Murderous Violence at Work: conflict and aggression in Indian auto factories

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Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation

Volume 9, Issue 1

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Murderous Violence at Work: conflict and aggression in Indian auto factories

research-article

Author(s): Santanu Sarkar

Publication date (Print): Spring 2015

Journal: Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation

Publisher: Pluto Journals

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Abstract

Considerable scholarly attention has been paid to the growing incidence of workplace violence and homicide in India. In seeking to understand the cause of this workplace mayhem, most commentators regard employer repression as playing an important role. This article revisits four recent episodes of workplace homicide and analyses the anecdotal information available in the public domain on these cases, using a multi-level analytical framework. It argues that these incidents can best be understood within a perspective that takes into account not only factors in the specific workplace environment in the context of neoliberal low road employment policies but also the broader social-economic environment of a developing country where rapid industrialisation and migration are taking place in newly urbanised sites characterised by sharp social and economic polarisation.

Content

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.13169

Journal ID (publisher-id): workorgalaboglob

Title: Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN (Print): 1745641X

ISSN (Electronic): 17456428

Publication date (Print): Spring 2015

Volume: 9

Issue: 1

Pages: 38-62

Article

Publisher ID: workorgalaboglob.9.1.0038

DOI: 10.13169/workorgalaboglob.9.1.0038

SO-VID: 67f46a5b-5d1b-4b3d-b3e0-fb5a9f1f6cec

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All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

History

ScienceOpen disciplines: Sociology,Labor law,Political science,Labor & Demographic economics,Political economics

