Taj Mahal Mumbai Fighting Terror

1. How can the unexpected actions of employees towards guest be explained during the 26/11 crisis? The employees of the Taj are not just employees but a part of the family. The ownership that they have with Taj is unheard of and inequitable. The Taj has over the years have been able to recruit the best in the business and retain them while at the same time moulding them into the culture. This sense of loyalty, ownership and belonging and essentially believing in the idea of exemplary service at the Taj was what motivated the employees to work during 26/11. The sense of pride made them work for their family not just Taj. 2. Could this have happened in another hotel or organisation? What would have employees done there? No, I dont believe that the exemplary work that the Taj family put in for their organisation could be reengineered in any other organisation. The Taj pride is unique to Taj and I dont think there is any other organisation for which its employees would go to such an extent to serve and protect. As the case said it is expected of a human being to act as a human being and do whatever he can to protect himself and I believe that that is what would have happened in any other organisation as well. 3. How can a service Brand recover from such a crisis? What would you do to recover from being the living image of the terrorist attack? Is this possible? One can never truly recover from an incident such as this. But I believe that Taj was able to do so by focusing their energy at first handling the situation. It is important that the organisation in such times focuses their energy at addressing it and Taj did that very well. After this particular event the responsibility then lies upon focussing at the important values of the organisation, highlighting the act of selfless pursuits of the employees to protect their guest. Through the communication that can be supplied internally the employees can be explained about the situation and how recovery at this moment is the utmost importance. Abhimanyu Gupta 11PGDM001

Realistically this event can never be forgotten and shouldnt but it should be a memory of selfless service more than of the terrorist attack. 4. How can leaders develop a customer centric organisation? Leaders develop their organisation by leading by example. The other important cog in the wheel is empowerment of the employees and inculcating a culture of ownership, pride and loyalty. Every moment of truth every act should be focussed on and believed as a core competencies. 5. How can employees be trained for taking ownership of service and handle service failure situations like the 26/11? The employees can not necessarily be trained for a situation like this but in essence they need to be conditioned for such a situation. A more hands on approach towards the training would help in increasing the level of learning and the way it is imbibed by the individual.

6. What are the learning from Mallika Jagads handling of the situation? it was my responsibility, sometimes I was the youngest in the room, but I was doing my job These quotes of Mallika truly explains how she took it upon herself to show as the ideal employee of the Taj. Her sense of responsibility showed the essence of the culture of taj and how this selfless act as a leader can inspire her team. The learning would thus be that in such that pride should be taken in the work and that is the first rule for a customer driven strategy.

Abhimanyu Gupta 11PGDM001