Building Brand India: Company by Company
India’s international challenge
Whether or not India gains international competitiveness depends more on the actions of the individual companies than on anything that can be done by the government, the academia or by the society at large.
Let us agree that the mission of each organization is, quite simply, to become the high-quality, low-cost producer in the industry or the market that they each belong to.
For companies that are facing substantial foreign competition, there is really no choice. They must change or die, or rest content to become (if they are lucky) the marketing agents or distributors for foreign producers.
For the domestic companies that have not yet felt the bite of overseas competition, there is some leeway….a few months, perhaps!
What can leaders do?
Becoming the high-quality, low-cost producer in any industry, whether manufacturing or service, requires three actions:
- Top management must embrace the leadership role
- Top management must collectively define a five year vision for the organization that has a clear customer focus, is compelling, and is doable with some stretch
- Top management must periodically conduct an environment scan
In addition, top management must design a massive top-down training program for the entire organization. The scope of this training should include:
- Quality management principles
- Problem solving techniques
- Quality tools
- Creativity tools
- Teamwork
This training should teach skills for today’s responsibilities.
Build a habit of quality culture
The above actions are vital for creating a ‘habit of quality improvement’ within an organization. Habits build culture.
At a national level, the ‘habit of quality improvement’, company by company, can make Indian industry more competitive in the international market space.
