The document summarizes research conducted on the Indian automotive service sector. It outlines the methodology used, which included formulating hypotheses about factors that impact employee performance and collecting data through surveys. The hypotheses tested whether variety/complexity of work, quality of customer interaction, and employee reputation affected performance metrics. Analysis found the hypotheses were partially supported. Recommendations for managers focused on emphasizing variety, customer relationships, and recognizing high performers. Comparisons were made to automotive technician training and work environments in the US.

1. 1211249 – Arjun B.
1211262 – Ghanshyam Bagra
1211275 – Manish Gupta
1211288 – Rao Amit Kumar
1211301 – Siddharth Shashidharan
1211314 - Vishrut Shukla

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The Indian Automotive Industry
Motivation for the Study (Shortage of Skilled Manpower)
Methodology of Study
Hypothesis Formulated
Data Collection
• Survey Questions
• Spread of Survey Respondents
• Reliability of the Data
Testing of Hypotheses
Specific Prescriptions to Managers
Cutting Across Cultures: India vs U.S.
References + Q&A

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Estimated size: $38 billion
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One of the key drivers of
economy: 5% of GDP
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Domestic market: 9% CAGR
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8 vehicles per 1000 people
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Influx of global auto players
like Mercedes, Volvo, Navistar
(‘80: 10 OEMs, ‘08: 35 OEMs)
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Increasing spending power
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Service ranked topmost key
differentiator to retain clients

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Service market’s estimated size: $8 - $10 billion
Models increased, technology complex, network increasing
Effective Service Network built on:
• Services Infrastructure
• Availability of Spare Parts
• Availability of Skilled Manpower
GAP

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Auto service still a largely unorganized sector
• Co-existence of authorized centres with local garages
Lack of formal / professional training opportunities
High attrition rate in the service industry
Negative perception of the profession in society

6. Phase I
1
One-on-One Focus
Interviews with 4
Participants
Themes Emerged
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Mostly from rural
Challenging work
Reputation Concern
Customer Feedback
2
Phase II
Processing
4
Data
Collection
Using Survey
Hypotheses
Testing
5
Hypotheses
Formulation
• Variety+Complexity
• Quality of Customer
Interaction
• Reputation
3
6
Analysis /
Interpretation
of the Results
and
Recommendations

7. 
The
Reputed
‘Ustaad’
The
Friendly
Customer
Technician I
Customer
The
New
Guy
Technician II
An
Accommodating
Boss
Supervisor

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The degree of variety
and complexity in work
positively impacts
performance on the job.
An employee’s
reputation (perceived
standing in the company
in terms of his skills,
expertise and mentorship
ability) on the job affects
the performance
positively.
Quality of customer
interaction positively
impacts the performance.

9. 1. Task Performance
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I adequately complete my assigned duties.
I fulfil the responsibilities specified in my job description.
I perform the tasks that are expected of me.
I meet all the formal requirements of the job.
2. Citizenship Behaviour
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I attend functions that are not required but that help my organization.
I keep up with the developments within the organization.
I defend my organization when other employees criticize it.
I show pride when representing the organization in public.
3. Counterproductive Behaviour
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I have, at times,
I have, at times,
I have, at times,
I have, at times,
wasted company materials or supplies.
done work slowly or incorrectly on purpose.
broken important rules on purpose.
complained about insignificant things at work.

10. Hypothesis Variable 1: Variety & Complexity in Work
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I like undertaking challenges in my work.
At work, I prefer variety in the jobs I handle.
I often pick up difficult tasks to perform at work.
I prefer undertaking a set of familiar tasks I am comfortable doing or have done before.
Hypothesis Variable 2: Quality of Customer Interaction
• I feel good when customers appreciate my work.
• I often try to surpass customer expectations with the quality and performance of my work.
• I prefer not spending too much time discussing details of the job with the customers, and
try to keep my interactions minimal.
• I am indifferent to negative feedback if it does not involve any rework on my part.
Hypothesis Variable 3: Reputation at Work
• I feel good when peers/supervisors often come to me for inputs and advice related to jobs.
• I often compete with my co-workers by displaying high performance, quick turnaround and
commitment to work.
• I admire the expertise of some of my co-workers/seniors and draw inspiration from them.
• It bothers me when a high-performing employee is perceived similar to the rest in my
organization.

