Question

would you describe Work values, e.g. CSR, and leadership in Tata Company? Even better is to identify reasons whether and why the company was successful in implementing these specific HR topics.

Answer 1

Work values in TATA Group :

Tata group of companies has been started more than 100 years ago and holds a very prominant place in the Indian history. Started in India, Tata group is now one of the biggest group of companies operating world wide. The Tata group's social activities relate to health, primary education, skills training and entrepreneurship, livelihoods, women empowerment and strengthening services for the differently-abled.

The corporate social responsibility strategy of TATA group of companies was first inspired by the founder Jamsetji Tata’s conviction that, “In a free enterprise, the community is not just another stakeholder, but is, in fact, the very purpose of its existence.” Tata's approach to its business has evolved from this concept and the wealth it has created is continuously returned to the people through its community initiatives.

The group believes corporate social responsibility is a critical mission that is at the heart of everything that it does, how it thinks and what it is. The Tata group is committed to integrating environmental, social and ethical principles into the core business, thereby enhancing long-term stakeholder value and touching the lives of over a quarter of the world's population. The group’s CSR programmes aim to be relevant to local, national and global contexts, keep disadvantaged communities as the focus, be based on globally-agreed sustainable development principles and be implemented in partnership with governments, NGOs and other relevant stakeholders.

The mandate given to the CSR team's in the TATA group was to work for the welfare of the socially and economically disadvantaged communities living in and around its areas of operation. Over the years, its CSR initiatives have encompassed provision of healthcare services, drinking water, rain water harvesting, tribal development, relief and rehabilitation endeavours, income and employment generation, women’s health and education, awareness programmes on the ill-effects of drugs, alcohol and HIV/AIDS, and patronage to sports and cultural activities.

The CSR policy at TATA encompasses initiatives to conserve, sustain and renew the environment, to encourage sustainable socio-economic development of the community and to improve the quality of life of the people living in the areas in which it operates. The greatest strength of the company’s CSR activity is that it is looked upon as a business process, like any other, not post-profit philanthropy. There is an annual business plan, with mid-, short- and long-term plans specified, thereby encouraging the company to think in terms of sustainability.

Tata companies work towards empowering people by helping them develop the skills they need to succeed in a global economy, which is now consolidated into a group CSR programme called Tata STRIVE. The group equips communities with information, technology and the capacity to achieve improved health, education and livelihood outcomes. It also works towards enabling other living things on the planet get their fair share of the resources.