ETHICS AND MORALITY, A KEY FACTOR OF EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION AND MOTIVATION : A STUDY ON THE TEA INDUSTRIES OF UPPER ASSAM WITH

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1 ETHICS AND MORALITY, A KEY FACTOR OF EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION AND MOTIVATION : A STUDY ON THE TEA INDUSTRIES OF UPPER ASSAM WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO CINNAMORA, GOTONGA AND TEOK TEA ESTATES. Mr. Kironmoy Chetia, Reg. No. 2011/07/PI/535, Assistant Professor, Department of English, C.K.B.Commerce College, Jorhat, Assam. Ethics and Morality sustain an environment among the workers of the tea industry of Assam in such a way that it results in complete satisfaction and motivation to continue their work with the same zeal and enthusiasm. Certain features are clearly visible among the workers of the tea industry of Assam. Team spirit, discipline, fair completion of the assigned work, obeying the work division for better administration of the workers are common prevailing features in all tea gardens. About 3,000 to 4,000 workers work in a single tea garden. It is not an easy job to continue work with such a large number of workers for a limited number of administrative staff. A few strict rules along with the morality and ethics of the workers only make it possible. In this hi-tech competitive world, where not only the fittest survive, but also the patient and the most compromising coexist, ethics and morality certainly has a dominant role to play. This study aims at analyzing the impact of ethics and morality of the employees of the tea industry in Upper Assam, ultimately leading to employee satisfaction and motivation. 1. To study the ethics and morality prevailing in the tea industry of Upper Assam. 2. To find out how ethics and morality leads to employee satisfaction and motivation. 3. To find out some measures to sustain the existing ethics and morality of the employees of tea industry of Upper Assam.

2 1. Ethics and morality are not noticed in the tea industry of Upper Assam where there are a huge number of labourers managed by a very limited number of administrative staff. 2. Ethics and morality is not linked with employee satisfaction and motivation. A survey was conducted to find out the culture, ethics and morality at both organizational and personal level of the employees of the Tea Industries of Upper Assam. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources. A personal survey was done to collect the data. The sample of primary source included workers, Assistant Managers, Managers, Consultants and Researchers drawn from the various tea gardens of Upper Assam. Local sources attribute the cultivation of tea in Assam to Maniram Dewan, a local Assamese nobleman who later on worked in the Assam Company for some time. Witnessing the tea plant in Robert Bruce s hands, he declared that there were a lot of such plants in the forests of Assam.Then he is supposed to have collected the plants and started the cultivation. In 1853, Robert Bruce, during a trading mission to Rangpur (present day Sivasagar), then the capital of Assam, is supposed to have seen the tea plant growing wild in some hills An arrangement was made with a Chief of the Singphow tribe to supply him some tea plants during his next visit. But it did not materialize because of his death. In his place, his brother C.A. Bruce, in charge of the British Gunboat division in the war with the Burmese occupying Assam in 1824, collected the tea plants and seeds from the Singphow Chief at Sadiya. He planted some in his garden at Sadiya and sent some to Commissioner Jenkins at Gauhati and also to the Botanical Gardens in Calcutta. In 1834, Lord William Bentinck, the then Governor General of India appointed a Tea Committee

3 to advise on the feasibility of commercial tea cultivation in India. The committee suggested that the indigenous tea plant, if cultivated under proper management, will be commercial success for them. In 1835, a scientific commission was constituted with Dr. N. Wallich, Dr. W. Griffith and Dr. J. McClelland to recommend on the favourable localities for starting experimental tea gardens of indigenous Indian tea plants. Because of divided opinions, the commission failed to come to common consensus regarding establishing of experimental tea gardens. Dr. Griffith and Dr. McClelland favoured Upper Assam where wild tea existed, for setting the tea gardens, where Dr.Wallich favoured the Himalayan region. In 1838, Assamese indigenous tea was sent to London and it was auctioned on 10 January, This is a red letter day for the Assamese Tea Industry because of two reasons. Firstly, it established the worth of the Assam tea plant. Secondly, it determined the future course of tea cultivation all over the world. The world s first Tea Company is The Assam Company which started in February 12, 1839.Upto 1858, the only competitor of The Assam Company were private individuals or firms. In 1859, the Jorhat Tea Company was incorporated and initially three gardens were brought ---- Cinnamora, Oating and Kaliabor tea estates. From 1860 to 1866, there was rapid expansion of the tea industry. Other competitors that came into the field were the East India Tea Company, the Lower Assam Tea Company and the Central Assam Tea Company. At present there are more than 760 tea plantations in Assam. The labourers or popularly known as Chah Mazdurs constitute the maximum employees of the tea industry. They are the backbone of the tea industry in the sense that the industry thrives on their efforts. Initially, in tea gardens, labours were taken from local people like the Kacharis, the Mataks, the Kukis, the Nagas, the Singphos, the Apatanis, etc. These labours did not prove much

