Book review

What Indian Companies Must Do to Become World-Class

An invaluable roadmap for Indian executives who strive to excel

Winner of the DMA–Escorts Book Award 2000

Managing Radical Change: What Indian Companies Must Do to Become World-Class looks at what companies in India must do to rank among the best in their strategy, organization and management. The authors, internationally acclaimed management gurus Sumantra Ghoshal and Christopher A. Bartlett and industry insider Gita Piramal, say that managers are aware of the need for a radical response to the problems and challenges posed by the new competitive, technological and market demands in India. But, believing that change can come only by degrees, they hesitate to initiate action.

The key purpose of this book is to make managers believe that radical performance improvement is possible. Ghoshal, Piramal and Bartlett feel that managers are the best teachers of managers, and so Managing Radical Change is a distillation of lessons offered by people as diverse as N.R. Narayana Murthy and Brijmohan Lall Munjal, Keki Dadiseth and Dhirubhai Ambani, Azim Premji and Rohinton Aga, Lakshmi Niwas Mittal and Subhash Chandra, Rahul Bajaj and Parvinder Singh. There is a wealth of information on the best companies in India and worldwide, among them Infosys, Wipro, Reliance, Hindustan Lever, GE and ABB.

Lucidly written and brilliantly argued, Managing Radical Change is perhaps the most significant contribution to Indian management literature in recent times.

‘…extremely inspiring and thought-provoking.’
—Kumar Mangalam Birla

‘The book is remarkably clear in advising strategies.’
—The Telegraph

‘This book has well researched chapters…a must for captains of industry as well as other institutions.’
—The Tribune

‘...provides a roadmap for the journey towards excellence.’
—Outlook

Paperback / Format: Royal | 364 pages

About the author Christopher A. Bartlett is Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, where he acts as chairman of the programme for global leadership. His focus is on the organization and management of multinational enterprises. He is the author, co-author or editor of seven books, including the seminal The Individualized Corporation, co-authored with Sumantra Ghoshal. Gita Piramal A journalist with a PhD in business history, Gita Piramal has written for many years on the corporate sector for leading Indian and international publications such as the Financial Times and the Economic Times, and is a consulting editor of the World Executive’s Digest. She also has been involved in the making of television programmes on Indian business for the BBC and Plus Channel. In 1986, she co-authored India’s Industrialists, and in 1991 contributed to Business and Politics in India—A historical perspective, published by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. She divides her time between London and Mumbai. Other books by Gita Piramal include Business Legends, Business Mantras and Managing Radical Change (co-authored with Sumantra Ghoshal). Gita Piramal is one of India’s foremost business writers. She is now the managing editor of The Smart Manager, India’s first world-class management magazine. Sumantra Ghoshal Born in India, educated in the US and currently living in Europe, Sumantra Ghoshal is a teacher, author and consultant in the field of international management. He is also founding dean of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. He has published eight books, over forty-five articles and several award-winning case studies. Managing across Borders: The Transnational Solution, co-authored with Christopher A. Bartlett, has been listed as one of the fifty most influential management books.