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CONTENTS
FOREWORD ........................................................ 06 PIONEERING ........................................... 08 TRUSTEESHIP ......................................... 14 GIVING ................................................... 20 COMMUNITY ........................................... 27 ETHICS ................................................... 34 EXCELLENCE ........................................... 39 INNOVATION ........................................... 46 LEADERSHIP ........................................... 52 GROWTH ................................................ 57

FOREWORD
It is common for colleagues at the Tata group to refer to the Tata Way of doing things. One hears it frequently in meetings, conferences, dayto-day conversations. That a certain action or decision is perceived as not being in line with the Tata Way is reason enough not to do it; similarly, when something passes muster as the Tata Way of doing it, then that is, quite often, sound enough reason to proceed. The Tata Way is part of a lexicon peculiar to the house of Tatas. Commonly used and easily understood, but rarely defined. Elusive, yet all-pervading. Its one of those terms that have come to describe the manner in which the group and its employees negotiate the world of business. Depending on the context, it is associated with an ethical, morally correct way to do business; a socially responsible approach to business, or business with a conscience; or a tradition of pioneering, of being the first-movers in various realms. Much like that other term Tata-ness, the Tata Way has defied definition it is just something that a Tata employee feels and knows. This booklet is an attempt to capture the various associations and perceptions of the Tata Way. It is a depiction of the qualities that have coalesced to give the Tata organisation shape and substance. It is a chronicle that outlines how tradition and heritage, vision and fortitude are in lockstep with accomplishment and progress in business. It is, in the final telling, a snapshot of what the Tatas are all about, what they represent, and how they have carved out a singular space for themselves in the world of enterprise. Most of what rests between the covers of this modest volume has

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appeared in various publications down the years in some form or the other. The intent here is not, then, to duplicate those efforts but, rather, to elucidate the subject matter the Tata way of business through the prism of a shared ethos and a common collection of stories. It is an attempt to help employees especially those who are encountering this unique culture at close quarters for the first time to better appreciate the many elements that have made the Tata organisation what it is. From its pioneering endeavours to the trusteeship concept that underpins its ownership structure, from its commitment to fulfilling societal responsibilities to its steadfast allegiance to ethical practices, from its emphasis on excellence and innovation in business to its remarkable record with growth and leadership in a spread of industries, the Tata group has plenty to be proud about. The Tata Way, I am convinced, has shown us the direction in making this possible, in bringing together more than 450,000 people who are now part of the Tata family, in creating a fabric of business that blends profitability and conscientiousness, in the fashioning of a philosophy of entrepreneurship that is, simply put, unique. I hope and expect that this publication will resonate with all of us: old timers in the group, those crafting long-term careers at Tata companies, and newcomers who are beginning to understand what this organisation is all about. I wish you a pleasant journey as you follow the Tata Way.

Cyrus P Mistry Chairman, Tata Sons

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PIONEERING
Jamsetji was remarkable in that he adopted international standards in those days. He went to the best consultants and was always looking to provide India with world-class enterprises. He had the ability to identify people, Indians and expatriates, whom he intuitively believed could execute and lead his projects. He was a true internationalist in that sense and, yet, a committed nationalist. Ratan Tata

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amsetji Tata, the Founder of the Tata group, chose not to worry too much about the risks attached to treading the solitary path,

concentrating instead on the boundless possibilities that could be unleashed by a spirit of pioneering. This is the spirit that has piloted the entrepreneurial endeavours of the Tata group, from its inception through to the present day. Jamsetji was, in the words of his biographer Frank Harris, so far ahead of his times that his countrymen could not always keep pace with his broader ideas nor comprehend their drift. That is understandable given the context: colonial India tended not to be an accommodating place for a native-born son wading into untested business waters. Jamsetji made light of such deterrents and, in doing so, laid the ground for a way of thinking that has characterised the Tata groups pioneering exertions in myriad fields of enterprise.

THE BIRTH OF THE EMPRESS


The path-breaking inclinations of the Tata group found first bloom when Jamsetji established, in 1877, the Empress Mills in Nagpur in central India. The Tatas were considered, as one historian put it, backbenchers in the Bombay business world when this textile venture, the groups first big industrial initiative, was set up. Jamsetjis appetite for risk-taking would grow in later years but here, too, it was in evidence: First, Nagpur was not a popular destination for textile projects at the time; second, the Empress Mills introduced new technology such as ring spindles; third, the mill was run by a board of directors, an extraordinary practice for the time; fourth, it went against the prevailing practice and charged, under the managing agency system of the day, commissions on profits rather than production. The Tatas first industrial venture, thus, heralded many firsts.

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PASSION FOR STEEL


For all the challenges it faced and overcame, the Empress Mills enterprise would pale in comparison with Jamsetjis life-consuming passion for Tata to be a large-scale producer of iron and steel. This was as much a business proposition as it was an adventure into the unknown. It requires no great insight into the industrial history of India to realise that to think of launching steel production in India in the late nineteenth century was, on the face of it, foolhardy, writes the historian Dwijendra Tripathi. Historical precedence, prevailing prospecting laws, the state of technological competence in the country, the colossal financial requirement, and the indifferent, if not downright hostile, attitude of the colonial government all militated against the idea. And no one could have imagined that steel manufacturing, even if somehow mounted, would yield substantial profits in the foreseeable future. There was plenty of scorn to go around, too, most notoriously that generated by Sir Frederick Upcott, then the chief commissioner for the Indian Railways: Do you mean to say that Tatas propose to make steel rails to British specifications? Why, I will undertake to eat every pound of steel rail they succeed in making. Sir Frederick had to eat his words there is no account of him chewing on even an ounce of the metal as the plant started functioning in 1912, after numerous twists and turns, in a place that is now called, appropriately enough, Jamshedpur. It was at that point the largest single industrial unit in the British Empire. The baton of running the Tata group had by then passed to Dorab Tata, Jamsetjis elder son, and so it seemed had that trailblazing

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spirit of a father who, as the biographer Frank Harris wrote, had to live with those curious impediments which dog the steps of pioneers who attempt to modernise the East. Dorabjis contributions to the making of the Tata group were at least as significant as those of Jamsetji, and his accomplishments probably more considerable. Not least of these was turning another of Jamsetjis pioneering ideas, generating hydroelectric power, into reality. Jamsetji had envisioned building a reservoir in the Sahyadri mountain range near Bombay (now Mumbai) and harnessing the energy produced by rainwater from the Roha river to generate power for a city then drawing much of its electricity from hugely polluting coal. The venture was not as difficult to execute as the iron and steel undertaking, but the prospects of quick profits were just as distant.

NEW VENTURES
The grandest of the ventures that did come into existence during Jamsetjis lifetime was the Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay. Legend has it that the Tata Founder set his mind on building it after being denied entry into one of the citys fancy hotels on account of being an Indian. That is most likely untrue. What is not is that the Taj, built at a cost of `42 million and opened to patrons in 1903, was sumptuousness defined, unique for its time and among the most luxurious hospitality properties in the world. It was the first building in Bombay to be lit by electricity and had many other firsts to its credit: American fans, German elevators, Turkish baths, English butlers.

