TERRITORIES

40 INDIA'S BUREAUCRACY CHALLENGE WITH

THE GREAT ASIAN NATION’S COMMITMENT TO STREAMLINE THE ORGANIZATION OF WORK. FOLLOWING THE EXAMPLE OF MULTINATIONALS.

he traditional image of millennial India, a complex and fascinating civilization, has been flanked by the modern India of recent years, a global center for services that require a high content of knowledge. As a growing nation that regularly trains a very large number of engineers and other graduates, today, India is the country of “brains”, outsourcing, Bollywood and Bangalore (the Indian Silicon Valley). An emerging power characterized by rapid and sudden development, where critical issues and the sluggishness of bureaucracy coexist with the economic dynamism of a continental-sized state in full transformation.

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Bureaucracy – the backbone of the Indian administrative system – is still largely based on the Weberian model (hierarchies, written rules, clear division of labor, impartiality of officials and careers based on seniority). But in the era of globalization, its nature is changing, hand in hand with a change in the socio-cultural and economic landscape. In fact, after decades of having an overly rigid approach, widespread proceduralism that makes one lose sight of objectives and an absolute loyalty to the bureaucratic rules of a system that is not very responsive to innovation, the India of today sees the digital age as a springboard to streamline itself and its business models.

India has the second most startups in the world, and Bangalore is second only to Silicon Valley. To use a concrete example, Flipkart (the giant Indian competitor of Amazon) was bought by Walmart for 16 billion dollars. In India, there have been 13 startups with a value surpassing the billion-dollar mark, essentially considered unicorns, worth a total of 44 billion dollars. Bangalore was born as an IT hub, with numerous fundamental infrastructures for the development of innovation, ranging from connectivity to co-working spaces. The community is very active, and every month there are hundreds of events entirely dedicated to networking attended by world giants companies (Amazon, IBM and Oracle) who act as incubators and accelerators. Even the government has begun to promote innovation, creating numerous SEZs (Special Economic Zones), areas where there is up to a 100% tax reduction, with available funds and support agencies.

On the whole, the overall change will not follow a linear path. Prime minister Modi is working intensely to shake the prevalent culture to the core: his administrative and economic reforms, such as the introduction of the Goods and service tax (Gst), a nationally applied indirect value added tax, have been met with remarkable resistance. Breaking the bureaucratic-financial conglomeration that opposes any real expansion of the Indian economy and the digitalization of businesses, does not appear to be a simple task.

Four models of being a company

To outline the different types of businesses in the private sector, we spoke with Milind Baride, Vice President of the Indian region of the Maire Tecnimont Group. «There are at least four organizational models in India today. There are the large historical groups, founded by Indian entrepreneurs like Tata, Birla, Reliance (Ambani), Mittal, Agarwal. In this type of company, the financial and commercial functions (treasury, accounting, corporate finance and purchases) are still controlled by the owner’s family, while the areas that deal with customers and suppliers (sales, marketing, production engineering and human resources) are facing rapid changes to adapt to market speed».

Another typology regards some groups (banking and telecommunications) like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Infosys, who have instead adopted a dynamic, performance-oriented and innovative corporate culture, with a large number of employees who began working in multinationals from the start. «Then there is a third group – continues Baride – that of foreign companies like Unilever, IBM, General Electric, Microsoft, Cognizant, Coca-Cola and Deloitte. Generally, these big companies tend to carry their “domestic” culture with them, driven by performance goals. However, Indian branches show different cultural traits in interpersonal behavior: in addition to greater respect for authority, teamwork is often influenced more by the members’ personalities than by their roles».

The fourth division is that of Indian startups with online platforms such as PayTM, MakemyTrip, Ola and BookmyShow. Baride explains: «These organizations have a very entrepreneurial culture, where the average employee age is very low. Typically, the staff come from excellent institutes of technology and business schools, while managers come mainly from multinationals specialized in related sectors. As would be expected, startups are strongly influenced by the founder’s personality and operate in a fast-paced scene». Although the corporate culture in this kind of context is poles apart from bureaucracy, it is true that when these organizations grow, the structure adapts by introducing a series of rules necessary to coordinate operations.

In short, there is a varied and complex panorama, that in some cases is travelling at two different speeds, with major changes taking place on both the public and private sides. One can find signs of openness to market dynamics in news like this: for the last two years or so, the New Delhi government has started to hire dozens of Indian executives from private organizations for the role of Joint Secretary, with the job of bringing “fresh and vibrant ideas” to the area of public bureaucracy. A move long awaited and welcomed by businesses, who see a revival of what is called “lateral leadership”, meaning the ability to influence people on whom you do not have hierarchical authority. As Yadvinder Rana, professor of Cattolica University of Milan explained to us in a previous issue of EVOLVE, lateral leadership rests upon three key elements: credibility, relationship skills and effective communication. Without credibility there is no influence, and without relationships, the ability to exercise one’s leadership is lost.

