INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT BANGALORE

PGP Elective: Strategic Leadership

Instructor: Professor J. Ramachandran
Executive Assistant: Ahmed Khan (akhan@iimb.ernet.in; Tel# 26993028)
The Strategic Leadership course has been designed as an advanced strategy course for
those who aspire for leadership roles. This is not, in conventional terms, a leadership
course. While informed by the traditional behavioral literature on leadership in
organizations (i.e. motivating people to work well, etc.), the focus in this course is on
leadership of organizations (i.e. shaping the firms strategic choices). Further, while it
builds on the conceptual and analytical tools learnt in the core course on strategy, the
analytical thrust of class discussion in this course will not be on seeking explanations of
firm performance but on understanding why a firm makes a specific (sequence of) strategic
choice(s). It provides a platform to debate contentious issues that impact the strategic
choices of firms such as the on-going trade-off between profitability and perpetuity.
The principal effort is to engage you with the dynamic aspects of leading organizations
the simultaneous pursuit of advantage, opportunity and ambition. Towards this the course
brings you upfront and close to the challenges faced by the leadership teams in a wide
range of organizations (small & large, Indian and foreign, single and multi-business etc.)
across a wide range of industries (automotive to modern art) coping with a variety of
strategic and organizational contexts (battling late mover disadvantage, overcoming
resource constraints, navigating through conflicting interests, negotiating change). This
should not only inform you of the nature of challenges and complexities you are likely to
confront in future leadership positions, but more importantly, offer you an opportunity to
acquire the requisite judgment skills that would help you negotiate your leadership
journey with success. Thus, the learning objectives of the course are:
1. To develop a conceptual and contextual understanding of the drivers of strategic
choice(s).
2. To cultivate a capacity for judgment, or strategic choice making under uncertainty,
that builds upon the capacity for analytical problem solving developed in the core
courses in the program.

Pedagogy
The course will employ the case method of instruction. Cases simulate reality, as closely as
is possible in the restricted environs of the classroom, and help you experience the
interaction between concepts and actions in managerial decision making. Critically, it offers
you the opportunity to exercise judgment without the concomitant risks that accompany
real leadership jobs.
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Grading
The course grade will be based on the following:
Class Participation
Mid Term Examination
Group Project

33%
33%
34%

Class Participation: I encourage you to actively participate in class - speak up instead of

keeping quiet! I am known to cold call students!
Good class participation is, in great parts, a function of your preparation. Good case
preparation requires you to mentally get inside the organization, step into the shoes of
the decision-maker and experience the attendant emotions and challenges. Seek support
for your arguments from the case facts and where data is missing, make reasonable
assumptions. The readings assigned for the case will provide you with broad conceptual
inputs required for dealing with the major issues in the case.
I would recommend you to prepare for cases in groups, as this would provide you
with opportunities to be highly familiar with issues and make nuanced notes even before
you get into the class. Once in class, be alert to the emerging discussion and take the
initiative to share your thoughts with others as we work jointly to resolve the issues.
Class participation will be assessed on the usual criteria of quality and relevance.
Air time per se would not lead to a better grade! I will look for consistency in
participation across different sessions, rather than concentrated participation in one or few
sessions. To facilitate marking of your grades for class participation, I request you to
occupy the seat assigned for you in the class.
Mid Term Examination: It will be a case based exam.
Group Project: The Group Project has been designed to enable you to apply the learning
from the course.
Under this broad umbrella objective, Groups of 3 [I will agree to 4, albeit very
reluctantly] students will study a phenomenon of interest to them. For example, consider
the transformation in the automotive industry in the last two decades. The issues
investigated could range from drivers of structural changes in the industry [e.g., the
dramatic transformation in the passenger car segment of the industry]; understanding
incumbent firm behavior [e.g., why has Ashok Leyland lagged behind Tata Motors in the
commercial vehicles segment of the automotive industry]; entry behavior of multinationals
[e.g., why are American majors Ford and GM struggling in the market, while their Asian
rivals Hyundai, Honda and Toyota are doing better]. Alternately you could engage with
issues of great contemporary interest. These could include making recommendations to,
say, Vishal Sikka, the new CEO of Infosys on how to transform the company. Assess
whether Sun Pharma should have acquired the troubled Ranbaxy? Help Cyrus Mistry
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develop a strategy for sustaining the Tata Group over the next 100 years. The above is only
an indicative list. Feel free to be imaginative and suggest interesting themes.
Each group is expected to email the name of the group members, their roll
numbers and three chosen themes in the decreasing order of preference to Ahmed Khan
(akhan@iimb.ernet.in ) by XXX hrs on XXX day, month, year. Project themes [if there are
clashes] would be allocated on first-come first-served basis. We will confirm your group
project themes no later than by by XXX hrs on XXX day, month, year.
As part of your research you are expected to primarily rely on secondary data. I
would encourage you to go beyond information / data available through Google and on the
company websites. Make sure that you use the excellent databases (e.g., Factiva, EBSCO,
Prowess, Capitaline etc) that are made available at the Institute. Industry reports,
interviews/speeches of CEOs etc., may prove to be valuable sources. The source of all
data/information used in the project report should be explicitly acknowledged with
footnotes/endnotes and a complete list of references.
You need to submit two copies of your final report - email the soft copy to Ahmed
Khan (akhan@iimb.ernet.in ) and submit the hard copy to your program office. There is no
particular restriction on the length of the final report. Brevity will be welcome; but not at
the cost of clarity! A maximum 15 pages (single spaced, Times Roman 12 point, excluding
exhibits) would be a good target to aim for. Final Project reports are due no later than by
XXX hrs on XXX day, month, year.

