CORPORATION AND VALUES

Two of the leading Indian corporations have been in the news recently. That too, for reasons that at best border on controversy and are usually not supposed to be their ways. It was the TATA some time back and now Infosys. In fact, both these organisations have a corporate image around the globe that has been impeccable. Their reputation, their culture are all subject matters of business school curriculum.

The TATA culture, the Infosys way is what the management academic are wont to talk about in classrooms. Though the corporate experts may like us to believe that the issue in the two cases is not the same, yet there is an underlying connecting link. The disapproval of the ways of doing business by the young CEOs who were toeing a different line in the eyes of the company patriarchs. If it was Ratan Tata in case of TATA, who did not approve of many of the actions of Cyrus Mistry, it was Narayana Murthy in case of Infosys who felt Vishal Sikka was not on the right track.

But why are we debating the matters related to the two companies? The simple reason is that these companies had built a reputation for being above board. Ethically driven value based companies, founded for not just business. To use a popular management jargon these were the model corporations. But what is happening is not doing much good to the image of these corporations. That brings us to the basic question — why is this happening? Why the ways of the present day CEOs are not acceptable to company patriarchs? Well, that is the issue. It may not exactly be a clash of egos apparently. But it certainly is a clash of individual values. Values of those who are at the helm with the values of those who were at the helm.

It is against this backdrop that the clash of the Titans of these two corporations has to be seen. When the old order changeth, the flag bearer of that order expects continuity of culture and traditions that was so assiduously developed. But the new order that takes over wants to be in full control. That is to severe the umbilical cord. It is not a question of right and wrong as both will have their approvers and detractors. The question is of the course of action to be taken. A big question that cannot have any impromptu answers.

But there is need to think from a different angle. The angle that is conciliatory. The issue is of managing transition. It is like the generational divide of a family. The old guard has to relinquish charge in favour of the new. It is a situation that is inevitable and has to be accepted in a detached way. Without any trappings. In management literature, this could well be explained by the popular psychology theory of transaction analysis — I am OK, you are OK. In fact, I am OK, you are OK is the ideal life position that is the recommended approach.

Somehow, this state is rather difficult to arrive at because willy-nilly the ego does intervene. We seem to have forgotten the ‘I am OK, you are OK’ stance. Nay, we are not able to accept it as our ego keeps on prompting I am OK, you are not OK. As long as this happens, staying OK may not be easy.