Book Review of Beyond Punjab by Prakash Tandon Nikhil Mallikarjun (119278104)

Beyond Punjab from the Punjabi Saga Book by Prakash Tandon essays the chapter in the authors life from when he entered Unilevers marketing research department till the time he made it to the very top of the companys hierarchy. Often when talking about the pre-independence era of Indian history we tend to find accounts of the freedom fighters or sometimes family businesses that played to the tunes of the British and remained in power post-independence by collaborating with their new masters. But this book gives a unique insight into life of professional who worked for a multinational and earned the power that he ultimately achieved. Through this review I would like to stay in line with the courses objective of teaching lessons for ones own career by pointing out the important teachings that are relevant even in todays business environment. Also I would like to connect the historical perspective provided in the book and how it strikes a chord today or if the winds of change have made it obsolete. Firstly, lets look at some of things that we learn about our authors background. He belongs to a Punjabi Khatri family who was educated in Lahore and Manchester. The point where he has completed his Charted Accountancy degree from England and returns to India acts as the starting point of the book. His quest to search for a job gives us our first picture of what Indian Business was like at the times. Under British rule, Indian Businesses were primarily family run ventures that hired only members from their family. The Book also points out that this may be extended to caste, community and region as required, this highlights the entrenched parochial nature of businesses. The book is replete with examples of this mode of Business from the conversations with the authors friend, Arvind, to the distributors of Unilever that worked in this manner. It also gives example of a limitation of this model wherein one distributors wife preferred to take over the business herself than hire a young competent manager that worked for them just because he was an outsider. It is also interesting to note that even after more than sixty years of our independence we find large companies being run in similar manner today. Be it the example discussed in class about TVS where the induction of the family heir apparent to the companys board was a signal to other executives that their road to the top would be an improbable one or even taking example of politics where an appointment of a Rahul Gandhi into the party makes the nation hold its breath for his accession to the top post. When the author is hired by Unilever in market research, we get our second picture. It indicates the willingness of the company to hire talented Indians and their need to do so with the seeds of Indianization being sowed gradually.

It also paints a picture about the author on how he doesnt seem to be too shaken by the fact that the accounting department would rather operate on its principles of on the job learning rather than professional training, one line in his book where he says in a way he is right on the chief accountants refusal for experiments in finance indicates both an understanding and acceptance of the difficulty of being an Indian accountant during the time. It also tells us that he is in a situation where he is ready to move away from the training into a new field. Once he becomes a part of the company it is interesting to watch the initial treatment meted out by other Indians and his relationship with the British colleagues. In matters of the job it must be noted that his colleagues were thoroughly professional and there doesnt seem to be any dismissal of ideas or opinions just because he was an Indian. In matters of socializing it seems that the British colleagues were in a more awkward position on how to handle their relationship. Even later in the book when John Rist makes an invitation to his childs christening, the author talks at length on their awkward social relationship and his unease at the event. This undertone of being viewed by outsiders as politically correct in the societal matters seems to be consistent with the characteristic of the organization, be it the explicit directions of the authors superiors to not let political biases be attached to their ads when he was working in the press department or even the careful planning of the organization to blend Indians into the organization at the right time so that they are well-placed for the imminent future. The early years in the organization is also a period of great learning for the author. As the job is totally new to him he learns much about the importance of market research. It is interesting to observe the contrast between the authors on the job learning experience to the current situation where thousands of applicants are house trained for the very same job and academic inputs direct their working methods. The authors experience through the book showcases the beauty of discovering ones work through immediate practice of teachings and learning by observations. It also is an indication of the measure of patience and importance that the organization attached to him and his responsiveness that led to his credibility and rise. The author also learns about his own country where his frequent trips around the nation gives him a deeper understanding of the nuances of his own people, giving the readers an insiders look into Indian society during the time. The firm also hires few girls in different cities to work in market research. This is the first example of another pattern that is indicated in the book about the nature of the organization, which challenges the conventional understanding and practices to bring a modern approach to work. This can be seen repeated in the importance attached to market research by marketing heads, to persistence of addition of value to the company while dealing with advertising in press, to working with distributors in trying to make modifications to their working in an incremental fashion and most importantly underlining the importance of long term gain over quick profit approach of Indian businessmen.