Course Schedule
Introduction
Session 1

Strategic Leadership Framework

Aldi: The Dark Horse Discounter
Discussion Questions:
Should Wal-Mart be worried about Aldi? Should Aldi be worried about WalMart? What is Aldis strategy? Does it have a competitive advantage? Or is at
a disadvantage? In locating its stores, should Aldi avoid locating close to a
Wal-Mart store?

Readings:

Integrative Thinking 2.0: A Users Guide to Your Opposable Mind, Riel &
Martin, Rotman Management, 2014.
Bringing Science to the Art of Strategy, Lafley, Martin, Rivkin, & Siggelkow,
HBR, 2012.
Putting Leadership Back Into Strategy, Montgomery, HBR, 2008.

The Content of Strategic Leadership

Building and Leveraging Advantage
Session 2

Park Hotels: Designing Experience

Discussion Questions:
How well has Priya Paul done? Do you think the company has a competitive
advantage? Is it sustainable? Why? Why not? What recommendations will
you make to her and her top management team?

Readings:

Mastering the Name Your Product Category Game, Suarez & Grodal, MIT
Sloan Management Review, 2015
In Praise of Dissimilarity, Gibbert & Hoegl, MIT Sloan Management Review,
2011.
Can you say what your strategy is? Collis & Rukstad, HBR, 2008.

Session 3

The Walt Disney Company and Pixar Inc.: To Acquire or Not to Acquire
Discussion Questions:
Should the Board of Pixar accept a Disney bid? Why? What value does Disney
bring to Pixar? Conversely, what value does Pixar bring to Disney? Why not
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continue with the current contract model? If Disney does acquire Pixar what
challenges to do you foresee and how would you meet them?
Readings:

Transient Advantage, McGrath, HBR, 2013

Uncommon Sense: How to Turn Distinctive Beliefs into Action, Goddard,
Birkinshaw, & Eccles, MIT Sloan Management Review, 2012
Desperately Seeking Synergy, Goold & Campbell, HBR, 1998

Session 4

Bharat Forge Limited: Forging Leadership

Discussion Questions:
How has BFL managed to emerge as a leader in the global forgings industry?
Does the companys decision to invest in building huge capacity ahead of
demand make sense? Why did the company restructure its finances and spin
off its assets into a separate company? What are the implications of its
acquisition of CDP and CDP AT? What next?

Readings:

The liabilities of origin: an emerging economy perspective on the costs of

doing business abroad, Ramachandran & Pant, Advances in International
Management, 2010
Managing differences: The central challenge of global strategy, Ghemawat,
HBR, 2007
Staircases to growth, Baghai et al, The McKinsey Quarterly, 1996.

Session 5

Dr.Reddys Laboratories: A Road Less Travelled

Discussion Questions:
Analyse the key strategic choices made by Dr. Reddys Laboratories. Do you
think the strategy is appropriate for a pharmaceutical company based in an
emerging market like India? Why or Why Not? Would you consider Dr.
Reddys to be at an inflection point in 2005? Should the leadership team
change the companys strategy? Why? Why not? If yes, what should the new
strategy be?

