Corporate Excellence

In the new millennium, every element of business environment in India has been changing. This transformation may be the result of economic liberalization, privatization & globalization that has been introduced in 1991.In the process of this transformation, every organization started searching for new ways and means of achieving excellence. It is clear that mere Financial performance can't be a basis for measuring company's excellence. Corporate Excellence is defined as the ability of the company to outsmart Competitors consistently over a long period of time. In this context, successful organizations are different from excellent organizations. Success may be of one dimensions but excellence is of multiple dimensional in the company* . In the ever-changing business environment, the following are the critical areas that facilitate the company to achieve excellence (1) BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINERING:As the business scenario is fast changing day by day, to meet the ever-changing demands of the market the organizations need to restructure & redesign their Business processes. The BPR facilities sweeping changes in all the functional areas of the organization. It reinvents the way the business is carried out, and ultimately helps the company to engender corporate excellence. As, striving to become excellent is a continuous process, corporate excellence can't be a Destination, it is a journey. (2) GROWTH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: The corporate objective of mere growth may just lead to maximization of sales Revenue or profits, which don't help the organization to be excellent. Many organizations are growing at a rapid speed, but they failed to develop consistently. Hence the companies need to redefine their objectives towards sustainable development. (3) CORE COMPETENCE: A unique strength either in technology or in the processing of functional areas, that an organization enjoys exclusively and which can't be copied by the competitors is called Core Competence. This unique strength helps the company to get competitive advantage over a long period of time, which in turn facilitates the company to excel. Core competencies contribute significantly to customer benefits and satisfaction, which is a primary aim of any business. Core competencies help the firm in a multifaceted manner. A company can achieve competence superiority only by means of core competence, and it will lead to corporate excellence. E.g.: Honda has got its core competence in the design and manufacturing of automobile engines. (4) RESOURCE UTILIZATION: -

Excellence in organization can be achieved through proper utilization of the basic Human, Physical & financial, resources. New and advanced technologies have to be adopted in all the functional areas like production, marketing, finance, HRD, of the organization. Organizations need to strengthen their Research and Development departments in order to embrace latest technologies. (5) E-COMMERCE: As the competition in business area is growing rapidly the business organizations started redefining their business activities. According to Fortune Magazine "Electronic Commerce is the new industrial order. It will change the relationship between consumers & Producers. As Electronic Commerce involves the exchange of products, Services, and information of payment through the electronic medium of computers & networks, it facilitates the continuum relation between the company and the customer, which is a pre requisite for a company to excel. (6) CRM (CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT): In the process of achieving corporate excellence in the present day highly competitive market, the organizations ability to compete depends on its relationship with its target customers. The basis for continuity of relation between the company and the customer, over a period & time is value maximization to customers, which will lead to customer loyalty. In an attempt to achieve corporate excellence the organizations should try to develop strong Customer Relationship Management. (7) SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS:Organizations can achieve corporate excellence by means of contributing to the well being of the society. As the customers are becoming aware of the cause and effect of polluted environment, all the business firms should have a concern for society, by introducing ecologically friendly products or services. Many companies in India are redesigning their business activities, giving importance to society and are launching Non-Government Organizations. Example :- Satyam Computers of Hyderabad started Byrraju Foundation, which is specialized in the field of rural development. Emergency ambulance services by the name 108 has been a mega hit in various districts of Andhara Pradesh. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories of Hyderabad floated Dr. Reddy's Foundation in field of youth welfare and development. (8) BUSINESS ETHICS :In order to achieve excellence, the companies should have basics positive values and attitudes. Ethics deals with what is wrong and what is right in various disciplines of the organization. Unethical practices may yield short term gains but organization can't be successful in the long run. The organization should develop and formulate the right approaches and strategies to excel. Because it is to be noted that being right in ethical behavior always pays off.

