Introduction

1. Introduction:
With a repaid changes in social, economic and political fabric and the
entry of women employees in the retail sector working equally to the men and
work life balance has become a hot topic in recent years, fueled in part by
changing trends in women social roles.
Women struggle with balancing work and personal life demands to a greater
extent than their male counterparts, Compared to men, women were found to
undertake the majority of the household duties and therefore more likely to suffer
from role overload and moreover women were more likely to have made
sacrifices with regard to having children.
The changing economic conditions and social demands have changed the nature
of work throughout the world. The concept of Work life balance is becoming
more and more relevant in an ever dynamic working environment and it becomes
an issue while considering women employees.
Worklife balance is a concept including proper prioritizing between "work"
(career and ambition) and "lifestyle" (health, pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual
development/meditation). Related, though broader, terms include "lifestyle calm
balance" and "lifestyle choices".
Career and goals are the most important factors in life, most of the women are
coming forward to work in order to support their family, others work to reach
their dreams ambitions and desired status, these changes are now natural and
2

dynamic due to change of environment and economic conditions. The biggest

challenge for women is how to balance the demands of family and career and they
deal with different aspects such as career advancement, work Stress, career
aspiration, work family conflict and family work conflict, child care in context of
Work Life Balance (WLB).

Work Life Balance of Women employee has become an important subject since
the women are equally sharing the earning responsibility for the betterment of
their family. Women are getting into jobs and they continue to work even after
marriage. A married woman has more responsibility than man in taking care of
young children and family. The working women efficiently overcome difficult
situations by their commitment and perseverance. The participation of women in
income generation activities lends them to satisfy their home needs to a greater
extent.

2. Problem statement:To determine the factors affecting work life balance of woman employees

3. Objective of this study: To identify the determinants of Work Life Balance of Women Employees
To access the impact of age and marital status on WLB.
Discovering the perception of women employees towards benefits and challenges
towards WLB.
To examine the effect of work life balance on womens performance and work
attitude.
3

 To recommend / suggest ways for improving WLB.

4. Need for the study:The success of any organization depends largely on

the workers, the employees are considered as the backbone of BIG
BAZAAR PVT LTD.. The Study is to identify the work life balance
among women employees. Due to improper work life balance among
women employees there will be a loss in productivity level of the
organization. The important need for the study is to reduce the stress and to
improve the work life balance among the women employees in the
organization and improve the quality of work and motivate employees.
Hence, there is a necessity to conduct the research.

5. Scope of the study:This project is based on the work life balance prevailing among women
employees working in big bazaar, an attempt is made to analyze the companys
performance through the employees satisfaction about the work life balance and
to arrive at suggestions and recommendations to improve the work life balance
among women employees in order to increase their efficiency level. The scope of
this study is extended only to the Employees working in Big Bazar Mysore. It
does not cover employees working in other outlays of Big Bazar.
6. Research methodology:-

The study of this project is based on both qualitative and quantitative approach, which will give
the benefits of both qualitative as well as quantitative researches. The data collection will be
done through both qualitative and quantitative sources of data. The research approach will be
deductive to critically investigate and analyze the views of women employees on work-life
balance. The research philosophy of positive will be most useful for this study because it will
comprehensively described the objective aspects of research.
The steps in which the project would be carried out is by collecting both the primary and the
secondary data. The secondary data will be collected first. This collection of data will be done by
means of reading various materials such as books, journals, magazines, newspaper articles, etc.;
looking for similar content online (i.e., on the Internet). Then a structured questionnaire and
survey would be used as a primary data collecting tool which will be filled by the employees of
organizations using convenience sampling.

Types of Research.
Exploratory (Primary data)
Descriptive (Primary data)
Data source
Primary source
Secondary source
PRIMARY DATA: the primary data will be collected from the respondents by administering a
structured, Questionnaire and also through Observation, interview and discussion with the
management team.

SECONDARY DATA: Apart from primary data the secondary data will be collected through
text books, records of the company, journals, from library, academic reports.
TOOLS FOR ANALYSIS:
Primary data will be collected through the observation, discussion, interview and questionnaire
by distributing the questionnaires; questionnaire with both close ended and open ended questions
will be used as sample respondents. On the basis of the tables, the facts are presented in the form
of BAR, PIE charts and tables.

7. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY:

The research study is limited to employees of Big Bazar Only.
Some of the observations and interpretation will not be reliable (bias and difference in
perception).
Lack of exposure to the culture of employees who come from different background.
Language to communicate will be a limitation because of the difference in languages.
Some Employees will hesitate to answer the questions correctly.
The analysis will be done assuming that the respondents have given correct respond
through questionnaire.

Chapter One
Review of the
literature

1. Literature Review:1.1 History

The expression was first used in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s
to describe the balance between an individual's work and personal life. In the
United States, this phrase was first used in 1986.
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Over the past twenty-five years, there has been a substantial increase in work
which is felt to be due, in part, by information technology and by an intense,
competitive work environment. Long-term loyalty and a "sense of corporate
community" have been eroded by a performance culture that expects more and
more from their employees yet offers little security in return.
Many experts predicted that technology would eliminate most household chores
and provide people with much more time to enjoy leisure activities; but many
ignore this option, encouraged by prevailing consumerist culture and a political
agenda that has "elevated the work ethic to unprecedented heights and thereby
reinforced the low value and worth attached to parenting".
Many Americans are experiencing burnout due to overwork and increased stress.
This condition is seen in nearly all occupations from blue collar workers to upper
management. Over the past decade, a rise in workplace violence, an increase in
levels of absenteeism as well as rising workers compensation claims are all
evidence of an unhealthy work life balance.
Employee assistance professionals say there are many causes for this situation
ranging from personal ambition and the pressure of family obligations to the
accelerating pace of technology. According to a recent study for the Center for
Work-Life Policy, 1.7 million people consider their jobs and their work hours
excessive because of globalization.
These difficult and exhausting conditions are having adverse effects. According to
the study, fifty percent of top corporate executives are leaving their current
positions. Although sixty-four percent of workers feel that their work pressures
are "self-inflicted", they state that it is taking a toll on them. The study shows that
seventy percent of US respondents and eighty-one percent of global respondents
say their jobs are affecting their health.

Between forty-six and fifty-nine percent of workers feel that stress is affecting
their interpersonal and sexual relationships. Additionally, men feel that there is a
certain stigma associated with saying "I can't do this".

1.2 Work statistics

According to a survey conducted by the National Life Insurance Company, four
out of ten employees state that their jobs are "very" or "extremely" stressful.
Those in high-stress jobs are three times more likely than others to suffer from
stress-related medical conditions and are twice as likely to quit. The study states
that women, in particular, report stress related to the conflict between work and
family.

1.3 What work-life balance is not:Despite the worldwide quest for Work-Life Balance, very few have found an
acceptable definition of the concept. Hence lets first look at what work-life
balance is not.

Work-Life Balance does not mean an equal balance. Trying to schedule an

equal number of hours for each of your various work and personal activities is
usually unrewarding and unrealistic. Life is and should be more fluid than that.

Your best individual work-life balance will vary over time. Often on a daily
basis. The right balance for you today will probably be different for you
tomorrow. The right balance for you when you are single will be different when
you marry, or if you have children; when you start a new career versus when you
are nearing retirement.

There is no perfect, one-size fits all, balance you should be striving for . The
best work-life balance is different for each of us because we all have different
priorities and different lives.
However, at the core of an effective work-life balance definition are two key
everyday concepts that are relevant to each of us. They are daily Achievement
and Enjoyment, ideas almost deceptive in their simplicity, engraining a fuller
meaning of these two concepts takes us most of the way to defining a positive
Work-Life Balance.
Achievement and Enjoyment answer the big question "Why?" Why do we want a
better income, a new house, the kids through college, to do a good job today, to
come to work at all?
Most of us already have a good grasp on the meaning of Achievement. But let's
explore the concept of Enjoyment a little more. As part of a relevant Work-Life
Balance definition, enjoyment does not just mean happiness. It means Pride,
Satisfaction, Happiness, Celebration, Love, and A Sense of Well Being and all the
Joys of Living.
Achievement and Enjoyment are the front and back of the coin of value in life.
You can't have one without the other, no more than you can have a coin with only
one side. Trying to live a one sided life is why so many "Successful" people are
not happy, or not nearly as happy as they should be.
You cannot get the full value from life without both Achievement and Enjoyment.
Focusing on Achievement and Enjoyment every day in life helps you avoid the
"As Soon As Trap", the life dulling habit of planning on getting around to the joys
of life and accomplishment "as soon as".
Meaningful daily Achievement and Enjoyment in each of our four life
quadrants: Work, Family, Friends and Self.
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Work

Family

Daily achievement and

enjoyment
Friends

Self

At work we can create our own best Work-Life Balance by making sure we not
only achieve, but also reflect the joy of the job, and the joy of life, every day. If
nobody pats you on the back today, pat yourself on the back. And help others to
do the same.
When we do, when we are a person that not only gets things done, but also enjoys
the doing, it attracts people to us. They want us on their team and they want to be
on your team.

