Corporate Values: Key to Survival

We all agree that companies should be responsible for any adverse impact of their actions on consumers or other stakeholders. But the extent of their liability is tough to measure. To grasp the challenge of this issue, consider this scenario – Should a cab driver ask for the exact nature of your trip to decide if he should give you the ride? If you think this is absurd, imagine if you were running away from a crime scene or going to one – he did play a central role without really meaning to do so. Some versions of this are becoming real issues that businesses are facing – from banking, to technology and internet companies. Should HSBC  have a view on how its customers acquired their money, or should they just focus on providing the best service to anyone who seeks their advise? Should Youtube  offer a video platform to anyone who wishes to express themselves, or should they turn into a moral policeman too? Should Facebook block a hate group on its social platform, or should it focus on building the best social networking functionality available to all?

Till now, businesses had a single focus – deliver shareholder value, which was typically just about enhancing profits and ROC. The only rule they had to keep in mind is that they  break no law. But now businesses are facing much more complex issues – the unintended consequences of the services they offer, and their impact. Should businesses have a view point on freedom of expression when the local government wants to curb it? At what point does tax efficiency become tax evasion? Wage arbitrage comes with its own moral dilemmas of what benefits do you want to extend one set of workers vs another. Continue reading

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Future of Indian Management – Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Group

Ratan N Tata is the Chairman of Tata Group

On an evening like this one tends to be overwhelmed when you, if you might rendered a bit naked in terms of your past and even more embarrassing when what one has to say is nice and flowery so as I set listening to this my mind went back to the late eighties where we had all come to believe that JRD Tata who I love and adore like a father was immortal, one didn’t think what the Tata group would be without him and then one day all of that changed and he called me & told that he would like to step down. He was 90 years old and I would take over. I had the same sense of being lost when I was 17 years old and started flying.  Continue reading

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It’s the Age of Women – Sangeeta Talwar, Managing Director, NDDB Dairy services & Former Executive Director, Tata Tea India

Sangeeta Talwar is the Managing Director at NDDB Dairy services & Former Executive Director at Tata Tea India – Tata Global Beverages

To move up the corporate ladder, you must be someone who’s “recognized and trusted”, than just being “the busy bee sitting in the corner room”.

According to popular study, it is believed that corporates with women have better profitability. But what is most important is how to recruit women talent, train them and most of all retain them!

Looking at how women are perceived in the corporate world today, we must first look at stereotypes. Pretty? Yes, also a mother. Proud? Don’t know, but should be perhaps. Accept some of the things about yourself. Yes, you do look pretty, presentable and value some of those good things that you bring to life. It’s even worse to try and do reverse on stereotypes, don’t try to be a super human being, you are not a super man or woman. However, there are certain irrational biases that exist about women. May be women are not good at reading maps and doing mechanical things, but they are wonderful team makers! They are better sniffers than men, that’s why they can prepare for the uncertainties of tomorrow. Continue reading

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Technology leading to Good Governance – Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of the new Unique Identification Authority of India

Nandan Nilekani is Chairman of the new Unique Identification Authority of India

Before I start talking about technology and intrusive growth, we need to understand that the challenge is very clear. We need to address the need for aspiration as we are a high aspiration society and we must address the challenge of migration for social welfare.

It’s critical to understand why technology is so strategic in solving the problem! I would like to cite five key trends in technology that will pave the path for improved public governance.

1. Ubiquitous spread of communication – millions of people with mobile phones
2. Communication revolution will get newer and faster technologies like broadband, 3G, national fiber network
3. Everybody in some sense will be connected
4. More apps on the cloud

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New Age of Management – Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister for Urban Development

Kamal Nath is Hon’ble Union Minister for Urban Development, Government of India

AIMA’s Foundation Day is also celebrated as the Management Day of the country. How much management has changed from the first foundation day and even from the 46th Management Day that happened 10 years ago?

The relevance of management education needs to be looked at. This is a question that is discussed in top B schools. Not only should management change, but management education should change. So here we have got to reappraise what should management be. Management doesn’t only effect balance sheet or the company but all stakeholders and the society at large. Continue reading

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What I did right – Sanjeev Kapoor, World Renowned Chef

Sanjeev Kapoor is a world renowned Indian Chef.

What I want to share with you may be things which I have done right in my life, may be you can pick up some threads and you can do things which will probably make or give people a perception of being successful. Why I said perception because no matter what you earn, you would also be the same person and success failure, good bad ugly they are just perceptions. There is nothing but what people think of what you are and who you are. Normally at the core at the heart you would always be the same person. You try and make yourself better for yourself and when you do that, more often than not, people around you also start seeing you in a better way.

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Indian Music – Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Renowed Sarod Maestro

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is famous sarod maestro

Namaskar!

One lady journalist met me just now and asked me, “What are you talking on, what is your subject?” I said, like my music, when I come on the stage I am absolutely blank, I don’t know what I am going to perform. What raag, what taal – everything happens on the stage, unlike the European musicians compositions written by Beethoven, Bach etc. In western classical, the orchestra rehearses it a 100 times; that is their culture. I admire the discipline of their music, their way of life. They write music, they read music, they prepare and they maintain discipline which we lack unfortunately. Continue reading
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The Indian Democracy – B J Panda, Former Member of Parliament

Mr BJ Panda, Then member of Parliament.

I have been in Parliament for 6 years now and in the first 6 months that I was in Parliament I often was tempted to quit as the frustration gets to you because the things do not change as quickly as you would wanted to. That’s a reality, that’s part of democracy that we live in. I will touch a little bit more about democracy as I will go along but the reality is things don’t change. But one decision I made then was either I could be a wishful thinker or to decide to deal with the reality of the situation which is that things don’t change easily and in politics to bring about change is not easy and to try to make difference from within the system and that’s what I have tried to do.

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