Good Operational Management for Higher Goals

What this session covered

This webinar, held as part of the institute's ongoing series, examined operational management and its relationship to the management of people. The session took the form of two invited talks followed by a short moderated question-and-answer exchange, rather than a panel debate. In opening remarks the host framed operational management and human-resource management as two sides of the same coin, describing operational management as the function that brings an organisation's departments onto the same page while also touching on resource utilisation, cost control and the delivery of quality to the customer.

The first speaker argued that organisations with sound strategy often fail at the operating level, and that every enterprise now sits within a digitally integrated global chain even where its customers are local. Drawing on external criticisms of Indian managers gathered in an earlier study, he offered these as prompts for self-examination on matters such as direct communication, cross-cultural sensitivity and a more holistic, business-oriented outlook. Much of his talk concerned the creation of a sense of pride in the workplace, which he linked to fairness, values that are lived rather than merely displayed, continuous learning, individualised motivation, constructive feedback, decluttered processes, mentoring, empowerment and the treatment of employees as internal customers. He also spoke of a tendency for organisations to be, in his phrase, over-managed but under-led.

The second speaker drew on long experience in corporate security within a large Indian industrial group, attributing that group's growth to decisive and visionary leadership, homegrown leaders who had risen from the shop floor, teamwork in which leaders remain playing members, continual movement towards excellence, and a readiness to take large risks — illustrated by anecdotes on decision-making, a shift of focus towards green energy, and the temporary mothballing of retail fuel outlets during an adverse policy period using local caretakers. He described conceiving a centralised corporate-security organisation modelled on a public-sector security force, and the spotting and grooming of security professionals. In the closing exchange the discussion touched on moving between government and private-sector work cultures and on the compliance standards of two large Indian groups. The session ended with the host's summary of the main themes and notice of forthcoming webinars.

Key points raised

• The host framed operational management and human-resource management as complementary — described as two sides of the same coin — covering resource use, cost control and quality delivery to the customer.
• One speaker argued that organisations with strong strategy frequently fail at the operating level, and that firms now operate within a digitally integrated global chain regardless of whether their customers are local.
• That speaker relayed external criticisms of Indian managers drawn from an earlier study, presenting them as prompts for self-examination rather than settled conclusions.
• Building a sense of pride was presented as central to good operations — through fairness, lived rather than merely stated values, mentoring, decluttered processes, individualised motivation and treating employees as internal customers.
• A second speaker attributed a large industrial group's success to decisive and visionary leadership, homegrown leaders risen from the shop floor, teamwork, risk-taking and continual movement towards excellence.
• In his main talk the second speaker described conceiving a centralised corporate-security organisation modelled on a public-sector security force, together with the spotting and grooming of security professionals; the closing question-and-answer session touched on moving between government and private-sector work cultures.