1.4 Work-Life Balance Defined - What it really means!

We all play many roles: employee, boss, subordinate, spouse, parent,
child, sibling, friend and community member. Each of these roles imposes
demands on us that require time, energy and commitment to fulfill. Work-family
or work-life conflict occurs when the cumulative demands of these many work
and non-work life roles are incompatible in some respect so that participation in
one role is made more difficult by participation in the other role.
Work/life balance, in its broadest sense, is defined as a satisfactory level of
involvement or fit between the multiple roles in a persons life. Although
definitions and explanations vary, work/life balance is generally associated with
equilibrium, or maintaining an overall sense of harmony in life. The study of
work/life balance involves the examination of peoples ability to manage
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simultaneously the multi-faceted demands of life. Although work/life balance has

traditionally been assumed to involve the devotion of equal amounts of time to
paid work and non-work roles, more recently the concept has been recognized as
more complex. There exists three basic aspects of work life balance
Time balance, which concerns the amount of time given to work and
non-work roles.
Involvement balance, meaning the level of psychological involvement
in, or commitment to, work and non-work roles.
Satisfaction balance, or the level of satisfaction with work and nonwork roles.
This model of work/life balance, with time, involvement and
satisfaction components, enables a broader and more inclusive picture to emerge.
For example, someone who works two days a week and spends the rest of the
week with his or her family may be unbalanced in terms of time (i.e. equal
measures of work and life), but may be equally committed to the work and nonwork roles (balanced involvement) and may also be highly satisfied with the level
of involvement in both work and family (balanced satisfaction). Someone who
works 60 hours a week might be perceived as not having work/life balance in
terms of time. However, like the person who works only a few hours a week, this
individual would also be unbalanced in terms of time, but may be quite content
with this greater involvement in paid work (balanced satisfaction). Alternatively,
someone who works 36 hours a week, doesnt enjoy his or her job and spends the
rest of the time pursuing preferred outside activities may be time-balanced but
unbalanced in terms of involvement and satisfaction. Thus, achieving balance
needs to be considered from multiple perspectives.

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Work life and personal life are the two sides of the same coin.
According to various work /life balance surveys, more than 60% of the
respondent professionals surveyed said that are not able to find a balance between
their personal and professional lives. They have to make tough choices even when
their work and personal life is nowhere close to equilibrium. Traditionally
creating and managing a balance between the work-life was considered to be a
woman's issue. But increasing work pressures, globalization and technological
advancement have made it an issue with both the sexes, all professionals working
across all levels and all industries throughout the world. Achieving "work-life
balance" is not as simple as it sounds.
Work life and personal life are inter-connected and interdependent. Spending
more time in office, dealing with clients and the pressures of job can interfere and
affect the personal life, sometimes making it impossible to even complete the
household chores. On the other hand, personal life can also be demanding if you
have a kid or aging parents, financial problems or even problems in the life of a
dear relative. It can lead to absenteeism from work, creating stress and lack of
concentration

at

work.

Work-personal life conflict occurs when the burden, obligations and

responsibilities of work and family roles become incompatible. Obligation of one
can force an individual to neglect the other.
Work-life balance concerns of men and women alike
Similar discrimination is experienced by men who take time off or reduce
working hours for taking care of the family.
For many employees todayboth male and femaletheir lives are becoming
more consumed with a host of family and other personal responsibilities and
interests. Therefore, in an effort to retain employees, it is increasingly important
for organizations to recognize this balance.
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 Young generation views on work-life balance

According to Kathleen Gerson, Sociologist, young people are searching for new
ways to define care that do not force them to choose between spending time with
their children and earning an income" and are looking for definition of personal
identity that do not pit their own development against creating committed ties to
others. Young adults believe that parents should get involved and support the
children both economically and emotionally, as well as share labor equally. Young
people do not believe work-life balance is possible and think it is dangerous to
build a life dependent on another when relationships are unpredictable. They are
looking for partners to share the house work and family work together. Both men
and women believe that women should have jobs before considering marriage; for
better life and to be happy in marriage. They also do not think they were
powerless because they were not economically dependent.

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 Work-life balance issues and their influence on children

An increasing number of young children are being raised by a childcare provider
or another person other than a parent; older children are more likely today to
come home to an empty house and spend time with video games, television and
the internet with less guidance to offset or control the messages coming from
these sources.
No one knows how many kids are home after school without an adult, but they
know the number is in the millions. Also, according to a study by the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the more time that children
spent in child care, the more likely their sixth grade teachers were to report
behavior problems. The findings are the results of the largest study of child care
and development conducted in various countries; the analysis tracked 1,364
children from birth.

Role of Women and WLB:Women are mostly into full time services and are working 8 hours per day and 5
days in a week minimum and are confronted by increasing workload every day.
So, most of them carry work and responsibilities to home but balancing between
these two complex situations in the present day fast life requires talent, tact, skill
and caution. Women have to cope with high work targets, office commitments,
tight meeting schedules and the duties and responsibilities of life and home.
Employers should concentrate on framing various policies and schemes to
facilitate Work life balance to encourage and attract women employees.
Employees learn different kinds of behavior from workplace life and private life.
Since reciprocal interactions between both the life domains occur a Green Work

15

Life Balance Concept is suggested to facilitate environmentally friendly behavior

for them.
Most of scholars agree that a strong organizational culture increases employees
intent to remain in the organization. Work life balance must be supported and
encouraged at all levels of the organization including senior management, line
managers and all staff.
Career Advancement and WLB:Different factors across three levels play a role to determine the progress of
women through organizational hierarchy.
Framework of Womens career

Organizational
Context
Work life Balances
Flexible Working
Hours
Conducive Work
Environment
HR process & Benefits

Work Environment
Supportive Supervisor
Job Assignments
Supportive Colleagues

Individual
Career Planning
Performance
Promotion

Women Employees Career and Life References:The segregation of men and women into different occupations is the principal
reason for earnings differences between men and women. The occupational
segregation restricts peoples choice of career, especially in the crucial early years
of adult life. This was the reason for both the European Commission and ILO
belief regarding the occupational segregation can and should be eliminated.

16

The women working in all types of professions demonstrating that there are no
gender differences in work. The increasing demands at work place, the interface
between work life and personal life needs more attention. It leads to stress and
such situation affects persons health both physiologically and psychologically.

1.5 Changing & increasing work pressures:A decade back, employees used to have fixed working hours or rather a 9 to 5 job
from Monday to Friday. The boundary between the work and home has
disappeared with time. But with globalization and people working across
countries, the concept of fixed working hours is fading away. Instead of just 7 or 8
a day, people are spending as much as 12-16 hours every day in office.
The technological blessings like e-mail, text messaging and cell phones which
were thought of as tools to connect them to their work being away from their
workplace, have actually integrated their personal and professional lives. Now
professionals find themselves working even when they are on vacations.
The ever-increasing working hours leave the individuals with less time for
themselves and to pursue his hobbies or leisure activities. This hinders the growth
of the person as an individual in terms of his personal and spiritual growth.
Professionals working in the BPO industry, doctors and nurses and especially IT
professionals are the few examples who are facing the brunt of the hazard
constantly.

Reasons of imbalance:There are various reasons for this imbalance and conflicts in the life of an
employee. From individual career ambitions to pressure to cope up with family or
work, the reasons can be situation and individual specific. The speed of
17

advancement of information technology, the increasing competition in the talent

supply market has led to a "performance-driven" culture creating pressures and
expectations to performance more and better every time. Also, many a times,
many people find it difficult to say "NO" to others especially their superiors. They
usually end up over burdening themselves with work. The increasing
responsibilities on the personal front with age can also create stress on personal
and professional fronts.

Consequences of an Imbalance:Constant struggle and effort to maintain a balance between the work and personal
life can have serious implications on the life of an individual. According to a
survey, 81 per cent of the respondents have admitted that their jobs are affecting
and creating stress in their personal lives. The pressures of the work or personal
life can lead to stress. According to studies, it has been found to that such
situation can take a toll on the person's health both physiologically and
psychologically. Heart ailments, cardiovascular problems, sleep disorders,
depression, irritability, jumpiness, insecurity, poor concentration and even nervous
breakdowns are becoming common among the victims of such imbalance.
Pressure, stress or tension in work life can lead to bad social life and vice versa.