Readings:

Have you tested your strategy lately? Bradley, Hirt and Smit, The McKinsey
Quarterly, 2011
Strategy as Active Waiting, Sull, HBR, 2005
Strategic dissonance, Burgelman & Grove, California Mgmt Review, 1996

The Content of Strategic Leadership

Sensing and Seizing Opportunity
Session 6

Saffronart.com - Bidding for Success

Discussion Questions:
What created the opportunity for Saffronart? Did Minal and Dinesh Vazirani
adopt the right business model to capitalize on this opportunity? What
should they do next?

Readings:

The Opportunity Paradox, Bingham, Furr, & Eisenhardt, MIT Sloan

Management Review, 2014
The New Psychology of Strategic Leadership, Gavetti, HBR, 2011.
Understanding Cultural Industries, Lawrence and Phillips, Journal of
Management Inquiry, 2002

Session 7

Indian Software Industry: Changing Landscape

Discussion Questions:
What factors enabled the Indian software industry to become a global
industry? What were the various inflection points in the industrys path to
attain a global status? Do you think 2015 is an inflection point? What should
the industry do? And Why?

Readings:

Legitimacy beyond Borders: Indian Software Services Firms in the United

States, 1984 2004, Pant & Ramachandran, Global Strategy Journal, 2012.
How Industries Change, McGahan, HBR 2004
Strategy as ecology, Iansiti & Levien, HBR, 2004

Session 8

Cognizant Technology Solutions: Seamless Integration

Discussion Questions:
Assess the performance of Cognizant over the years? What do you think has
been the key driver(s) of the companys success? Would you also like the
Goldman Sachs team pick Cognizant as your top pick in the IT Services
Space? Why? Will it still be your pick in 2015? Why?

Readings:

Fair Process: Managing in the Knowledge Economy, Kim & Mauborgne, HBR
2003
Designing Organisations That Are Built to Change: Worley and Lawler, Sloan
Management Review, Fall, 2006
Who has the D? How clear decision roles enhance organizational
performance, Rogers & Blenko, HBR 2006

Session 9

Open

Session 10

Fabindia: Crafting Success

Discussion Questions:
Is Fabindia successful? What role has the companys philosophy played in its
success? Should the company have entered the Organic foods space? Body
care products? Furniture space? Do you agree with Bissells plans to set up
community owned supplier region companies? What next?

Readings:

The Higher Ambition Leader, Foote, Eisenstat, & Fredberg, HBR, 2011
Creating shared value, Porter & Kramer, HBR, 2011

Mid Term Exam

The Content of Strategic Leadership

Defining and Embedding Ambition
Session 11

i-Flex Solutions Limited: Winning Unconventionally

Discussion Questions:
How has i-flex emerged as a global leader in the banking solutions space?
What role has the companys guiding principles played in its success? Also
evaluate Rajesh Hukku and his team. How would the Oracle acquisition
impact the future strategies of i-flex?

Readings:

Paradoxical Leadership to Enable Strategic Agility, Lewis, Andriopoulos &

Smith, California Management Review, 2014.
The Power of Collective Ambition, Ready and Truelove, HBR 2011
Building Ambidexterity into an Organization, Birkinshaw and Gibson,
MIT Sloan Management Review, Summer 2004

Session 12

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited: Changing Aspirations

Discussion Questions:
How did Ranbaxy become global generics major? Assess the contributions of
the various CEOs? Do you agree with Malvinder Singhs decision to sell to
Daiichi? Do you think Daiichi made the right call in buying the company?

Readings:

Designing Trustworthy Organizations, Hurley, Gillespie, Ferrin & Dietz, MIT

Sloan Management Review, 2013
Managing the Right Tension, Dodd & Favaro, HBR 2006

Session 13

Fujifilm: A Second Foundation

Discussion Questions:
Evaluate Fuji's transition from from analog photography to digital imaging.
How was the firm's behavior shaped by its identity? In its search for a second
foundation Fuji has entered a broad range of businesses. What criteria
should Komori use to screen opportunities? Should Fuji exit any of its legacy
businesses? If Fuji's identity is no longer 'imaging and information' what
should it be?

Readings:

The Art of Strategic Renewal, Binns, Harreld, OReilly, & Tushman, MIT Sloan
Management Review, 2014
Why good companies go bad, Sull, HBR 1999

Session 14

Bajaj Auto Limited: Distinctly Ahead

Discussion Questions:
What is the nature of the competitive challenge that Bajaj Auto faces? Do you
agree with Rajiv Bajajs strategy? Should Bajaj Auto re-enter the scooter
segment of the two wheeler industry that it once dominated? How would you
compare and contrast the leadership of Rahul Bajaj and Rajiv Bajaj? What
have been their respective contributions to the company?