4 useful. Added to it, the increase in tea gardens demanded more employment of labourers. Later on, labours were brought from Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. With the passage of time, these immigrant labourers settled permanently in the tea gardens of Assam. As these labourers belonged to different ethnic origins, they possessed different language, dialects, religion, food habits and beliefs. But they could not maintain their separate ethnic identity because of their common occupation and activities and they are largely referred to as Chah Mazdur or tea garden labourers. The most noticeable trait of the Chah Mazdurs or the tea labourers is their cooperation and team spirit. They are aware of the fact that cooperation and team spirit is necessary for the success of the garden where they work. 85% of the labourers who were contacted for the research are of the opinion that their working together and active participation is very much needed for the smooth functioning of their own industry. This sense of belongingness to the tea garden and the industry as a whole is very much visible. 90% of the workers contacted, enjoy working in groups. The assembling of the workers of the tea industry at the same time, which is one hour ahead of the Indian Standard Time, raises the team spirit of the work. 80% of the workers are alert about their responsibility in their working place. The personal sense of belongingness and responsibility of the labourers leads to the overall cooperation and team spirit of the workers of the tea industry which in turn leads to satisfaction and motivation. Another remarkable noticeable ethics of the workers of the tea industry is their loyalty to their work. The tea labourers are loyal to their Sardars (leaders). They are obedient and loyal to their Sardars. They take the words of the Sardars for granted. That is why, they owe their loyality to

5 their leaders. 60% of the behavourial attitudes of the labourers are influenced by the Sardars. The managers of the tea gardens have to consult these Sardars in case of any complicacy. The Sardars do everything in consultation with the managers, assistant managers and welfare officers of the tea gardens. This keeps the mutual loyalty intact in the tea industry. This loyalty is a strong force of motivation and satisfaction among the tea labourers. The workers in the tea industry work very hard to complete the assigned work. Whether it be leaf plucking or maintenance of tea plants or working in the factory where leaves are crushed and dried, the workers work very hard from 6 O clock in the morning to 4 O clock in the evening and are satisfied when they complete the work. 75% of the workers stated about their satisfaction of the completed work. This satisfaction of the workers motivates them to start the work in the next morning with fresh spirit. 80% of the workers like to start a new work in the next morning. : The workers in the tea industry have 10 hours of work daily from 6 am to 4 pm with a 30 minutes break at the noon. They are habituated to their long working hours. As 80 % of the workers are continuing their work in the tea gardens generation after generation, they are used to it. They get motivated to work within the family. The children witness their elders in such a routine and as they grow older, they are satisfied while working in the gardens in that duration. A remarkable ethics of the workers in the tea industry is their readiness to help their co-workers during trouble. This is developed because of their sense of belongingness. Being honest and simple-minded, the tea garden labourers feel for each other whether be it in their working place or in their personal lives. 90% of the workers consider it to be their responsibility to help their co- workers in times of trouble. They get the satisfaction when they could relieve their co-workers in

6 trouble. This in turn, motivates the relieved workers to help the fellow workers in similar troubles : The workers in the tea industry speak up with new ideas when they feel supported by their leaders. As the tea labourers owe their allegiance to their respective Sardars, they feel free to express their novel views before them. They do so as they have the confidence in their leaders. 60% of the workers like to express their new views regarding maintenance of tea gardens in front of their leaders. When accepted, they are satisfied and are motivated to offer such novel ideas in future. : The morality of the workers of the tea industry motivates them to work according to the work divisions of the industry. They work in groups in the varied divisions of the industry. This morality at the individual level helps the workers to keep the ethics of the organization. : All workers in the tea industry from managers to temporary labourers have to arrive at the working place at the same time. They have to arrive sharply at 6 am. Their time is one hour ahead of the Indian Standard Time. This arrival at the same time shows their discipline and it also increases the team spirit and cooperation of the workers. Everyone working in the tea industry is morally aware of it. To keep intact the ethics of the workers of the tea industry, steps should be taken for its continuity. As the tea industy is unique of its kind, measures should be taken to sustain their sense of belongingness. They should be encouraged in their work and shown how there would not be any work in the tea industry if they do not work with the same zeal and spirit. They should be made aware of the link between them and the industry which would further motivate them to work with greater satisfaction. The morality of the workers should be sustained through cultural awareness. Being multi-cultured,

7 the workers of the tea industry, should be made aware of their culture through performance of cultural activities. Celebration of their festivals would make them feel at home and raise their morality. This would give them complete satisfaction and motivate them to continue their work. The responsibility of the workers of the tea industry should be increased to motivate them to work. Once they complete their work successfully, the increase in responsibility would result in strong motivation. Promotion and due salary should be given to the workers for their satisfaction. This, in turn, would motivate them to work and would help in maintaining their ethics and morality. Measures should be taken to keep the ancestral legacy of the workers of the tea industry. With the increase in literacy and higher education among the workers and the children, an increasing tendency of opting for other jobs, is clearly visible. Therefore, more facilities should be given to these workers to continue their hereditary work. This would at the same time sustain the sense of belongingness, morality and ethics of the workers and motivates them to work with the same satisfaction which their forefathers derived. More studies and in-depth researches should be done on the ethics and morality of the workers of the tea industry in order to get in order to get the minute details. This may prove to be exemplary in many of the present day high technology industries. In this modern materialistic and practical world, the study of ethics and morality of business and society certainly has a great significance. This would not only make us aware of its varied dimensions but would also help us in inculcating the best existing values. 1. Singh, S.N., Narain, A and Kumar,P. (2006), Socio-Economic and Political Problems of Tea Garden Workers : A Study of Assam, Mittal Pub., New Delhi.

8 2. Phukan, U. (1984), The Ex-Tea Garden Labour Population in Assam, B.R.Publishing Corporation, India. 3. Antrobus, H.A., (1957), A History of the Assam Company : , Edinburgh. 4. Other related books and journals and primary sources.

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