A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO INTEGRATION

The Maire Tecnimont Group, present in India since decades, is a multinational that has gradually integrated its corporate culture with that of the rapidly growing nation’s local vision and stren gths. Tecnimont PL India is one of the most important international engineering centers of our Group, a real flagship in the design and management of complex projects, as well as in procurement and construction services. Having developed a very strong Ita lian-Indian collaboration over the years, today Maire Tecnimont can count on Mumbai capabilities, comparable to those of Mi lan headquarters. Of the Group’s approximately 6,300 employees, over two thousand work in the Mumbai office, which regularly coordinates a further three thousand technicians specialized in the electro-instrumental sector.

«Not everything happened quickly – explains Sathiamoorthy Go palsamy, Service Project Vice President of Tecnimont and Managing Director of Tecnimont India– As with any integration between companies with different habits, lifestyles and languages, group management had to implement broad cross-cultural strategies to facilitate the transition to a single entity with shared rules and objectives. The idea of proposing the temporary transfer of a cer tain number of Tecnimont staff to India created a “real” dialogue between the two offices. At the same time, Indian employees began to spend periods of time, on a rotating basis, working in Milan where they joined project groups composed mainly of Ita lians, where their professional skills would come to light. As far as work methods were concerned, the transition between the various

departments went smoothly, thanks to the mutual trust and support provided by the ‘parent company’ to Tecnimont India. Over time, we also worked on the employees sense of identity, expanding the group vision and opening career development opportunities across the board, no longer just in the Indian office».

Particularly dear to Maire Tecnimont is the Diwali festival, which is celebrated at Milan headquarters and in various other Group locations. During the “festival of lights” – one of the most important Hin du anniversaries that symbolizes the victory of good over evil, of the return of light over darkness – the faithful light thousands of small candles in temples, homes and special public places. With Diwali, the soul is honored: pure, eternal and infinite. It is the light of knowledge, capable of defeating the igno rance that masks reality.

D TO THEEDICATED EMPOWERMENT OF THE WOMEN OF MUMBAI

Another highly profitable area for integrating different cultures is sustainability and social responsibility. The Maire Tecnimont Group continues to invest in training opportunities for Indian women who are so cially marginalized, making economic independence the first step in the discussion on gender equality. In collaboration with the local NGO CORP, our Group has promoted the active participation of women who live in the slums of Mumbai in the economic life of their communities for the fifth consecutive year, thanks to the professional courses offered, capable of generating quality employment and micro-enter prises (tailoring, beautician, training programs, computer literacy and income generation). The project, launched in 2015, has involved approximately 1,000 women and children every year, with 7 centers loca ted in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods of the Mumbai metropolitan area.

Valentina Grieco, Communication and Sustainability Specialist at Maire Tecnimont tells us: «In addition to providing basic professional knowledge with op portunities for training, the program aims to place the women involved in the project into a network where they feel valued and supported. There are full-time childcare support servi ces at the training centers, along with study support and monthly health monitoring. When a woman knows that her child is well cared for, she can work with peace of mind. It is also important for the women from the various centers involved in the women’s em powerment program to meet and share their experiences, essential moments that keep them updated on activities and let them see how important it is to be a part of a Group».

By being able to contribute to the economic support of the family, women also gain more of a voice in decisions on spending and choices related to the education of their children. This more ba lanced family dynamic gives a fundamentally important message, acting as the “role model” of an egalitarian relationship between parents: a model that sons, and especially daughters, will absorb and replicate. «Finally, there are also positive impacts on circularity – Grieco continues. CORP has focused its tailoring activities upon this production, both for training purposes as well as to generate income through the sale of finished products made from the reco very of sari fabric which then becomes the new base material for the creation of original accessories and new clothing. The scraps left over from the processing of used saris are in turn recovered and donated to other operators, thus activating a zero-waste circuit and further economic uses for scrap material».

The Maire Tecnimont Group has put the United Nations’ Sustai nable Development Goals in action with this pragmatic and integrated socio-economic approach. Grieco concludes: «About half of the people in our Group are located in India. It is like having part of your family on another continent. So, supporting those who offer women development opportunities and children prospects that are less uncertain than the ones they have today all living in a country that is so close to ours becomes a real opportunity to invest in our own future, too».

SUPPORT FOR NITK TRAINING

Since March 2020, our Group has joined the National Institute of Technology of Karnataka, Surathkal, to develop a program focu sed on small waste management with training opportunities and study aid. The collaboration involves the creation of a pilot plant for the generation of bio-gas, from food waste, which will be used for the needs of the NTIK campus. The pilot plant will also be a useful facility for training young engineers in the use of waste as a raw material, with a view to creating new technical skills for the energy transition. The Mangalore - based NITK is, in fact, one of the country’s most distinguished engineering training centers with a large pool of students. Our group has set up scholarships to give those who are less well-off access to quality technical training.