The experience of travelling throughout India is an invaluable learning for the author on what his countrymen and deeper understanding of the different communities and castes. The book also introduces us to the various teachers of the author like Thomas Walker, Harvey Duncan, Roger Heyworth, Leser and Maurice Zinkin. The author often gives his readers quick accounts of the future of people before returning back in time to continue the story or resuming his experience of working with the person, as he did with Pettit, Duncan, Heyworth and James Wheeler. It is also important to note a valuable lesson that is applicable even today that the authors time in marketing teaches us, which is to remain close to the consumer in order to understand what does the product mean to them and how to sell the product. This philosophy pays particular dividends in the success of Dalda and understanding how the consumers saw it as a substitute for Ghee. The book also gives an insight into the macro-issues of the time from references to the Indian freedom movement, to the War in Europe, the changing societal relationship of the British and the apparent generation gap between old ways of working of Indians with the younger generation who were trying to cross over to the newer ways of working. The freedom movement is largely seen with an outsiders view by the author and his Indian friends. He points early in the book during his conversation with Roshan that they were all nationalists at heart but a later conversation with Roshan and Avi doesnt make a serious contemplation of joining the movement. He seems to hold a view which is willing to touch the waters of the movement but not taking the plunge, this can be comprehended from his hope that if the Congress party didnt take such an extreme view of the British then maybe he could join. It indicates a certain comfort that the author feels among the British and his job. The World War also presents an insight into the large frustrations of the Indians towards the British where they seem to be cheering on any force that is trying to harm their enemy. The author takes a more educated view of recognizing the British as the lesser evil. The author is also largely sensitive to his British colleagues by not pushing any conversations of the changing British influence in India; these chapters also talk of the British colleagues discomfort at discussing their dwindling power with Indians. Returning to the authors story in the company we witness the rise in power at the company brings challenges he needs to face in terms of dealing with people. From dealing of issues on overwork with the marketing staff to a salesman named Gopi who provided challenges of insubordination towards orders. The book then finally reaches the stage where the anticipation of independence culminates with the description of its arrival. The author talks about personal stories of what the partition did to families on both sides of the partition, none more vivid then his fathers sadness at having to move from Lahore and that of a distributor who would put his life at risk to honour his word. He also shares a chilling but fascinating account of his meeting with Nathuram Godse a month before he assassinated the Mahatma. The other accounts of his meetings with Amrita Shergill and Pandit Nehru act as a small window into the behavior and impressions of the author at these icons.

After the Independence the book picks up pace in terms of the indianization or ization of the company and old European institutions in general. This is also a time of turmoil in the authors mind as he is not entirely comfortable with the changes. It feels as though the author had got into a zone of acceptance with his conditions as though he was caged in a large sanctuary. But with the independence he was in the wild again with no boundaries and the removal of any veil of humiliation brings out suppressed emotions. The headquarters takes a more active role by sending executives for the transition to happen. The policy of selecting European only if they were better than the best among Indians is in contrast to the earlier policy against Indians. Another great learning experience beckons the author as he is sent to Harvard for a management course and ready him for what lay ahead in his destiny. His increase in power also sees him increasingly become the face of the organization as he deals their first big crisis of the Dalda controversy. He takes on an active role in trying to assuage the feelings of nationalist groups and the government so that the companys point of view is understood by outsiders. His experience with Americans exposes him to another culture and sets in another layer of understanding just as his time in England and his visit to Sweden had done. He found his view broadened from just the English or European view to make it truly global to match the challenges he would face in a multinational company. He found the Americans simpler and direct in their approach. He also understood differences in American and European working cultures on matters such as codetermination. He also understands the art of listening as an art and has interesting insights on whether working to be perfectionist in the English way may sometimes be contributing to becoming part of the problem rather than the solution. It is interesting to observe that even now many these characteristics may define a large proportion of these countries, highlighting the deeply ingrained nature of culture. As pointed out in class the understanding of ones background is a very important condition however it isnt a overwhelming one. His return sees him surprised with his first setback of his career where someone junior to him had been appointed to a higher post; it seemed to him against the run of things that almost made his accession to the top a certainty. He was offered the post of Financial Directorship which makes him come full circle to his early training in Charted Accountancy.