Why Should Employers Care about Employees Work-Life Balance?

Many organizations feel that helping employees balance competing work and
non-work demands is not their responsibility. Rather, they subscribe to a
somewhat outdated view called the myth of separate worlds that is based on the
premise that work is work and life is life and that the domains do not overlap.
Such organizations argue that it was the employees choice to have a family so
balancing competing demands is their problem not ours. Such organizations also
note that they are in the business of increasing shareholder value and serving
customers and not helping employees cope with stress.
18

In other organizations, employees without dependent care responsibilities

interpret family friendly as favoritism and complain that they are being
unfairly or inequitably treated. Such employees feel that their colleagues with
childcare or eldercare responsibilities are getting away with less work and that
the needs of childless employees are being ignored. This backlash against family
friendly makes it harder for organizations who wish to address the issue.
Our research debunks the above preconceptions and supports that the inability to
balance work and family is everyones problem. High work-life conflict
negatively impacts the employer, the employees colleagues, the employee, the
employees family, and society as a whole. From the employers perspective, the
inability to balance work and family demands has been linked to reduced work
performance, increased absenteeism, higher turnover, lower commitment and
poorer morale. Work-life conflict has also been linked to productivity decreases
associated with lateness, unscheduled days off, emergency time off, excessive use
of the telephone, missed meetings, and difficulty concentrating on the job.
Conflict between work and family demands is also a problem for employees and
their families.

Responsibility of the employer:Companies have begun to realize how important the work-life balance is to the
productivity and creativity of their employees. Research by Kenexa Research
Institute in 2007 shows that those employees who were more favorable toward
their organizations efforts to support work-life balance also indicated a much
lower intent to leave the organization, greater pride in their organization, a
willingness to recommend it as a place to work and higher overall job satisfaction.
Employers can offer a range of different programs and initiatives, such as flexible
working arrangements in the form of part time, casual and telecommuting work.
More proactive employers can provide compulsory leave, strict maximum hours
19

and foster an environment that encourages employees not to continue working

after hours.

Benefits
Life

of Work
Balance

Initiatives:-

Work Life Balance

initiatives have been

an integral part of

the HR policies for a

long time. There are certainly obvious benefits to the employer as well as the
employee.

Benefits for employers include:

Lower staff turnover and increased return on training
Reduced absenteeism and lateness
Improved employee morale and commitment
Reduced stress and improved productivity
A more flexible workforce
20

 Increased ability to attract and recruit staff

Potential for improved occupational health and safety
Fulfilment of equal opportunity objectives
Good corporate citizenship and an enhanced corporate image.

Benefits for employees include:

Ability to manage work and individual commitments

Improved personal and family relationships
Flexible working arrangements resulting in reduced work overload and stress
Increased focus, motivation and job satisfaction knowing that family and work
commitments are being met
Increased job security from the knowledge that an organisation understands and
supports workers with family responsibilities
Increased ability to remain employed.
Increased ability to remain competitive in career advancement
Improved health and wellbeing of staff

Critical Success Factors

To achieve the benefits of introducing work life balance initiatives, the critical success
factors are:
Choose work life balance practices that are suitable to the workplace and the
employees jobs, and ones that will meet the needs of the employees.

21

 Ensure there is good communication with employees, and they are well informed of
the options available to them.
Provide clear guidelines to all employees on how the work life balance practices are to
work.
Ensure that supervisors do not inhibit employees from accessing the work life balance
practices that are available to them.
Treat all employees fairly and equitably, regardless of their family/personal
responsibilities.
Be flexible with the changing needs of employees.
Ensure that any changes in work practices are consistent with award or agreement
requirements.
Check whether the new work practices are actually assisting employees to better
balance
Balancing the work and life of your employees:Researches indicate that balanced work-life can lead to greater employee
productivity. With the progressive shift of the economy towards a knowledge
economy, the meaning and Importance of tile quality of work life is also assuming
a new significance. The article details the factors that should be tuned to attain
balance between work and life of an employee.
You must have both love and work in your life to make you healthy. Don't you
agree? Well, this is what Sigmund Freud had said decades ago for healthy
workers. Family is an essential ingredient for the love that exists in the life of the
employees. But are the corporate structuring the work patterns so as to ensure the
necessary balances? Are the corporate providing opportunities to their employees
to spend quality time in their personal lives? Many researchers indicate that
maintaining a good balance in work and life has become a priority for the
corporate in the developed nations.
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At the dawn of industrialization, the needs and priorities of employees were at the
lower end of Maslows need hierarchy pyramid. The priority was given more to
physical and material security.

However, with rapid cultural and economic

developments, the priorities outside job became very different. Employees started
looking for higher and meaningful quality of life as a result of the outcomes of
their work. After all, what are they working for? A good happy and a decent life.
With the increasing shift of the economy towards knowledge economy, the
meaning and importance of the quality of work life is also assuming a new
significance. Today, the connotation of the term 'work' has also become different.
It has more to do with the intellectual exercise than physical labour. As a result,
the corporates need to streamline and restructure their work schedules in order to
bring about a balance in work life of their employees. Understanding and
managing the levels and complexities of diverse motivational needs is another
area, which requires careful attention from the corporates to bring about work-life
balance.
Various researchers have pointed out the following.
Shifts in Societal Patterns:Gone are the days of joint families where you had to care for elders and they, in
turn, had to nurture your emotions. Today's nuclear families with both the partners
working, have created new dynamics that has become emotionally demanding to
the employees. Financial and social obligations have assumed a different level of
significance today. Not only this, the needs of organisations today have also
changed. Money is getting accumulated in tiny pockets, among those sections of
people who possess the most wanted knowledge.

And these so-called

knowledge workers are the ones who are in acute need to balancing their work
and life.
Technological Breakthroughs:23

Tremendous progress in the fields of information technology and communication

system has changed our worldview. At the same time, it demands more from
todays employees.

Strict deadlines, tighter schedules and ever-escalating

corporate targets are the natural outcome of it.

New Horizon of Expectations:Due to the above reasons there has been a total shift in the level of expectations
for todays employees and how attitudes towards work and life balance varies
from generation to generation.
Researchers have pointed out that a balance between work and life is maintained
when there is no conflict between work and family demands. Though this seems
to be idealistic situation, what the corporates need to remember is that the
conflicts should not reach unacceptable levels where it would tend to affect the
productivity of the employee and the management recognises the importance of
their personal and family life.
Striking a balance between work and life is as difficult for the corporates as it is
for the employees. The HR managers, along with the functional heads and line
mangers, should try to bring in flexibility to the working patterns within the
organisations. A trade-off between organizational needs and personal needs of the
employees has to be worked out. Following are some of the ways in which it can
be done. Though this is in no way an exhaustive list, yet it does provide a starting
point for corporates to develop flexible work schedules that can balance work and
life.

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I.

Creating Institutional Support Mechanisms

The first and the foremost requirement is to create conditions that will provide
organisational support towards maintaining the flexibility of work and life of the
employees. These entail the propagation of the culture of work flexibility, HR
policies and other organisational regulations that allow the employees to maintain
a good mix of personal lives with their career.

There is a need to clearly chalk out the connection between maintaining this
flexibility and the corporate objectives. For instance, managers at corporatioons
begin their job in the company with a clear understanding of what the company
expects. They undergo a weeklong program, called Supervisor School that blends
the business case for work life initiatives. Thus, the management ensures that the
flexibility in work is linked with the objectives of the organisation. But this is not
enough. What is needed is to ensure and communicate the support of the senior
management. The top management of the company must clearly communicate its
eagerness and willingness to restructure the work schedules in such a manner that
it can balance the work and life of the employees.

This will require clear

articulation from the company that it values the personal lives of its employees.
The employees must understand that their organisation also keeps in mind the
value of their life and personal relationship.

Such articulation can be done

through the companys vision and mission statements.

II.

Providing Managerial Support:Only lip service towards work life balance will not suffice. Organisations
must make sure that there are proper organisational systems of work design that
allows employees to have flexible time. This may even require a new look
towards HR manual, which the organization may have.
25

It is also necessary to evaluate such systems of flexibility from time to time.

Otherwise, stagnancy will creep into the work schedules, which might create new
dimensions of the problem in the work life patterns. To keep pace with the
changing patterns of work and life of employees, the organisations can arrange
special training programs that will inform the employees about the new working
trends. This can be done through sharing successful models of work schedules
and real life case studies.

