ILO adopted the Philadelphia
Declaration’s principles, which made improving the quality of work life a priority and
committed all its member nations to achieving this goal through public policies and programmes.
Among its aims were the following:

 Full employment and rising living standards,

 Employment in occupations
 Utilizing their skills and make a contribution to the common well-being
 A just distribution of distribution of wages, hours and other benefits, including training
opportunities
 Decent working conditions and the minimum living wage for all employed
 Recognition of the right to collective bargaining
 To co-operation between management and labor
 Safe and healthy work environments

ARTICLE FROM COMMUNITY FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (CHRM)

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE & DECIDE QUALITY OF WORK LIFE

 MOTIVATION:

Motivation refers to the way in which urges, drives, desires, aspirations, strivings or
needs direct, control or explain the behavior of human beings. Motivation is one among the
various factors affecting individual performance. Every superior in the organization must
motivate his subordinates for the right types of behavior. Motivation is a complex subject. It
involves the unique feelings, thoughts and past experiences of each of us as we share a variety of
relationships within and outside organizations. To expect a single motivational approach work in
every situation is probably unrealistic. In fact, even theorists and researches take different points
of view about motivation. Nevertheless, motivation can be defined as a person’s drive to take an
action because that person wants to do so. People act because they feel that they have to.
However, if they are motivated they make the positive choice to act for a purpose – because, for
example, it may satisfy some of their needs.

 REWARD AND COMPENSATION SYSTEM:

The economic interests of people drive them to work at a job and employee satisfaction
depends at least partially, on the compensation offered. Pay should be fixed on the basis of the
work done, responsibilities undertaken, individual skills, performance and accomplishments.
Reward is the key criteria to lure a prospective worker to accept the offer.

A basic issue is whether satisfaction leads to better performance, or whether better

performance leads to satisfaction. Which comes first? The reason for this apparent uncertainty
about the relationship between performance and satisfaction is that rewards intervene as shown
in the figure below.

A REWARDS SATISFACTION & PERFORMANCE MODEL OF MOTIVATION

Rewards

Reinforcement

 Job
itself
 Smal
l groups
Performance Satisfaction
 Orga

Employe

Motivation Self-image

Inner drives Self-esteem

Self-expectation

Needs and Desire

 Whether satisfaction is going to be improved depends on whether the rewards match the
expectations, needs and desires of the employee as shown at the bottom of the above figure. If
better performance leads to higher rewards and if these rewards are seen as fair and equitable,
then results in improved satisfaction. On the other hand, inadequate rewards can lead to
dissatisfaction. In either case, satisfaction becomes feedback that affects one’s self-image and
motivation to perform. The total performance-satisfaction relationship is a continuous system,
making it difficult to assess the impact of satisfaction on motivation or on performance, and
vice-versa.

 REWARD AND COMPENSATION SYSTEM:

The economic interests of people drive them to work at a job and employee satisfaction depends at
least partially, on the compensation offered. Pay should be fixed on the basis of the work done,
responsibilities undertaken, individual skills, performance and accomplishments. Reward is the key
criteria to lure a prospective worker to accept the offer.

 ENVIRONMENT & HUMAN RELATIONS:

Since there is an intimate connection between the mind and the body, an average office
worker cannot give his best unless the working environment or physical condition is such as to
keep his mind and body healthy and vigorous. Physical discomfort causes physical strain and
fatigue which ultimately react on his mind. This is bound to reduce his capacity and will to work
Thus, one of the major considerations for a good office manager is to provide the right type of
working environment to the office staff.

 CAREER PROSPECTS:

Most organizations think so, and consider it a part of their critical human resource strategy.
From the employees’ point of view career development initiatives gives them a clear focus
about their career track, the blind spots that they have to overcome and the final goal to be
reached It is a known fact that most professionals leave an organization due to lack of career
 growth. An active career development initiative by a company is a key retention tool to keep
the best talent within its fold. It is one of the greatest motivators to keep an employee happy
and engaged.

 JOB SATISFACTION:

QWL establishes a clear objective that high performance can be achieved with high job
satisfaction. Improved job satisfaction in the work place will reduce social problems. The
creative aspect of achieving satisfaction will reduce if not overcome boredom and monotony in
work, physical strain and mental stress. Jobs that are rich in positive behavioral elements – such
as autonomy, variety, task identity, task significance and feedback contribute to employee’s
satisfaction.
Likewise, orientation is important because the employee’s acceptance by the work
group contributes to satisfaction. In short, each element of the environmental system, can add to,
or detract from, job satisfaction

 JOB SECURITY:

Job security is another factor that is of concern to employees. Permanent employment

provides security to the employees and improves their QWL. Conditions in the work
environment must be created by the employer which will give all the employees freedom from
fear of losing their jobs. A system must be created in which there are healthy working conditions
with optimum financial security. The points stressed above are essential to improve the QWL in
organizations.

