INTRODUCTION

Infosys Technologies Limited is a multinational information technology Services Company headquartered in Bangalore, India. It is one of India's largest IT companies with 105,453 professionals (including subsidiaries) as of Nov 9, 2009.It has offices in 22 countries and development centers in India, China, Australia, UK, Canada and Japan.

Infosys was founded on July 2, 1981 in Pune by N.R.Narayana Murthy and six others, N. S. Raghavan, Kris Gopalakrishnan, S. D. Shibulal, K. Dinesh and Ashok Arora, with N. S. Raghavan officially being the first employee of the company.

Nandan Nilekani Murthy started the company by borrowing INR 10,000 from his wife Sudha Murthy. The company was incorporated as "Infosys Consultants Pvt. Ltd.", with Raghavan's house in Model Colony, north-central Pune as the registered office.

In 1982, Infosys opened an office in Bangalore, which soon became its headquarters.Infosys headquarters in Bangalore, India.

Infosys went public in 1993. Interestingly, Infosys IPO was under subscribed but it was "bailed out" by US investment banker Morgan Stanley which picked up 13% of equity at the offer price of Rs. 95 per share. The share price surged to Rs. 8,100 by 1999 making it the costliest share on the market at the time. At that time, Infosys was among the 20 biggest companies by market capitalization on the NASDAQ well ahead of Adobe Systems, Novell and Lycos.

According to Forbes magazine, since listing on the Bombay Stock Exchange till the year 2000, Infosys' sales and earnings compounded at more than 70% a year. In the year 2000, President of the United States Bill Clinton complimented India on its achievements in high technology areas citing the example of Infosys.

In 2001, it was rated Best Employer in India by Business Today.

Infosys won the Global MAKE (Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises) award, for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005, being the only Indian company to win this award and is inducted into the Global Hall of Fame for the same.Infosys was rated best employer to work for in 2000, 2001, and 2002 by Hewitt Associates. In 2007, Infosys received over 1.3 million applications and hired fewer than 3% of applicants. Business Week reported that Infosys, along with Wipro and Tata accounted for nearly 80% of the [H-1B] visa petitions approved in 2007 for the top 10 participants in the program. In April 2009, Forbes rated Infosys among the 5 best performing companies in the software and services sector in the world. In 2009, Infosys was considered one of the Business Week’s 50 Most Innovative Companies.

From December 2008 till April 2009, Infosys fired over 2500 employees for poor performance. The company has been hit hard by lower income from a crisis hit European

and North American market. On April 15, 2009 Infosys reported its first ever-sequential fall in its revenue in a decade during the March 2009 quarter.

N. R. Narayana Murthy

Chairman of the Board and Chief Mentor, Infosys Technologies N. R. Narayana Murthy is the Founder-Chairman of Infosys Technologies Limited, a global software consulting company headquartered in Bangalore, India. He founded Infosys in 1981. Under his leadership, Infosys was listed on NASDAQ in 1999.

Mr. Murthy articulated, designed and implemented the Global Delivery Model which has become the foundation for the huge success in IT services outsourcing from India. He has led key corporate governance initiatives in India. He is an IT advisor to several Asian countries.

He serves on the boards of HSBC, Ford Foundation and the UN Foundation. He served as a member of the Unilever board between 2007 and 2010. He also serves on the boards of Cornell University, Wharton School, Singapore Management University, Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, Indian Institute of Management Technology, Bangalore, and INSEAD.

The Economist ranked Narayana Murthy among the ten most admired global business leaders in 2005. He topped the Economic Times list of India’s most powerful CEOs for three consecutive years: 2004 to 2006. He has been awarded the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India, the Legion d’honneur by the Government of France, and the CBE by the British government. He is the first Indian winner of Ernst and Young’s World Entrepreneur of the year award and the Max Schmidheiny Liberty prize, and has appeared in the rankings of businessmen and innovators published by India Today, Business Standard, Forbes, BusinessWeek, Time, CNN, Fortune, and Financial Times. He is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering and a foreign member of the US National Academy of Engineering.