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The Tata groups pioneering efforts in the airline venture and its foray into information technology took flight during the stewardship of JRD Tata, the charismatic leader of the group from 1938 to 1991. Tata Airlines was established as Tata Aviation Service in 1932 the first flight in the history of Indian aviation lifted off from Drigh Road in Karachi with JRD Tata at the controls of a Puss Moth and it quickly soared to success. Renamed Air India in 1948, it was nationalised by the government of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1953, a decision JRD Tata did not take kindly to. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the information technology enterprise, was born in 1968 and quickly became an innovative powerhouse that laid the seeds for Indias spectacular success as a software dynamo. In the 44 years of its existence, TCS has broken new ground in multiple ways, with its offshore and outsourcing services and a creative feel for business that has seen it rise to become one of the leading companies of the Tata group in terms of size and revenues. Developing passenger cars indigenously the Indica and the Nano is yet another standout example of the Tata groups

TATA AIRLINES WAS ESTABLISHED AS TATA AVIATION SERVICE IN 1932 THE FIRST FLIGHT IN THE HISTORY OF INDIAN AVIATION LIFTED OFF FROM DRIGH ROAD IN KARACHI WITH JRD TATA AT THE CONTROLS OF A PUSS MOTH AND IT QUICKLY SOARED TO SUCCESS.

pioneering instincts, as are its attempts to fashion a spectrum of products for consumers and customers at the bottom of the pyramid.

FOR GREATER GOOD


There is, however, much about the pioneering philosophy at

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Tata that goes beyond products and profits: The labour-welfare measures championed by Jamsetji and Dorabji (many of them implemented at Tata group companies before they became statutory even in the developed world); new forms of management, business structures and strategies; the setting up of educational and research institutions for the greater public good; the crafting of an ownership structure based on the trusteeship concept; making enlightened philanthropy an intrinsic part of the flow of business. All of these reflect, in measures large and small, an original and pioneering bent of thinking and execution. When you have to give the lead in action, in ideas a lead which does not fit in with the very climate of opinion that is true courage, physical or mental or spiritual, call it what you like. This was Jawaharlal Nehrus eulogy for Jamsetji Tata on one occasion, but he could well have been referring to the business Jamsetji founded and inspired.

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TRUSTEESHIP
The wealth gathered by Jamsetji Tata and his sons in half a century of industrial pioneering formed but a minute fraction of the amount by which they enriched the nation. The whole of that wealth is held in trust for the people and used exclusively for their benefit. The cycle is thus complete. What came from the people has gone back to the people many times over. JRD Tata

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he Tata name in any given Tata company comes from the shareholding that Tata Sons, one of the two promoter holding

companies, has in it. Part of Tata Sons mandate is to invest in operating Tata companies and to advance the groups entry into new ventures (a responsibility that is shared by Tata Industries, the other promoter holding company of the group).

THE PRINCIPLE OF TRUSTEESHIP


Philanthropic trusts endowed by members of the Tata family hold a majority stake in Tata Sons. The biggest of these trusts are the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, which were created by the families of the sons of Jamsetji Tata. The trusts own 66 percent of the equity capital of Tata Sons. The returns from the investment that the Tata trusts have in Tata Sons are funnelled into an extensive spread of philanthropic causes that embrace institutions and common people in a wide variety of spheres. This one-of-a-kind system, where ownership resides with the philanthropic trusts rather than individuals, has been fostered by, and is based on, the principle of trusteeship. This commitment to the principle of trusteeship remains, to this day, a distinctly Tata characteristic.

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR
For Jamsetji Tata, the Founder of the Tata group, company and country India in this instance were almost indistinguishable, and it is his legacy that gave birth to and nurtured the tradition of trusteeship that defines the group. Jamsetji said: There is one kind of charity common enough among us It is that patchwork philanthropy which clothes the

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ragged, feeds the poor, and heals the sick. I am far from decrying the noble spirit which seeks to help a poor or suffering fellow being. [However] what advances a nation or a community is not so much to prop up its weakest and most helpless members, but to lift up the best and the most gifted, so as to make them of the greatest service to the country. It is this sentiment from which springs Jamsetjis idea of a business organisation committed not just to profit alone but to public good as well. As with some of his grandest entrepreneurial concepts, the translating of Jamsetjis thoughts into action happened under the watch of his elder son, Dorab Tata, a remarkable man who blended business brilliance with altruistic instincts. The personal wealth of Dorabji and his younger brother, Ratanji Tata, and the manner of its disbursement, laid the ground for the creation of the trusts that bear their names. Ratanji died in 1918 at the age of 47; the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) was set up a year later as per the terms of his will. Today, SRTT and the Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust (set up in 1974 in memory of Ratanjis wife) work together to bestow grants for

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various projects. A few months before his death in 1932, Dorabji pledged his personal wealth to the newly-registered Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. Dorabji, very much his fathers son, spelled out his rationale of business when he said in February 1911 (at the opening of the Tata hydroelectric project near Bombay): To my father the acquisition of wealth was only a secondary object in life; it was always subordinate to the constant desire in his heart to improve the industrial and intellectual condition of the people of this country It is a matter of the greatest gratification to his sons to have been permitted to carry to fruition the sacred trust which he committed to their charge.

RAISING THE STAKES


Tata Sons, founded as a trading entity called Tata & Sons in 1868, is fundamental to the ownership structure of the Tata group. This makes the Tata trusts the predominant owners of what has been termed the Tata group of businesses. Jamsetji and his sons used Tata Sons as the instrument to funnel their investment in various business ventures. Tata Sons holdings in the groups companies were often undersized, but this was alright in the business days of old, when with the support and trust of shareholders a promoter company could manage its enterprises through a small stake in them. And this

THIS ONE-OF-A-KIND SYSTEM, WHERE OWNERSHIP RESIDES WITH THE PHILANTHROPIC TRUSTS RATHER THAN INDIVIDUALS, HAS BEEN FOSTERED BY, AND IS BASED ON, THE PRINCIPLE OF TRUSTEESHIP . THIS COMMITMENT TO THE PRINCIPLE OF TRUSTEESHIP REMAINS, TO THIS DAY, A DISTINCTLY TATA CHARACTERISTIC.

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was the era of the managing agency system, which made that kind of arrangement par for the course. The managing agency system, established during the era of the East India Company, was put in place to enable British business promoters and backers to invest their funds in India, the idea being that this would make it easier for them to control such investments from abroad. Under the system the executive authority of a promoter company became part of the contract of management signed by the company being promoted, and inviolable as such. (The managing agency system was abolished by the Government of India in 1970). By the 1980s, Tata Sons held a smaller share in Tata Steel than another big Indian business conglomerate. That began to change when Ratan Tata took over as Chairman of Tata Sons from Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata in 1991. Ratan Tata, an architect by training, set about rebuilding Tata Sons shareholding in each group enterprise to close to 30 percent. The strengthening of its stakes in different Tata companies allowed Tata Sons to better manage these companies and the group as a whole, and it has enhanced the stature and the assets of the Tata trusts. The institution, as ever, has benefitted.

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Left unsaid here is a fact rarely commented upon: the Tatas, one of Indias most illustrious industrial families for well over a century, never show up on any listing of wealthy people. Put that down to an ownership structure that has endowed the Tata group with the ability to add muscle and meaning to the legacy of its Founder. And that is truly unique.

