New Delhi: Tata group chairman Ratan Tata says he has not been able to make the conglomerate a "truly open, flat, transparent organization".
"Perhaps internally, I have not been able to create the truly open, flat, transparent organization that I had hoped we could do," Tata said when asked what he could not do that he wanted to during his tenure as the head of the Tata group.
Tata said his group, which was "a traditionally manufacturing company in a seller’s market", did not succeed in "really embracing the customers' values".
The Tata group was dragged into the 2G spectrum allocation controversy after the tapes of corporate lobbyist Nira Radia were leaked to the media. The three licences of Tata Teleservices were among the 122 licences cancelled by the Supreme Court earlier this year.
Tata, however, hoped that he would be able to pass on the legacy to successfully move ahead without compromising value system and ethics.
"I think what I want the legacy to be would be to say that we achieved the growth and the prosperity that the group has had with the value system and ethical standards that we have tried to retain and not succumb to the pressures of, the subjective pressures that exit to get things done," Tata told a private TV channel.
Dwelling further on inability to achieve his goals, Tata said: "...I think we haven't as a group been able to touch the levels of the population that I had hoped, the Nano is one example."
Serving the bottom of the pyramid in India with affordable products is a real and ongoing challenge and the Tata group has not succeeded in being innovative enough, he said.
Tata, who is set to step down in December from the helm of the $100 billion conglomerate, said that after the retirement he would spend time on philanthropic activities related to rural development, water conservation and nutrition to children and pregnant women.
"I am going to continue to be the chairman of the foundation. I will focus on rural development, conservation of water and my most visible goal is to do something in nutrition to children in India and pregnant mothers. Because that would change the mental and physical health of our population in years to come," he added.
Tata group, through its various charitable initiatives, spends about 4.5 per cent of its net profit in philanthropic activities, Tata said.
"Perhaps internally, I have not been able to create the truly open, flat, transparent organization that I had hoped we could do," Tata said when asked what he could not do that he wanted to during his tenure as the head of the Tata group.
Tata said his group, which was "a traditionally manufacturing company in a seller’s market", did not succeed in "really embracing the customers' values".
The Tata group was dragged into the 2G spectrum allocation controversy after the tapes of corporate lobbyist Nira Radia were leaked to the media. The three licences of Tata Teleservices were among the 122 licences cancelled by the Supreme Court earlier this year.
Tata, however, hoped that he would be able to pass on the legacy to successfully move ahead without compromising value system and ethics.
"I think what I want the legacy to be would be to say that we achieved the growth and the prosperity that the group has had with the value system and ethical standards that we have tried to retain and not succumb to the pressures of, the subjective pressures that exit to get things done," Tata told a private TV channel.
Dwelling further on inability to achieve his goals, Tata said: "...I think we haven't as a group been able to touch the levels of the population that I had hoped, the Nano is one example."
Serving the bottom of the pyramid in India with affordable products is a real and ongoing challenge and the Tata group has not succeeded in being innovative enough, he said.
Tata, who is set to step down in December from the helm of the $100 billion conglomerate, said that after the retirement he would spend time on philanthropic activities related to rural development, water conservation and nutrition to children and pregnant women.
"I am going to continue to be the chairman of the foundation. I will focus on rural development, conservation of water and my most visible goal is to do something in nutrition to children in India and pregnant mothers. Because that would change the mental and physical health of our population in years to come," he added.
Tata group, through its various charitable initiatives, spends about 4.5 per cent of its net profit in philanthropic activities, Tata said.
