New objectives, assessment norms in TBEM recast

Anindita Dey

Mumbai, Dec 9: The Tata Business Excellence Model-2002 (TBEM) has a new look with the inclusion of new core objectives and assessment processes. TBEM, based on the US-based Malcolm Balridge, has undergone a change so as to reorient itself and make it more savvy with the group’s initiatives towards new economy sectors.

While the TBEM is undergoing a change, the number of group companies, which have signed up for the Tata Brand Equity and Business Promotion Scheme and thus opted for TBEM quality process, has increased from the 30-odd to 54. This not only includes various Tata group companies but also various profit centres under them.
Tata Quality Management Services (TQMS) chief executive officer G Jagannathan has told this newspaper that although basic values remain the same, the 11 core values have been modified so as to make them more contemporary to the group’s new initiatives as also to capture the speed of the era.

To explain a few changes, the leadership criteria now involves how the leader reviews and monitors the progress of the management instead of just setting the direction. ‘Innovation management’ is the new entrant which deals with the agility of a certain organisation and is measured on the basis of its ability to cope with changes. While greater emphasis has been put on the role of senior leaders, human resource focus includes succession planning and stronger focus on cooperation, communication and knowledge sharing.

Continuous improvement is now modified into organisation and personal learning, whereby knowledge management by an individual, both at the personal and organisation level, is reviewed.

Finally, the core value now includes the system perspective, wherein the objective is to keep a balance within the organisation of all individual developments happening within the company. To be precise, the leadership has been changed to a visionary leadership, valuing employees to valuing both the employees and the partners, fast response to agility, and a long-range view of the future. Changes in the process management include, business processes to business growth and success and non-product and services such as technology acquisition and knowledge management.

Besides incorporating these changes in the core value, the processes of assessment have also undergone change. In TBEM 2002, various innovative practices have been started so as to enable all group companies to adopt the quality management model, not in isolation but in synergy with the group.

This includes, one group company assessment team being assessed by another group company’s CEO and, in the process, one group company gets the perspective of the another. Also, the assessment remains unbiased and objective.

Sharing of best practices has been made more comprehensive with the formation of four regional forums at one each in the East and South and two in the West, where senior executives of group companies will meet at regular intervals to share the best practices of their own company, for instance, the customer satisfaction of Titan Industries, or industry relations of Tisco.

Besides, in a bid to take the quality vision forward, a team of senior executives from across the group are also sent abroad to study and interact with the best quality companies there. Under the system, some group CEOs have already visited the US and Japan.

Further, TQMS has also tied up with Tata Management Training Centre, Department of Economic Studies, and Tata Council for Community Initiatives, so that the quality initiatives can be implemented with inputs from all sides.