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GIVING
What advances a nation or a community is not so much to prop up its weakest and most helpless members but to lift up the best and the most gifted, so as to make them of the greatest service to the country. Jamsetji Tata

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he ownership of the Tata group is unique. The Tata philanthropic trusts hold 66 percent of the shares in Tata Sons, one of the

two promoter holding companies of the group. The wealth that accrues to the trusts from this asset supports an assortment of causes, institutions and individuals in a wide variety of areas. Its the trusteeship principle in full play, with philanthropy as its core and credo. The biggest of the Tata trusts are the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, which were created with the personal wealth of the two sons of the Tata group Founder Jamsetji Tata. The logic and the method behind the formation of the Tata trusts may have sprung from the minds of his sons, but it was Jamsetji who pointed them to the path of structured and meaningful philanthropy. Jamsetjis idea of philanthropy was far removed from conventional notions of charity. It was much more than handouts that he envisioned when he set up, in 1892, the JN Tata Endowment. The first of the Tata familys planned philanthropic initiatives, it enabled Indian students, regardless of caste or creed, to pursue higher studies in England. This blossomed into the Tata scholarships, which were so prolific that by 1924 two of every five Indians coming into the elite Indian Civil Service were Tata scholars. In later years the beneficiaries of the endowment would include former President of India KR Narayanan, scientists Raja Ramanna and Jayant Narlikar, and writer and actor Girish Karnad. More importantly, it marked the beginning of the Tata commitment to wealth-sharing. Jamsetjis greatest effort, though, was concentrated

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on establishing what would become the Indian Institute of Science. He pledged `3 million from his personal fortune for it and sought the support of the then British viceroy, Lord Curzon, and Swami Vivekananda, among others, to make it a reality.

BUILDING ON A LEGACY
Swami Vivekananda, in his backing of the idea, wrote in 1899, I am not aware if any project at once so opportune and so far reaching in its beneficent effects has ever been mooted in India... The scheme grasps the vital point of weakness in our national well-being with a clearness of vision and tightness of grip, the mastery of which is only equalled by the munificence of the gift that is being ushered to the public. Jamsetjis sons, Dorab and Ratan, built on the legacy of their father in a magnificent manner. Sometime before his death in June 1932, Dorabji bequeathed most of his personal wealth to the newly registered Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. Dorabji also set up a trust in his wifes memory, the Lady Tata Memorial Trust, which he endowed with a corpus of `2.5 million for research in leukaemia, and he donated more than `2 million to a clutch of institutions. In the words of the Governor of Bombay, Sir Frederick Sykes, he put the coping stone on his lifes policy of assisting those less well endowed with this worlds goods.

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Ratanji, the younger of Jamsetjis sons, died in 1918 at the relatively young age of 47. He donated his extensive art collection to the Prince of Wales Museum (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya) in Bombay and left directives in his will for his personal wealth to be used for programmes in education, health, livelihoods and communities, art and culture, and public initiatives. The trust bearing his name was established in 1919. Much has happened since those early years and the Tata trusts have grown in number, with other members of the family contributing to the charity corpus. Taken together, the trusts now disburse principally to nonprofit organisations but also to other entities nearly `5 billion to support initiatives in health and education, livelihoods and agriculture, human rights and culture, the environment and more, in India and abroad. Include the contribution of Tata companies in funding social development programmes and the total adds up to about 4.5 percent of the net profits of the Tata organisation.

A VISION FOR THE COUNTRY


A considerable proportion of the Tata trusts resources have been earmarked for the establishment and further development of institutions that have made outstanding contributions to the cause of India. The most prominent of these are the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, the Tata Memorial Centre for Cancer

TAKEN TOGETHER, THE TATA TRUSTS NOW DISBURSE PRINCIPALLY TO NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS BUT ALSO TO OTHER ENTITIES NEARLY `5 BILLION TO SUPPORT INITIATIVES IN HEALTH AND EDUCATION, LIVELIHOODS AND AGRICULTURE, HUMAN RIGHTS AND CULTURE, THE ENVIRONMENT AND MORE, IN INDIA AND ABROAD.

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Research and Treatment, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, the National Centre for the Performing Arts, the National Institute of Advanced Studies, the Sir Dorabji Tata Centre for Research in Tropical Diseases, the JRD Tata Ecotechnology Centre, and the recently opened Tata Medical Center. Many have wondered whether this is baggage we can afford to carry, said Ratan Tata, then Chairman of Tata Sons, in a 2008 interview. My view is that our expression of social responsibility cannot be measured in terms of profit and loss. It is an enormous contribution to the nation, an enormous expression of goodwill to the communities around us. I would like to think this is the best part of what Tata stands for We really do care.

THE TATA CHARITY CANOPY


There are two principal trusts operating under the Tata umbrella: the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and the Allied Trusts, and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) and the Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust. Over 75 percent of the funds of the many Tata trusts accrue from dividends on the shares they own in Tata Sons, one of the two promoter holding companies of the Tata group. The remaining comes from statutory investments. The JN Tata Endowment was the first of the Tata trusts. It was established by Founder Jamsetji Tata in 1892 to provide scholarship loans to individuals for the pursuit of higher studies abroad. More than 120 students are selected every year from across India as JN Tata scholars. SDTT was established in 1932 by Dorab Tata, the elder son of Jamsetji Tata. It is the largest, and one of the oldest, philanthropic organisations in India.

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Dorabji bequeathed most of his personal wealth in 1932 to the trust that bears his name. This wealth was estimated at `10 million and comprised substantial shareholdings in various Tata enterprises, landed property, his wife Lady Meherbais jewellery including the famous Jubilee diamond, twice the size of the Kohinoor and even his pearl-studded tie pins and cufflinks. SDTT and the Allied Trusts grants for 2011-12 were spread across three broad spheres: to nonprofits, institutions and individuals. There are six thematic spheres in which SDTT and the Allied Trusts extend support to nonprofits: natural resource management and rural livelihoods; health; education; civil society, governance and human rights; urban poverty and livelihoods; and media, arts and culture. SDTT is best known for promoting six pioneering institutions of national importance: the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (set up in 1936), the Tata Memorial Centre for Cancer Research and Treatment (1941), the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (1945) and the National Centre for the Performing Arts (1966) all in Mumbai. The National Institute of Advanced Studies (1988) and the Sir Dorabji Tata Centre for Research in Tropical Diseases (1999) are both in Bengaluru. The Sir Ratan Tata Trust was established in 1919, with a corpus of `8.1 million, following the death of Ratanji Tata, the younger son of Jamsetji Tata; it operates in accordance with his will.

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SRTT and the Navajbai Ratan Tata Trusts disbursals in 2011-12 were in five thematic spheres: rural livelihoods and communities; education; civil society and governance; health; and arts and culture. The Allied Trusts are smaller trusts; while some of them have a specific mandate, the rest are broad-based in their approach to grant-making.

