Organizational Culture - TCS !

Organizational Culture - TCS

I hope you all had a good time reading about the Tower Building Activity, Khan Academy, Valley Crossing
and Goal Setting, Mid-Term Experience and last but not the least Michelin !
Keeping the flame alive I would like to sprinkle my thoughts about the "Organizational Culture at Tata Consultancy Services".

First of all, we need to understand what Organizational Culture is. I would like to quote Mehmet Ildan here:
"All cultures have things to learn from all other cultures. Don’t get stuck in your culture. Go beyond it. Get out of your aquarium; get out of your farm; get out of your castle; break your bell jar! Give chance to other cultures and to other opinions! This is the best way for you to see the inefficiencies, absurdities and stupidities in your culture!"

Organizational Culture

The values and behaviors that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization. Organizational culture is the sum total of an organization's past and current assumptions, experiences, philosophy, and values that hold it together, and is expressed in its self-image, inner workings, interactions with the outside world, and future expectations. It is based on shared attitudes, beliefs, customs, express or implied contracts, and written and unwritten rules that the organization develops over time and that have worked well enough to be considered valid.

Also called corporate culture, it manifests in

(1) the ways the organization conducts its business, treats its employees, customers, and the wider community,
(2) the extent to which autonomy and freedom is allowed in decision making, developing new ideas, and personal expression,
(3) how power and information flow through its hierarchy
(4) the strength of employee commitment towards collective objectives.

It is termed strong or weak to the extent it is diffused through the organization. It affects the organization's productivity and performance, and provides guidelines on customer care and service; product quality and safety; attendance and punctuality; and concern for the environment. It extends also to production-methods, marketing and advertising practices, and to new product creation. While there are many common elements in the large organizations of any country, organizational culture is unique for every organization and one of the hardest thing to change.

First of all, I would like to brief about the company.

TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES

Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) is an IT services, business solutions and outsourcing organization that delivers real results to global businesses, with a high level of certainty. TCS offers a consulting-led, complete and integrated portfolio of IT and IT-enabled services delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery Model, recognized as the benchmark of excellence in software development.

Founded in 1968 as part of the Tata group, TCS is headquartered in Mumbai, India and is a public limited company , listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in India. In FY 2011, TCS reported consolidated revenues of USD 8.2 billion. TCS has built a global reputation for its ability to help customers achieve their business objectives  – by providing innovative, best-in-class consulting, IT and IT-enabled solutions and services. TCS’ core set of values underpin all activities in the Company and these include leadership with trust, integrity, excellence, respect for the individual and learning/sharing.

The Company plans to further strengthen and consolidate its position in the global IT industry as an integrated full services player with a global footprint in terms of innovation, operations and service delivery.

Large global corporations which make up the customer-base are today looking for strategic partners

who not only excel in technology and possess a full-services delivery capability but can also understand their business and leverage that domain expertise to deliver technology-led solutions to their business problems.

The customer-centric, domain-led business unit structure helps TCS constantly sharpen and grow its competencies in each of the industry verticals it services. Domain expertise is advanced through investments made in a global network of solution centers and innovation labs, hiring industry experts and by encouraging associates to get industry-recognized certifications and training.

TCS has a Global Footprint

They have invested in building a large, global sales network to reach out to clients across the world. 

As of March 31, 2011, TCS had 145 offices across 42 countries, catering to some 1034 active clients. The break-up of 

offices by geography is as below:

• 18 offices across USA and Canada
• 12 offices across 7 countries in Latin America
• 11 offices across UK and Ireland
• 22 offices across 12 countries in Europe
• 18 offices across 12 countries in Asia Pacific
• 7 offices across the Middle East and Africa
• 54 offices across India

TCS by numbers

For TCS, as a global software company, a lot of cultural integration is familiar territory. When TCS acquired UK's Pearl in April 2006, along with its 900 employees , for some 480-odd million GBP, it was one of the early birds to catch the global M&A worm. The deal was a landmark in more ways than one — first, it gave TCS entry into the lucrative life and pensions business market in the UK and Europe. It catapulted it into number two position in that industry; made it one of the top IT employers in the UK — TCS now employs about 2,000 people on the ground in UK — and more than anything, it gave TCS the cachet of being a top-end local company of standing, instead of just another Indian offshoring firm. Perception in the local market changed a lot, say insiders.

Just as an organization needs the right talent to drive its business objectives, people need the right environment to grow and achieve their career goals. Working with TCS affords you with a sense of certainty of a successful career that would be driven by boundless growth opportunities and exposure to cutting-edge technologies and learning possibilities. 

