Professor Elam

Tata is clearly employing Deming’s TQM in its takeovers.   I asigned Tata as one of the companies in the auto industry to take a look at.  This article shows that Tata adapt itself, printing brochures in Korean and enrolling managers in Korean language class in its bid for Daewoo.

Tata is 66% owned by charitable trusts. Those trusts tend to take the long term view, classic Deming.  The result is the opposite of the slash and burn approach of most takeovers, managers stay in place and work with new joint oversight boards.  This is not the case in America where for example Chevron has dumped virtually all the human assets in Gulf, Texaco, and Unocal.  Now the oil industry is short of qualified workers. No wonder.