Ratan Naval Tata 1z4l3g

Ratan Naval Tata Chairman of Tata Group…

Important dates in his life…

 1937 Born in Mumbai on Dec 28.  1962 Completes BSc in architecture from Cornell University.  1962 s Tata Group.  1971 Appointed Director of The National Radio & Electronics (Nelco).  1974 Becomes a Director in Tata Sons.  1975 Completes management programme from Harvard Business School.  1977 Given charge of Empress Mills.

 1981 Named Chairman of Tata Industries.  1984 Sale of Tomco.  1991 Takes over as group chairman from JRD Tata.

Leadership Traits…

 “At Tatas, we believe that if we are not among the top three in an industry, we should look seriously at what it would take to become one of the top three players.. or think about exiting the industry….”- Ratan Tata

 Visionary  Persistent/Optimist

 Reliable  Strategist  ionate  Risk taker  Man of integrity

Visionary..  “One hundred years from now, I expect the Tatas to be much bigger 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 systems and ethics. Having said that, I hope that a hundred years from now we will spread our wings far beyond India.”- Ratan Tata

Persistent/Optimist…  When he took over as Tata Group chairman on March 25, 1991, critics were loud and unrestrained in their disapproval and scepticism.  as director of National Radio and Electronics (Nelco), in 1971 -- but it was a mixed blessing. Nelco was in dire straits when Ratan came on board -- losses of 40% and barely 2% share of the consumer electronics market. Just when he turned it around, the Emergency was declared. A weak economy and labour issues compounded the problem and Nelco was quickly near collapse again.

 "My first directorship was that of Nelco and the status of that company has forever been held against me. No one wanted to see that Nelco did become profitable, that it went from a 2% market share to a 25% market share," Tata said several years later.  Ratan's next assignment was just as trouble-stricken. He was asked to turn around the sick Empress Mills. He did, but was refused the Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) investment required to make the textile unit competitive. Empress Mills floundered and was finally closed in 1986 (by which time the infamous Mumbai textile workers' strike had also taken its toll).

Reliable..  In 2002, when Tata was to retire at 65, the Tata Sons board promptly redesignated him non-executive chairman, which meant he could continue for another five years.  Three years later, the board upped the retirement age of non-executive directors to 75. The message is clear: Ratan Tata is indispensable.

 And it's not just the board that feels that way. There were loud cries of from shareholders at the Tata Steel AGM in August, held soon after the announcement that Tata Sons had created a to find Tata's successor.

 "We can't lose our ratan (jewel)," said one shareholder, while others asked him to stay on as chairman emeritus

Strategist…  In the past decade nearly $18 billion was shelled out to acquire 22 companies worldwide, including Tetley Tea and Corus Steel in the UK, New York's Pierre Hotel and Jaguar Land Rover.  "Tata's job is the most difficult one in the country today. Whoever runs the Tata Group has to provide strategic leadership, direction and inputs on multiple businesses, which is hugely challenging," says Rajeev Gupta, managing director of private equity firm Carlyle India.

 Ratan promoted seven hi-tech businesses under Tata Industries in the eighties: Tata Telecom, Tata Finance, Tata Keltron, Hitech Drilling Services, Tata Honeywell, Tata Elxsi and Plantek.  Tata also paid attention to brand Tata. By 1998, there was a single group logo and the Tata brand belonged to Tata Sons.  He streamlined the organisation by selling some businesses and rationalised the processes and functioning of the Tata Group.

Thinker…  The secret of Ratan Tata's success lies in his ability to think big -- and small. While he guides the Tata Group to pick up the luxurious Pierre Hotel in New York, he's also driving the launch of the budget Ginger hotels in India.  He has the ability to envisage an automotive business that encomes diverse businesses such as the iconic Jaguar and Land Rover marques on the one hand, the world's cheapest car the Nano, on the other, and hardy, rough-road trucks sandwiched in between.

Risk Taker/Innovator..  Thought out of the box and came up with path-breaking concepts like the Nano  Tata was driving straight to disaster with the Jaguar-Land Rover deal: the brands were troubled, demand was low. Tata went on to prove everyone wrong. The group's international acquisitions are doing well, some have started making money.

Man of Integrity…  When Nano cars were reported to explode while driving on roads, Ratan Tata made sure that all the cars manufactured during that time line where replaced irrespective of the huge losses which the company would have to face by this decision.  He wanted to be honest to his customers more than anything else.  Tata group is known for its ethical way of doing business. None of the Tata employees are allowed to take bribe, in case of which severe punishments will be enforced.

Leadership Theories…

Transformational Theory….  Ratan tata transformed the Tata group in the past eleven years since when he ed the organization.  Nearly 20 years later, Ratan Tata has achieved almost everything on his 1991 agenda. At Rs 3.46 lakh crore (Rs 3.46 trillion), Tata Group revenue is 40 times the 1991 level, while net profit has gone up four times.

 It is the largest Indian multinational conglomerate; more than 65% of the group's income comes from overseas and it has 98 operating companies (28 listed) spread across 56 countries in six continents.  In the past decade -- the decade that marked the glorious years of Ratan Tata -- nearly $18 billion was shelled out to acquire 22 companies worldwide, including Tetley Tea and Corus Steel in the UK, New York's Pierre Hotel and Jaguar Land Rover.  The Tata Group includes India's largest private steel company, the biggest auto manufacturer and the largest IT outsourcing firm

Contingency Theory…  Tata didn't let the criticism and internecine battles deflect him from his chosen path. On taking over in 1991, he dusted off the 1983 plan and updated it, taking the newlyopened economy into .  He brought in changes in the entire organizational structure and made it adaptable to the LPG reforms made by the government in 1991.  He could see the mountain of opportunities in front of the Tata group by the reforms brought in by the Government and changed the face of Tata in order to make the most out of it.

Ratan Tata is all set to retire in December 2012…

 “I do not know how history will judge me, but let me say that I‟ve spent a lot of time and energy trying to transform the Tatas from a patriarchal concern to an institutional enterprise. It would, therefore, be a mark of failure on my part if it were perceived that Ratan Tata epitomises the Group‟s success. What I have done is establish growth mechanisms, play down individuals and play up the team that has made the companies what they are. I, for one, am not the kind who loves dwelling on the „I‟. If history re me at all, I hope it will be for this transformation.”- Ratan Tata

Thank you!

References…  http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/oct/20/slide-show-1amazing-story-of-how-ratan-tata-built-an-empire.htm  http://www.woopidoo.com/business_quotes/authors/ratantata/index.htm  http://www.google.co.in/search?q=ratan+tata&hl=en&prmd=imvn sl&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=eWJGT9CkLuqXiQfD5sihDg&sa= X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&sqi=2&ved=0CBgQ_AUoAQ& biw=1366&bih=6677