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COMMUNITY
In a free enterprise, the community is not just another stakeholder in business but is in fact the very purpose of its existence. Jamsetji Tata

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erms such as corporate social responsibility and corporate sustainability are of relatively recent vintage. Not so the

commitment that Tata companies have shown over long years in undertaking community development programmes aimed at helping the people living in the areas around their operations. This kind of support characterises the social uplift agenda that any Tata company typically gets involved with. It embraces everything from health and education to job creation and the environment, and it has touched, and changed, countless lives. There is a more concrete number to the resources that Tata companies, as a whole, set aside for initiatives that come under the umbrella of community development: in financial year 2012, Tata companies spent about `3.9 billion on such programmes.

LEGACY OF ALTRUISM
But one has to go beyond statistics to grasp how the Tata group has stayed true to this element of its Founders altruistic legacy. Jamsetji Tata needed no convincing that the community was a critical component of the business of business. Those who followed him, most notably, his sons Dorab and Ratan, and JRD Tata, provided further impetus to this spirit of giving back to the community. Over the years, the structures and the processes that govern the groups community-focused projects and programmes have been strengthened. Crucial to this structure is the Tata Council for Community Initiatives, a nodal body that guides and helps Tata companies and employees with their community development efforts. Established in 1996, the council brings together good practices within the group while also charting out a range of sustainable development initiatives in community outreach, environmental

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management, biodiversity restoration, climate change mitigation and employee volunteering. It also helps Tata companies address sustainability reporting issues and has, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (India), put together what is known as the Tata Index for Sustainable Human Development, a unique effort aimed at directing, measuring and enhancing the community work that Tata enterprises undertake.

JAMSETJI TATA NEEDED NO CONVINCING THAT THE COMMUNITY WAS A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF THE BUSINESS OF BUSINESS. THOSE WHO FOLLOWED HIM, MOST NOTABLY HIS SONS DORAB AND RATAN, AND JRD TATA, PROVIDED FURTHER IMPETUS TO THIS SPIRIT OF GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.

COMMITTED TO COMMUNITY
All of this translates into plenty on the ground: health and education projects, water management and environmental protection, women and child welfare, tribal and rural uplift programmes, even the preservation and regeneration of endangered species like the whale shark and the mahseer. This does not imply that a Tata company will dive into anything and everything that comes under the community development canopy. Rather, each group company concentrates on initiatives that are of value to the community in and around its operations. The volunteering work that Tata employees do is a crucial strand here. An evaluation in 2011-12 found that 46,629 registered (and probably half as many unregistered) volunteers from 31 Tata companies put in a total of about 6.5 million hours in community related projects (just in that year). This kind of volunteering has

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been institutionalised by the council, encouraging employees to use their skills and interests to improve the quality of life of people they would otherwise not have interacted with. Another standout manifestation of the community engagement endeavours of the group has been the townships that a clutch of big Tata companies have nurtured close to their industrial facilities. Tata Steel and Tata Motors in Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Tata Chemicals in Mithapur (Gujarat), in Babrala (Uttar Pradesh), in Magadi (Kenya), and Titan Industries in Hosur (Karnataka) are examples of such townships. The Tata companies that sustain these cities are cast in the mould of caretakers rather than gatekeepers. This attitude has allowed Jamshedpur and its siblings to prosper in a manner that befits the particular circumstances of their individual evolution, without being encumbered by any unilateral doctrine. That aside, many Tata companies have a dedicated team of people implementing and overseeing their community initiatives. The Tata Steel Rural Development Society is involved in a large variety of projects in villages around Jamshedpur. Similarly, the Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development works in and around Mithapur and in the rural spread near Babrala, with well-seeded programmes in agricultural development, health and education. Add to that the relief and rehabilitation efforts that the Tata Relief Committee and other inhouse entities undertake in the aftermath of natural disasters.

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A SPORTING SPIRIT
Arts and sports are among the other spheres where Tata companies, and the group as a whole, have contributed significantly. The group has established a number of academies for different sports disciplines, besides sponsoring events and supporting talented athletes. The Tata Sports Club was set up in 1937 to encourage sports and sports persons within and outside the group. Tata Steel, the most prominent of the groups companies in supporting sports, has established the Tata Football Academy, the Tata Archery Academy and the Tata Adventure Foundation. It has also created sporting infrastructure such as the JRD Tata Sports Complex and the Keenan Stadium, the latter a regular venue for international cricket, both in Jamshedpur. Among the sportsmen who have benefitted from such Tata support are badminton player Pullela Gopichand, tennis star Leander Paes, billiards world champions Geet Sethi and Michael Ferreira, and cricketers Dilip Vengsarkar, Ajit Agarkar and Saurav Ganguly.

CUSTODIAN OF ART
Tata companies have also played a significant part in preserving and promoting Indias cultural heritage. Art historian Priya Maholay Jaradi wrote: Using its tremendous spread and influence to great effect, the Tata group and its companies have been able to play a vital role in preserving and promoting every component of Indias national heritage. What began as

THE TATA CULTURE OF EXTENDING A HELPING HAND TO THE COMMUNITY IS TRULY AN EXERCISE IN EMPOWERING THE COMMUNITY IN SUBSTANTIVE WAYS, RATHER THAN THROUGH PATCHWORK PHILANTHROPY, AS JAMSETJI TATA TERMED IT.

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a collectors penchant and simple

ARTS AND SPORTS ARE AMONG THE OTHER SPHERES WHERE TATA COMPANIES, AND THE GROUP AS A WHOLE, HAVE CONTRIBUTED SIGNIFICANTLY. THE GROUP HAS ESTABLISHED A NUMBER OF ACADEMIES FOR DIFFERENT SPORTS DISCIPLINES, BESIDES SPONSORING EVENTS AND SUPPORTING TALENTED ATHLETES.

philanthropy has merged with the corporate culture of the entire group. A sturdy and colourful tapestry of art and industry has been woven through a corporate mindset that sees much more than mere profits on the horizon. Companies such as Tata Chemicals and Indian Hotels are deeply involved in promoting traditional arts and crafts. The

Tribal Culture Centre, founded by Tata Steel in 1990, is a showcase for the artistic talents of the tribal communities of Jharkhand. The Dare, Aranya and Athulya projects of Tata Tea (now Tata Global Beverages) have helped differently-abled children and youth in Munnar, Kerala, to mould a better life for themselves through the medium of arts and crafts. There are many such stories, quite a few told and recorded, plenty more still unknown to all but people in the thick of them.

EMPOWERING THE COMMUNITY


The Tata culture of extending a helping hand to the community is truly an exercise in empowering the community in substantive ways, rather than through patchwork philanthropy, as Jamsetji Tata termed it. A story that Dr Jamshed J Irani, a former managing director of Tata Steel, is particularly fond of illustrates the point. The time was the early 1990s and the occasion was a gathering of industrialists called by Indias then Prime Minister, PV Narasimha Rao.

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Representing the Tata group were Ratan Tata and Dr Irani. The prime minister proposed that we business people set aside 1 percent of our net profit for community development projects totally unconnected to the workers and industry any of us was involved with, recalls Dr Irani. Mr Tata and I looked at each other; we didnt make any comment. Later, we drew up a chart that quantified Tata Steels contribution on Mr Raos scale. We discovered that, over a 10-year period, the company had been dedicating between 3 and 20 percent of its profits to social development causes. Enough said.

