Has Tata image taken a beating. Every morning we get up with Tata Products, Tata tea, Tata salt so on and so forth. Tata is part of our life right from the salt we eat to Tata vehicles that we travel. Tata is part of our live. But n ow the reports say yes after Mistrys outbursts and leakage of e-mails.
For everything we compare by saying, we are not Tatas and Birlas meaning we are not that rich and we dont have that kind of stature. Like they are above all. The name Tata comes first.
The respect that people give for the group and to the Tata products to a large extent, comes from the stature of the men who have led the company over the years: from its visionary founder, Jamsetji Tata, to the pioneering JRD Tata who was chairman of the group for more than 50 years and, in recent decades, Ratan Tata, who was behind the firm’s global expansion.
Ratan Tata managed to keep his reputation as one of India’s most revered business leaders intact, through a time when corruption and crony capitalism had become the hallmarks of corporate India.
Internationally too, Mr Tata was well-known and well-respected.In 2012, at the age of 75, he retired after serving as chairman of the Tata group for more than 20 years..
In a letter to the Tata board, sacked chairman Cyrus Mistry accused Mr Tata of interfering in the running of the company and thrusting business decisions on him.
Tata Sons has rejected the claims, saying Mr Mistry was given complete autonomy. But the allegations, along with the fact that Tata is back at the helm of the group, although temporarily, have sowed the seeds of doubt in the minds of many.
“It has dented the reputation of Mr Tata,” there is no second thought about it. “It demonstrates that he wasn’t as hands off as he claimed and he took part in decisions or at least tried to influence decisions. It shows that he found it difficult to go away.”
“But he is the only one who could fix it. No one else on the board commands that kind of respect.”
Some are angry at Mr Mistry’s conduct.It is unclear how this dispute will play out in the coming days. Both sides have been frantically consulting lawyers. The Tata group has said that Mr Mistry’s allegations will be responded to “in an appropriate manner”.
It has certainly left Tata’s employees and investors worried but the overwhelming feeling among people is one of sadness, a sense of despondency at watching a name that India feels proud of being dragged through the mud.
“Tata brand has been built over a period of 150 years, so it’s sad that it is taking a beating nowbecause of one Individual. At the age of 78, Ratan Tata might find himself once again trying to prove his critics wrong.
But the belief in the company seems to remain and it will continue.
U.Srinivas – Editor
