CASE: EVEREST TEXTILE MILLS
During the days of recession and growing unemployment, a job is considered a God-sent opportunity.
There is not much choice in terms of place of work, position, or salary. The very first reaction is the
decision to a job offer is to accept the opportunity of being employed.
Soon after completing his four-year program of B.E. (Civil) with a high first division, Sohan applied for
the position of Assistant Engineer in response to an advertisement by the Building & Construction
department of Everest Tex- tile Mills. The mill was owned by the Kashiramkas, a well- known business
family of Rajasthan. It was situated in Tipli, a semi-modernized village on the border of Haryana and
Rajasthan. The village was connected only by roadways.
Nothing could dampen Sohan’s enthusiasm to attend the interview and, if selected, accept the offer.
At the interview, Sohan was a bit surprised to see the members of the selection committee. They all
looked old, conservative, and semi-literate. The chief estate supervisor, the chief engineer, the project
manager, and the mill owner himself were all either diploma-holders or non-matriculates. Sohan was
able to sense their uneasiness whenever he answered their questions in English.
The committee members were all undoubtedly highly experienced persons with practical knowledge
of construc- tion work, design, material quality, soil integrity, and so on. The chief estate supervisor
asked very searching, technical questions on structure and load, but in Rajasthani. When Sohan
answered in English, the interviewer kept nod- ding and looked towards the other panelists when
Sohan finished talking. The behaviour of the chief engineer was similar. He framed a project in broken
Hindi, with a Bengali accent, and kept on saying “yes yes”, and “thank you”, when Sohan discussed
the answer; he too turned towards Mr Kashiramka when Sohan finished talking. Finally, Mr
Kashiramka asked Sohan if he would be able to live in a village and adjust to the rural life of the
countryside. Sohan told him that he was a person of simple living and would have little difficulty in
adapting. Mr Kashiramka appreciated Sohan’s positive attitude and asked the chief engineer to show
him the construction site.
Sohan toured the mill, which was spread out over a large distance, with hundreds of workers engaged
in various sections. He was also taken to the Building & Construction department, which was located
in a big, open area of the mill. It included the offices of the estate supervisor, the chief engineer, and
four supervisors, the materials room, the fire brigade station, the power house, and the generator
room.
The size of the mill and, especially, its Building & Construction department left Sohan highly impressed,
and he decided to join the mill if offered the position. Before Sohan left, Mr Kashiramka told him about
the close-knit relations of the workers. The mill was nearly 30 years old, and most of its employees
were men who had been work- ing there since its beginning. The workers had grown up together in
the mill and had become family to each other. They had learnt their work through experience and
looked down upon modern technical education and engineering degrees. They believed in practical
knowledge and valued the expertise of their chief engineer, who was just a diploma-holder. They
especially admired the insights and management skills of their estate supervisor, who could not even
sign his name in English, but knew how to plan and get things done and helped the workers in times
of need. During the conversation, Mr Kashiramka was intently studying Sohan, a newly graduated
engineer hailing from an urban background. In fact, he would be the first univer- sity-educated
engineer to join the homogeneous group of self-taught workers with no formal qualifications. On his
first day, the workers looked at Sohan indifferently as he went around introducing himself as the new
assistant engi- neer. Later, whenever he approached any group of workers and tried to start a
conversation, they would remain tight- lipped. Gradually, he found that the supervisors would just
shrug their shoulders whenever he suggested any change in their way of doing a particular job.
Sohan was increasingly realizing that it was never easy to be accepted into a well-knit clan of people
having their own idea on modern, technical education.
One day, in a meeting with contractors, supervisors, and senior workers from different sections, when
Sohan wanted to support the plan of the chief engineer, the workers and the supervisor did not allow
him to speak. When he tried to speak, they would interrupt and make distracting back- ground noises.
At the end of the meeting, the supervisor sit- ting next to Sohan deliberately stood up in such a way
that Sohan’s cup of tea fell onto his lap and hot tea spilled all over him. The casual way in which the
supervisor swung around and left the room gave the impression that he had not even seen what he
had done.
