Lessons Learned from Satyam

The media is overflowing with news on the Satyam fraud. How B Ramalinga Raju planned, controlled and innovated his managerial processes will go down as a classic case study on How to Fail in Business. Brand India has suffered. What is ironic is that Satyam was started by entrepreneurs who served as role models.

The key lesson: Corporate governance must always be on top of an organization’s agenda. Failing which, one must be prepared to risk sudden death.

Fundamentally, corporate governance implies management assuming the role of “trusteeship” with all the attendant checks and balances that can create a high performing organization. This was advocated by Mahatma Gandhi early in the twentieth century. These trustees must aim to deliver balanced results in the following dimensions:

1. Customer satisfaction and loyalty
2. Employee satisfaction and commitment
3. Superior shareholder value
4. Societal responsibility

In India, while the movement towards more effective corporate governance has gathered momentum, much remains to be done. In several cases this concept is being

Volatile Times : Call for Agile Measures

If oil went from $ 65 to $ 145 and back to $ 40 in one year, similar changes happened in the prices of palm oil, iron ore, steel, etc.

The threat of volatility is here to stay. 

Volatility can be managed only with agility.

Agility is primarily driven by a moving target, namely, changing customer needs. It is also driven by the desire to simplify operations, improve productivity, and lower costs.

Traditional analysis and improvement of work processes enables organizations to

Beyond Pink Slips and Yellow Cards – Intelligent Cost Reduction

I read in the morning newspaper that the pink slip is now a yellow card – the yellow card manifesting itself primarily as across-the-board salary cuts and accelerated consumption of leave.

These measures will only delay the inevitable, if not supported by recession-proof actions.

2009 is going to be a challenge for the

Treat Your Workers With Dignity – The RATAN TATA Way

One of the first lessons I learnt from Dr JM Juran, in 1987, was “Treat your workers with dignity.” This management practice facilitates quality business results.

In all the recent Singur turmoil, what struck me most was Mr Ratan Tata’s consistent and persistent concern for the safety of his Tata Motor workforce. Ultimately, when matters heated up, he walked his talk by exiting Singur. He paid a staggering price, but

Beyond Megawatts – NTPC harnesses People Power

Glancing through the previous posts in this blog, I couldn’t help noticing that all organizations featured so far have one thing in common – they have broken norms, exceeded set standards and in short, made the impossible possible. Not surprising, really, in a blog dedicated to the best practices of world-class organizations. So, our protagonist this time is an organization that can be considered a corporate oxymoron – an Indian public sector company that has repeatedly been voted as one of the best places to work for! National Thermal Power Corporation, India’s largest power company, has not only topped workplace surveys every year, but also won several awards for corporate citizenship, governance and environment-friendly measures.

NTPC seems to be truly committed to its tagline, “Generating smiles beyond megawatts”, applying it not only to external stakeholders but also to its 23,500 employees. The company’s HR strategy, which is closely aligned to NTPC’s overall strategy, has

Automotive Paint Company’s Green Path to Customer Delight

You can safely claim to have arrived as an organization when your customers proclaim that their relationship with you is the perfect partnership. BASF Coatings (India), a leading provider of automotive and industrial coatings, recently won the Ford Q1 award, Ford Motor Company’s prestigious recognition for suppliers who consistently deliver outstanding results in quality, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

BASF is the first paint manufacturing company in India to receive the award, which is based on rigorous assessment of a firm’s quality systems as well as several other criteria including communication, teamwork and strategic alignment. A noteworthy example of the harmony between Ford and BASF is the

Dr SS Badrinath – Legacy of a Visionary Leader

One would easily agree with the view that a leader broadly plays the role of an organisational architect – driving and synergizing its visionary blueprint with its systems, processes and operating fundamentals.  I would, however, go that extra bit and advocate the view that a leader largely shapes and perhaps even constitutes the organisation’s soul.

In other words, a leader essentially can create a lasting legacy for the organisation through the spirit, energy and thought that s/he helps foster within the organisation.  As we delve on this point, I am tempted to think – how do these leaders build and shape their people, and

Knowledge Organizations – Innovating for the Workforce

Have knowledge organizations changed the landscape of today’s workforce? And have they brought in an unprecedented change in the workforce order?

Let’s examine this closer – walk into the hallways of any knowledge organization, and you are likely to find yourself in the midst of a very diverse pool comprising of people from all parts of the nation, more women and more representation of disabled employees. This probably stems from the fact that

Be a Market Driver; Don’t Wait for the Market to Drive You – Hindalco’s Aluminium Gallery

What are the typical household applications that you would associate with aluminium? Foil, of course, utensils, may be – probably you are also thinking of window frames and garden chairs. Ever thought of the silvery grey metal as a lifestyle statement? Take a look at the displays in any of Hindalco’s aluminium galleries and the idea of aluminium as a fashion statement will seem a lot less far-fetched!

India’s per capita consumption of aluminium is 0.7 kg as against 25 kg in the US. Hindalco, one of Asia’s largest manufacturers of primary aluminium, realized that

“Measure what is measurable, make measurable what is not”: Accounting for Intangibles at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories

What makes several companies in the knowledge economy many times more valuable than their book value or recorded assets? In industries where more value is embedded in intangible assets like patents, innovation and research than in financial assets, traditional accounting systems can mislead internal and external stakeholders. A prime example of one such industry is pharmaceuticals. The phenomenal growth in India’s pharmaceutical industry has been largely powered by R&D and resultant innovation.

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories is among the world leaders in the generics market. The company has evolved a