III.

Practising What You Preach

Above all, the organizations need to execute their flexible work
schedules.

Flexible work patterns must become a part of organisational

initiatives. This will require the creation of a networked environment that can
provide a back up system to support work relationship. Essentially this will
require employees to become cross functional, so that a temporary emergency or a
shortfall in one department can be met by other departments. Thus, the role of
HR department needs to be revisited and made more expansive and supportive
towards organisational and individual needs.

IV.

Sustain It:Once the organisation follows and internalises the practice of flexible
work schedules for its employees, it is very necessary that it sustains it over a long
period of time. Such sustainability can brought about by clear demarcations of
accountability and means to measure it. In other words, the focus and purpose of
creating balanced work life should be maintained at any cost. This will also call
for review and evaluation of the current work environment and make
modifications in the schedules accordingly.
Several researchers have shown that a balanced work-life creates greater
employee productivity. What important is the long-term and not the short-term,
26

which seems to become the focus of many organisations. So, though it may
apparently seem that employees are having more leisure, the effect of a balanced
work-life will show up positively in the bottom line of the company.

ACTUAL BALANCE

Work-Life Balance in Indian Context:27

"Hardworking, committed are words that we hear every time when we try to
understand the work ethic of Indians. Whilst EU insists on a 40 hour week and the
western world moans about working 50 hours an average Indian works at least 50
hours if not more in a week. We have culturally been groomed to believe in a
days honest work. It is not that we are incapable of working smart. There are
many smart workers who manage their tasks and time efficiently but they also
tend to put in long hours. The question that comes is what does work life balance
mean in an Asian and specifically Indian context?
In India, these days it is very rare to find a house wife or a house husband. When
families have both husband and wife working discussing work life balance
discussions from a womans perspective is not relevant. More and more couples
became vocal about sharing the burden of running a household. Blame it on
education, increased awareness.
The Top 50 companies to work for in India:These are the list of companies who offer better working environment and work
life balance to its employees in India.
Rank

Name of the
Company

Location

Number of Gender
Voluntary
Employees Ratio (F:M) Turnover

Google India

Bangalore

1,259

1:0.99

30%

MakeMyTrip

Gurgaon

674

1:2.55

23.89%

Intel Technology

Bangalore

2,430

1:3.99

4.4%

Marriott Hotels

Mumbai

2,433

1:9.01

27.37%

NetApp India

Bangalore

1,042

1:4.51

5.95

American Express

Gurgaon

5,200

1:1.33

15.00%
28

NTPC

New Delhi

24,708

1:8.11

0.12%

PayPal India

Chennai

419

1:3.6

0.48%

Ajuba Solutions

Chennai

1,612

1:1.41

23.45%

10

SAS Institute

Mumbai

108

1:5.75

13.89%

11

Crowne Plaza Today Gurgaon

399

1:5.23

48.87%

12

Dow Corning

Mumbai

241

1:6.3

9.96%

13

Taj Hotels Resorts

Mumbai

13,009

1:6.58

11.55%

14

Godrej Consumer

Mumbai

1,314

1:30.29

6.24%

15

Whirlpool of India

Gurgaon

1,128

1:13.28

8.69%

16

Interglobe
Enterprises Ltd

Gurgaon

5,040

1:1.86

12%

17

iNautix Tech

Chennai

2,263

1.21

8.66%

18

Hilti India

Delhi

427

1:13.72

12.88%

19

Titan Industries

Bangalore

4,329

1:3.49

4.87%

20

Intelenet Global

Mumbai

25,810

1:2.27

NA

21

Qualcomm India

Mumbai

1,073

1:6.5

4.38%

22

Federal Express
Corp

Mumbai

514

1:4.3

12.65%

23

Kotak Mahindra

Mumbai

6,461

1:4.04

18.77%

24

Dominos Pizza
India Ltd

Noida

5,650

1:9.58

53.35%

25

Classic Stripes Ltd

Mumbai

325

1:3.28

6.46%
29

26

Viacom Media 18
Ltd

Mumbai

363

1:2

15.43%

27

Bharti Airtel Ltd

Delhi

17,227

1:7.33

17.99%

28

BNY Mellon
International Ops

Pune

1,816

1:2.71

6.11%

29

Visakhapatnam Steel Visakhapatnam 17,225

Plant, Rashtriya Ispat
Nigam

1:35.49

NA

30

Talentica Software
India

Pune

104

1:0.2

6.73%

31

Indian Oil

Delhi

33,954

1:11.93

0.04%

Corporation
32

Yum Restaurants

Gurgaon

1,713

1:6.39

36.19%

33

Monsanto India
Limited

Mumbai

785

1:6.2

22.93%

34

HDFC Standard Life Mumbai

14,228

1:5.51

82.72%

35

Tata Teleservices
Limited

Mumbai

8,743

1:11.13

18.99%

36

Marico

Mumbai

1,266

1:5.9

16.87%

37

Claris Life sciences

Ahmadabad

1,312

1:22.02

20.43%

38

Cadbury India

Mumbai

2,347

1:23.45

5.45%

39

Intuit Technologies

Bangalore

304

1:5.2

5.26%

40

Quintiles India

Bangalore

1,317

1:0.73

9.57%

41

Blue Dart Express

Mumbai

6,015

1:16.33

7.95%
30

42

Hardcastle
Restaurants

Mumbai

891

1:16.76

6.29%

43

Eureka Forbes

Mumbai

9,048

1:18.92

52.58%

44

Godrej Industries

Mumbai

1,223

1:12.7

2.92%

45

S.C. Johnson
Products

Delhi

578

1:10.12

16.78%

46

Bajaj Capital
Limited

Delhi

873

1:4.49

32.88%

Chapter Two

31

Industry Profile:
Introduction:
The Indian retail industry has presently emerged as one of the most
dynamic and fast paced industries as several players have started to enter the
market. It accounts for over 10 per cent of the countrys gross domestic product
(GDP) and around eight per cent of the employment in India. The country is today
the fifth largest global destination in the world for retail.
Several corporates have planned to exploit the opportunities in the Indian retail
space, such as Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), which has lined up capital

32

expenditure of 1.8 trillion (US$ 29.41 billion) for the next three years for its
petrochemicals, telecom and retail ventures.

Compound Annual Growth Rate:

33

With the growth in the retail industry, the corresponding demand for real
estate is also being created. Further, with the online medium of retail gaining
more and more acceptance, there is a tremendous growth opportunity for retail
companies, both domestic and international.
Retail is one of the fastest growing sectors in India. With infrastructure
development and the spread of awareness more and more major retail brands are
entering the market. The capacity to pay has increased and there is a change in
consumer buying behavior; this is making the retail industry slowly but steadily
inch its way to be a dynamic industry.
34

Great Place To Work Institute and Retailers Association of India (RAI) have
recognized the Best Retail Companies to work for in 2014. Pride, credibility,
camaraderie, fairness and respect were the 5 dimensions on the basis of which
various companies were judged and here is the list of top ten retail companies of
2014.

1. Lifestyle International Pvt. Ltd.: -

Lifestyle International started its journey in India with their first store in
Chennai in the year 1999. The company is a part of the Landmark Group which is
a Dubai based retail and hospitality conglomerate. In 15 years, they now have 41
stores across 26 cities in India. The stores sell apparel, footwear, childrens wear
and toys, household and furniture items and health and beauty products. Lifestyle
International has also won several awards, a few of the most recent are:

Images Most Admired Beauty Products Retailer Of The Year: Department Store
Chain At Images Beauty & Wellness Awards 2013

Most Admired Retailer Of The Year, Department Store Category At The Images
Retail Awards 2012, 2011 & 2008 and

Most Respected Company In The Retail Sector' By Business World IMRB In

2003 And 2004.

2. Titan Company Ltd.:35

The Titan Company follows the philosophy of people first and they
believe that the companys success depends on the strengths and contribution of
the people working with them. The work-culture in the company encourages
employees to learn, innovate, experiment and grow. Titan Company has been
rated highly by the Gallup engagement survey with scores for satisfaction,
loyalty and advocacy far higher than the average score of Gallup India. They have
also been rated No.1 in Retail category and 24th overall by Great Places to Work
(2009), an institutional study, in Economic Times. Titan currently employees 7000
people and have two manufacturing units. It has received numerous awards,
couple of the most recent being:

Gold Award and the Best-of-the-Best Award (among the top 5 in

Asia Pacific) at the Retail Asia-Pacific Top 500 Awards in 2013.

Best Governed Company Award 2012 from Asian Centre for

Corporate Governance and Sustainability.