Infosys Technologies Limited

TYPE - Public

BSE - 500209

NASDAQ - Infy

FOUNDED - July 2, 1981

HEAD QUARTERS - Banglore,India

KEY PEOPLE - N.R.Narayana Murthy(Chairman) Kris Gopalakrishna (CEO)&(Director)

INDUSTRY - Software services

PRODUCTS - IT service

SERVICES - Information Technology consulting Services & solutions

REVENUE - US$3.16 billion (2009)

NET INCOME - US$1.16 billion (2009)

EMPLOYEES - 1,03,905 (2009)

WEBSITE - Infosys.com

HISTORY

Established in 1981, Infosys is a NASDAQ listed global consulting and IT services company with more than 105,000 employees. From a capital of US$ 250, we have grown to become a US$ 4 billion company with a market capitalization of approximately US$ 27 billion.

In our journey of over 28 years, we have catalyzed some of the major changes that have led to India's emergence as the global destination for software services talent. We pioneered the Global Delivery Model and became the first IT Company from India to be listed on NASDAQ. Our employee stock options program created some of India's first salaried millionaires.

Infosys Technologies Limited is a leader in software development and was co founded by N.R. Narayana Murthy and a group of seven IT professionals in the year 1981 with an investment of $1000. He emerged as the company's chairman and CEO and is regarded as a great manager because of his numerical abilities and Western style of management. It has created several firsts in Indian industry like being the first Indian company to be listed on NASDAQ in 1999 and the first to provide employee stock options plan (ESOP).

The company opened its first international office in USA in 1987. It became a public limited company in 1992 and offered its IPO in three of the nine Indian exchanges in 1993. It received its ISO 2001 certification in 1993 and opened other development centers in India in 1995.

By 1995 the firm was worth $200 million, had 900 employees and annual revenue of $20 million. It opened its first European office in United Kingdom in 1996. Infosys established its headquarters in Bangalore as there the workforces were not required to be unionized, benefits to the workforce were relatively a minor cost, and there was a huge potential for profit.

The late 1990s was a time for exponential growth and the main reason for this was its offshore software development model. By 2000 its market capitalization was more than $20 billion.

In 2003 it established subsidiaries in China and Australia. In 2004 it crossed $1 billion in revenue. In 2006 its revenue crossed $2 billion and it completed 25 years.

Awards

Infosys has consistently been honored by customers, industry bodies, media and other influencers. The following are among the recognitions we received over the past year:

Infosys was ranked among the top 50 most respected companies in the world by Reputation Institute’s Global Reputation Pulse 2009. We have been voted the 'Most Admired Indian Company' in The Wall Street Journal Asia 200 for 10 years in a row since 2000. We won Sears Holding Corporation's Partners in Progress award for the second consecutive year. We also won HDS' Diamond Award for 'Best Virtualization Strategy' and Platinum Award for 'Best Green Strategy for a Data Center'. Infosys was also listed in the Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE) 2008 study and Forbes' Asian Fabulous 50 for the fourth consecutive year. We were ranked among the 'Best Companies for Leaders' in a survey by Bloomberg BusinessWeek and Hay Group in 2009, 'India's Best Companies to Work For - 2009' in a survey by the Great Place to Work® Institute and conferred with the NASSCOM gender inclusivity award. Asset magazine acclaimed our Corporate Governance, acknowledging our corporate policies and practices as among the best in the industry.

Infosys Members of the Board

Srinath BatniDirector and Head, Delivery Excellence and Member of the Board, Infosys Technologies

David L. BoylesIndependent Director

K. Dinesh Director and Head, Communication Design Group, Information Systems and Quality and Productivity

S. GopalakrishnanChief Executive Officer and Managing Director

T. V. Mohandas Pai Director and Head, Finacle, Admin, Human Resources, Infosys Leadership Institute and Education and Research

N. R. Narayana Murthy

Chairman of the Board and Chief Mentor

Sustainability

Infosys began its journey in India's business environment in the 1980s, in an era when endless red tape was imposed on the private sector. In this environment, building a company whose long-term objectives included operational longevity, high ethical standards and global respect demanded commitment to a core set of values. For Infosys, these values focus on instilling trust in our relationships with all stakeholders, including employees, investors, clients, society and the communities in which Infosys operates.

