The Younger Generations Are Driven By A Sense Of Purpose Rather Than Monetary Rewards

INDIA IS ONE of the world’s fastest growing economies. With fast-paced economic progress, there is also an underlying need to have corporate leaders consciously implement best work practices and business ethics as a core part of a company’s growth strategy. Only this will result in creating ‘highly effective global leaders for future generations’.

Brand Tata has always been synonymous with ‘trust’. Even today, each employee of the Tata Group is proud to be part of a truly ‘global’ and yet ‘humble and socially responsible’ company. Munnish Puri meets with Mukund Rajan to discuss his role as the Tata Group’s chief sustainability and chief ethics officer.

- Munnish Puri

Q: After Tata Steel’s acquisition of Anglo Dutch major Corus and the Tata Motors’ buyout of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) of the UK, analysts questioned both the transactions and specifically alluded to how would the Tata Group integrate its best working practices amongst the management and employees of Corus and JLR. In your opinion, how successful has the Tata Group been in managing such challenges? I think, we have had very good success in integrating the companies the Tata Group acquired. There are at least three key factors that have contributed to this — first, the cultural sensitivity with which we approached our acquisitions; second, our willingness to give the management of the acquired companies the requisite autonomy to run their operations; and third, the alignment of the companies and people with the core pillars of the Tata brand — our code of conduct and our business excellence model.

To illustrate, when Tata Motors bid for Korea’s Daewoo commercial vehicle operations in 2004, our then chairman Ratan Tata asserted that in Korea, we must be seen as a Korean company, and not as an Indian company. This philosophy meant that Tata Motors in Korea would essentially retain Korean management and connect itself to the Korean society and serve Korean consumers. When you bid for a company with this attitude, you send out a signal that you care for the long term success of the company, and its integration with the local community.