3. Shoppers Stop Limited:-

They have a retail network of 69 Shopper's Stop stores in 33 cities, 19

Mothercare stores, 48 of Crossword (including franchisees and shopinshops)
stores, 3 HomeStop outlets, 4 MAC and 25 Food and Beverage outlets. Shoppers
Stop is the only retailer of India to become a member of the prestigious
Intercontinental Group of Departmental stores. The Company believes that their
success would not have been quite possible without the constant support and
ability of the people they hire. The company is committed to the growth and
development of their employees and focuses on building an environment that is a

36

learning experience for all. Shoppers Stop has an environment that is conducive to
openness and believe in the power of innovation.

4. United Colors of Benetton India:-

Benetton Group has over 9500 employees and 6500 stores all over the
world. The company understands the importance of human resource and is
constantly improving and increasing the skills and competitive ability of every
individual that works with them. They have a work environment that is dynamic
and creative and they believe in giving employees the opportunity to express
themselves and lead the company in its path of success. They first came to India
in 1990 through a joint venture with DCM Ltd. and operate about 80 stores in the
country today. United Colors of Benetton is also widely known to support social
causes like road trauma and domestic violence among others.

5. Future Retail:-

Future Retail formerly known as Pantaloons Retail (India) is a multiformat retailer. They aspire to be an employer of choice in Indian retail as they
offer exciting new possibilities and encourage people to rise up to new challenges
every day. They engage people who are passionate about what they do, want to
make a difference in the lives of customers, and who live their brand pillars of
Indianness, valuing and nurturing relationships, and leading positive change.

The group has bagged awards like:37

Big Bazaar Direct Retail store of the year honored with eRetailer of the
Year 2014.

Best Run Award in IT (Technology Solutions) at SAP ACE 2013.

Best marketing communication towards women, youth and children

Future Learning, among others.

Following tail Enders are:1. METRO CASH & CARRY INDIA PVT. LTD.
2. MARKS AND SPENCER RELIANCE INDIA PVT. LTD.
3. PUMA SPORTS INDIA PVT. LTD.
4. JUBILANT FOODWORKS LTD.
5. LEVI STRAUSS (INDIA) PVT. LTD.

Emerging Areas:Some sectors that occupy a prominent position with the retail industry
are:-

38

Apparel and fashion Everybody understands the impact of

fashion and textiles on the environment. Almost $19.5 billion
were spent on online apparel shopping in the year 2009 and
increasing since then.

Fashion & Lifestyle - In India the vast middle class and its
almost untapped retail industry are the key attractive forces for
global retail giants wanting to enter into newer markets, which
in turn will help the retail to grow faster.

Food & Beverage retail - Backed by huge potential and

changing lifestyles, the food and beverage retail market is
growing at a robust 30-35 per cent per year.

Pharmaceutical Retail Driven by therapies like anti-diabetic,

vitamin, anti-infective and dermatology, it accounted for a
robust 15% growth in 2011.

E-commerce or E-tailing the next big revolution - With the

advent of e-commerce in the retail industry, retail stores are
facing stiff competition from e-stores. The rising demand for eshopping has led to a new debate cropping up in the world.

Factors driving growth are:

Emergence of nuclear families

39

Falling real estate prices

Growing trend of double-income households

Increase in disposable income and customer aspiration

Increase in expenditure for luxury items

Large working population

Low share of organized retailing

Growing liberalization of the FDI policy in the

past decade.
Market size:In 2013, the Indian retail sector was estimated at
US$ 520 billion and was among the largest employers
in the country. By 2018, the Indian retail sector is likely
to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of
13 per cent to reach US$ 950 billion. Food and grocery
is the largest category within the retail sector with 60
per cent share followed by the apparel and mobile
segment.
Organized retail, which constituted seven per cent of
total retail in 2011-12 is estimated to grow at a CAGR of
24 per cent and attain 10.2 per cent share of total retail
40

by 2016-17, according to a study titled 'FDI in Retail:

Advantage Farmers' conducted by an industrial body.
India has about one million online retailers - small and
large - which sell their products through various ecommerce portals. Presently, these online retailers
have started to use the medium of online mobile apps
to increase their reach to the customers. Several ecommerce firms - Myntra, Flipkart, Jabong, etc., have
launched their own mobile apps. Flipkart plans to use
their US$ 1 billion funds raised to acquire companies in
mobile applications.
According to the TCS Gen-Y 2013-14 survey, a total of
68 per cent of teenagers shop online, while 91 per cent
own mobiles in smaller metros. Mobile phones and
tablets

were

the

most

popular

gadgets

among

teenagers, highlighted the survey.

Investments:The foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in single-brand

retail trading during the period April 2000 - July 2014 stood at
842.53 crore (US$ 137.70 million), as per data released by the
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
41

Some of the other notable investments and developments in the

Indian retail sector in the recent past are as follows:
IKEA has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU)
with the Government of Telangana to set up its first store in
India at Hyderabad.
Liberty Shoes has planned to improve its retail presence as it
plans to double the revenue to 1,000 crore (US$ 165.38
million) within three years.
Walmart Stores invested 623 crore (US$ 101.82 million) into
its Indian cash-and-carry operations in June 2014 to expand its
network, thereby taking its total investment in the country to
nearly 2,000 crore (US$ 326.91 million).
Online marketplace Infibeam looks to build an online presence
for large retail clients in West Asia with its technology platform
Buildabazaar. The company has partnered with Axiom Telecom
and will handle its e-commerce business.
Argentina-based luxury brand La Martina - a polo lifestyle
company known for its apparel, technical equipment and
accessories - has started operations with its maiden store in
New Delhi. La Martina has also diversified the brand to add
general fashion products for ladies, men and kids.
Japan-based Uniqlo plans to open up to 1,000 stores in India in
the coming years to tap into the growing consumption story and
has announced a strategy to source garments from the country.
Uniqlo, which started as a chain of suburban roadside stores in
42

Japan, is targeting close to 1,500 stores across the globe by the

end of August.
The combined entity of Flipkart and Myntra plans to launch a
fashion incubator, a first-of-its-kind move by an Indian startup,
in its aggressive push to gain complete dominance of the fastgrowing online apparel category.
UK-based Tesco in equal partnership with the Tata Group's
Trent plans to open six to eight new stores in Maharashtra and
Karnataka under three of its formats this financial year. The
stores will take the total number of Tesco-Trent outlets in the
country to 20.

Government Initiatives:The Government of India has taken several initiatives to boost

the Indian retail sector. For instance, the Ministry of Labor,
Government of India has recently signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with Flipkart to provide short-term
training to its new employees through its skill development
initiative.
The changes in foreign direct investment (FDI) norms along
with the relaxation of certain regulations by the government are
also seen as positive moves to attract more foreign investments
and enhance foreign trade. The government has allowed 100 per
cent FDI in Single-Brand Retail Trading (SBRT) and 51 per cent
FDI in Multi-Brand Retail Trading (MBRT).
43

In the Union Budget 2014-15, the Government of India

announced a reduction in the excise duty from 12 per cent to six
per cent on footwear with retail price exceeding 500 (US$
8.17) per pair but not exceeding 1,000 (US$ 16.34) per pair.
The Government of India has also proposed the Goods and
Services Tax (GST). Once implemented it will simplify the supply
chain and bring down prices. This will help to boost the Indian
retail sector.
It has also formulated specific regulations for foreign investors;
for instance, global chains planning to set up cold storages and
warehouses in India will now need to invest only 50 per cent of
the initial compulsory investment of US$ 100 million.

Road Ahead:Driven by a combination of demand, supply and regulatory

factors, the Indian retail sector is set to grow rapidly with a
gradual shift toward organized retailing formats. Organized
retail penetration is expected to increase from 7.5 per cent in
2013 to 10 per cent in 2018 at a robust CAGR of 19-20 per cent
during that period.
Tier-II and Tier-III cities such as Jaipur, Nagpur, Ludhiana,
Vadodara, Aurangabad, Kochi, etc., are emerging as the new
hot spots of consumption. Organized retailers are increasingly
setting up stores in these smaller cities with increasing focus on
profitable growth in the sector. E-commerce is also expected to
be the next major area for retail growth in India. Along with
this, achieving profitable growth and inventory management are
44

also some major areas of focus in the times ahead for the retail
companies in India.
According to panel members at the seventh Food and Grocery
Forum India, the opportunities in food and grocery retail in
India are immense, given that it constitutes about 69 per cent of
Indias total retail market. The Indian retail market, currently
estimated at $490 billion, is project to grow at a compounded
annual growth rate of 6 per cent to reach $865 billion by 2023.
Modern retail with a penetration of only 5% is expected to grow
about six times from the current 27 billion USD to 220 billion
USD, across all categories and segments.

