Tata group companies follow a bureaucratic culture in which behavior of employees is

governed by formal rules and very standard operating procedures. These guidelines form
the backbone of the culture. However, in the organization, there is enough autonomy given
to individuals and also significant amount of responsibility to provide solutions to complex
business problems. The main purpose of all the Tata group companies is to improve the
quality of life in the communities they serve. Tatas have always been value-driven and
these values continue to direct the growth of business of Tata companies. The five core
Tata values that they follow are:
Integrity: They always conduct their business fairly, with honesty and transparency.
They always ensure that everything they do must stand the test of public scrutiny.
Understanding: They care, show respect, compassion and humanity for their
colleagues and customers around the world, and always work for the benefit of the
communities they serve.
Excellence: They always constantly strive to achieve the highest possible standards in
their day-to-day work and in the quality of the goods and services they provide.
Unity: They always work cohesively with their colleagues across the group and with
their customers and partners around the world, building strong relationships based on
tolerance, understanding and mutual cooperation.
Responsibility: They always continue to be responsible, sensitive to the countries,
communities and environments in which they work, always ensuring that what comes
from the people goes back to the people many times over.
Long before any CSR guidelines were set, an epitome for Tata's concern on community
development is the city of Jamshedpur, also called as Tatanagar. It is one of the first well-
planned cities in India and was founded by Jamshedji Tata. The city is governed and
managed by JUSCO, which is a Tata Subsidiary. Juscos achievements within Jamshedpur
have been so remarkable that in 2005 the city was selected as one of 13 cities around the
world to participate in the United Nations Global Compact Cities Pilot Programme.
Tata culture has a part in various corporate ethical behavior discussions. The Tata Code of
Conduct is a set of principles that guide and govern the conduct of Tata companies and
their employees in all matters relating to business. These 25 Codes lay down the ethical
standards that Tata employees have to observe in their professional lives, and they define
the value system at the heart of the Tata group and its many business entities.
The community work being undertaken by Tata group touches a multitude of Indians across
the land. Beyond purely social work, they extend support to individuals and institutions
pursuing artistic, sporting and academic excellence. Tata group has spread their wings to
reach global locations; the social uplift efforts of the group are reaching communities in
different parts of the world.
Some of the examples of its community development work are
1. The Tata Group has donated a 2.20 billion ($50 million) to the prestigious Harvard
Business School (HBS) to build an academic and a residential building on the
institute's campus in Boston, Massachusetts.
2. The Tata group is developing a compact, in-home water-purification device, which
would cost less than 1000 rupees and would last for last about a year for a family of
five. The advantage of this device is that it does not require the use of electricity.
3. The Tata group has instituted an eight-hour workday concept and recommended a
medical-services policy for Tata employees. The Tata group would be among the
first worldwide to organize modern pension systems, workers' compensation,
maternity benefits, and profit-sharing plans.
4. The Tata group has establish some major institutes in India which are Tata
Memorial Hospital, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Tata Football and
Cricket academy, Indian Institute of Science.
Tata Steel, Tata Tea and Tata Chemicals have in-house organizations dedicated to the
community development task. They take up whatever is relevant to the communities and
constituencies in which they function. Some companies work in water management, some
in education, and some in income generation.
Few practices and beliefs that the Tata culture imbibes in its employees creates a
differentiating factor in working environment against other companies from the same sector.
Tata Steel being in an industry with higher hazardous practices gives special attention to
the safety of all its stakeholders. Every meeting in Tata Steel including the MD online where
the managing director speaks on the monthly performance of the company starts with a
discussion on Safety. Its culture encourages complete employee involvement and creative
thinking. All the workers are divided into SGA [Small Group Activity] circles where they too
can contribute constructively in the operations of the plant.
The rewarding structure across Tata's is very transparent and performance based. The
appraisal process involves two staged reviews and an open feedback session where the
superior discusses the growth of each employee at length. Such process encourages the
employees to take up projects and improvement initiatives that enhance their skills and
stand by company's core value - Excellence.
Tatas truly care about their employees and follow their core value of "understanding".
During recession, when other IT companies had reduced their task force, TCS did not fire
any employee. In fact even if an employee is under performing for consecutive two years,
he is sent for a special counseling session but is not fired immediately. Such concern by the
company makes the culture very supportive for the employee to grow and results in higher
satisfaction.
According to Tata code of conduct every single employee of a Tata company shall ambit the
human rights of every individual and shall strive to honor commitments. Also each and
every employee shall be accountable for the accomplishment of and compliance with the
code in his / her professional environment. And failure to hold to the code could appeal the
sternest penalties counting termination of occupation. From CEO to the most recently joined
intern share deep values of his or her leaders. Also, Tata companies have evolved a
collective commitment to evolving stronger connections between their values and first- in-
class business practice.

If we talk about world community of organizations, Tata is a rarity. Tata have been in
existence for over 100 years due to their persistent emphasis on ethics from the CEO to the
employees at lowest level of hierarchy. The company once walked away from industries like
Bollywood that is known for questionable cash deals which shows that Tatas have strong
ethical standards.
The belief of Tatas on sustainability has led to a corporate policy that focuses on
environment preservation. Tata companies work on projects that include reducing wastes,
emissions, maintaining local ecosystem and improving long-term commercial sustainability.