At Infosys, we believe that we must develop trust with the communities in which we operate to achieve longevity as a corporation. Through the Infosys Foundation, which receives a grant every year from Infosys (the last year's grant was US$ 3 million) we contribute to betterment of healthcare (hospitals, infrastructure), education (books, scholarships, refurbishment of infrastructure) and skills

Infosys emphasizes its commitment to investors through stringent corporate governance. Infosys was also among the first Indian companies to voluntarily comply with the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and now provides financial results in the GAAP of six countries

With employees from over 70 nationalities, Infosys has built an enduring value system based on openness, honesty, fairness and transparency, which has earned us the confidence and trust of our clients. We enjoy +95% customer retention

Infosys has built one of the largest corporate education centers in the world. This 'finishing center', with an annual capacity of 15,000, provides engineering graduates who aspire to be employees with the equivalent of a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from an American university

INFOSYS AMONG TOP 20 FIRMS THAT PROMOTE LEADERSHIP

Human resources consultancy Hay Group has named IT major Infosys among the world's 20 best companies for leadership, evident from its continued focus on employee development even during the global slowdown. 

The annual study by Hay Group, in partnership with Bloomberg BusinessWeek.com, ranked the best companies for leadership globally and examined how those companies develop leaders. 

General Electric, which has been ranked number one in the list, spends around $400 million annually on leadership development, the study said. It is followed by low-cost American airline Southwest Airlines, conglomerate 3M Company, consumer products maker Procter & Gamble and IT consultancy Accenture. 

Indian IT firm Infosys, which employs over one lakh people, has been ranked 10th overall in the top 20 list for best companies in terms of leadership practices. 

(18 Feb 2010, New York Times)

Employees in INFOSYS

Infosys technologies, a leading software company based in India, was voted the best employer in the country in many HR surveys in the recent years. The company was well known for its employee friendly HR practices, though infosys grew to become US$ 2 billion company by the year 2006, it still retain the culture of a small company. Infosys attracted the best talent from across the world, and recruited candidates by conducting one of the toughest selection process. All the selected candidates were required to go through an intensive 14 week training program. All the employees were required to undergo training every year, and some of the chosen employees were trained at the Infosys Leadership Institute to take an higher responsibilities in the company.

Infosys was one of the first companies to offer ESOPs to its employees. The company followed variable compensation structure where the employees' compensation depended on the performance of individual, the team and the company. The case highlights many such best practices of Infosys in human resource management. It also discusses the challenges faced by the company to retain its talented workforce.

Infosys Technologies is the second only company to cross the one-lakh employee mark after industry leader TCS. Infosys and its subsidiaries added 10,117 employees in the second quarter of this fiscal that ended on 30 September, taking the total head-count to 1,00,306 employees, Infosys said on Friday, oct 10 after announcing its quarterly results.

During the quarter, the IT job market was under pressure due to the global financial crisis. Many IT firms had also postponed some of the new recruitments for next quarter.

Infosys announced its quarterly profit of a 30.2 per cent jump, helped by a weaker rupee, beating market forecasts. Infosys said July-September consolidated net profit rose to 14.32 billion rupees ($291 million) from 11 billion rupees a year ago. However, the results failed to cheer up its shares, which dipped to an intra-day low of Rs 1,040, down over 17 pc from its previous closing price.

Recruitment Targets for Infosys

YEAR NO.OF EMPLOYEES

2001 10000

2002 11000

2003 13000

2004 15000

2005 18000

2006 25000

2007-2008 35000

Bangalore - India's IT bellwether Infosys Technologies plans to hire 25,000 during the ongoing fiscal year and hike wages by

11-13 percent for its offshore employees.

According to T.V. Mohandas Pai, head of human resource development and

education and research, Infosys, the company added 5,947 employees (net addition

2,586) in fourth fiscal quarter of 2007-2008, and 33,177 employees (net 18,946) in the

full year.

In the ongoing year, the company plans to hire 25,000 people (8000 lower than last year)

with nearly 18,000 people to be hired from various campuses in the country, taking the

total number of employees from the present 91,187 to over 100,000, he said."We have

already made campus offerings of 18,000 for this fiscal," Pai said. The company also

plans to hire as many locals in the US, Europe, Australia, China and Mexico where it has

set up development centers, he continued.