Besides the above said elements, there are certain areas by which corporate excellence is facilitated in the modern business world. Young entrepreneurs and business mangers must pay attention to all these areas in order to see their organization excel (a) EXCELLENCE THROUGH MANUFACTURING :In the manufacturing area, a new concept called World Class Manufacturing ( WCM ) has emerged recently. The companies adopting WCM are able to introduce the products and services very much closer to the needs and wants of the costumer. This helps the company to be successful because WCM has the following characteristics I). Products of high quality II.) Products with enhanced features III.) Products at the right price. (b) EXCELLENCE THROUGH MARKETING MIX :In the ever changing, highly competitive business field new directions have to be shown in order to strive & ultimately to achieve corporate excellence. All organizations, irrespective of the product they offer and the service they provide are always in search of achieving excellence. The basic area of concern to accomplish corporate excellence is effective management of Marketing Mix of the company. Innovation in product attributes, reasoning in prices, wide spread & easy reach in placing, the right distribution networks, objective in promotion, are the fields that a firm seeking excellence should concentrate on. (c) EXCELLENCE THROUGH HRM:Among all the organizational resources, the human resources are the most vital and require constant refinement. Organizational objectives and strategies must match with HR strategies. Since the change is the fundamental element in achieving corporate excellence, change management is to be backed by human resources of the firm. The change can be facilitated by means of HR activity- Training. Hence the training programmes in the new age business organizations should focus on - Team work, leadership, initiation, interpersonal communication. (d) EXCELLENCE THROUGH INFORMATION :In this present networking era, information has become a major resource after physical, financial, human resources of the organization. Proper management of information is the best way to get competitive advantage. Computer based information systems help the organization to convert raw data in to meaningful information, which helps the manger in taking effective decisions, which in term improve business performance and ultimately lead to corporate excellence. Information systems like TPS (Transaction Processing System), MIS (Management Information Systems), DSS (Decision Support Systems), ESS (Executive Support Systems) if used intelligently helps the organization to reach the pinnacle in the competition.

CORPORATE EXCELLENCE demands not only that every aspect of the business is of the highest quality, but also that every activity is changing and improving faster than the competition. The problem is that corporate excellence is an ephemeral concept. The task that we face is to set continually new and more demanding standards of ourselves. Our success today merely sets the benchmark for others, and unless we move our standards forward, always and every time, we may not remain in the front, when tomorrow comes. Achieving corporate excellence is a journey, and not a destination. Corporate Excellence Merely the ability of a company to outsmart competitors time and again that and over a long period of time can no more be described as corporate excellence. In this critical phase of rapid economic growth and deteriorating sustainable resources, every organization is looking for newer horizons to maintain the cutting edge. Corporate Culture is the act of developing intellectual and moral faculties and putting them into practice.
Corporate Excellence is the single most important factor that will separate a global respected company from others who are just about surviving. Though the term ahs become a buzzword in the business community today, the concept has been around for a long time. But as long as the company s balance sheet shows profits, it is not taken seriously. Post liberalisation in 1991, when Indian companies were suddenly exposed to the opportunities and threats of globalisation, excellence came on the corporate radar. Companies began concentrating on product and customer satisfaction to fuel their initial surge fro growth.Customer satisfaction and better product is a matter of survival toady and every company will have to do it. However all future growth will be directed through corporate excellence. The ingredients of corporate excellence include not just globalisation, but also benchmarking accompany against global standards apart from minutely looking at HR related issues. A company achieves the highest profit, but not in any manner or at any cost. The brand equity will take a hit if ethical practices are not followed and this will ultimately reflect on profits as well.The atmosphere created post liberalisation clearly indicated that adhering to corporate excellence was a must if companies wanted to grow and forge international alliances. Corporate excellence is also a reflection of the company's attitude and its vision. Survival is not an issue but growth is. If Indian companies wanted to grow and expand their reach across the globe, they could no longer do so without first achieve corporate excellence.The writer is director of IIM- Ahmedabad.