Strategic Leadership: The story of Maruti Udyog Ltd. and R. C Bhargava*

Strategic Leadership: The story of Maruti Udyog Ltd. and R. C Bhargava

Leading change is considered to be one of the most important and difficult responsibilities for administrators. It involves guiding, encouraging and facilitating the  collective efforts of members to adapt and survive in an uncertain and sometimes hostile environment. As part of the change management initiative, Bhargava witnessed all the elements involved in change-creation: conflict and crisis and evolved as the change agent for Maruti Suzuki.

Maruti Suzuki is a company that came into being with the government of India as its majority owner, has ceded charge to its Japanese partner, Suzuki Corporation and through its days of origin Bhargava has been the troubleshooter-in-chief for Maruti Suzuki for issues ranging from indigenization to shareholding, control, labor issues  and lock-out.

Major changes took place in Maruti involving both political and administrative aspects but Bhargava has enjoyed the confidence both of the government – till it exited the company fully in 2006 – and of Suzuki, which now owns 56.2 % of the shares of the company......................

Maruti Udyog Ltd.: Background

The Maruti story gets well conveyed in its website through the following message, “If you have travelled in India, taken a route to anywhere around this great nation, chances are you’ve driven with us. For over three decades now, Maruti Suzuki cars have been going places.”..........

Bhargava as a strategist

While nationalizing Sanjay Gandhi’s Maruti Ltd., the Parliament decided that it was imperative to establish a government company to modernize the Indian automobile industry. The management of Maruti being synchronous to the idea developed a strategy to achieve this objective within the constraints of operating as a public sector organization. Bhargava believed that the infusion of Japanese management and labor practices would equip and enable Maruti to lead the industry to productivity. Maruti was a deviation from.............

The New Project

In January 2014, Suzuki announced that they would build, own and run the plant and sell those cars to Maruti which went down very well with Bhargava’s sense of business. The announcement created waves in the government about Bhargava’s position in the proposal – whether he was viewing the proposal as the Chairman of Maruti Udyog or as a representative of Suzuki...........

Man Who Keeps Going

Bhargava has been busy working towards the formulation of strategies, policies and structures that translate vision, mission and core values into business possibilities. He is still working on to create an environment for............

Assignment Questions

I. R.C.Bhargava played a strategic role in leading Maruti Udyog Ltd., from the front. Elaborate.
II. ‘Making profits on a sustained basis is a necessary condition for any company to survive for long.’ Bhargava has tried to live up to this philosophy. Discuss
III. .............

Exhibits

Exhibit I: Profile of R.C.Bhargava

Exhibit II: Vision and Core Values

Exhibit III: Maruti Suzuki Sales in September 2014

Strategic Leadership: The story of Maruti Udyog Ltd. and R. C Bhargava

Synopsis

Managing in an ambiguous environment requires strategic out of the box thinking, extremely high EQ and instant decision making abilities with a string  understanding if the business and its environment. Leaders who are able to withstand the uncertainties and can envision and predict the future are more likely to succeed in such challenging environments. In addition, the dynamics of changing environment require leaders who are able to stand above the operational  day-to-day challenges and generate new possibilities for the business. Possibilities may be in terms of new markets, new products or services, analysis of likely changes in technology, politics or economics. R.C.Bhargava (Bhargava) did exactly this. While leading Maruti Udyog Ltd., (now Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. ) from the front, he achieved results by the infusion of Japanese management and labor practices, discarded many traditional practices employed by the government and enabled Maruti to excel in productivity. Leaders of yesteryears used to provide a vision and wait for years to determine if it would produce desired results.  Bhargava did not have luxury of such a delay, and he went on constantly scanning the environment for possible new opportunities and threats.

While nationalizing Sanjay Gandhi’s Maruti Ltd., Parliament decided that a government company should be established to modernize the Indian automobile industry. The management of Maruti decided that this object had to receive its full and undivided attention and evolved a strategy to achieve this objective within the  constraints of operating as a public sector organization. Maruti Udyog Ltd. was incorporated on February 24^th 1981 with Mrs. Indira Gandhi giving Sanjay Gandhi’s dreams..................