The attrition rate has come marginally to 13.4 percent in fiscal 2008 as against 13.7

percent during the previous period, while the utilization rate has been at 76 percent as

against 68.4 percent during the previous corresponding period, he added.The average

salary hike this year would be between 11-13 percent (compared to 12-15 percent

announced last year) for its Indian employees and 4-5 percent for overseas employees,

Pai said.

Nonetheless, the wage hike for the Indian staff would shave off 2.3 percent from the company's profit margins in the June quarter, while costs of processing visas would impact margins by 80 basis points (0.80 percent) in the same quarter, V. Balakrishnan, CFO, Infosys, said.Infosys has a training center in Mysore with a capacity to train 13,500 candidates every quarter - the largest training facility in the world. The campus also provides accommodation for 10,000 candidates and teaching staff.The company, which has been investing about Rs.700 crore ($175 million) each year towards training its employees, plans to invest Rs.1,000 crore ($250 million) more towards training next fiscal, Pai said.

HR policies in Infosys

The following policies on various sustainability issues are adopted uniformly through out the reporting entity

. HIV (+) & AIDS CONTROL POLICY

Infosys would take measures to prevent the incidence and spread of HIV and AIDS in the society. In case of need, the company would arrange to provide counseling and medical guidance to these patients and their families.

QUALITY POLICY

Consistent with the group purpose, Infosys shall constantly strive to improve the quality of life of the communities it serves through excellence in all facets of its activities. We are committed to create value for all our stakeholders by continually improving our systems and processes through innovation, involving all our employees. This policy shall form the basis of establishing and reviewing the Quality Objectives and shall be communicated across the organization. The policy will be reviewed to align with business direction and to comply with all the requirements of the Quality Management Standard.

ENVIRONMENTAL, OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY POLICY

Infosys reaffirms its commitment to provide safe working place and clean environment to its employees and other stakeholders as an integral part of its business philosophy and values. We will continually enhance our Environmental, Occupational Health & Safety (EHS) performance in our activities, products and services through a structured EHS management framework. Towards this commitment, we shall; Establish and achieve EHS objectives and targets. Ensure compliance with applicable EHS legislation and other requirement and go beyond. Conserve natural resources and energy by constantly seeking to reduce consumption and promoting waste avoidance and recycling measures. Eliminate, minimize and/or control adverse environmental impacts and occupational health and safety risks by adopting appropriate "state-of-the-art" technology and best EHS management practices at all levels sand functions. Enhance awareness, skill and competence of our employees and contractors so as to enable them to demonstrate their involvement, responsibility and accountability for sound EHS performance.

HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY

Infosys recognizes that its people are the primary source of its competitiveness. It is committed to equal employment opportunities for attracting the best available talent and ensuring a cosmopolitan workforce. It will pursue management practices designed to enrich the quality of life of its employees, develop their potential and maximise their productivity. It will aim at ensuring transparency, fairness and equity in all its dealings with its employees. Infosys will strive continuously to foster a climate of openness, mutual trust and teamwork.

ALCOHOL AND DRUGS POLICY

Infosys believes that the loyalty and commitment of its employees depend upon the quality of life they are offered at work and at home. We recognize that indiscriminate use of alcohol and drugs is injurious to the wellbeing of individuals, their families and the community as a whole. We acknowledge that the misuse of these psychoactive substances is a major health and safety hazard. Infosys is therefore committed to creating an alcohol and drug-free environment at the work place. This would be achieved through the involvement of all employees and the Joint Departmental Councils in spearheading appropriate initiatives. The initiatives would include; raising awareness, through the dissemination of information, education and training and by promoting healthy life styles among our employees and their families.Motivating those employees who have an alcohol/drug problem, to seek assistance, while maintaining confidentiality about such cases.

RESEARCH POLICY

Infosys believes that research provides the foundation for sustained, long-term, stakeholder delight. Infosys shall nurture and encourage innovative research in a creative ambience to ensure that the competitive advantage in its overall business is retained and surpassed. Towards this goal, the Company commits itself to providing all necessary resources and facilities for use by motivated researchers of the highest calibre. Research in Infosys shall be aligned to the technological initiatives necessary to evolve and fulfil the overall business objectives of the Company.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY POLICY

Infosys believes that the primary purpose of a business is to improve the quality of life of people. Infosys will volunteer its resources, to the extent it can reasonably afford, to

sustain and improve healthy and prosperous environment and to improve the quality of life of the people of the areas in which it operates.

