As part of a job interview, I was tasked with a 48hr case study challenge on Tata, a $125B conglomerate of which I knew little about. You have 5 pages to present your case, and 1 page to present the scenario. The prompt: the CEO of Tata wants change, but other members of his executive team are not on board with the idea. Create a realistic scenario as to why Tata's CEO wants change, propose solutions and bold ideas for change, and convince the other executives to implement the changes. Balance logic and emotion, focus on insights, visualize the system.

1. SYPartners Strategy Assignment June 2015
Unity: We must work cohesively with our
colleagues across the group and with our
customers and partners around the world,
building strong relationships based on
tolerance, understanding and mutual
cooperation. – Tata Group, Core Values

2. 2
Your salt-to-software company has become the leader in India and is
scaling up to become a global player, rather than an Indian company
with a global presence. Your hard work and investments in
innovation, operational excellence, and corporate social
responsibility are paying off. If you can overcome the numerous
challenges ahead, your poised to achieve growth by 2020.
The Situation
Acquisitions and Partnerships
Amidst some doubts from outsiders, the acquisition
and partnership strategy has proven fruitful.
• JLR Earnings Hit $4B, up 4.5%
• Tata Starbucks JV is flourishing
TBEM Improves Operations
The Total Business Excellence Model has improved
operations across the board, not just in
manufacturing. Sharing executives as assessors has
lead to unexpected benefits too.
• Steel Europe Shares Safety Across Group
34th Best Brand
Growing numbers of verticals, headlines for
innovation, and increasing community trust have
boosted the Tata brand to an all-time high.
• Brand Value Rises 11% to $21B
Massive Growth Plans
Group executives are optimistic and have created
bold growth plans by 2020. Tata Chemicals being one
of the most ambitious with plans of 40% / yr.
• Tata Chemicals Projects Rs 12-50B in 5yrs
Growing organizations in any field must constantly
evolve, accept or even seek new ideas, new visions,
and new enthusiasms. – Jamsetji Tata
AN INSIDER’S PERSPECTIVE

3. 3
TURMOIL AND OPPORTUNITY
The Setting
One has to be ready for every kind of situation.
- TV Narendran, Tata Steel
9 Billion
by 2020
New Executives
India is in a very dynamic setting with an unstable currency, a consumer
revolution, and a new government calling for bold policies but lacking
executionary prowess. This provides your Group with multiple challenges
to overcome, and a few opportunities to exploit.
$100 B in Spending
In Next Few Years
If Tata Group as individual companies and as the
collective doesn’t pursue new ways to to overcome
these threats and exploit new opportunities quickly,
future existence can be seen as questionable. This is
something Vinayak Deshpande (MD of Tata Projects)
knows all too well.
Aside from an uncertain setting and competitive threats,
internal problems, such as ore mines shutting down for a
month at the end of ’14, and decreasing profits, or even net
losses, across most core companies in the last fiscal quarter
are reasons for deep concern. Additionally, many of Tata
Group’s core companies have new executives, a handful of
which are in this very room.
Outside Investments
of 100% Made Legal
Supreme Court Rulings
Hold Business Back
In the midst of global population growth and currency dips like the
one in ‘14, your group is still driving to become a global player. This is
a risky play considering that larger, global competitors are starting
to view you as a threat. As many of you have mentioned in
interviews, their global scale is a force to be reckoned with.
Although agility, innovation, and TBEM might have propelled you
through the downturn, you’re still not out of the woods yet.
“Had we not moved quickly… we would not have
survived the slowdown.” - Deshpande

4. 4
WE ARE TATA
It is time to leverage and promote the Tata
brand across the entire group. Everyone
needs to feel a part of the Tata family,
including end-users and partners. Titan, Taj
Group, etc need to participate too.
Marketing Campaign
• Highlight history, CSR, and innovation
• #WEARETATA social push
• Inspiration from “I’m a PC”
Brand Cohesiveness
• Tag Products & Commercials with Logo
• Inspiration from Unilever Flag
Expected Results
• Increased Brand Recognition
• Rise in Public Trust & Goodwill
• B2B + B2C Sales to Ethical & Innovative
• Increasing Sales to Employees
The Solution
P1 / MARKETING CAMPAIGN

5. Cross-Sales
5
The Solution
You need to increase inter-group
communication, cooperation, and sales to
mitigate risks and achieve your growth goals by
2020. Many of you have stated value-added
services are crucial, and cross-selling +
cooperation enables you to provide a more
complete solution.
Create Process
• Establish Key People Under M. Kannan
• Make Cross-Sales Groups in SugarCRM
Share & Encourage
• Tap Interactive Systems for Edu Software
• Add to TBEM Analysis & Create Award
• Financial Incentives for Users & Companies
Expected Results
• Increased Emp Knowledge of Companies
• Rise in Innovation through Collaboration
• Inter & Outer-Group Sales Increase
• More Customers Mitigates Risk
Cross-Sales
P2 / COOPERATION + CROSS-SALES
Warren Harris
Tata Technologies
President
Tata is a very diversified group and we need to leverage some of the strong capabilities
that we have, such as our Strategic Mngt Group and others. ~ S Padmanabhan, TQMS

6. 6
Each of the following 22 leaders are the on the executive council
or in charge of major companies at Tata Group. I propose that
before providing solutions, we speak with them to better
understand the reasons for their optimism and concerns.
People Title Company
Mistry Chairman Tata Sons
Kannan Biz Dev / PR Tata Sons
Rajan Brand / Ethics Tata Sons
Kumar Strategy Tata Sons
H Bhat Marketing Tata Sons
Katragadda CTO Tata Sons
Jamwal Exec Director Industries (High-Tech)
Bhinge CEO Strategic Mngt Group
Padmanabhan Exec Chair Quality Mngt Services
Chandrasekaran CEO Consultancy Services
Ramakrishnan President Motors
B Bhat MD Titan Company (CPG)
Harris President Technologies
Sardana MD Power
Misra CEO Global Beverages
Mukundan MD Chemicals
Narendran MD Steel India, SE Asia
Kohler MD Steel Europe
Deshpande MD Projects
Kumar MD Communications
Singh MD Advanced Systems (Defense)
N Tata MD International (Trading)
The Meeting
SHAKE IT UP!
By telling the story of Nokia’s failure and bringing
one of their lifeless phones with me, I’m hoping to
hit close to home and create a sense of urgency.
(Nokia owned 60% of the phone market in India,
but has since failed with a cheap exit of $7B to
Windows. Similarities abound with Tata, such as
their focus on the customer and CSR.)
Causes of Nokia Failure
Diverse Product Lines Increased Mfg & Dist Costs
Focus on Lower to Middle Income & Emerging Markets
Serviced Existing Users at the Cost of Innovation
Iteration Over Innovation & Poor Execution with OS
I believe that people are best convinced by what they have said
themselves, so by asking strategic questions, we can help guide
them to the answers they seek. If agreement is reached that
change is needed, I would delve into creating a mutually agreed
upon vision and strategy to enact the appropriate changes.
People don’t enjoy being told what to do, so the trick is making
the solutions their idea, even if they don’t see them or believe
that they need them at first.
As a group, we must continue to seek opportunities for our
companies to pool resources to co-create shared value.
- Cyrus Mistry, Chairman of Tata Sons