Questions to Answer
1. What conclusions do you think Sohan, the new assistant engineer, and the mill’s employees
reached about each other on the basis of non-verbal clues?
2. It seems that Mr Kashiramka, the owner of the mill, was not sure at the interview that Sohan, an
urban, university-educated engineer, would be able to adjust to the rural mill work environment
and culture. Was he right? What could be the reason for this skepticism?
3. Sohan does not respond or react to the workers’ non- verbal expressions of their attitude towards
him. Would his approach have been more effective if it were supported by some verbal
communication?
4. Could this situation be avoided? If no, why? If yes, how?
Selama hari-hari resesi dan meningkatnya pengangguran, pekerjaan dianggap sebagai kesempatan
yang dikirim Tuhan. Tidak banyak pilihan dalam hal tempat kerja, posisi, atau gaji. Reaksi pertama
adalah keputusan tawaran pekerjaan adalah menerima kesempatan untuk dipekerjakan.
Segera setelah menyelesaikan program empat tahunnya di B.E. (Sipil) dengan divisi pertama yang
tinggi, Sohan melamar posisi Asisten Insinyur sebagai tanggapan atas iklan oleh departemen
Bangunan & Konstruksi di Pabrik Tekstil Everest. Pabrik itu dimiliki oleh keluarga Kashiramka, sebuah
keluarga bisnis terkenal di Rajasthan. Itu terletak di Tipli, sebuah desa semi-modern di perbatasan
Haryana dan Rajasthan. Desa itu hanya terhubung melalui jalan raya.
Tidak ada yang bisa menyurutkan antusiasme Sohan untuk menghadiri wawancara dan, jika terpilih,
menerima tawaran tersebut. Saat wawancara, Sohan sedikit terkejut melihat para anggota panitia
seleksi. Mereka semua tampak tua, konservatif, dan setengah melek huruf. Kepala pengawas
perkebunan, kepala insinyur, manajer proyek, dan pemilik pabrik sendiri semuanya adalah pemegang
ijazah atau non-matrikulat. Sohan bisa merasakan kegelisahan mereka setiap kali menjawab
pertanyaan mereka dalam bahasa Inggris.
Para anggota panitia tidak diragukan lagi adalah orang-orang yang sangat berpengalaman dengan
pengetahuan praktis tentang pekerjaan konstruksi, desain, kualitas material, keutuhan tanah, dan
sebagainya. Kepala pengawas perkebunan menanyakan pertanyaan teknis yang sangat teliti tentang
struktur dan muatan, tetapi di Rajasthani. Ketika Sohan menjawab dalam bahasa Inggris,
pewawancara terus mengangguk dan melihat ke arah panelis lain ketika Sohan selesai berbicara.
Perilaku insinyur kepala serupa. Dia membingkai sebuah proyek dalam bahasa Hindi yang terputusputus, dengan aksen Bengali, dan terus berkata "ya ya", dan "terima kasih", ketika Sohan membahas
jawabannya; dia juga berbalik ke arah Tuan Kashiramka ketika Sohan selesai berbicara. Akhirnya, Pak
Kashiramka bertanya kepada Sohan apakah dia bisa tinggal di desa dan menyesuaikan diri dengan
kehidupan pedesaan di pedesaan. Sohan mengatakan kepadanya bahwa dia adalah orang yang hidup
sederhana dan akan sedikit kesulitan dalam beradaptasi. Mr Kashiramka menghargai sikap positif
Sohan dan meminta kepala teknisi untuk menunjukkan kepadanya lokasi konstruksi.
Sohan berkeliling pabrik, yang tersebar sangat jauh, dengan ratusan pekerja terlibat di berbagai
bagian. Dia juga dibawa ke departemen Bangunan & Konstruksi, yang terletak di area pabrik yang luas
dan terbuka. Itu termasuk kantor pengawas perkebunan, kepala insinyur, dan empat pengawas, ruang
bahan, stasiun pemadam kebakaran, pembangkit listrik, dan ruang generator.