 WELFARE MEASURES:

Organizations should realize that their true wealth lies in their employees and so providing
a healthy work environment for employees should be their primary objective. Since workers are
now better organized, educated and vociferous, they demand more from the employers all over
the world-apart from the pay-in the form of social security and welfare benefits as matter of right
which were once considered a part of the bargaining process.

 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT:

 Training is an act of increasing the knowledge and skill of an employee for doing a
particular job. It is concerned with imparting specific job related skill to the employee. The aim
of training is to develop some specific skill in an individual. It is mostly a preparation to meet
individuals’ present needs. It can thus be seen as a reactive process.

 STRESS LEVEL & WORK-LIFE BALANCE:

Organizations should provide relaxation time for the employees and offer tips to balance
their personal and professional lives. They should not strain employees personal and social life
by forcing on them demanding working hours, overtime work, business travel, untimely
transfers etc.

3.1 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

To study on the quality of work life of employees and to implement alternative programs to
improve the quality of work life in TVS Lucas-Padi.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVE:

 To study the motivational level of the employees.

 To study the influence of Reward and Fair compensation.

 To study the career growth opportunities and welfare measures provided.

 To study the level of Job Satisfaction and Job Security.

 To study the influence of Work-life Balance and the Stress level.

  To analyze the Working Environment and Human Relations.

 To identify the problems and to suggest measures for improving the

quality of work life in the TVS Lucas-Padi.

3.2 SCOPE OF THE STUDY:

The study was conducted in short period of time. QWL denotes all the organizational
inputs, which aim at the employee’s satisfaction and enhancing organizational effectiveness.
Various aspects of quality of work life were studied. This gives more importance on advance
technology and high productivity surpassing the needs and mental states of its employees. This
created a negative impact on the working among the employees. Thus it was realized that
societal support goes hand in hand with technical innovations. This integration can only be made
through quality of work life programmes.

 The study deals with Quality of Work Life in TVS Lucas-Padi.

 The study threw light on the application of theoretical knowledge into practical form.

 This study reveals the opinion of the employees on various aspects of work life.

 To identify the drawbacks in the existing system.

 The study ensures promotional opportunities to the employees.

  The study reveals the employees’ expectations and suggestions to the betterment of work
life.

 The outcome of this study will help TVS Lucas-Padi to identify the various dimensions
that influence the employees work.

 This study provides considerate supervision, which tends to improve job satisfaction of
the employees.

The study was beneficial as it helps to analyse the future employees. Apart from these, the
company would be more benefited from the information gathered and analysed about its
employees and would help in formulating new strategies.

3.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:

Respondents in equal importance from all departments or with respect to the number of
workers in each department cannot be taken due to non-availability, willingness and free-time of
the skilled workers.
 There is a chance of personal bias which affects the original data.
 The study was conducted within a limited time period.

 Hesitations on the part of respondents to express their views exactly on the

questionnaire.

 The observations and conclusions are based on the responses of the employees who chose
the respond.

 The views of those who declined to participate in the study are not represented.
  The accuracy of the study depends on the correctness of the responses of the
respondents.

 The attitude of the workers change from time to time. Hence, the result of the project may
not be applicable in long run.

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Methodology is one of the main aspects of every research. It gives note of research design,
data source, sample size, questionnaire design and statistical tools adopted.

Research Methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. Research

Methodology lays down the various steps that are generally adopted by the researcher in
studying the research problem.

4.1 RESEARCH DESIGN:

 It is a basic framework, which provides guidelines for the rest of the research process. A
research design is purely and simply the framework or plan of a study that guides the collection
and analysis of data.

In this study, the researcher attempts to analyze the various dimensions towards Quality of
Work Life. Hence descriptive cum diagnostic design was adopted.

4.2 SOURCES OF DATA:

Primary Data:

In this Study data is collected directly from the employees of TVS Lucas-Padi using the
questionnaire as an instrument and personal interview as the communication medium for
collecting it.

Secondary Data:

The secondary data were also collected from the existing sources of company such as internal
records, Management books, Magazines, Newspaper, Report prepared by research scholars,
Journals and HR Magazines.

4.3 SAMPLING PLAN:

A sample design is definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population. It refers to
the technique or procedure the researcher, would adopt in selection of item for the sample.

The sampling technique adopted for the purpose of this study was probability sampling. The
researcher used stratified sampling.