References

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Allirajan, M. (2008) ‘Workers kill company VP in Coimbatore’, Times of India , September 23.
Annavajhula, J. C. B. & S. Pratap (2012a) ‘Worker voices in an auto production chain: notes from the pits of a low road – I’, Economic and Political Weekly , XLVII (33): 46–59
Annavajhula, J. C. B. & S. Pratap (2012b) ‘Worker voices in an auto production chain: notes from the pits of a low road – II’, Economic and Political Weekly , XLVII (34):49–56.
Badrinath, M. N., A. V. Santosh Kumar, & N. Dinesh (2012) ‘Labour Dissonance At Maruti Suzuki India Limited – A Case study on Industrial Relations’, Global Research Analysis , 1(5), 72–74.
Bandur, A. (1983) ‘Psychological Mechanisms of Aggression’, R. G. Green and E. I. Donnerstein (eds), Aggression: Theoretical and Empirical Reviews (Vol. 1), New York: Academic Press.
Barling, J. (1996) ‘The prediction, experience, and consequences of workplace violence’, In G. R. VandenBos and E. Q. Bulatao (eds). Violence on the job , Washington, DC: American Psychological Association:29–49.
Baron, R. A. & D. R. Richardson (1994) Human Aggression , 2nd edn, New York: Plenum Press.
Baron, R. A. & J. L. Neuman (1996) ‘Workplace violence and workplace aggression: Evidence on their relative frequency and potential causes’, Aggressive Behavior , 22:161–173.
Bensimon, H. F. (1994) ‘Violence in the Workplace’, Training and Development Journal , 1:27–32.
Berkowitz, L. (1994) ‘Is something missing? Some observations prompted by the cognitive-neoassociationist view of anger and aggressive behavior: Current perspectives’, In L. R. Huesmann (ed), Aggressive behavior: Current perspectives , 35–57. New York: Plenum.
Bies, R. J. & T. M. Tripp (1996) ‘Beyond distrust: ‘Getting even’ and the need for revenge’, In R. M. Kramer and T. Tyler (eds), Trust in Organizations , Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Bose, A. J. C. & S. Sinha (2012) ‘Human side of lean production: aren't we on a slippery slope?’ International Journal of Lean Thinking , 3(2), 102–116.
Bose, A. J. C. (2012) ‘Labour Relations in a Liberalised Industry: A Study of Indian Automobile Workers’, Unpublished PhD Thesis, B. R. Ambedkar Bihar University, Muzafarpur, India.
Bose, P. & S. Ghosh (2011) ‘Workers' struggle in Maruti’, Hindu , September 28.
Brockner, J., M. Konovsky, R. Cooper-Schneider, R. Folger, C. Martin, & R. J. Bies (1994) ‘Interactive effects of procedural justice and outcome negativity on victims and survivors of job loss’, Academy of Management Journal , 37:397–409.
Bryant, M. & J. W. Cox (2003) ‘The telling of violence: organizational change and atrocity tales’, Journal of Organizational Change Management , 16(5), 567–583.
Cascio, W. F. (1993) ‘Downsizing: What do we know? What have we learned?’ Academy of Management Executive , 7:95–104.
Catalano, R., R. Novaco, & W. McConnell (1997) ‘A model of the net effect of job loss on violence’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 72:1440–1447.
Chappell, D. & V. Di Martino (2006) Violence at work , 3rd edn, Geneva, International Labour Office.
Dollard, J., L. Doob, N. Miller, O. H. Mowrer, & R. R. Sears (1939) Frustration and aggression , New Haven: Yale University Press.
Douglas, S. C. & M. J. Martinko (2001) ‘Exploring the role of individual differences in the prediction of workplace aggression’, Journal of Applied Psychology , 86(4), 547–559.
Dumaine, B. (1993) ‘America's toughest bosses’, Fortune , 128:39–58.
Express News Service (2010) ‘8 held for Allied Nippon GM's murder’, Indian Express , November 15 – Accessed January 10, 2013 from www.indianexpress.com.
Farrell, G. (1999) ‘Aggression in clinical settings: nurse's views – a follow-up study’, Journal of Advanced Nursing , 29(3), 532–41.
Fox, S. & P. E. Spector (1999) ‘A model of work frustration-aggression’, Journal of Organizational Behavior , 20:915–933.
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Hogan, J. & R. Hogan (1989) ‘How to measure employee reliability’, Journal of Applied Psychology , 74:273–280.
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ICRA. (2011b). ICRA Credit Perspective Report on Pricol Ltd. , Gurgaon, India.
Khandelwal, P. (2010) ‘Workers, management at loggerheads for long’, Hindustan Times , November 15.
Kumar, L. (2008) ‘Dismissed employees beat CEO to death’, Times of India , September 23.
Loeb, M. (1996) ‘The bad boss gets a new life’, Fortune , May 27, 133:192.
Madan, S. & K. K. Gill (2011) ‘Human development and gender: a feminist perspective of Haryana’, Journal of Economic and Social Development , 8(2), 48–61.
Mantell, M. & S. Albrecht (1994) Ticking Bombs: Defusing Workplace Violence in the Workplace , New York, NY: Irwin Professional Publishing.
Martinko, M. & K. Zellars (1998) ‘Toward a theory of workplace violence: A cognitive appraisal perspective’, In R. W. Griffin, A. O'Leary-Kelly and J. M. Collins (eds) Dysfunctional Behavior in Organizations: Violent and Deviant Behavior , Stamford, CT: JAI Press.
Martinko, M. J., M. J. Gundlach, S. C. Douglas (2002) ‘Toward an integrative theory of counterproductive workplace behavior: a causal reasoning perspective’, International Journal of Selection and Assessment , 10(1.2):36–50.
Meyer, S. (2002) ‘Rough manhood: the aggressive and confrontational shop culture of U.S. auto workers during World War II’, Journal of Social History , 36(1), 125–147.
Murray, B. (1999) ‘The effects of blame attributions and offender likableness on forgiveness and revenge in the workplace’, Journal of Management , 25:607–627.
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Neuman, J. H. & R. A. Baron (1998) ‘Workplace violence and workplace aggression: evidence concerning specific forms, potential causes, and preferred targets’, Journal of Management , 24(3), 391–419.
O'Leary-Kelly, A. M., R. W. Griffin, & D. J. Glew (1996) ‘Organization-motivated aggression: A research framework’, Academy of Management Review , 21:225–253.
Ones, D. S., C. Viswesvaran, & F. L. Schmidt (1993) ‘Comprehensive of meta-analysis of integrity validities: findings and implications for personnel selection and theories of job performance’, Journal of Applied Psychology , 78:679–703.
Personal Correspondent (2008) ‘Head of Italian subsidiary beaten to death in Greater Noida/136 people arrested for killing CEO’, Siliconindia /IANS, September 22/23.
Personal correspondent (2010) ‘Allied Nippon was an accident, says Ghaziabad labour department’, Business Standard, November 20 – Accessed January 04, 2013 from www.business-standard.com.
Personal correspondent (2010) ‘Death of a manager could prove a serious setback to industrial towns’, Business Standard, November 16 – Accessed January 04, 2013 from www.business-standard.com.
Personal Correspondent (2010) ‘Workers lynch AGM of Indo-Japanese Company’, CNN IBN, November 14 – Accessed January 04, 2013 from www.ibnlive.in.com.
Personal Correspondent (2012) ‘India arrests after riot at Maruti plant’, BBC, July 19 – Accessed January 4, 2013 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-18897752.
Pratap, S. (2011) ‘Trade Union Repression in India’, Research Paper, Asia Monitor Resource Centre.
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Roy, S. (2008). ‘CEO murder result of yearlong tussle’, Hindustan Times , September 25.
Roy, S. (2012) ‘Regional disparities in growth and human development in India’, Working Paper No. 2012/05, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development.
Sehegal, R. (2012) ‘“Manesar Workers are the Villains”: Truth or Prejudice?’ Economic and Political Weekly , XLVII (31):12–15.
Singh, H. (2012) Understanding 18th July at Maruti Suzuki, Manesar Plant– Accessed December 20, 2013 from http://www.zcommunications.org/understanding-18th-july-at-maruti-suzuki-manesar-by-h-singh.
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Valsan, B. (2012) ‘Life must go on for 2 women widowed in Pricol agitation’, Times of India , July 30.
Vanneman, R. & A. Dubey (2010) ‘Horizontal and Vertical Inequalities in India, Inequality and the Status of the Middle Class: Lessons from the Luxembourg Income Study’, June 28–30.
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Zora, P. & K. Kumara (2008) ‘Indian CEO killed after negotiations with group of dismissed workers go awry’, World Socialist Web Site (ICFI).