ENERGY POLICY

Infosys reaffirms its commitment to conserve scarce energy resources and shall endeavor to-

1. Comply with national and international regulations.

2. Adopt best available technology for energy efficiency.

3. Implement world-class operating practices.

4. Conduct regular Energy Audit for continual improvement.

5. Promote energy efficiency through mass awareness.

Implementation

The strategic goals of the organization are derived from Vision, Mission, Value, Policies and Code of Conduct (Refer Annexure-II) of the Organization. These goals as indicated in MD's Balance Score Card (Figure#3.7) deployed across the organization. These policies are applicable only to Infosys and not applicable to its subsidiaries, associates or supply chain partners. Listening to our shareholders The minutes are prepared for proceedings of Annual General Meeting. These minutes include the suggestions, comments and feedback from the shareholders. Concerns of shareholders are discussed in the Board Meeting and after prioritization of these concerns Board directs the management to integrate the same in business decision. Besides the AGM, Investor Satisfaction Surveys, meeting with investors and an Investor Grievance Cell are other forums through which shareholders provide recommendations or direction to the Board. pvt. Ltd.

Human Resource Management: Best Practices in Infosys Technologies

Best Employer in India

Infosys Technologies Ltd. (Infosys), based in Bangalore, India, was named 'The Best

Company to Work for in India' by Business Today magazine in a survey conducted by

Business Today, HR consulting firm Mercer, and international market research firm TNS.

Infosys had been adjudged the 'Best Company to Work For' in 2001 and 2002 but had

lost this position in the next couple of years (Refer Exhibit I for the 'Best companies to

work for in India' from 2001-2006). In the 'Best Employer' survey conducted by

Dataquest-IDC in the year 2006, Infosys was adjudged the 'Dream Company to Work

for.'Attracting the best and the brightest and creating a milieu where they operate at their

highest potential is very important. Our campus and technology infrastructure is world-

class, we pay a lot of attention to training and competency building, we try to have

sophisticated appraisal systems, we try to reward performance through variable pay.

These are all part of the same motive."Since the early 2000s, Infosys' operations had been

growing rapidly across the world. The number of employees in the company also

increased four-fold to 44,658 in March 2006 as compared to 10,738 in March 2001

(Refer Exhibit III for the number of employees in Infosys between 1995 and 2006).

The company believed that its key assets were people and that it was important to bring

its employees on par with the company's global competitors. In spite of its rapid global

expansion, Infosys retained the culture of a small company. According to Bikramjeet

Maitra (Maitra), Head of Human Resources, Infosys, "We like to maintain a smaller

company touch and we have split the overall business into several smaller independent

units of around 4,000 people each.

Moreover, Infosys was also recognized globally and featured among the top 100 companies in Computerworld's 'Best Places to Work for in IT – 2006'.For participating in this survey, the companies needed to have revenues of over US$ 250 million in 2005, and to employ 500 employees in the US. Infosys also featured in the list in 2004 and 2005 (Refer Exhibit II for some of the honors/awards received by Infosys).

On the company's HR practices, Nandan Nilekani (Nilekani), CEO, President and Managing Director of Infosys, commented, "It is about creating a highly motivated workforce because this is not a factory where you can monitor the quantum of output at the end of the day. But in the intellectual business you cannot do that. So, you have to create a motivated set of people who can operate.