Organized Retail is emerging as the new phenomenon in India

and despite the slump, the market is growing exponentially. As
economic growth brings more of Indias people into the
consuming classes and organized retail lures more and more
existing shoppers, by 2015, more than 300 million shoppers are
likely to patronize organized retail chains.
Consumer markets in emerging market economies like India are
growing rapidly owing to robust economic growth. India's
modern consumption level is set to double within five years to
US$ 1.5 trillion from the present level of US$ 750 billion.
The growing middle class is an important factor contributing to
the growth of retail in India. By 2030, it is estimated that 91
million households will be middle class, up from 21 million

45

today. Also by 2030, 570 million people are expected to live in

cities, nearly twice the population of the United States today.
Thus, with tremendous potential and huge population, India is
set for high growth in consumer expenditure. With India's large
young population and high domestic consumption, the macro
trends for the sector look favorable.

References: Media Reports, Press Releases, Deloitte report, Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion website, Union Budget 2014-15

Company Profile:History
The first Big Bazaar store, with an area of about 24,000
square feet, opened on VIP Road, Kolkata in August 2001.This
was followed by stores in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai and
Gurgaon. The initial categories on offer were apparel, general
merchandise and food. Later, several brands from categories
46

like electronics, furniture, music, communications and books

were added to the bouquet of products.
Big Bazaar implemented SAP in 2005 to run its stores in the
most efficient manner that technology could provide. With an
increasing number of customers 26 SUPERBRANDS Business
Super brands- 2nd edition (Main) 8/27/08 3:15 AM Page
26patronising its stores, it was time for Big Bazaar to reach out
to them. To pay tribute and to tell them how much they were
appreciated, Big Bazaar launched a co-branded credit card. In
association with ICICI bank, the Big Bazaar-ICICI Bank credit
card made its first appearance in May, 2002. As an extension of
its customer relationship initiatives it also launched Shakti, a
credit card for housewives, in February 2006.The card was
unique, for it required no proof of income.
Today the Big Bazaar-ICICI Bank co-branded card is one of the
largest loyalty credit card programmes in the country. Big
Bazaar is now an agglomeration of multiple, carefully chosen
categories and brands. Within the store, Big Bazaar has created
several sub categories: Depot is its books and music section;
Staples offers office stationery products while Star & Sitara is a
beauty salon. Future Money provides consumer credit for
products purchased within Big Bazaar.
Big Bazaar Retail forayed into modern retail in 1997 with the
launching of fashion retail chain, Big Bazaar in Kolkata. In 2001,
it launched Big Bazaar, a hypermarket chain that combines the
look and feel of Indian bazaars, with aspects of modern retail,
like choices, convenience and hygiene. Its aim is to capture the
47

middle income value focused customer. Product offerings are

mainly general merchandise and apparels. Apparels forms 40%
of total revenue 60% being general merchandise. At Big Bazaar,
customers can definitely get the best products at the best
prices- thats what company guarantee. With the ever increasing
array of private labels, it has opened the doors into the world of
fashion and general merchandise including home furnishings,
utensils, crockery, cutlery, sports and much more at prices that
will surprise. And this is just the beginning Big Bazaar plans to
add much more to complete customer shopping experience.
Currently there are around 116 Big Bazaar stores in 71 cities.
Its the fastest growing format in organized retail space.
Every day, Future Group brings multiple products, opportunities
and services to millions of customers in India. Through over 16
million square feet of retail space, we serve customers in 95
cities across the country. Most of all, we help India shop, save
and realize dreams and aspirations to live a better quality of life
every day.
At Big Bazaar super Centre one can a find variety of
department as shown as below.

Food Bazaar.

General Merchandise.

Apparels or Fashion.

Home Bazaar.
48

Navaras.

Electronic Bazaar.

These departments are managed by two departments: Operation Department.

Supporting Department.
Operation Department:The operation team includes assistant store managers, team
leaders and team members. Their job is to enable to a store
function smoothly without any hindrances. These are few
functions assigned to operational department.
Supporting Department:As the name suggest, this department is for the support of
operational

department.

We

can

see

different

types

of

supporting department at Big Bazaar super Centre.

Marketing department.
Human Resources Department.
Logistic Department.

49

 Customer service desk department.

Cash department.
Administrative department.
Maintenance department.
Housekeeping department.

Name

: Big Bazaar:

Type

: Public

Industry

: Retailing

Founded

: 2001

Headquarte

: Mumbai, Maharastra, India

rs
Products

: Department

Revenue

: 11000 crores (in 2012) (Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar

combined)

Employees

Parent

36000 people
Future Group
50

Divisions

214

Website

: [http://www.bigbazaar.com]

Background:Future group is Indias largest retailer and one of the

leading business houses with a strong presence in retail. Its
founder and group CEO is Mr. Kishore Biyani.
Future group India was established in 1994 with a vision to
provide diverse service and global markets. The business areas
of future group cover business process, new media, security
management

and

construction.

Through

their

strategic

investment and services, the future of future group shows a

rising star in the business sky of India. Led by flagship
enterprise, pantaloons retails, the group operates over 16
million square feet space in 73 cities and 65 rural locations
across India.
Mysore

Big

Bazaar

Super

Centre

was

opened

on

26th

September 2008 it is the 96th Big Bazaar of future value retail.

It has around 250 employees with an occupied space of 82.055
sq.ft and catering to the needs of 12, 00,000 Mysoreans.
Mysoreans at Big Bazaar can definitely get the best product at
better price. It sells variety of merchandise at affordable rates,
the price which it claims is lowest in the city. Usually the items
are clubbed together for others and it also offers weekend as
well as monthly discounts.
51

Future Group Manifesto:Future the word which signifies optimism, growth,

achievement, strength, beauty rewards and perfection. Future
encourages us to explore areas yet unexplored, write rules yet
unwritten: create new opportunities and new successes. To
strive for a glorious future brings us our strength, our ability to
learn, unlearn and re-learn our ability to evolve.
We, in Future Group will not wait for the future to unfold itself
but create future scenarios in the consumer space socioeconomic

development

for

our

customers,

employee,

shareholders, associates and partners.

Our customers will not just get what they need but also get
them where, how and when they need. We will not just post
satisfactory results, we will write success stories.
We will not just operate efficiently in the Indian economy but we
will evolve it.

Promoters:Future Group understands the soul of Indian consumers.

As one of Indias retail pioneers with multiple retail formats,
they connect a diverse and passionate community of Indian
buyers, sellers and businesses. The collective impact on
business is staggering: Around 300 million customers walk into
the stores each year and choose products and services supplied
by over 30,000 small, medium and large entrepreneurs and
manufacturers from across India. And this number is set to
grow.
52

Future Group employs 30,000 people directly from every section

of our society. We source our supplies from enterprises across
the country, creating fresh employment, impacting livelihoods,
empowering local communities and fostering mutual growth.
They believe in the Indian dream and have aligned their
business practices to the larger objective of being a premier
catalyst in Indias consumption-led growth story. Working
towards this end, they are ushering positive socio-economic
changes in communities to help the Indian dream fly high and
the Sone Ki Chidiya soars once again. This approach remains
embedded in our ethos even as we rapidly expand our footprints
deeper into India.
Big Bazaar has been credited with some of the biggest
consumer

campaigns

in

the

history

of

Indian

retail.

In

celebration of Republic Day, Big Bazaar created a three-day

shopping bonanza called Sabse Saste Teen Din. This has now
become a national event that attracts millions of customers
eager to benefit from the once-in-a year smart deals. In January
2008, the three-day event generated sales worth over 240 crore
(US$ 60 million) in 80 Big Bazaar stores.
15th August, Indias Independence Day is billed as the Maha
Savings Day. So successful has this become that to cater to the
rush Big Bazaar stores in many cities stay open till midnight.
Wednesday Bazaar is the Hafte ka Sabse Sasta Din. It was
initially created with the intent of decongesting weekends and
53

driving footfalls on weekdays. As it transpired, most Big Bazaar

stores now attract as many customers on Wednesdays as they do
on weekends. A property that offers special benefits and
privileges to senior citizens was built around Senior Citizens
Day.
Price Challenge was created to reinforce Big Bazaars value
proposition of Isse sasta aur accha kahin nahi. The scheme
simply offers twice the price difference should the cost of an
item at a Big Bazaar store be found to be more than the market
price.