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ETHICS
We do not claim to be more unselfish, more generous or more philanthropic than other people. But we think we started on sound and straightforward business principles, considering the interests of the shareholders our own, and the health and welfare of the employees, the sure foundation of our success. Jamsetji Tata

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he value systems and principles by which the Tata group operates are a critical part of the legacy of its Founder, Jamsetji

Tata, and those who have built on what he created. Growth by any means and for its own sake the doctrine of the cancer cell has no place in this equation. Jamsetji said: We do not claim to be more unselfish, more generous or more philanthropic than other people, but we think we started on sound and straightforward business principles, considering the interests of the shareholders our own, and the health and welfare of the employees the sure foundation of our success.

CODE OF CONDUCT
That foundation depends on the implicit as much as it does on the explicit. The implicit component comes from the traditions and the heritage that are so important to the group and how it defines itself, and this has been ingrained by a cultural kind of osmosis down the years. The explicit is more recent and, here, enhancements have happened as the group has evolved, as business practices have changed and the challenges of operating in this age have multiplied. The centrepiece of the explicit half of the ethical framework by which Tata companies and people function is the Tata Code of Conduct, a formal and comprehensive set of guidelines that set down and reinforce the values that underpin the Tata group. Formally introduced in 1998, it emphasises the core values integrity, understanding, excellence, unity and responsibility governing the manner in which Tata companies conduct their businesses. It serves as an ethical roadmap that explains the conduct expected of Tata employees, as well as others associated with the group, in their personal and professional dealings.

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The code strives to cover all aspects of business behaviour at the individual and organisational level, from national interest and financial reporting to equal-opportunities employment and the acceptance of gifts and donations, from safety procedures and product quality to corporate citizenship and regulatory compliance. The code has undergone constant revision to make it more wide-ranging and to incorporate inputs from the Tata groups international entities.

REINFORCING THE MESSAGE


There are many methods followed to convey the message of, and train people on, the code and its tenets. The chief executive is the chief ethics officer in each Tata company and there are ethics counsellors and an ethics network. There are regular regional meets for ethics counsellors and other senior business leaders; a web-based training module that aims to enhance awareness of the code through case stories; a reference manual for better guidance on the clauses of the code; programmes that focus on values and personal commitment to the code (rather than just compliance); and exhaustive assessments of the ethical climate in a company. There is more to the code than ethics, though, as Ratan Tata, former Chairman of Tata Sons, once explained. The management of business ethics is an integral part of the overall excellence initiatives undertaken by the group, he said. The adoption of a common code of conduct reinforces our commitment to a shared set of ideals and beliefs. More importantly, the code has strengthened our determination to work together in our common goal to maintain our leadership position in the industries and markets that we serve.

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TAKING A FIRM STAND


It is not just through words that Mr Tata himself stayed true to the beliefs enshrined in the code. The Tata groups decision to mothball its plans to start an airline has been told many times, but is worth repeating. This plan, which envisaged Singapore Airlines as a Tata partner and collaborator, was put in cold storage after considerations other than merit and regulatory compliance came into play. The Tata Finance issue is another example of the group doing the right thing when the going got rough. The case involved company executives who diverted funds to carry out certain irregular and fraudulent securities transactions. When the Tata Sons board became aware of these irregularities, it immediately informed authorities such as the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India, and ordered an investigation by an independent auditing firm. It terminated the services of employees found negligent in their duties, provided support to the investigating agencies and regulatory authorities, and, finally, ensured that no investor lost any money. The Tata Finance issue pushed the group to further put checks and balances in place. Honesty, as the British writer John Ruskin noted, can never be based on policy. Corporate houses cannot mandate ethical business behaviour any more than the weather bureau can summon rain or shine. But they can ingrain it in the character of

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the organisation through tradition

THE TATA CODE OF CONDUCT EMPHASISES THE CORE VALUES INTEGRITY, UNDERSTANDING, EXCELLENCE, UNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY GOVERNING THE MANNER IN WHICH THE TATA COMPANIES CONDUCT THEIR BUSINESSES

and a commitment to the letter and the spirit of laws and regulations. That is what the Tata group has endeavoured to do. Business, as I have seen it, places one great demand on you: it needs you to impose a framework of ethics, values, fairness and objectivity on yourself at all times, said Ratan Tata

in an interview. It is easy not to do this; you cannot impose it on yourself forcibly because it has to become an integral part of you.

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EXCELLENCE
The business excellence movement [in the Tata group] started as an award exercise to recognise quality. It grew from that into a corporate excellence programme that went far beyond what we had ever thought it would be, and it has become deeply ingrained in the DNA of various Tata companies. It has had its impact on their performance and it has had an impact on the way people think. Ratan Tata

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he last decade of the previous millennium saw the beginnings at Tata of what would soon become an intense engagement for the

groups companies: the pursuit of business excellence. What began as a quest for quality the holistic big Q that refers to the quality of the business process itself rather than the product-obsessed small q has since overcome initial resistance and various hurdles to become an important tenet of the Tata way of doing business. The instrument to translate this tenet into accomplishment has been the Tata Business Excellence Model, or TBEM. The TBEM, introduced in 1995, has played a major role in bringing the companies together, helping to define their common purpose and philosophy, and strengthening the Tata brand. The need to focus on the big Q was felt in the early 1990s, when the opening up of the Indian economy brought with it the myriad challenges of liberalisation, including unprecedented competition from both domestic as well as foreign business entities. The new economic landscape created opportunities for serious soul-searching within Tata companies.

DESTINATION: EXCELLENCE
The dominant impression was that we were less nimble than others, more resistant to change and extremely set in our ways, recalled Ratan Tata, former Chairman, Tata Sons, in his foreword to Business of Excellence: The Tata Journey, in 2007. What we needed to do was benchmark ourselves against the brightest and the best, and get away from doing things the way we had done them in the past. The Tata Business Excellence Model set the tone and created the foundation for what, I believe, was perhaps one of the more critical transformation initiatives the group has undertaken in recent times.

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While the likes of Tata Steel and Tata Honeywell were already pursuing their eir own quality initiatives, the need of the hour ur really was a common and coherent approach that would be embraced by all group companies. A movement was what was needed and it began with the precursor to TBEM: the JRD Quality Value Award (JRD QV), instituted in 1994 to recognise the quality of managing an enterprise. The first edition of the award had 12 participants and no winners! But that did not dishearten the quality evangelists at Tata. Quite the contrary. The award and the award process enshrined in TBEM which is based on the famous Malcolm Baldrige model provided the much-needed momentum to the business excellence movement at Tata. The Malcolm Baldrige model is accepted universally by businessmen as a hallmark of excellence. In 1996, Tata Quality Management Services (TQMS) was set up as a division of Tata Sons to guide the business excellence initiative at a group level. There was no looking back.

THE QUALITY AGENDA


In 1998, the JRD QV award process was recast as TBEM, creating a better defined, more comprehensive and comprehensible framework for the quality agenda. It wasnt long before the groups business excellence efforts started paying off. Year 2000 saw Tata Steel become the first Tata company to pass the stringent quality

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test, crossing the 600-mark threshold on the TBEM scale to win the first JRD QV award. Today, business excellence is deeply ingrained in the Tata DNA, with deep commitment from senior management as well as employees spread across Tata companies around the globe. Thousands of TBEM assessors trained by the hundreds every year by TQMS carry the business excellence gospel to Tata companies far and wide, measuring their success on a wide spread of business excellence parameters. Guiding and encouraging these companies and their personnel are what are appropriately known as mentors, senior Tata executives who employ their experience and knowledge to help the enterprises being assessed understand feedback and build on opportunities to learn, improve and grow.

