Want a Bargain...Be the Best

The Cricket World Cup 2002 would be remembered as much for the resurrection of the Indian fighting spirit on field as off it. The pre events of World Cup saw Indian players at loggerheads with BCCI and ICC over the advertisement rights with the players having the last laugh. When we look into the matter where the ICC wanted the players to breach the contracts with their sponsors and display the logos and ads of the World Cup sponsors on their kits, it appears as though the ICC was trying to violate the rights. The rights of the players as well as their sponsors.

The sponsors have earned the right to display their logos on the players’ kits by paying those loads of money. The ICC too may have garnered millions of dollars in sponsorship money. What the ICC could not anticipate was the strong retaliation from the players. After a month of deliberations, debates and accusations the ICC had to bow down to the players demands. The players also had to compromise a bit, but the deal was in their favour.

What is significant about the event are the parties involved. On one hand, a bunch of high profile, demi-gods of cricket and on the other their employers. (BCCI, ICC). What did the players have in them to have their employers bow down to their demands? What if the first group was a group of un-unionised employees in a firm? Would they have the same bargaining power?

The answer is No.

In my view, to have such a bargaining power one must stand out in the crowd. Unless one has some very special talent/attributes/experience/skill, he/she is replaceable. People pay lakhs of rupees to watch Sachin Tendulkar play. The ICC could not risk loosing this revenue. What does a common employee has in him to demand similar treatment as certain Sachin Tendulkar or Virender Sehwag demand?

While working in the shopfloor, I have seen some improvements suggested by the workmen become the Standard Operating Procedures for the forthcoming projects, reducing costs substantially. All that the workman got was a pat on the back and some encouraging words. Can these workmen demand the share of the profits earned due to their idea? The answer depends on the qualification/type of work done by him. For example, in my previous company there were only 2/3 people who knew how to use a certain profile measuring machine, Leica. These employees were given preferential treatment and they certainly got the better deals everywhere. The more the company specific and technology-driven work, the more is one’s bargaining power.

What we can learn from our heroes is that “Become the best in what you do and everything happens as you wish.”