THINGS YOU DIDNT KNOW ABOUT BIG BAZAAR: 2 million customers walk-in each week into Big Bazaar
stores
Collectively, Big Bazaar stores cover nearly 4 million
square feet of space.
In three days between January 25 and January27 2008,
Big Bazaar sold over 100,000 pairs of Jeans and 200,000
shirts.
Big Bazaar has a base of over 1 million loyalty card
members.
More than 160,000 products are sold at Big Bazaar stores.

Board of Directors
54

Name

Designation

Mr. Kishore Biyani

Mr. Rakesh Biyani
Mr. Gopikishan Biyani
Mr. Shailesh Haribhakthi
Mr. S Doreswamy
Mr. Darlie Koshy
Mr. Anil Harish
Mr. Bala Deshpande
Ms. Vijay Kumar Chopra

Managing Director
Whole time Director
Whole time Director
Director
Director
Director
Director
Director
Director

Management Team
Name
Rakesh Biyani
Anshuman Singh

Designation
CEO-Retail
CEO-Logistics

Arvind Chaudary

CEO-Aadhar

Damodar Mall

Group customer Direcctor

Hans Udeshi

CEO-General Merchandising

Kailash Bhatia
Sadhashiva Kumar

CEO-Integrated Merchandising
group
CEO-Big Bazaar

Sanjeev Agarwal

CEO-Pantaloons

Vishnu Prasad

CEO-Central and Brand Factory

55

Kruben Moodilar

Head HR

Mayur Toshnival
Sandip Tarkas

President- Retail Operation value

formats [North]
President Customer Strategy

Chandra Prakash Toshnival

CFO

Rajesh Joshi

Head-operation [West Zone]

Venkateshwara Kumar

Head-operation [South Zone]

Sandeep Marwaha

Head-operation [East Zone]

Ushir Bhat

Executive Board member

Sanjeev Agarwal

President - marketing

Atul Takle

Head corporate communication

Prashanth Desai

Head group IR & new venture

Jaydeep Shetty

Chief new business lifestyle retailing

Vishal Kapoor

Chief Visual Merchandising

Rahul Balchandra

Head Wellness Business

Preeti Vyas Business

Head Books & Music

Vision, Mission and Quality Policy:Vision:Future Group shall deliver Everything, Everywhere,
Every time for Every Indian Consumer in the most profitable
manner
One of core value of future group is., Indians and its corporate
credo is Rewrite Rules Retained Value.

Mission: We share the vision and belief that our customers and
stakeholders

shall

be served only

by creating

and
56

executing future scenarios in the consumption space

leading to economic development.
We will be the trendsetters in evolving delivery formats,
creating retail realty, making consumption affordable for
all customer segments - for classes and for masses.
We shall infuse Indian brands with confidence and
renewed ambition.
We shall be efficient, cost- conscious and committed to
quality in whatever we do.
We shall ensure that our positive attitude, sincerity,
humility and united determination shall be the driving
force to make us successful.

Group Values:1) Indianness.

Believing in the Indian way and in oneself.

57

Positive Behavior
Understands community diversity
and takes

Negative Behavior
Does not understand the community
diversity

decisions based on community

diversity

and takes decision based on the one size

fits
all approach

Incorporates ideas from the

nuances &

Does not incorporate any ideas from the

peculiarity of Indian customs in

business

nuances and peculiarity of Indian

customers

Treats all customers equally

Treats customers unequally

2) Leadership:

To be a leader, both in thought and business.

Positive Behavior

Negative Behavior
58

Innovative, proactive, discovering Not comfortable with new ideas,

new ways of
unwilling to

doing things and taking

ownership

move out of comfort zone.

Instills confidence in team, is

approachable, is

Instills respect out of fear, and is not

respected & not feared

approachable

Influences in a positive way

Not comfortable with change

First to implement new &

innovative ideas and

Does not take initiative to improve state

of

takes responsibility for his

actions

affairs, is complacent

3) Respect & Humility:

In dealing with everyone within & outside the organization

Positive Behavior
Respect individuals and values
the work

Negative Behavior
Demands respect based on hierarchy and

Environment
Understands and appreciates
others point of view

position
Is inconsiderate towards fellow
colleagues

59

Facilitates changes and includes

everyone
when communicating about
change
Gives credit to people for their
ideas

Not inclusive in communicating change

Criticizes others ideas and pushes his

own
ideas

4) Introspection:

For continuous learning, self-development and personal excellence.

Positive Behavior
Solicits feedback and takes effort
to correct

Negative Behavior
Does not take feedback positively and

the mistakes

becomes defensive

Finds alternative solutions to

problems

Is closed to alternative solutions and

ideas

Unbiased analysis of situation to

learn from
failures and to strengthen the
factor
contributing to success
Accepts mistakes and seeks
support to correct
Mistakes

Unable to reflect and draw unbiased

analysis
from failures and learn from mistakes
Does not accept mistakes and seeks no
support to correct them.

5) Openness:

60

Open to new ideas, knowledge, and information across the organization and
seamless flow of the same.
Positive Behavior
Respects the point of view of
others
Shows compassion
Understands and accepts the fact
that multiple
realities can co-exist
Feels free to give ideas &
suggestions in non
secretive manner

Negative Behavior
Is closed to ideas, imposes own views
Exhibiting defensive behavior
Getting defensive and is not able to
understand the existence of multiple
realities
Goes into a shell when confronted or if
ideas
are not accepted

6) Valuing and Nurturing Relationships:

With customers, business associates, stakeholders, communities and society.

Positive Behavior
Honours commitments and
nourishes the
Relationships
Integrates with stakeholders to
achieve
company goals
Creates working conditions
which are a winwin
situation.
Treating stake holders
(employees / vendors /
government / statutory bodies /
Consultants)
as an extension of the

Negative Behavior
Not adhering to commitments
Exploiting relationships for a selfish
motive
and does not collaborate towards a
common
goal
Creates work conditions which are not
conducive to a win win solution
Operates from a position of power and
exploits the weakness or stakeholders

61

organization
7) Simplicity & Positivity:

To foster innovation, speed and imagination.

Positive Behavior
Is frugal , optimistic
Using real life
examples/analogies/stories to
reinforce
Ensures ease of implementation
and replication.
Looking at problems as
challenges & moving
forward without letting them
affect business.
Not affected by negative
sentiments
Derives more from less

Negative Behavior
Being cynical
Using jargons and complex words
Fails to implement and overlooks ease of
replication
Thinks that tasks are too hard & not even
making an attempt to complete it
Allows the environment to get the better
of
self
Unable to optimize resources efficiently

8) Adaptability:

Be proactive in meeting challenges emerging from changing business

scenarios.
Positive Behavior
Openness to change
Picks up new skills easily
Has the ability to multitask and is
flexible

Negative Behavior
Unwelcoming of change and is rigid
Slow to pick up new ideas and thoughts
Leaving a task unfinished and moving on
to
another task

9) Flow:

Learn and be inspired from the universal laws of nature.

62

Positive Behavior
Demonstrates creativity and is
resourceful
Finding out alternatives and
different ways to
move towards the goals
Is not hindered with obstacles in
the path
towards success

Negative Behavior
Has a closed mind and is not flexible in
thoughts and actions
Not wanting to step out of comfort zone
Does not show a recurring tendency to
battle
against odds

Products/Service Profile:
Infrastructure Facilities:

Occupied Space: 82.055 sq.ft

Parking lot in basement (Both Cars and Bikes).

Customer waiting lounge with seating arrangements.

Drinking water facility in every floor.

Toilet and Latrine facility in the second floor.

Fun Zone for employees to play some games.

Training room.

Wi-Fi Facility.

Big Bazaar is built with centralized AC for free fresh air flow
and good lighting facility.
63

Large go down facility to provide stock inventory management.

Competitors Information:
COMPETITORS OF BIG BAZAAR:

1. RELIANCE FRESH
Is the convenience store format which forms part of the retail business of
Reliance Industries of India which is headed by Mukesh Ambani.
Reliance plans to invest in excess of 25000 crores in the next 4 years in
their retail division. The company already has in excess of 560 reliance
fresh outlets across the country. These stores sell fresh fruits and
vegetables, staples, groceries, fresh juice bars and dairy products. A
typical Reliance Fresh store is approximately 3000-4000 square. feet and
caters to a catchment area of 1-2 km. Reliance Fresh, Reliance Mart,
Reliance

Digital,

Reliance

Trendz,Reliance Footprint, Reliance Wellness, Reliance Jewels, Relianc

eTimeout

and

Reliance Super

are

various formats

that

Reliance has rolled out.

