New Delhi, Aug 19: Speaking on the theme of `Corporate strategy during global volatility,' Grady E Means, global leader, Strategic Change Practise, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) observed that E-Business requires a complete rethinking of the capitalisation of most companies.The traditional model for most companies is a large physical and working capital base focussed on delivering products to a consumer market. In the E-Business model, network technology allows companies to outsource many of the physical production processes and reduce the amount of physical and working capital within the enterprise.
On the other hand, the E-Business model cannot work unless the business can consolidate and own a large, loyal consumer base. ``The entire focus of the E-Business model is to knit together the factors of production through electronic networks and to drive an increasing variety of products into a committed consumer base which is accessed through the E-Business channels,'' said Means.
Means held that there wasno substitute for strategic thinking and that there were no easy answers for developing a long term growth and value-creating approach to the market. ``The next major requirement for successful business management is to have strong, consistent leadership.'' This suggests:
Business leadership must have a deep understanding and insight into the forces of change. Leadership must be prepared to take enormous risks. Business management must create organisations that can change quickly.``A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a small step,'' encouraged KK Nohria, CMD, Crompton Greaves Ltd, later, speaking on `Strategic imperatives for Indian corporates'. In his presentation, Nohria said that Indian leaders should brace themselves against the challenges of globalisation, mass customisation, commoditisation of products, and scarcity of talent. Indian companies also need to exploit the opportunities offered by the explosion of information technology and the blossoming of knowledge-basedindustries.
``The use of Internet can help Indian companies eliminate the deep-pocket disadvantages of brand positioning, customer acquisition, transaction cost, and supply chain access,'' he said. ``If deep pockets don't matter than there is no reason why we can't succeed.''
Nohria said that leaders in India shy away from owning up to failure. He cited examples of five Indian companies which have achieved world class and global scale within the same framework of government regulations and infrastructure. He observed that these companies have been successful because of certain attributes: Reliance (petrochemicals) stands for global mindset, global scale and technology; Sundaram Fasteners (engineering) for radical change via TPM and TQM; HDFC (financial services) for customer service and relations; Dr Reddy's Lab (pharmaceuticals) for creativity and innovation; and Infosys (IT) for motivated and inspired people.
``If we are going to be a world-class player, we must have clarity on corporatepositioning,'' Nohria said. He said that to secure a global standard Indian corporates must have a sharper focus on product, service and customer needs; evolve an integrated approach to personal development, display enhanced accountability; and adhere to measurement targets to assess progress. ``We need to learn the language of workers and field engineers rather than expecting them to learn our language,'' he added.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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