Ukuran pabrik dan, terutama, departemen Bangunan & Konstruksi membuat Sohan sangat terkesan,
dan dia memutuskan untuk bergabung dengan pabrik jika ditawarkan posisi tersebut. Sebelum Sohan
pergi, Kashiramka bercerita tentang hubungan erat para pekerja. Pabrik tersebut berusia hampir 30
tahun, dan sebagian besar karyawannya adalah laki-laki yang telah bekerja di sana sejak awal. Para
pekerja tumbuh bersama di pabrik dan telah menjadi keluarga satu sama lain. Mereka telah
mempelajari pekerjaan mereka melalui pengalaman dan memandang rendah pendidikan teknik
modern dan gelar teknik. Mereka percaya pada pengetahuan praktis dan menghargai keahlian
insinyur kepala mereka, yang hanya seorang pemegang diploma. Mereka terutama mengagumi
wawasan dan keterampilan manajemen dari supervisor perkebunan mereka, yang bahkan tidak dapat
menandatangani namanya dalam bahasa Inggris, tetapi tahu bagaimana merencanakan dan
menyelesaikan sesuatu serta membantu para pekerja pada saat dibutuhkan. Selama percakapan,
Kashiramka sedang mempelajari Sohan, seorang insinyur yang baru lulus yang berasal dari latar
belakang perkotaan. Faktanya, dia akan menjadi insinyur berpendidikan universitas pertama yang
bergabung dengan kelompok pekerja otodidak homogen tanpa kualifikasi formal. Pada hari
pertamanya, para pekerja memandang Sohan dengan acuh tak acuh saat dia berkeliling
memperkenalkan dirinya sebagai asisten insinyur baru. Kemudian, setiap kali dia mendekati
sekelompok pekerja dan mencoba memulai percakapan, mereka akan tetap tutup mulut. Secara
bertahap, dia menemukan bahwa supervisor hanya akan mengangkat bahu setiap kali dia
menyarankan perubahan dalam cara mereka melakukan pekerjaan tertentu. Sohan semakin
menyadari bahwa tidak pernah mudah untuk diterima dalam klan orang-orang yang memiliki ide
sendiri tentang pendidikan teknis modern.
Suatu hari, dalam pertemuan dengan kontraktor, supervisor, dan pekerja senior dari berbagai seksi,
ketika Sohan ingin mendukung rencana chief engineer, para pekerja dan supervisor tidak
mengizinkannya untuk berbicara. Saat dia mencoba berbicara, mereka akan menyela dan membuat
suara latar belakang yang mengganggu. Di akhir pertemuan, supervisor yang duduk di sebelah Sohan
sengaja berdiri sedemikian rupa sehingga cangkir teh Sohan jatuh ke pangkuannya dan teh panas
tumpah di sekujur tubuhnya. Cara santai di mana pengawas berbalik dan meninggalkan ruangan
memberi kesan bahwa dia bahkan tidak melihat apa yang telah dia lakukan.
Pertanyaan untuk Dijawab
1. Menurut Anda apa kesimpulan, Sohan, asisten insinyur baru, dan karyawan pabrik tentang satu
sama lain berdasarkan petunjuk non-verbal?
2. Tampaknya Tuan Kashiramka, pemilik pabrik, tidak yakin pada saat wawancara bahwa Sohan,
seorang insinyur perkotaan berpendidikan universitas, akan dapat menyesuaikan diri dengan
lingkungan dan budaya kerja pabrik pedesaan. Apakah dia benar? Apa yang mungkin menjadi alasan
skeptisisme ini?
3. Sohan tidak menanggapi atau bereaksi terhadap ekspresi nonverbal sikap pekerja terhadapnya.
Apakah pendekatannya akan lebih efektif jika didukung oleh komunikasi verbal?
4. Bisakah situasi ini dihindari? Jika tidak, mengapa? Jika ya, bagaimana caranya?