2. SPENCER
Spencer's Retail is one of Indias fastest growing retail stores. It
has multiple formats for retailing food, apparel, fashion, electronics,
lifestyle products, music and books. It is owned by the RPG Group, a
major business house. Established in 1996, Spencers is one of the
popular destinations for shoppers in India with supermarkets,
hypermarkets and dailies spread all over India.
3. SUBHIKSHA :
64

Subhiksha is an Indian retail chain with more than 1400 outlets

selling groceries, fruits, vegetables, medicines and mobile
phones. It was started and is managed by R Subramaniam,
an IIM Ahmedabad alumni. Subhiksha plans to open 1000
outlets by December 2008. He also plans to invest 500 crore to
increase the number of outlets to 2000 across the country by
2009.The name Subhiksha means prosperity in Sanskrit. It
opened its first store in Thiruvanmiyur in Chennai in March,
1997 with an investment of about 5lakhs. The retail chain has
seen a considerable growth by offering goods at cheaper rates
and thereby increasing its customer base.
4. Trent (Westside):
Trent is the retail arm of the Tata group. Started in 1998, Trent
operates Westside, one of the many growing retail chains in
India. The foresight of the Tata group, which invested in retail
relatively early, is paying high dividends as retail is one of the
booming sectors in India. The company has a turnover of
357.6 crores (FY 2005-2006) and currently operates 22 stores in
the major metros and mini metros of India. An international
shopping experience, a perception of values, and offering the
latest styles, has created a loyal following for Westside's own
brand of merchandise.
Westside operates stores in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore,
Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat, Vadodara,
Indore, Noida, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Mysore, Jaipur, Lucknow,
Nagpur.
5. Bharti Walmart:
65

Private Limited is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises, one of

India's leading business groups with interests in telecom, agri-business,
insurance and retail, and Walmart ,the worlds leading retailer,
renowned for its efficiency and expertise in logistics, supply chain
management and sourcing. The joint venture is establishing wholesale
cash-and-carry

stores and back-end supply

chain management

operations in line with Government of India guidelines. Under the

agreement, Bharti and Walmart hold 50:50 stakes in Bharti Walmart
Private Limited. The first Wholesale Cash-and-carry facility named "Best
Price Modern Wholesale" Opened in Amritsar in May 2009and
subsequently in Zirakpur (Near Chandigarh), Jalandhar, Kota, Bhopal,
Ludhiana, Raipur, Indore, Vijaywada, Meerut, Agra, Lucknow, Jammu,
Guntur, Aurangabad ,

Bathinda,

Amravati , Hyderabad and

Rajahmundry.
SWOT Analysis:
Strength:
High brand equity.
Everyday low pricing.
Point of purchase.
Variety of stuffs under single roof.
Has outlets all over India.
Weakness:
Unable to meet store targets.
66

 Unavailability of popular brands.

High cost of operation due to large fixed costs.
Very thin margin.
High attrition rate of employees.
Opportunities:
Can enter into production line since it has in depth knowledge
of customer preferences.
Increasing population of the country is demanding more outlets.
Threats:
High business risk involved.
Lot of competitors.
Changing government policies.
Future Growth and Prospects:
Future Retails network now extends into 98 cities. With a panIndia

network

that

has

been

optimized

for

operational

efficiencies, Future Retail is present in almost every city where

consumption is growing.
Even though they added 20 new hypermarkets and entered
eight new cities, taking the footprint to 98 cities across the
country, store space rationalization and network optimization
67

led to only a marginal increase in store space. Now with a more

comfortable margin model, our focus for the forthcoming year
will be on driving a higher rate of growth. While the revamp
within the store is generating higher footfalls, a couple of
initiatives is already bringing in new sets of customers.
Wednesday Bazaar as a tool to acquire new customers was
pioneered by the company and subsequently replicated by other
chains. We have re-energized the proposition and this has
already resulted in a substantial growth in footfalls. Fruits and
vegetables acts as a key footfall driver.
They have introduced packaged fruits and vegetables which can
even be branded tomorrow to provide a higher assurance of
quality

and

freshness

for

customers.

Their

new

fashion

merchandize has attracted the attention of younger customers.

They believe the brand has the potential to become the leader in
the fashion space not just in terms of market share but also in
terms of mind share and they are committed to actualizing this.
Beyond the retail business, they are happy to share with all that
two of the companys key subsidiaries operating in the general
insurance space and supply chain space have posted net profits
for the first time this year. Both these businesses operate in a
highly competitive and fragmented
Space and to achieve this in a difficult business environment is
testament to their strength. They expect to unlock substantial
value as and when they decide to monetize the companys
investments in these companies.

68

Big Bazaar was the harbinger of change in the way many

Indians

shopped

and

their

renewed

focus

on

upgraded

merchandize provided in a superior spatial experience for

customers is helping consolidate the leadership position the
brand enjoys in the retail sector. I am pleased to share with you
that Big Bazaar continued to feature among the top five most
trusted service brands in the country in the annual survey
conducted by Nielsen and The Economic Times Brand Equity.
The new look, feel and merchandize range attracted new
customers into the stores and existing customers to spend more
within our stores. The new merchandise mix has not only helped
increase average selling price and store productivity but also
translated into superior margins. This coupled with a firm focus
on reigning in costs, despite an inflationary environment, has
helped the business move into a more profitable path.
Financial Statements:
Sales:
The

Companys

Sales

and

Other

Operating

Income

has

increased from ` 6,987.73 Crores to ` 11,577.44 Crores with

YOY growth of 98.82% for fifteen Months period ended March
31, 2014. The Company has also recorded Same Store Sales
growth of 5.8% for fifteen months period ended March 31, 2014.
Profit before Tax:
Profit before Tax (including exceptional items) of the Company
for fifteen months period ended March 31, 2014 stood at ` 1.27

69

Crores as compared to ` 288.32 Crores during the previous

financial period.
Interest:
Interest & Financial charges outflow has increased from `
460.41 Crores in previous period to ` 692.54 Crores for fifteen
months period ended March 31, 2014. The increase in interest
and financial charges is on account of additional borrowings,
transfer from FVRL merger, funding the growth plans and
increase in rate of interest during the period. The interest &
financial charges cover for fifteen months period ended March
31, 2014 under review is 1.59 times as compared to 2.30 times
in the preceding financial period.

Net Profit:
Net Profit (including exceptional items) of the Company for
fifteen months period ended March 31, 2014 under review stood
at ` 2.81 Crores as compared to ` 273.26 Crores in the previous
financial period with a decrease of ` 270.45 Crores.
Dividend:
The Company has proposed a dividend of ` 0.60 (30%) per
equity share. The dividend would be payable on all equity shares
of the Company including Class B Shares. Class B Shares would

70

be entitled to 2% additional dividend as per the terms of issue of

Class B Shares (Series 1).
Capital employed:
The capital employed in the business is ` 9,519.59 Crores as at
March 31, 2014. Return on capital employed during 2013-14 is
10.75% as compared to 12.05% during 2011-12.
Surplus management:
The Company generated a cash profit of ` 405.36 Crores for
fifteen months period ended March 31, 2014 as compared to `
593.06 Crores in the previous financial period, registering the
de-growth of 17.98%. The balance amount, after cash outflow on
account of proposed dividend, is ploughed back into the
business to fund the growth. The growth of the Company has
partly been funded by the cash generated from the business as
well as from additional funds borrowed during the financial
period.

Equity Share Capital:

There is no change in the equity share capital of the Company
and it has remained at ` 46.32 Crores.
Debt-equity:

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Debt-equity ratio of the Company has increased with the

additional funds borrowed for the expansion of the retail
operations of the Company. Debt-equity ratio has increased from
1.06 in the previous period to 1.93 as at March 31, 2014.
Earnings per Share (EPS):
The Companys Basic Earnings per Share (EPS) has reduced
from ` 12.08 to ` 0.12 per share for fifteen months period ended
March 31, 2014.
Cash Earnings per Share (CEPS):
The Companys Cash Earnings Per Share (CEPS) has reduced to
` 17.50 in compare to ` 26.22 in the preceding financial period.
Investment:
The Companys investment portfolio has reduced from ` 2280.23
Crores to ` 1349.52 Crores for fifteen months period ended
March 31, 2014. The reduction in investment during the
financial period is mainly due to sale of investments, merger and
demerger of business.
Note: 1. All Profit & Loss account numbers for fifteen months
period ended March 31, 2014 have been annualized to calculate
year on year growth on 2011-12 (18 Months) numbers.
2. Financial numbers for the period ended March 31, 2014 are
for the period of fifteen months hence not comparable with that
of previous financial period of eighteen months.

72

73