Salaries for Employees

SALARIES IN US $ AVERAGE

Programmer Analyst

3,049 Infosys Salaries

$55,965

Project Manager

1,390 Infosys Salaries

$81,191

ERP Analyst

755 Infosys Salaries

$59,835

Technical Analyst

720 Infosys Salaries

$72,658

Programmer Analyst - Hourly

563 Infosys Salaries

$28.18/hr

Business Analyst

490 Infosys Salaries

$72,112

Systems Administrator

275 Infosys Salaries

$55,930

Technical Analyst - Hourly

91 Infosys Salaries

$36.54/hr

Project Manager - Hourly

86 Infosys Salaries

$42.69/hr

ERP Analyst - Hourly59 Infosys Salaries

$29.00/hr

CASE STUDY

Organization : Infosys

Industry : India

Abstract:

The case examines the controversy surrounding the charges of sexual harassment and unlawful termination made by an employee against Infosys, leading Indian software company, during 2001-03. Phaneesh Murthy, a top level executive and a director on the company board, was accused of sexually harassing and unlawfully firing his subordinate, Reka Maximovitch. The case provides information about the definition of sexual harassment and examines in detail the events that occurred from the time Maximovitch joined Infosys to the out-of-court settlement of the lawsuit. The reasons for the out-of-court settlement are discussed and the measures taken by Infosys to improve its internal policies regarding sexual harassment are described.

The fall of high priest

This is a story of blackmail, sex, stalking, threats, oppression, hurt feelings and revenge. Interestingly, all this happened in and around the US offices of Infosys, one of India's most well-known and respected software companies, between October 1999 and December 2000.

As a result, Infosys became entangled in a scandal, that dented its reputation as a company that had the best corporate governance structure in the country. The events that took place during October 1999 and December 2000 became public knowledge in India only when Phaneesh Murthy (Phaneesh), the head of the sales and marketing, and communication and product services division of Infosys (and a director on the board), resigned from his post in June 2002. Phaneesh said that he had resigned in order to focus on fighting a lawsuit filed against him in the US. The lawsuit, filed by his former secretary, Reka Maximovitch (Reka) alleged that Phaneesh had sexually harassed her and unlawfully terminated her employment. The company's share price declined by 6.6% soon after Phaneesh left.

The case attracted a lot of media coverage since a sexual harassment lawsuit implicating such a senior official had never been heard of in the Indian corporate world. It was also

being seen as an event that could make Indian companies stop ignoring the sensitive issue of sexual harassment at the workplace.

While sexual harassment of female employees was prevalent in the country, it was either not reported or ignored. Either the victims kept quite due to fear of social ridicule and fear of losing their jobs, or the matter was somehow hushed up by the management. The stance adopted by Infosys in this case seemed to go against its image of a company considered to be a model of good corporate governance. Analysts claimed that the company had kept the issue under wraps for a long time. Media reports blamed Infosys for neglecting to formulate/implement a structured policy regarding sexual harassment and for compromising on moral values for an 'economically-valuable' person like Phaneesh.Analysts wondered how a company that Forbes had once described as "a model of transparency, not just for the rest of corporate India but for companies everywhere," do such things! The saga of Phaneesh, Reka and Infosys and the issue of sexual harassment at the workplace (in India as well as abroad) were debated heatedly in corporate and media circles, as many more shocking events unfolded over the next one year.

Background Note:

The sexual harassment of employees manifests itself in different ways, depending on the social norms prevalent in various parts of the world. Broadly speaking, sexual harassment at the workplace can be divided into two categories: 'quid pro quo' and 'hostile working environment.' 

Quid pro quo involves making the conditions of employment contingent on the employee (prospective/existing) granting the employer sexual favors. The employer makes it very clear that hiring, promotions, perks, facilities etc. would be possible only if the employee consents to the former's sexual advances. This is a very 'easy to identify' and comparatively 'easy to prove' form of sexual harassment.

he 'hostile working environment' form of harassment, which is the basis of most of the court cases filed, is more difficult to identify and prove. As per a 1993 US Supreme Court ruling, this has been defined as, "When the workplace is permeated with 'discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult that is 'sufficiently' severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim's employment and create an abusive working environment."

Thus, any employee who indulges in speech or conduct of sexually discriminatory nature, without encouragement from/being welcomed by the employee so as to create an abusive working environment and negatively affecting the employee's performance would fall under the purview of this form of harassment. Though the law clearly defines sexual harassment, the diverse socio-cultural environment of different countries complicates the matter. Reportedly, the rather 'free' behavior of Japanese bosses towards their female subordinates would come as a shock to people from the US or many other parts of the

world. Even within a country, organization or office, the exact nature of the incident depends on the attitude, upbringing and behavioral patterns of the people involved...