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Allcorn, S. (1994) Anger in the Workplace: Understanding the Causes of Aggression and Violence , Westport, CT: Quorum Books.

[2] Allirajan, M. (2008) ‘Workers kill company VP in Coimbatore’, Times of India , September 23.

[3] Annavajhula, J. C. B. & S. Pratap (2012a) ‘Worker voices in an auto production chain: notes from the pits of a low road – I’, Economic and Political Weekly , XLVII (33): 46–59

[4] Annavajhula, J. C. B. & S. Pratap (2012b) ‘Worker voices in an auto production chain: notes from the pits of a low road – II’, Economic and Political Weekly , XLVII (34):49–56.

[5] Badrinath, M. N., A. V. Santosh Kumar, & N. Dinesh (2012) ‘Labour Dissonance At Maruti Suzuki India Limited – A Case study on Industrial Relations’, Global Research Analysis , 1(5), 72–74.

[6] Bandur, A. (1983) ‘Psychological Mechanisms of Aggression’, R. G. Green and E. I. Donnerstein (eds), Aggression: Theoretical and Empirical Reviews (Vol. 1), New York: Academic Press.

[7] Barling, J. (1996) ‘The prediction, experience, and consequences of workplace violence’, In G. R. VandenBos and E. Q. Bulatao (eds). Violence on the job , Washington, DC: American Psychological Association:29–49.

[8] Baron, R. A. & D. R. Richardson (1994) Human Aggression , 2nd edn, New York: Plenum Press.

[9] Baron, R. A. & J. L. Neuman (1996) ‘Workplace violence and workplace aggression: Evidence on their relative frequency and potential causes’, Aggressive Behavior , 22:161–173.

[10] Bensimon, H. F. (1994) ‘Violence in the Workplace’, Training and Development Journal , 1:27–32.

[11] Berkowitz, L. (1994) ‘Is something missing? Some observations prompted by the cognitive-neoassociationist view of anger and aggressive behavior: Current perspectives’, In L. R. Huesmann (ed), Aggressive behavior: Current perspectives , 35–57. New York: Plenum.

[12] Bies, R. J. & T. M. Tripp (1996) ‘Beyond distrust: ‘Getting even’ and the need for revenge’, In R. M. Kramer and T. Tyler (eds), Trust in Organizations , Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

[13] Bose, A. J. C. & S. Sinha (2012) ‘Human side of lean production: aren't we on a slippery slope?’ International Journal of Lean Thinking , 3(2), 102–116.