BUSINESS EXCELLENCE IS DEEPLY INGRAINED IN THE TATA DNA, WITH DEEP COMMITMENT FROM SENIOR MANAGEMENT AS WELL AS EMPLOYEES IN TATA COMPANIES AROUND THE GLOBE. THOUSANDS OF TBEM ASSESSORS TRAINED BY THE HUNDREDS EVERY YEAR BY TQMS CARRY THE EXCELLENCE GOSPEL TO TATA COMPANIES FAR AND WIDE, MEASURING THEIR SUCCESS ON A WIDE SPREAD OF BUSINESS EXCELLENCE PARAMETERS.

In an ever-changing global business environment, TBEM enables Tata companies to be alert and nimble, to enhance their ability to succeed and to do so consistently. A vital element of the model is that companies must remain proactive rather than reactive, with a managerial outlook that maximises benefits for all stakeholders, including employees, customers and the community. The TBEM assessment covers seven core

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aspects of business operations: Leadership Strategic planning Customer focus Measurement, analysis and knowledge management Workforce focus Process management and outcomes of financial and non-financial parameters Business results

PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS
The assessment focuses on key areas of business performance: customer-focused results; product and service results; financial and market results; human resource results; organisational results. The blue book, as the TBEM manual is known, is the bible of the excellence initiative, clearly spelling out the assessment criteria and what they imply. Designed to deliver strategic direction and drive business improvements, the TBEM methodology offers companies an opportunity to imbibe the best of global business processes and practices. And as the business landscape changes, the model itself stays relevant thanks to the dynamism built into its core. In recent years, for example, the TBEM framework has been adapted to include new business and societal initiatives, such as corporate governance, safety, climate change and innovation. One of the biggest and perhaps less visible achievements of this groundbreaking movement in the Tata group has been the creation of a language of excellence, a common vocabulary to articulate the expectations and experience of a shared journey. A common goal, communicated in a common language, has brought

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Tata companies closer together than ever before as they share best practices and knowledge, and help one another navigate the pathways of business excellence. Mr Tata summed up this excellence-as-glue idea at the JRD QV Award function in 2002: I dont think any of us expected that [business excellence] would have such a profound and such a deep impact on the group in many, many ways. For one, it brought the group together; never before had this group operated as a group. We operated as disparate companies in an environment, unfortunately, of jealousy, envy and subjective wishes.

ENGAGEMENT WITH EXCELLENCE


As Tata expands its global footprint, organically and through highprofile acquisitions, companies in the group which have adopted TBEM have found it far easier to seamlessly integrate people and companies into the Tata fabric. Ever since the Tata group started taking TBEM into its international markets in 2005 South Koreabred Tata Daewoo Commercial

ONE OF THE BIGGEST AND PERHAPS LESS VISIBLE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THIS GROUNDBREAKING MOVEMENT IN THE TATA GROUP HAS BEEN THE CREATION OF A LANGUAGE OF EXCELLENCE, A COMMON VOCABULARY TO ARTICULATE THE EXPECTATIONS AND EXPERIENCE OF A SHARED JOURNEY.

Vehicle became the first overseas entity to buy wholeheartedly into the model excellence has proved to be a strong binding factor and a fantastic platform for growth and consolidation. It is not happenstance, then, that business excellence is closely linked to the Tata brand.

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That explains why TBEM is a cornerstone of the groups brand equity and business promotion programme, which must be signed by every Tata company that wants to use the Tata brand name. Another pillar of this programme is the Tata Code of Conduct, which lays down the ethical guidelines that companies and employees must follow to remain faithful to the groups heritage and values. Thus, even as excellence gets defined and shaped by the Tata brand, the brand itself gets enriched by the excellence movement. The Tata engagement with excellence continues to challenge group companies to look within and around themselves, benchmark with the best in the world, identify and address their own weaknesses, identify opportunities for improvement, and push the Big Q envelope further. Its a journey without a finishing line, as Mr Tata said in Business of Excellence: Our quest for quality, for excellence in business, should be never-ending. This is not a voyage where you can rest your oars.

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INNOVATION
Whats important is that, whatever we do, we have to be in the forefront, technologically speaking; we have to be seen to be making exciting products for the customer We cannot afford to be a me-too company and expect to grow. We have to be creative on the basis of our strengths: low costs, technological richness, innovation... We have to be different from the competition if we have to do what I have wanted us to do. Ratan Tata

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very year, on April 26, the many enterprises of the Tata group get together to reward failure. Only, this is a different kind of

failure and a different kind of reward. Called Dare to try, the award recognises an innovative idea that has failed in implementation, one whose time has not quite come. The gathering where this award is handed out is Tata InnoVista, an annual event where innovation and creative thinking are encouraged and recognised, even celebrated. Failure, in the context, is a by-product of the quest to innovate, to find truly original ways to advance the cause of company and employee. Importantly, Tata InnoVista records and rewards not just promising innovations (implemented successfully during the year) and leading edge innovations (most innovative business ideas), but also those fantastic ideas that have failed to deliver the desired results. The message is simple, loud and clear: it pays to be innovative in the Tata group. Innovation has always been a part of the Tata DNA consider the groups pioneering endeavours in steelmaking, the generation of hydroelectric power and other businesses; its unique ownership structure; and several first-of-its-kind employee and community initiatives but a more focused approach towards nurturing the creative effort began in earnest around two decades ago. This has resulted in the spawning of strikingly original concepts across the Tata group and their successful transition into products and services. It has also led to an encouragement of the process of innovation, which has now taken root in the group like never before. Tata InnoVista is the most prominent of the elements in the thrust that innovation has received at Tata, but there have been a

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variety of other initiatives aimed at unleashing the creative beast, in crafting an ecosystem conducive to the fostering of profitable ingenuity in business. Besides InnoVista, there is the Tata Group Innovation Forum (TGIF), which conducts a clutch of programmes and projects that offer group employees consistent exposure to the world of outof-the-box thinking. In this mix are innovation workshops, where global innovation experts share best practices with Tata managers; innovation missions wherein senior Tata executives visit leading companies across the world to study how innovation unfolds there; collaboratively structured innovation platforms that draw in Tata people and external organisations and partnerships with academic and research organisations to build outstanding research facilities. Theres even an Innometer, to measure and monitor innovation at Tata companies.

FLOWERING OF IDEAS
Another interesting outgrowth of the focus on innovation has been the innovation labs that many Tata companies now have. There has been considerable investment in world-class research facilities such as those set up by Tata Steels Europe operations, Tata Chemicals, Tata Motors and Tata Consultancy Services. Strongly woven into the Tata

INNOVATION HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF THE TATA DNA... BUT A MORE FOCUSED APPROACH TOWARDS NURTURING THE CREATIVE EFFORT BEGAN IN EARNEST AROUND TWO DECADES AGO.