Population:

A population is the set of all possible measurement on data corresponding to the entire
collection of units for which an inference is to be made. The population under consideration of
survey was the employees of TVS Lucas-Padi.

Sample Size:

The number of items selected from the population constitutes the sample size. A sample size
is taken as 100 employees.
Sampling Method:

Convenience sampling was used for conducting survey. A convenience survey sample is
obtained by selecting convenience population.

Questionnaire:

The researcher prepared the questionnaire that comprises of 25 questions in total. It is split
into 3 parts including general information.

4.4 DATA ANALYSIS:

The data was processed using the SPSS

The data collected were analyzed with the help of Statistical Tools such as

I Percentage Method
II Correlation:
a. Bivariate Correlation
b. Rank Correlation
III Weighted Average Method
IV Chi Square Test
V Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)

I PERCENTAGE METHOD:

Percentage refers “for every hundred”. It is used to make easy comparisons of fractions. In the
study, fractions of respondents choosing different answers are converted into percentages and
interpretations are made.

Formula:

% of Respondents= No of Respondents * 100

 No of Total Respondents

II CORRELATION:

Correlation is the statistical analysis which measures and analyses the degree or the extent to
which two variables fluctuate with reference to each other. The correlation measures the
closeness of the relationship between the variables. Thus, the association of any two variates is
known as correlation. Correlation Coefficient denoted by “r”.

Consider two variables x and y:

• If r = 1, then x and y are perfectly positively correlated. The possible values of x and y all
lie on a straight line with a positive slope in the (x, y) plane.
• If r = 0, then x and y are not correlated. They do not have an apparent linear relationship.
However, this does not mean that x and y are statistically independent.
• If r = -1, then x and y are perfectly negatively correlated. The possible values of x and y
all lie on a straight line with a negative slope in the (x, y) plane.

(a)Bivariate Correlation:

(b) Rank Correlation:

This is a non-parametric measure of the degree of association between two numerical

variables. The parametric equivalent is the correlation coefficient; sometimes know as Pearson’s
product moment correlation. The values of each variable are independently ranked and the
measure is based on the differences between the pairs of ranks of the two variables. The
Formulae for calculating Rank Correlation is
ρ = 1- 6∑d2 (Or)

n (n2 -1)

ρ = 1- 6[∑d2 +1/12(m3-m) +1/12(m3-m) +1/12(m3-m)+….]

n3-n

III WEIGHTED AVERAGE METHOD:

A method of computing a kind of arithmetic mean for a set of numbers in which some
elements of the set carry more importance (weight) than others.

X= ∑WX

IV CHI SQUARE TEST:

Chi-square test is one of the simplest and most widely used non-parametric tests in statistical
work. The measure of Chi square (χ2) enables us to find out the degree of discrepancy between
observed frequencies and theoretical frequencies and thus to determine whether the discrepancy
so obtained is due to error of sample or due to chance.

V ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (ANOVA):

The Analysis of Variance is a powerful tool for tests of significance. The test of significance
based on ‘t’- distribution is an adequate procedure only for testing the significance between two
sample means. In a situation when we have three or more samples to consider at a time an
alternative procedure is needed for testing the hypothesis that all samples are drawn from the
same population i.e., they have same mean. Thus the basic purpose of analysis of variance is to
test the homogeneity of several means.

DEFINITION:

According to Prof. R. A. Fisher, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is the ‘separation of

variance ascribable to one group of causes from the variance ascribable to other groups’.

ANOVA Table:
 For testing equality of two means, t- test can be used. For testing among several means, F-
Test has been found to be more appropriate.

TWO WAY CLASSIFICATION:

It may happen that the variations in other factors are also of important or controlling them
may become difficult. The study of variation of two factors at a time in a given situation is
known as Two Way Classification Table.

Source Of Sum Of Degree Of

Mean Square F-Ratio Fα
Variation Square Freedom
Between Column SSC c-1 MSC=SSC/c-1 MSC/MSE Fα,c(c-1)(r-1)

Between Rows SSR r-1 MSR=SSR/r-1 MSR/MSE Fα,r,(c-1)(r-1)

MSE=SSE/
Residual SSE (c-1)(r-1) MSE=SSE/(c-1)(r-1)
(C-1)(R-1)
Total TSS n-1

Sum of squares between columns = SSC

Sum Of Squares between rows = SSR

Total Sum of Squares = SST

SST is obtained by adding SSC, SSR and SSE

Ie., SST = SSC+ SSR + SSE

Degrees of freedom between columns = c-1

Degrees of freedom between rows = r-1

Degrees of freedom between residuals = (c-1) (r-1)