The work environment at TCS is built around the belief of growth beyond boundaries. Some of the critical elements that define the work culture are global exposure, cross-domain experience, and work-life balance. Each of these elements go much deeper than what it ostensibly conveys. 

There are 4 types of Organizational Culture:

1. Control (hierarchy)
2. Compete (market)
3. Collaborate (clan) 
4. Create (adhocracy)

This typology reflects the range of organizational characteristics across two dimensions that were found critical to organizational effectiveness. The spatial implications for each type are presented so that workspace planners might be able to interpret the results of an organizational culture assessment in their process of designing environments that support the way companies work and represent themselves.

TCS Value proposition:

The TCS employer brand positioning builds on their strengths and communicates TCS as an organization that offers its employees a complete Global IT Career by highlighting the three main value propositions:

• Global exposure
• Freedom to work across domains
• Work life balance

CONTROL (HIERARCHY)

Hierarchical organizations share similarities with the stereotypical large, bureaucratic corporation. As in the 

values matrix, they are defined by stability and control as well as internal focus and integration. They value

standardization, control, and a well-defined structure for authority and decision making. Effective leaders 

in hierarchical cultures are those that can organize, coordinate, and monitor people and processes.

Good examples of companies with hierarchical cultures are McDonald’s (think standardization and 

efficiency) and government agencies like the Department of Motor Vehicles (think rules and bureaucracy). 

As well, having many layers of management—like Ford Motor Company with their seventeen levels—is 

typical of a hierarchical organizational structure.

COMPETE (MARKET)

While most major American companies throughout the 19th and much of the 20th centuries believed 

a hierarchical organization was most effective, the late 1960s gave rise to another popular approach—

Compete (market) organizations. These companies are similar to the Control (hierarchy) in that they value 

stability and control; however, instead of an inward focus they have an external orientation and they value 

differentiation over integration. This began largely because of the competitive challenges from overseas that forced American companies to search for a more effective business approach. With their outward 

focus, Compete (market) organizations are focused on relationships—more specifically, transactions—with 

suppliers, customers, contractors, unions, legislators, consultants, regulators, etc. Through effective external 

relations they feel that they can best achieve success. While Control (hierarchy) optimize stability and 

control through rules, standard operating procedures, and specialized job functions, Compete (market) 

organizations are concerned with competitiveness and productivity through emphasis on partnerships 

and positioning. 

COLLABORATE (CLAN)

In the values matrix Collaborate (clan) are similar to Control (hierarchy) in that there is an inward focus 

with concern for integration. However, Collaborate (clan) emphasize flexibility and discretion rather than 

the stability and control of Control (hierarchy) and Compete (market) organizations.With the success of many Japanese firms in the late 1970s and 1980s, American corporations began to take note of the different way they approached business. Unlike American national culture, which is founded upon individualism, Japanese firms had a more team-centered approach. This basic understanding affected the way that Japanese companies structured their companies and approached problems Their Collaborate (clan) organizations operated more like families—hence the name—and they valued cohesion, a humane working environment, group The key to using culture to improve performance lies in matching culture or attributes to organizational goals.

CREATE (ADHOCRACY)

In the values matrix Create (adhocracy) are similar to Collaborate (clan) in that they emphasize flexibility 

and discretion; however, they do not share the same inward focus. Instead they are like Create (adhocracy) 

in their external focus and concern for differentiation.With the advent of the Information Age, a new approach developed to deal with the fast-paced and volatile business environment. Social, economic, and technological changes made older corporate attitudes and tactics less efficient. Success now was envisioned in terms of innovation and creativity with a future-forward posture. An entrepreneurial spirit reigns where profit lies in finding new opportunities to develop new products, new services, and new relationships—with little expectation that these will endure. Adhocratic organizations value flexibility, adaptability, and thrive in what would have earlier been viewed as unmanageable chaos. 

Culture potpourri:

People from diverse backgrounds and geographies have come together in pursuit of a common vision.

Open door policy:

Our corporate culture is open and inclusive; irrespective of your experience, you will immediately be welcomed into the team, and would always have a significant role to play.

On-the-job learning:

Intense training and development programs facilitate on-the-job learning.

Mentor programs:

Our mentor programs foster supportive relationships that help develop skills, behavior, and insights to enable you to attain your goals.

'Global Family' identity

What sets TCS apart is the support, encouragement, and nurturing provided to you at every step... just like a family.

Community Services:

Maitree was started with an objective of bringing TCS associates and their families closer and include them as a part of the TCS extended family.

The BIG questions in an organization !

Learning:

How do I enable Team learning?

Employee Involvement:

How do I enable continuous improvement?

Personal Growth:

How do I walk the the journey of self discovery and growth?

Owning TCS Culture:

How do I influence culture?

