Published on May 07, 2019
Tata Network Forum (TNF) India - West, organised a session on the theme of ‘Synergy and One Tata’ on April 26, 2019, at Tata Management Training Centre (TMTC), Pune. The session was a unique one, and enabled attendees to participate actively in a unique interactive activity.
The event began with an introduction to the Tata Network Forums by Shreyas Desai, Coordinator for TNF India - West. After this, S Padmanabhan, Executive Chairman, Tata Business Excellence Group (TBExG), gave the opening remarks, in which he talked about the various platforms available to the Tata group companies. He said that the Tata Business Excellence Model (TBEM) is a tool, which is adopted by group companies to drive their journey of excellence and has become a glue that binds the Tata group, creating an intellectual synergy amongst companies. The focused sessions conducted through the TNFs are increasingly fostering a culture of ‘One Tata’, he added.
The next speaker to address the participants was Shane Fitzsimons, Group Synergy Officer (GSO), Tata Sons, who began by acquainting the group with the concept of ‘Synergy and One Tata’. The session offered a broad overview of the vision and journey of the GSO over the past one year and the path forward. It familiarised the participants with One Tata Operating Network (OTON), the various clusters under it, and tracks within each cluster. A few of those tracks, with details about initiatives undertaken and planned under each, were discussed at length with the audience, which was followed by a Q&A session on the same.
Ernst & Young (E&Y) is partnering with Tata Group in this journey of capitalising on potential synergies within the conglomerate. Vinay Raghunath from E&Y facilitated the next session, which discussed successful transformation journeys undertaken by Indian as well as multinational conglomerates — similar to what the Tata Group is seeking to achieve through OTON. The session provided the audience with insights on the challenges that these conglomerates faced, the approaches used to overcome such challenges, and the success enjoyed by them post-transformation.
The last session for the day was the working session between the GSO team and the TNF participants. The participants were divided into four groups, which concurrently attended presentations on four OTON tracks facilitated by the GSO team. The format of the activity comprised of a 7-minute presentation by the GSO track lead followed by eight minutes of track tear-down, build-up, and idea sharing by the participating group. Each presentation and discussion was timed, and each group attended all four presentations in quick succession. The participants and the GSO team appreciated the session as it triggered a lively exchange of information and ideas.
Mr. Fitzsimons delivered the closing address to bring the lively and engaging event to a formal close.