[14] Bose, A. J. C. (2012) ‘Labour Relations in a Liberalised Industry: A Study of Indian Automobile Workers’, Unpublished PhD Thesis, B. R. Ambedkar Bihar University, Muzafarpur, India.

[15] Bose, P. & S. Ghosh (2011) ‘Workers' struggle in Maruti’, Hindu , September 28.

[16] Brockner, J., M. Konovsky, R. Cooper-Schneider, R. Folger, C. Martin, & R. J. Bies (1994) ‘Interactive effects of procedural justice and outcome negativity on victims and survivors of job loss’, Academy of Management Journal , 37:397–409.

[17] Bryant, M. & J. W. Cox (2003) ‘The telling of violence: organizational change and atrocity tales’, Journal of Organizational Change Management , 16(5), 567–583.

[18] Cascio, W. F. (1993) ‘Downsizing: What do we know? What have we learned?’ Academy of Management Executive , 7:95–104.

[19] Catalano, R., R. Novaco, & W. McConnell (1997) ‘A model of the net effect of job loss on violence’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 72:1440–1447.

[20] Chappell, D. & V. Di Martino (2006) Violence at work , 3rd edn, Geneva, International Labour Office.

[21] Dollard, J., L. Doob, N. Miller, O. H. Mowrer, & R. R. Sears (1939) Frustration and aggression , New Haven: Yale University Press.

[22] Douglas, S. C. & M. J. Martinko (2001) ‘Exploring the role of individual differences in the prediction of workplace aggression’, Journal of Applied Psychology , 86(4), 547–559.

[23] Dumaine, B. (1993) ‘America's toughest bosses’, Fortune , 128:39–58.

[24] Express News Service (2010) ‘8 held for Allied Nippon GM's murder’, Indian Express , November 15 – Accessed January 10, 2013 from www.indianexpress.com.

[25] Farrell, G. (1999) ‘Aggression in clinical settings: nurse's views – a follow-up study’, Journal of Advanced Nursing , 29(3), 532–41.

[26] Fox, S. & P. E. Spector (1999) ‘A model of work frustration-aggression’, Journal of Organizational Behavior , 20:915–933.

[27] Government of Tamil Nadu (2003) Tamil Nadu Human Development Report , Social Science Press, New Delhi/Chennai.

[28] Hogan, J. & R. Hogan (1989) ‘How to measure employee reliability’, Journal of Applied Psychology , 74:273–280.

[29] ICRA. (2011a). ICRA Credit Perspective Report on Allied Nippon Ltd. , Gurgaon, India.

[30] ICRA. (2011b). ICRA Credit Perspective Report on Pricol Ltd. , Gurgaon, India.

[31] Khandelwal, P. (2010) ‘Workers, management at loggerheads for long’, Hindustan Times , November 15.

[32] Kumar, L. (2008) ‘Dismissed employees beat CEO to death’, Times of India , September 23.

[33] Loeb, M. (1996) ‘The bad boss gets a new life’, Fortune , May 27, 133:192.

[34] Madan, S. & K. K. Gill (2011) ‘Human development and gender: a feminist perspective of Haryana’, Journal of Economic and Social Development , 8(2), 48–61.

[35] Mantell, M. & S. Albrecht (1994) Ticking Bombs: Defusing Workplace Violence in the Workplace , New York, NY: Irwin Professional Publishing.

[36] Martinko, M. & K. Zellars (1998) ‘Toward a theory of workplace violence: A cognitive appraisal perspective’, In R. W. Griffin, A. O'Leary-Kelly and J. M. Collins (eds) Dysfunctional Behavior in Organizations: Violent and Deviant Behavior , Stamford, CT: JAI Press.

[37] Martinko, M. J., M. J. Gundlach, S. C. Douglas (2002) ‘Toward an integrative theory of counterproductive workplace behavior: a causal reasoning perspective’, International Journal of Selection and Assessment , 10(1.2):36–50.

[38] Meyer, S. (2002) ‘Rough manhood: the aggressive and confrontational shop culture of U.S. auto workers during World War II’, Journal of Social History , 36(1), 125–147.