11. Tamil
Version
Hindi
Version

12. •
Hypotheses variables developed from summated scales
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Cronbach's alpha: A measure of internal consistency, i.e. how
closely related a set of items are as a group
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Depends on: (1) the number of items, and (2) the average
correlation among the items on each scale
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Fair reliability for variable
scales ‘Variety & Complexity’
and ‘Quality of Customer
Interaction’; Low reliability for
‘Reputation at Work’. Why?
• Demographic nature of
the respondents
• Small sample size of data

13. Hypothesis 1:
H0 : The degree of variety and complexity in work has no bearing on the employee’s
performance i.e. task performance, citizenship behaviour and counterproductive
behaviour.
HA : The degree of variety and complexity in work affects the employee’s performance
i.e. task performance, citizenship behaviour and counterproductive behaviour.
HA is partially supported.
• Companies able to provide a range of tasks with different complexities & variety are
likely to foster a higher sense of attachment to the organization. Greater variety &
task complexity is a factor motivating employees to perform better, which in turn
leads to better behaviour as employees of the company.
• May tend to believe that ‘Task Performance’ would be directly related to ‘Variety &
Complexity in Work’. However, the sample data collected does not show this. Why?
In this profession, tasks and jobs are usually allocated by supervisors.

14. Hypothesis 2:
H0 : The quality of customer interaction has no bearing on the employee’s performance
i.e. task performance, citizenship behaviour and counterproductive behaviour.
HA : The quality of customer interaction affects the employee’s performance i.e. task
performance, citizenship behaviour and counterproductive behaviour.
HA is partially supported.
• Those with high level of citizenship, perceive themselves to be representatives of
the business and interact with customers to maximize and improve the relations to
keep bringing them back to the company.
• Some employees can even act in ways that can be counterproductive to the
company and its relationship with the customer based on sour interactions.
• The low correlation with ‘Task Performance’ seems to indicate that respondents go
about handling and completing their tasks as specified by the company directives
and trainings and not necessarily the instructions or feedbacks from the customer.

15. Hypothesis 3:
H0 : An employee’s reputation (in terms of skills, expertise and mentorship ability) on
the job has no bearing on the employee’s performance i.e. task performance, citizenship
behaviour and counterproductive behaviour.
HA : An employee’s reputation (in terms of skills, expertise and mentorship ability) on
the job affects the employee’s performance i.e. task performance, citizenship behaviour
and counterproductive behaviour.
HA is partially supported.
• Employees with stature and standing, in a non-official capacity, within the company,
have a significant personal connection and attachment towards their firms.
• Slight correlation observed between ‘Reputation at Work’ and ‘Task Performance’
since those with a standing in the company have a reputation to live up to and
therefore, continue to perform consistently.

16. • Managers should take variety / complexity
preferences into consideration while allocating
work.
• Every employee must be given a chance to work on
different aspects of a vehicle maintenance / repair.
• Managers need to imbibe the value of customer
interactions in their employees by placing a high
premium on feedback and criticism as useful
improvement tools, both for the company and for
individual technicians.
• Managers should encourage and create a culture of
close customer-technician relationship.
• Managers should publicly encourage and
differentiate consistently high performers, using a
mix of monetary & non-monetary rewards. They
should also ensure high visibility and accelerated
growth for reputed employees, in turn, inspiring
others as well.

17. Parameters
Compensation &
Benefits
Comments
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Salary in US higher: $35-40K median (Overall: $25k)
Benefits: Paid vacation, sick leave, health insurance
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Professional technical schools
• On-the-job training; Course lasts 6months to 2 years
• Sometimes dealers sponsor education
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires all
technicians to be licensed
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Heavy Safety Measures
• Proper gears like goggles and earplugs
• Contaminants: antifreeze and chemical degreasers
Work hours: 40 hours/week
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Pneumatic wrenches
Lathe machines and grinding machines for brakes
Infrared engine analysers & computerized diagnostic devices
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Experience gained on the job
Across automatic transmission technicians, tune up technicians,
front-end mechanics
Formal Education
Working Conditions
Tools
Specialization

18. • Skill Gaps In Indian Automotive Service Sector –
Report by KPMG ’08: www.kpmg.com
• Cronbach's Alpha: A Tool for Assessing the Reliability
of Scales: http://www.joe.org/joe/1999april/tt3.php
• SPSS FAQ: What does Cronbach's alpha mean?
http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/spss/faq/alpha.html
• http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/ctc/advising/upload/auto
mobile_mechanics.pdf
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States http://www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenanceand-repair/automotive-service-technicians-andmechanics.htm#tab-4