Shobha Ramswamy

The Tata Management Training Centre is shifting focus to better align itself with the requirements of the Tata Group

The winds of change are sweeping across the lush Tata Management Training Centre (TMTC) campus in Pune. The centre has recently achieved a turnaround in its fortunes, recording a profit of Rs 60 lakh for 2003-04, and B. Bowonder, TMTC's director, is convinced things will get better in the coming year.

Dr Bowonder is charting a new course for the 38-year-old management centre. His ambition is to make TMTC the best in the management industry, and he plans to do this by benchmarking it with similar institutions in India and abroad. "We are absolutely charged," he says, "and we will make it happen." He adds that the next level of growth for TMTC will accrue through new knowledge creation from unique and relevant courses.

Aligning with Tata objectives
The Group Corporate Centre, the policymaking body for the Tata Group's future strategies and direction, has a five-point agenda: globalisation, cost reduction, value creation, innovation and leadership development. This mandate acts as a broad guideline for the long-term thinking at TMTC, where the changed focus is on aligning with the strategic needs of the Tata Group.

In the past, non-Tata companies accounted for almost 50 per cent of the total participation in TMTC's programmes. Although the centre will continue with its programme for non-Tata companies, the numbers will be far reduced. Says Dr Bowonder, "Only 20 per cent of our programmes will be targeted at outsiders. These can become our source of knowledge because we can learn a lot from non-Tata companies." The centre has conducted programmes for the defence sector and the civil services. According to Dr Bowonder, this offers tremendous insights into government processes.

Customised service
"The course content will be reviewed regularly and modified to suit specific needs," explains Dr Bowonder. "Apart from the usual schedule, we will also design programmes based on a particular company's requirement. For example, if a company wants a course on new product development, we will arrange that."

TMTC is working closely with several Tata enterprises to gauge their requirements in order to design company-specific programmes. In the last two years the centre has created many customised programmes; these now outnumber the general programmes it offers. This kind of specificity differentiates TMTC from other management institutions in India.

The Kellogg School of Management has been identified for collaboration in the telecom sector, where the Tata Group has become a major player. "We are trying to give players in this area a feel of the business and the market," says Dr Bowonder. "We are also looking at answering several questions pertaining to the future of their businesses, the strategies and synergies required for sustenance, and for beating the competition."

Over the next 18 months five high-level global programmes on themes concerning the Tata Group are to be held at TMTC. For the first time in its history, the centre has secured a course contract from the government of Singapore. For this session the centre will bring together some of the biggest names in Indian industry.

Managing knowledge
Knowledge management is a critical part of TMTC's expertise. The organisation aspires to become a repository and disseminator of best practices and values in the Tata Group. It has already started work on a knowledge management portal, which will initially contain company-specific information and practices. TMTC has subscribed to a number of global databases for material on teaching, problem-solving and even leisure reading. The portal is envisaged to become a platform to share best practices and even case studies. Initially to be accessed by Tata employees, Dr Bowonder believes that at a later stage the centre could even spin off as a subscription model for outsiders.

Researching Tata cases is also high on the TMTC agenda. This will be done with the help of the respective companies. Work has already begun on specific cases for Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Chemicals and Tanishq and the reports are expected to be ready by the end of the year. "We want people to refer to these case reports as they would something from Harvard."

Money matters
TMTC aspires to accomplish financial self-sufficiency and it has made some progress in this direction. All courses are cost-driven and charged accordingly, irrespective of the status of the company. This, Dr Bowonder believes, will help in generating substantial revenue. "Despite the cost, we have received an excellent response from group companies because these are such high-value programmes. In some cases, we had to decline as our calendar was fully booked for the year."

TMTC is offering more than 55 different courses in 2004. These do not include company-specific programmes that are conducted outside the TMTC campus. On an average, at least 100 such paid-for programmes are going to be conducted annually (Dr Bowonder is currently conducting one such programme for Tata Motors every month).

In its drive to achieve excellence, TMTC has clearly braced itself to match top-of-the-line B-schools in India and abroad. That will enable it to continue crafting and chiselling future leaders for the Indian corporate sector.

Uploaded on June 2004