Bollywood: A Window on Dalal Street and Corporate India
Shakespeare has shaped notions about English history for generations; and in
India, cinema and television over the past several decades have reflected some of
the public’s negative attitudes about business. But in the last decade the perception
of business has changed. After all, films are the mirrors of the society.
According to research undertaken by a number of different organizations, the
average Indian spends approximately 12-15 hours per week in front of the
television set. In this book, however, we will focus on the relationship between
popular culture and business.
In the 1950s, in actor-producer Raj Kapoor’s films, businessmen are portrayed as
petty landlords, involved in unscrupulous money-lending, land-grabbing and other
illegal activities. The plot usually ran: poor boy meets rich girl and they fall in
love. Rich girl’s dad is the villain – a rich businessman or landlord – who frames
the poor boy in a crime.
In the 1970s, superstar actor Amitabh Bachchan portrayed an angry young man
challenging the authority of businessmen, who were smugglers, kidnappers,
counterfeiters, hoarders, or black marketers. The era of Amitabh movies coincided
with what we described earlier as the era of hard socialism.
In the movie Inquilaab, the hero guns down all the newly elected members of a
state cabinet. Their fault? They were all crooked businessmen and corrupt
politicians who had hijacked the elections.
In the 90s however, the moviemaker’s perception changed in favor of the business
class. They were no longer shown as the bad guys in society. Movies such as
Dilwale Dulhaniya le Jayenge and Hum Apke Hai Kaun portrayed rich people as
“good guys”. This probably happened only after liberal economic policies
unshackled the Indian entrepreneur, and Indians found new icons in people like
Sabeer Bhatia of Hotmail and Narayan Murthy of Infosys.
Some egregious examples that have reinforced negative perceptions among Indian
investors, consumers and average citizens are:
The controversy generated by Enron setting up a power plant in India
A series of stock market scandals that have shaken investor confidence
Revelations that corporate India has defaulted on debt to the tune of
Rs.1,00,000 crore
The virtual collapse of the state-run mutual fund, Unit Trust of India,
endangering the savings of millions of middle-class Indian households
Revelations by a public advocacy agency, Center for Science and
Environment, that the pesticide levels in soft drinks produced by global
brand leaders such as Pepsi and Coke were unacceptably high
Discovery of worms in Packets of chocolates manufactured by the market
leader Cadbury
The Global Village
According to Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan foresaw decades ago – the
creation of a world so interwoven by shared knowledge that it becomes a “Global
Village”. This trend has had a monumental impact on business, particularly over
the last decade.
Out of the top 100 economies, 51 are multinational corporations, and the
remaining 49 are countries. Thus, it may not be surprising that individuals have
begun to turn to large companies to provide the direction that were more strongly
offered in the past by distinct national cultures, communities and inspirational
narratives.
The 2004 World Social Forum (WSF) was organized for the first time in the city of
Mumbai, which is referred to fondly as India’s New York.
How to Compete in a Changing Environment
Example
Colgate was able to overcome complex socio-cultural factors stemming from
decades of colonization, profoundly different social groups and vast territorial
differences.
Similarly, it is felt that shifting demographics have prompted new competition in
the changing Indian business environment. India is a democratic nation with
approximately 1 billion people (approximately 350 million of whom could be
defined as belonging to the middle class), 26
different states, 15 national languages and six major religions, making it no small
task for corporations to transcend this diversity and compete successfully.
Hyundai successfully leveraged these affinities by making use of celebrity
endorsements (thus, piggybacking on the popularity of Bollywood films) to raise
consumer awareness of its new Santro brand. Not only did Hyundai align itself
with a universally accepted lifestyle, it built a 12% market share based on its
success.
Similarly, Britannia Industries promoted a new brand of biscuits through the
endorsement of two cricket celebrities, Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly.
This partnership prompted a successful entry into a competitive and convoluted
Indian market.
Recognize the Changing Environment
Example
McDonald’s in the US took note when, in the late 1980s and early 1990s,
environmentally conscious consumers raised concerns over the company’s use of
non-recyclable plastic “clamshell” packaging for many of its popular sandwiches.
Disapproving customers mailed the containers to the company’s headquarters at
Oak Brook, Illinois, in addition to thousands of hostile letters.
In India there were widespread protests over the use of child labor in the firework
factories of Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu. In fact, school-going children were urged not
to burst crackers on Diwali, the most important festival of the Hindus
Adapt to the Environment Without Compromising Principles
As an example, in 1995, Starbucks, the Seattle-based coffee company in the US,
adopted guidelines aimed at improving working conditions at its foreign coffee
suppliers. Starbuck’s guidelines called for overseas suppliers to pay wages and
benefits that at least “address the basic needs of workers and their families.” For
example, the company asked suppliers to allow child labor only when it did not
“interfere with mandated education”
Monsanto faced similar protests when it launched GM cotton in India in
partnership with Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company (MAHYCO). Many
environmentalists and NGO’s raised objections to the commercial use of Bt cotton.
Do not Assume Problems will Magically Disappear
Most managers assume that the Indian Public has a short memory about problems
companies get into. In fact, consumers have longer memories than one might think,
as witnessed by boycotts of companies such as Coke, Pepsi, Parke Davis, etc.
Some companies seem to be getting it right, but most are still getting it wrong.
Bata India Ltd, a subsidiary of Bata (BN) BV of the Netherlands, is India’s largest
manufacturer of leather goods. It allowed itself to get into a battle with labor
unions in West Bengal .
Keep corporate communication Connected to Strategy
corporate communication must be closely linked to a company’s overall vision and
strategy.
Successful companies connect communication with strategy through structure,
such as having the head of corporate communication report directly to the CEO.
The advantage of this kind of reporting relationship is that the communications
professional can get the company’s strategy directly from those at the top of the
organization. To combat socio- cultural and demographic complexities , companies
like Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline and Citibank have appointed Indian CEOs for
their Indian operations to tailor products more effectively to suit different markets.
Example
Johnson& Johnson handled the Tylenol cyanide crisis of the early 1980s.
Plz go through pepsi and coke pesticide case as well as Johnson case which is in
back side in the book.