[39] Murray, B. (1999) ‘The effects of blame attributions and offender likableness on forgiveness and revenge in the workplace’, Journal of Management , 25:607–627.

[40] Neuman, J. H. & R. A. Baron (1997) ‘Aggression in the workplace’, In R. Giacalone and J. Greenberg (eds), Antisocial Behavior in Organizations , Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

[41] Neuman, J. H. & R. A. Baron (1998) ‘Workplace violence and workplace aggression: evidence concerning specific forms, potential causes, and preferred targets’, Journal of Management , 24(3), 391–419.

[42] O'Leary-Kelly, A. M., R. W. Griffin, & D. J. Glew (1996) ‘Organization-motivated aggression: A research framework’, Academy of Management Review , 21:225–253.

[43] Ones, D. S., C. Viswesvaran, & F. L. Schmidt (1993) ‘Comprehensive of meta-analysis of integrity validities: findings and implications for personnel selection and theories of job performance’, Journal of Applied Psychology , 78:679–703.

[44] Personal Correspondent (2008) ‘Head of Italian subsidiary beaten to death in Greater Noida/136 people arrested for killing CEO’, Siliconindia /IANS, September 22/23.

[45] Personal correspondent (2010) ‘Allied Nippon was an accident, says Ghaziabad labour department’, Business Standard, November 20 – Accessed January 04, 2013 from www.business-standard.com.

[46] Personal correspondent (2010) ‘Death of a manager could prove a serious setback to industrial towns’, Business Standard, November 16 – Accessed January 04, 2013 from www.business-standard.com.

[47] Personal Correspondent (2010) ‘Workers lynch AGM of Indo-Japanese Company’, CNN IBN, November 14 – Accessed January 04, 2013 from www.ibnlive.in.com.

[48] Personal Correspondent (2012) ‘India arrests after riot at Maruti plant’, BBC, July 19 – Accessed January 4, 2013 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-18897752.

[49] Pratap, S. (2011) ‘Trade Union Repression in India’, Research Paper, Asia Monitor Resource Centre.

[50] Rayner, C. & H. Hoel (1997) ‘A summary review of literature relating to workplace bullying’, Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology , 7(3), 181–91.

[51] Roy, S. (2008). ‘CEO murder result of yearlong tussle’, Hindustan Times , September 25.

[52] Roy, S. (2012) ‘Regional disparities in growth and human development in India’, Working Paper No. 2012/05, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development.

[53] Sehegal, R. (2012) ‘“Manesar Workers are the Villains”: Truth or Prejudice?’ Economic and Political Weekly , XLVII (31):12–15.

[54] Singh, H. (2012) Understanding 18th July at Maruti Suzuki, Manesar Plant– Accessed December 20, 2013 from http://www.zcommunications.org/understanding-18th-july-at-maruti-suzuki-manesar-by-h-singh.

[55] Spector, P. E. (1975) ‘Relationship of organizational frustration with reported behavioral reactions of employees’, Journal of Applied Psychology , 60:635–537.

[56] Spector, P. E. (1997) ‘The role of frustration in antisocial behavior’. In R. A. Giacalone & J. Greenberg (Eds.) Antisocial behavior in organizations : 1–17, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

[57] Trivedi, A. (2007) ‘Global capitalism, workers' spaces and processes of selective inclusion/exclusion: findings from a newly industrializing area in India’, Occasional Paper No. 80, De Montfort University.

[58] Tyagi, R. (2008) ‘Report on the Workers' Struggle in Graziano Transmissioni’, Revolutionary Democracy , XIV:2.

[59] Valsan, B. (2012) ‘Life must go on for 2 women widowed in Pricol agitation’, Times of India , July 30.

[60] Vanneman, R. & A. Dubey (2010) ‘Horizontal and Vertical Inequalities in India, Inequality and the Status of the Middle Class: Lessons from the Luxembourg Income Study’, June 28–30.

[61] Wong, P. T. P. & B. Weiner (1981) ‘When People Ask Why Questions, and the Heuristics of Attributional Search’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 40:650–663.

[62] Zora, P. & K. Kumara (2008) ‘Indian CEO killed after negotiations with group of dismissed workers go awry’, World Socialist Web Site (ICFI).