Decades ago, in every Deepavali Special issues – there
will be jokes on ‘bridegrooms sought’ – it was considered that persons in
lower cadre of Govt too were considered best – as the thinking was ‘Govt. job
is permanent and hence most preferred’. Now it is fortified by the tweets
that ‘whatever be the position ~ jobs security is there only in Government !’
A couple of decades back, IT revolution created the thinking that ‘IT &
ITES’ are the most earning group and hence the elites. Is life in a Private
Company always ‘plush’ – or does the sword of Damocles hangs always ? – the
truth could be in between and for some – closer to one of the extremes and
there cannot be any generalisation ! Those in their middle ages can
easily recall that most of their neighbours / relatives joined in small
Companies in the bylanes of Parrys and happily retired there too – and yet
brought up their families providing them the basic necessities.In Private Companies, there will be income
disparities – there is possibility of people negotiating a better deal over
those in higher cadre – those getting incentive by hardwork, good presentation
and better negotiation skills. For those who compare, life could be constant
hell – giving no peace of mind at all. ~ and then there is the dreaded ‘pink
slip’ – they say that the Company may suddenly think that ‘skillsets’ of one
are no longer required and if that person does not adapt to changing needs –
would find neglected and nearer exit path. Is that fair ? – should loyalty be
punished ? – how to find an alternative employment after spending donkey years
? – Qs and more Qs – there will be no answers.
Asian shares
tumbled in early trade on Wednesday, following in the footsteps of Wall Street,
which pulled back on disappointing earnings, while the dollar inched down from
a seven-month high and oil prices slid. U.S. stocks ended Tuesday down between
0.3 and 0.5 percent, as results and forecasts from companies in sectors
including housing and consumer products missed expectations. Back home in
India, the ruling Samajwadi Party was
hogging media limelight on Monday, an abrupt high-profile resignation shifted
all the cameras towards the Tata Group. In a very sudden ouster, Cyrus Mistry
was sacked as the chairman of the Tata Group Mr Ratan Tata back as the interim head.
Tata would
need no introduction to common man, the multinational conglomerate holding
company headquartered in Mumbai, is seen and found everywhere right from the
buses that we travel. It was founded in
1868 by Jamshedji Tata and gained international recognition after purchasing
several global companies. It is India's largest conglomerate. There are 30
publicly-listed Tata enterprises with a combined market capitalisation of about
$116 billion as of March 2016. Its founder
- Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata (1839 – 1904) was a pioneer industrialist, born in Navsari then part of the princely state of
Baroda.
Jamsetji
Tata’s vision and business acumen would have been enough to mark him as an
extraordinary figure, but what made him truly unique, the quality that places
him in the pantheon of modern India’s greatest sons, was his humaneness. Their website reads : ‘had Mr Jamsetji Tata
lived in Europe or America, his name would have been more familiar to the
public.’ ”This is what Frank Harris wrote about the Founder of the Tata group
in his book, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata: A Chronicle of his Life.
The visionary Jamsetji Tata laid the foundation of the group
that was to become a sprawling multinational conglomerate — that today has over
6,00,000 employees and revenue over $100 billion in the past financial year. Tata
setup several textile mills in India. In
1877, the famous Empress mill in Nagpur came into existence, which went on to
become the seed that sprouted the present day Tata group. He also set up The
Indian Hotels Company and built the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, India's first
luxury hotel, which opened in 1903. He also established the JN Tata Endowment
to encourage Indian scholars to take up higher studies. It was the first of
many philanthropic trusts by the Tata Group.
The group is
in news because of a development that can trigger a confrontation between the
single-largest shareholder and the company's founding family. Mistry's family
firm Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which has 18.4 percent in Tata Sons. In the surprise development, the board of
Tata Sons, where 66 percent shares are held by philanthropic trusts endowed by
members of Tata family, ousted chairman Mistry saying it was acting "for
the long-term interest" of the firm. Their communiqué directs firms to focus on their business and enhancing
returns to shareholders without being distracted by change in top leadership.
The
boardroom battle at Tata group appeared to be heading for a legal tussle with
Tatas filing caveats in the Supreme Court, Bombay High Court and the National
Company Law Tribunal against Cyrus Mistry moving for relief against his ouster
as chairman. In a bid to prevent Mistry from getting any ex-parte relief from
any legal forum, Tata Sons and a Tata Trust, among others, filed the caveats
that they should be heard before grant of any relief to the ousted chairman.
The petitions included one by Ratan Tata and others against Mistry.
In 1919 Lord
Chelmsford named the city, which was earlier a village called Sakchi, to
Jamshedpur in honor of its founder, Jamsetji Tata.
With regards
– S. Sampathkumar
26th
Oct 2016.