Readings:

From Purpose to Impact: Figure our passion and put it to work, Craig and
Snook, HBR 2014
What is the theory of your firm? Zenger, HBR, 2013
The Context of Strategic Leadership

Session 15

Multinational Context
Hindustan Lever Limited: On the Path to Growth
Discussion Questions:
Assess the performance of Hindustan Lever over the years? Specifically, do
you agree with the strategy adopted by the immediate past two Chairmen?
What were their strategic and organizational challenges? What advice would
you give the new team at the helm?

Readings:

Managing executive attention in the global company, Birkinshaw, Bouquet, &

Ambos, MIT Sloan Management Review, 2007
What is a global manager, Bartlett & Ghoshal, HBR, 2003
Tap Your subsidiaries for global reach, Bartlett & Ghoshal, HBR 1986

Session 16

High Growth Context

ITC Limited: India First
Discussion Questions:
How has ITC performed over the years? Why has the relation between ITC
and BAT so contentious? Have the various Chairmen done their best for BAT
interests in India? What are the strategic and organizational challenges
confronting ITC as of 2012? Do you think the company is well positioned to
achieve its aspiration of being the No.1 FMCG Company in the country?

Readings:

Strategy: The Uniqueness Challenge, Zenger, HBR, 2013.

Managing in Different Growth Contexts, Prats, Sosna, & Velamuri, California
Management Review, 2012
Finding your next core business, Zook, HBR, 2007

Session 17

Transformation Context
Transforming the Tata Group: Ratan Leadership
Discussion Questions:
What is your assessment of Ratan Tatas leadership of the Tata Group?

Readings:

Sessions
18/19
Readings:

Beyond Institutional Voids: Business Groups, Incomplete Markets and

Organizational Form, Manikandan and Ramachandran, Strategic Management
Journal, 2015.
Why Conglomerates Thrive (Outside US), Ramachandran, Manikandan &
Pant, HBR 2013
The right way to restructure conglomerates in emerging markets, Khanna &
Palepu, HBR, 1999
Capital Market Context
Other Peoples Money
What Weve Learned from the Financial Crisis, Fox, HBR 2013
What Good Are Shareholders? , Fox & Lorsch, HBR, 2012.
Capitalism for the Long Term, Barton, HBR, 2011
Innovation Killers: How Financial Tools Destroy Your Capacity to Do Things,
Christensen, Kaufman, & Shih, HBR, 2008

Conclusion
Session 20

Strategic Leadership & You

Robinhood
Discussion Questions:
What challenges does Robinhood face? What should he do?

Readings:

From Economic Man to Behavioral Economics, Fox, HBR, 2015.

Before You Make That Big Decision, Kahnemann, Lovallo, & Sibony, HBR, 2011
The Judgment Deficit, Bhide, HBR, 2010
How will you measure your life, Christensen, HBR, 2010

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Faculty Profile
J. Ramachandran is Professor of Strategy at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.
His research focuses on the growth and governance challenges of business groups and
multinational subsidiaries. His work has been published in the Harvard Business Review,
Strategic Management Journal, Global Strategy Journal, Journal of Product Innovation
Management, Advances in International Management, Best Paper Proceedings of the
Academy of Management USA, IIMB Management Review, Vikalpa and Economic and
Political Weekly.
Professor Ramachandran is the first Bain Fellow in India. Other recognition for his work
includes: the IMD FDC Award for Best Paper in Strategy / IB Theory from the Academy of
Management USA; the Tata Steel-IIMB award for best case on corporate social
responsibility; best case awards from the European Foundation for Management
Development [EFMD], Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia
[AMDISA], The Central and East European Management Development Association
[CEEMAN], and Association of Indian Management Schools [AIMS] as well as best teacher
awards at IIM Bangalore.
A qualified Chartered and Cost Accountant, and a Fellow of the Indian Institute of
Management Ahmedabad, Professor Ramachandran has been a Visiting Professor at
INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, USA;
and the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, USA. He has also served
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore as a member of the Board of Governors.
Professor Ramachandran is also actively engaged with the practice of management. He is
presently Chairman of Redington (India) Limited and Aditya Auto Products and a member
of the Board of Reliance Communications, Sasken Communication Technologies, Allcargo
Logistics, ECU-line NV Belgium, and MVP International, USA.

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