Business Excellence Model (TBEM), innovation, as a philosophy and as a way of business, is now well and truly part of the warp and weft of the Tata way of entrepreneurship. From the realm of the mind to the

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reality of business on the ground, innovation ovation at Tata has travelled well beyond articulation to effective implementation. The numbers at InnoVista Vista are a pointer to the progress that has been made. In 2006, the year the competition ion kicked off, it received 101 entries from m 35 Tata companies. The 2012 edition attracted 2,852 entries from 71 Tata companies. Employees and managements ents are no longer reticent, as they may have ve been in earlier days, about bringing their eir ideas to the big stage and a potential place in the innovation sun. The flowering of innovation that has happened appened in this environment of creativity is there for the world to see, and the products and services it has generated have been standouts in their respective business segments Tata Motors Nano, the worlds most affordable car; Tata Chemicals Swach, the breakthrough low-cost water purifier; Titans Edge, the worlds slimmest watch; Eka, Asias fastest supercomputer at that time, built in just six weeks by the Computational Research Laboratory (seeded by Tata Sons) in 2007; and Indian Hotels Ginger, the path-breaking budget hospitality proposition. There are others in this august company, some more successful than others, but all based on the idea of innovation making a difference, to the bottom line and to the manner of thinking that drives accomplishments in enterprise.

BREAKING NEW GROUND


To get a feel of how Tata employees are adding an innovative touch here and a brilliant idea there, sample a couple of winners at the

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2012 InnoVista Awards: Jaguar Land Rovers technology that automatically shuts a cars engine when the vehicle isnt moving for a certain period of time, thus helping customers save fuel and reducing the automobiles impact on the environment; and Tata Steels Europe operations high performance rail steel, which has saved 150,000 over five years. The free flow of ideas and the innovations born of it engender a win-win proposition not just for Tata companies and their ever-growing world of customers; the positive energy rubs off on the Tata brand, too. The group is increasingly perceived as an innovative brand, a reputation that is no longer restricted to the groups home market. Bloomberg Businessweek has ranked Tata among the worlds 50 most innovative companies. Just as the Tata brand goes beyond the profit motive into the heart of the communities it touches, the innovation impetus at Tata has

TO GET A FEEL OF HOW TATA EMPLOYEES ARE INNOVATING, SAMPLE A COUPLE OF WINNERS AT THE 2012 INNOVISTA AWARDS: JAGUAR LAND ROVERS TECHNOLOGY THAT AUTOMATICALLY SHUTS A CARS ENGINE WHEN IT ISNT MOVING FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME, THUS HELPING SAVE FUEL AND REDUCING THE IMPACT ON NATURE; AND TATA STEELS EUROPE OPERATIONS HIGH PERFORMANCE RAIL STEEL, WHICH HAS SAVED 150,000 OVER FIVE YEARS.

resulted in significant societal benefits. The concept of what has been termed frugal innovation the Nano and Tata Swach are shining examples here is built upon the groups commitment to finding inexpensive solutions for a specific segment of the community. The Tata commitment to making a difference in this bottom of the pyramid space rests to a large extent on its innovation capabilities.

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SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY


But it should not be, cannot be, that low-cost cost products come to mean inferior or substandard dard products and services; definitely not, said Ratan Tata, former Chairman, Tata Sons, explaining ing why cheap is not a word that can find place ce in the Tata lexicon of business. The aim is s to create products for that larger segment good and robust products that we are able to produce innovatively and get to the marketplace at a lower cost. Innovation for the Tata group is, in the circumstances, not just about commercial profits for itself; there has to be a benefit for the community. Innovation, or the creation of the new, is critical to the finding g of this balance.

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LEADERSHIP
Once we get the best people, the people who share our values and ideals, we leave them free to act on their own. We do not fetter them. We encourage them and give them opportunities for leadership. JRD Tata

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heres a basic truth, an aphorism even, about leadership and it is that actions speak louder than words. So, yes indeed, there

is a Tata way and it is envisioned, lived and propagated by Tata people, managers and leaders. A deeper look at the growth story of the Tata group the expansion from an Indian business house to a $100.09-billion (`4,757.21 billion) global conglomerate, with a worldwide spread of businesses and over 450,000 employees throws up the interesting insight that the organic and inorganic expansion has been accompanied by a perceptible rise in the value and reputation of the Tata brand. Brand Finance, a UK-based consultancy firm, named Tata as the 15th most valuable brand in its Global 500 report in March 2012. Far more important, the name of Tata is readily associated with values such as trust and integrity. What sets Tata apart is that a large part of the brands values are clearly displayed in the behaviours of Tata people themselves. Tata employees are expected to live the values, to firmly and unambiguously walk the talk. In an interview with Tata Review in 2001, then Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata had clearly put down his vision for the groups leadership: The Tata group must lead India in terms of what it does, not only in business but also as a corporate citizen and as a participant in the countrys growth. This is a holistic view. We want our managers and companies to drive their businesses using every means they can to achieve their ends, but they must do it in a way which stands out and continues the traditions that the group has established over the years.

THE PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP


This vision has been encapsulated in a formal framework that Tata managers across geographies, cultures and businesses follow today.

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The Tata way of operating is not a left-to-chance, loosely scripted, random selection of expectations. When it comes to leadership behaviour, a fly-by-wire management style is not encouraged. Instead, there is a clearly defined and communicated structure of behaviours called the Tata Leadership Practices (TLP). Created in 2001, the TLP framework expresses the principles that define the Tata leadership behaviour. What makes the TLP structure extremely significant is that it forms the foundation of the Tata way; it is the bedrock on which the Tata business ethos sits. It helps draw the clear line that Tata leaders need to walk from purpose to values, from intent to behaviour, from context to situation. The behaviours enshrined as Tata leadership practices can be directly linked to each of the Tata groups core values. The TLP framework resides alongside the broader, corporate-led initiatives that enable the Tata Code of Conduct to be practised with rigour, supported by processes and systems that help in the management of business ethics. But it goes beyond values to define how a Tata leader is expected to discharge his or her normal duties and responsibilities. This enables Tata managers and future leaders to deliver superior performance by looking at leadership behaviour in relation to three key areas: leadership of results, leadership of business and leadership of people.

GUIDANCE FOR ALL


By using these TLPs, a Tata leader understands how he or she is expected to drive the performance of the company, boost innovation efforts, deal with ambiguous situations, build effective teams, and so on. The framework also helps define leadership behaviour across hierarchies. To take an example, if the broad expectation

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is improving customer focus in any given company, a top-level leader is expected to stimulate new market demand, a senior-level manager is expected to sense new business opportunities, a middle-level executive has to explore and satisfy market demands, and a junior executive has to collaborate with customers to add value. Apart from the leadership practices framework, there are other group-wide leadership development programmes in place, such as leadership seminars, interactions with management gurus, and workshops that build and enhance necessary skills and capabilities.

