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$ase Analysis %&'M has a (ong )ayto go - Mohd. Nishat Faisal At the onset, I would like to say that implementing models like TQM (Total Quality Management), TPM (Total Productive Maintenance), CMM (Capa ility Maturity Model !or the so!tware industry) or I"#$%%% is an e&cellent way o! enthusing new li!e in an organi'ation( #nce a model is adopted and the organi'ation strives to achieve the standards laid down in the model, perhaps every aspect o! the organi'ation is re)engineered to some e&tent( A ove all, employees are motivated as they !eel pride in achieving these standards ( oth on a pro!essional as well as personal level)( Perhaps this was the deciding !actor, as evidenced in this case, !or TI"C# agging the *+, Q- award in .%%. with the highest score o! ///, while the most admired Tata group company (and perhaps the company with the highest percentage o! pro!essionals in its work!orce) TC" was at num er 0 on the T12M scale( The prere3uisites !or T12M are in itsel! very demanding as a!ter signing the 1rand 23uity and 1usiness Promotion (121P) agreement, a company has to achieve I"# 3uality standards and minimum standards o! e&cellence ased on the Malcolm 1aldrige model( This is di!!icult indeed since these standards are 3uite stringent and not many companies in India are a le to achieve them( T12M not only !ocuses on internal processes ut also on e&ternal attri utes o! the organi'ation like customer !ocus and enchmarking with rival companies( The eauty o! T12M lies in the !act that it is a !le&i le tool and largely depends on the implementing company, giving certain road guidelines( TI"C#4s success largely depended on its !ocus on training and customer)!ocused aspects o! T12M( 5ere, customer !ocus includes oth e&ternal and internal customers, the latter having een largely ignored y a large num er o! organi'ations across the world( The case also rings !orth a success story o! 2+P implementation, which is hard to !ind in India( ,espite the e&cessive hype around 2+P in the late 6$$%s, very !ew companies were actually a le to utili'e this costly tool to any ma7or advantage( 1ut it seems that it was the T12M 'eal which resulted in the company eing a le to reap the ene!its o! 2+P( 5owever, the most drastic change the company saw a!ter its adoption o! the T12M was in the 5uman +esource Management area( TI"C# did away with the convention o! seniority and egan promoting people to higher positions on the asis o! their per!ormance( This was a dream come true scenario, particularly !or those young, energetic people who get demotivated when rewards are not commensurate with their hard work( 1ringing in the a ove change would not have een an easy task( This is so ecause such changes are !ound to a!!ect senior people who o!ten !orm important links in the organi'ation( T12M has surely rought drastic improvements in TI"C#4s per!ormance, ut larger contri ution comes !rom the !act that it has helped to uild a more socially responsive organi'ation( Also, the !act that TI"C#4s scores on the T12M scale have gone up over the years, is not only apprecia le, ut envia le, since this is the

most di!!icult part o! such an e&ercise( There are numerous e&amples where y organi'ations that have achieved some enchmarks, !ailed to sustain that per!ormance( Certainly TI"C# has set an e&ample in this aspect( Though T12M catapulted TI"C# to ecome the num er one steel producer in the world, it is also true that this story has not een repeated elsewhere, even in the Tata 8roup( And this is where the cru& o! the pro lem lies( Practices like TQM, TPM and 1P+ may e very success!ul in one organi'ation, ut !ail misera ly in another organi'ation( Another issue worth thinking a out is regarding the integration o! the supply chain partners in the whole e!!ort( This is a very crucial element and is di!!icult to achieve ecause organi'ations o!ten have little control over these partners( The success o! any usiness model should not e 7udged only within the organi'ation implementing it( The trickle down e!!ect o! the model on the less resource!ul organi'ations9supply chain partners should also e given due consideration( A startling !act is that even y .%%., o! the :% Tata group companies, only ;% had taken any T12M related steps (only /%<)( 8iven that the model is now more than !ive years old and there are concrete evidences that companies adopting it have ene!ited, this is 3uite strange( I think the stringent conditions !or adopting the T12M might e acting as a deterrent( I! this is true, !or those companies which are less resource!ul and are not a le to match the star per!ormers in the Tata group, some other model might e developed( This new model can e developed on the lines o! the T12M, ut can e a = eginner4s version(4 True that adoption o! the T12M has resulted in TI"C# reaping rich dividends, ut wider acceptance y smaller companies9supply chain partners would e the real test !or this model( The author is faculty at the business administration department, Aligarh Muslim university. > IC?AI Press( All +ights +eserved(