Role Enhancement:

How do I take up new responsibilities and set new directions?

Professional Excellence:

How do I become a role model and a friend?

PROPEL – The Intervention: Culture Building at TCS 

PROPEL was introduced as a revolutionary intervention with the dual objectives of facilitating the exchange of ideas and helping in immediate problem solving, while also encouraging bonding and self-development 

among and within teams. 

   

As the organization and its relationships grew, it brought its own challenges, whereas change remained a constant. PROPEL was introduced as a platform and a tool to help bring about this change, in consonance with the TCS belief of “Let us make it a joy for all our stakeholders”. Promoting continuous improvement at a cross-functional level was one of the envisaged objectives. Change management was enabled through alignment with growth strategy; by creating platforms for dialogue on the current and emerging experience of the organization. 

PROPEL has helped the organization build a culture of collaboration, creativity and also networks of relationships through its two modes: 

1.  Confluences: Listening to the voice of the employee in a team scenario, by creating a platform for open sharing of thoughts on a relevant theme. This is achieved through a balance of fun, introspection and interaction, while evoking commitment to self development. 

2.  Camps: Platform for problem solving, focus on the Quality, Cost and Delivery measures of throughput resulting in transfer and adoption of best practices within and amongst relationships in the 

organization. 

Team Alignment through PROPEL framework

Team alignment was a PROPEL application initiated for members of this large relationship, to reflect on its own state, to build a coherent statement of current realities and to channel potent restlessness and dissatisfactions within the relationship, into a convergent blueprint of responsiveness and new levels of maturity. It looked at redefining desirable role behaviors, and hence conveyed responsibility for movement at the collective as well as individual levels, for the team. This was brought about through the following stages:

1.  Initiation: The Spiral dynamics framework was used to map the relationship in terms of its evolution. Tools were administered to a group of Project Managers to identify the gaps between where the

team is (current state) and where it should be (desired state) and the steps to be taken to bridge this gap.

Spiral Dynamics posits that the evolution of human consciousness can best be represented by a dynamic, upward spiraling structure that charts our evolving thinking systems as they arc higher and higher through levels of increasing complexity.

2.  Awareness sessions & Workshops: Overviews on Spiral Dynamics and its application to achieve team alignment was shared with the team. In Jan 2012, a workshop was organized with the team to discuss

the findings based on the analysis of data. A few key observations were:

• Differential perceptions of current reality by leadership and the rest of the team
• Need to make a few critical role shifts
• Need to align the broad directions and future steps

This workshop allowed the team to clearly discuss their perceptions of the team’s current situation and  the following observations were agreed upon:

• Need to negotiate expectations and sufficiently understand interdependence
• Reluctance to confront and bring issues to a head
• Stress
• Results and task oriented disposition        

These results were then compared to the leadership’s expectations from the team. Greater the convergence and alignment between leadership and the team on the current state and the directions for movement, greater the power of focused deployment of energies, and empowered, autonomous decisions and actions within the team. Gaps were identified, developmental areas were prioritized and broken down and categories identified to pinpoint where the greatest impact from team development efforts will be achieved.

3.  Gap analysis:  This was done to enhance understanding of the different roles for each job position, identify the ones suitable for the different job positions and come up with action items to address the

themes agreed upon. As a next step, each member had to identify the gaps based on the role selected. For e.g.: The below roles were identified for a team member job position:

• Self-developer
• Team Player
• Craftsperson

The roles would vary depending on the location as well. Onsite members would have roles that require higher customer interaction.

4.  Implementing improvement plan: Follow-up meetings were held at 6-8 week intervals to monitor progress made as well as to identify areas of improvement using Deming’s Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA)

cycle. The Team Alignment tool was created in September 2005 with an aim of cascading the team alignment concept to the team member level in a shorter span of time.

5.  Next steps: The team now has a 30, 60, 90 day implementation plan for the same. Incorporation of the  three high priority action items arising from the team alignment exercise, as goals in the team was

contemplated. Additionally a PROPEL camp was planned, to agree upon the steps to be taken to close the action items for each of the roles.

References

http://www.tcs.com/about/corp_responsibility/documents/tcs_corporate_sustainability_report_low_resolution_09.pdf

http://careers.tcs.com/CareersDesign/Jsps/WorkingatTCS.jsp

http://sumedhas.org/new3cont/The%20OD%20Journey.pdf

Conclusion

I feel with positive initiatives and proper management bad cultures in an organization can be changed. TCS is an example of a company which is true to its values. It never compromises on quality and values. Even in dire situations, it always takes a stand which is ethically and morally correct.

Guys.. signing off now ... hoping to get good reviews and page views :)
see u soon in the next blog !