A LARGE CANVAS
Another singular aspect about the Tata leadership structure is that a Tata leader is considered a group resource; his or her qualities are recognised beyond the boundaries of the organisation. There are group human resources programmes that focus on recognising and enhancing the leadership qualities of outstanding performers, irrespective of company, business sector or geography, a worldview kind of approach to treating people as valuable resources. Additionally, the group has in place an entry-level, pan-Tata managerial development programme, TAS (formerly Tata Administrative Services), which provides cross-business, crossfunction experience to young managers in several companies before they settle down in their job. This helps both the future Tata leader and the organisation determine the best fit. The Tata Management

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Training Centre, based in Pune, helps group professionals add to their knowledge bank. Its goal is to provide training to high performers and develop leadership qualities. By giving potential leaders a canvas on which to display their capabilities, the Tata group is able to retain, and enhance the capabilities of, its next generation of leaders, future managers, thinkers and executors of its vision of business. It is these deeprooted initiatives to build the right kind of leadership that have kept and will keep the Tata group and its many enterprises part of a globally dispersed, multi-cultural conglomerate steady on the course charted by those who came before. There can be no doubt that the coming generation of Tata leaders is willing, prepared and committed to carrying the baton, and the legacy attached to it, forward.

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GROWTH
My vision for the Tata group is one which consistently delivers high value for all shareholders. To do that the group must be businesses- and customer-focused. It must be globally competitive and operate only in those areas where the groups strengths are best leveraged. The internal structure of the group will have to be such that all the groups companies bring maximum value to shareholders consistently or not remain in the group. Ratan Tata

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rom its first big industrial initiative the Empress Mills, a textile facility set up in 1877 by Tata group Founder Jamsetji

Tata in Nagpur, India to its current stature as a business conglomerate spanning many continents, the Tata saga is the stuff of legend. Its a story of visionary leadership, of unwavering determination and sturdy fortitude. It is also a story of exemplary and sustained growth. Right through its history of over 140 years, the Tata group has always been eager to tread into unknown terrain, to find the space and the resources to grow in areas of business endeavour that few, at least in India, had ventured into previously. Beginning with its flowering in British-ruled India, where an Indian entrepreneur such as Jamsetji, nurturing grand ambitions of industry and nation building was an oddity, to its consolidation and expansion in post-independence India, when the era of licences and bureaucratic red tape stymied business, the group has braved myriad challenges to stay on its chosen path of securing growth. This is not quite the growth that everybody hares after in our modern age; rather, it has been growth aligned to purpose. To get a sense of that purpose, and the philosophy that underpins it, consider the iron and steel venture that the group pioneered. Alongside this trailblazing enterprise there came up a township that has, ever since its establishment, become an exemplar of planned urban development. The growth story would unfold in different dimensions with business creations in industry segments as varied as energy and hospitality, aviation and chemicals, tea and information technology but with one constant: a strong commitment to making profits in a socially responsible manner.

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Until the 1980s, though, the Tata group was still essentially a home-grown, Indian business ss house. That would change dramatically in the post-1990 years, when two unrelated events combined to change forever the outlook and trajectory of the groups future progress. The first of these changes was the arrival at the helm of the group of Ratan Tata, a leader bent on transforming what had been a rather stolid and staid business house into a dynamic organisation with its sights set beyond the shores of its birth. h. The second change was the liberalisation of the Indian economy, the opening up of a hitherto erto closed environment to a wealth of new possibilities and opportunities. Even as important changes took place at the national level, the Tata group started putting in place structures that would make it a far more nimble and united organisation than it had ever been. It declared its brave new ambitions, at home and abroad, by starting out on an aggressive expansion agenda, entering new areas of business and new markets, creating new products and services, and acquiring companies big and small along the way.

TAPPING NEW MARKETS


In 1996, the group set up Tata Teleservices to tap into Indias burgeoning telecom market; in 1998, Tata Motors launched Tata Indica, Indias first indigenously made car; 2002 saw the acquisition of Indias leading international telecom service provider VSNL (now Tata Communications); in 2004 Tata Consultancy

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Services went public in the largest private sector initial public offering in the Indian stock market; and 2008 witnessed the launch of the Tata Nano, the breakthrough small car that caught the imagination of the motoring world. These are just the highlights of a slew of manoeuvres that placed the Tatas on a growth trajectory as unprecedented as it was unconventional. Just as significant was the groups foray into foreign markets. In 2000, Tata Tea acquired Tetley, the biggest buyout up to that point by an Indian enterprise of a company based abroad. More such heavy-duty acquisitions followed. In 2004, the heavy vehicles operations of Daewoo Motors, South Korea, became a part of Tata Motors; in 2005, Tata Steel added the Singaporebased NatSteel Asia to its fold and Tata Chemicals secured a controlling stake in Brunner Mond, the British company. The foreign play peaked in 2007, when Tata Steel made jaws drop globally with its landmark deal for the purchase of Corus, the Anglo-Dutch steel giant; and in 2008, Tata Motors made headlines in the automobile universe and beyond when the

THE TATA GROUP IS THE LARGEST FOREIGN INVESTOR IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE COUNTRYS BIGGEST INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYER. BESIDES NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE, THE GROUP HAS OPERATIONS IN AFRICA, SOUTH AMERICA, CHINA, AUSTRALIA, THE MIDDLE EAST, SOUTH ASIA AND SOUTH EAST ASIA.

Jaguar and Land Rover brands joined its stable.

AT HOME IN THE WORLD


Today the Tata group has operations in more than 80 countries across six continents, and its companies export products and services to 85 countries. The groups total revenues stood at $100.09 billion (`4,757.21 billion) in 2011-12,

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with 58 percent of this coming from business conducted outside India, and Tata companies now employ more than 450,000 people worldwide. Tata Steel is among the worlds top 10 steelmakers. Tata Motors is one of the worlds top five commercial vehicle manufacturers. Tata Consultancy Services is a leading global software company. Tata Global Beverages is the second-largest player in tea in the world. Tata Chemicals is the worlds second-largest manufacturer of soda ash. Tata Communications is one of the worlds largest wholesale voice carriers. The Tata group is the largest foreign investor in the United Kingdom and also the countrys biggest industrial employer. Besides North America and Europe, the group has operations in Africa, South America, China, Australia, the Middle East, South Asia and South East Asia. And in India the group continues to be the dominant business conglomerate, an intrinsic part of the countrys way of life and of living. From luxury cars to affordable automobiles, from software to steel, from salt, pulses and tea to chemicals, from high-end hotels and palaces to value-formoney budget stays, from power to telecommunications Tata companies touch people, at the top, the middle and the bottom of the pyramid, in ways too many to count. In the midst of all this heft there remains, cast in as much solidity as ever before, the groups traditional value systems and a commitment to serving the needs of communities as much as its customers and consumers. The hunger to grow even further still rages, but the growth itself is of a more inclusive nature, where business is done with an

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emphasis on the larger good of society, and on leadership with trust those are the themes that reverberate as the group, its companies and its brands dream grander dreams and strive to reach and breach new frontiers. Ratan Tata articulated what these themes translate into when he said in an interview to Tata Review, the magazine of the Tata group: One hundred years from now, I expect the Tatas to be much bigger, of course, than it is now. More importantly, I hope the group comes to be regarded as being the best in India best in the manner in which we operate, best in the products we deliver, and best in our value system and ethics. Having said that, I hope that a hundred years from now we will spread our wings far beyond India, that we become a global group, operating in many countries, an Indian business conglomerate that is at home in the world, carrying the same sense of trust that we do today.

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