Bay Games In Offices - A Boon or A Bane ? A People and Performance Case Study

A large number of IT organizations have opened in India. These companies have implemented a similar structure and culture as in their US offices. But the Indian offices are much larger in strength, have deeper structures and are grappling with the problems of nepotism and lack of transparency in performance management. Add to this, the complexity of awarding ratings in an unstructured and ambiguous work environment makes it very different from other sectors like manufacturing, finance or sales. HR tools meant for team building are been frequently misused and there is an urgent need for reformation in the cultural policies of the Indian IT wings. Asian wings should have their own indigenous talent management processes. The case is set in the Indian tech hub of Hyderabad in one of the US IT majors. The firm opens its office and undergoes organic growth by massive lateral hiring from Indian IT companies, while continuing with the same values, structure and culture as in the US office. The performance appraisal system has certain ambiguities which are accentuated by the presence of cross-functional teams in projects. A part of it, known as People Development, assumes a major role. It is unspecified too as to what all can be entailed in it, and the Indian management decides to include office games(Bay Games), parties, fashion shows, pot-luck lunches in the same. An important question here is whether the one who works more is rewarded or the one who communicates more. What is more significant for a business firm? Does it depend on the vision and mission of the firm? Or is it dependent on the sector of the firm