Measuring the Effectiveness of Innovation Campaign at

Tata Projects Limited

Niyati Reddy
Roll No. 121302
Post-Graduation Diploma in Human Resource Management

St. Francis College Center for Professional Studies, Begumpet,

Hyderabad
Department of Human Resources
2013 - 2014

DECLARATION

I, Niyati Reddy of PGDHRM, roll no. 121302, declare that this project, titled Measuring the
effectiveness of innovation campaign at Tata Projects Limited is my own work based on
information collected from various authentic sources, done under the guidance of my supervisor.
It has not been submitted to any other college or university for award of any degree/diploma.

Date

Signature
Niyati Reddy

CERTIFICATE BY GUIDE

This is to certify that the HR project titled Measuring the effectiveness of innovation campaign
at Tata Projects Limited is a bonafide work carried out by Niyati Reddy, student of PostGraduation Diploma in Human Resource Management (PGDHRM).
It was undertaken during the academic year 2013-14 in partial fulfillment of the requirements of
the award of degree of PGDHRM.
This is the students own work and has been done under my supervision and guidance.

Date

Signature
Project Guide, Mr. Venkat Laxma Reddy

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I acknowledge the Department of Human Resources, the Course Coordinator, Ms. Geeta
Gianchandani for giving me the opportunity to work on this project which has given me in-depth
knowledge of the subject.
I acknowledge my guide, Mr. Venkat Laxma Reddy, for sharing his knowledge and understanding
of HR with me, which has been of great value for the completion of my project.
I also acknowledge my industry guide Mr. Jayant Kumar Racherla, for his continuous guidance,
support, encouragement and for providing a sense of direction that enabled me to complete this
undertaking.
I thank my family and friends for being a continuous support during the entire period of
completion of this project.

CONTENTS

Chapter No.

Title

Page No.

1.

INTRODUCTION

2.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.

COMPANY PROFILE

10

4.

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS

18

5.

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESSTIONS

43

Annexure 1

Annexure 2

iv

Annexure 3

Annexure 4

vi

Webliography And Bibliography

LIST OF TABLES

3.1

TPL Enabling Services Department structure

Page
No.
11

3.2

TPL Corporate Services Department structure

12

4.1

Plan of action for each category

23

4.2

Evaluation criteria for Promising Innovation

24

4.3

Evaluation criteria for Leading Edge

25

4.4

Evaluation criteria for Excellence in Design

25

4.5

Evaluation criteria for New Business Model

25

4.6

Evaluation criteria for Date to Try

26

4.7

Evaluation criteria for Challenges worth Solving

26

4.8

Over-all number of Entries received

27

4.9

Total number of Participants

Number of Entries received department-wise for Promising
Innovation
Number of Participants department-wise for Promising
Innovation
Number of Entries received department-wise for Dare To Try

28

Number of Participants department-wise for Dare To Try

Number of Entries received department-wise for Excellence in
Design
Number of Participants department-wise for Excellence in
Design
Number of Entries received department-wise for New Business
Model
Number of Participants department-wise for New Business
Model
Number of Entries received department-wise for Challenges
Worth Solving
Number of Participants department-wise for Challenges Worth
Solving

33

Table No.

4.10
4.11
4.12
4.13
4.14
4.15
4.16
4.17
4.18
4.19

Table Name

LIST OF FIGURES

29
30
32

34
35
37
38
40
41

Figure No.

Figure Name

Page No.

3.1

TPL Business Structure

10

3.2

TPL Strategic Business Unit structure

11

3.3

TPL locations

14

4.1

Selected entries displayed as Charts

18

4.2

Logos for each category

20

4.3

Process flow of Innoways 2013

22

4.4

Over-all number of Entries received

27

4.5

28

4.7

Total number of Participants

Number of Entries received department-wise for Promising
Innovation
Number of Participants department-wise for Promising Innovation

4.8

Number of Entries selected for Evaluation - Promising Innovation

31

4.9

Number of Entries received department-wise for Dare To Try

32

4.10

Number of Participants department-wise for Dare To Try

33

4.11

Number of Entries selected for Evaluation Dare To Try

Number of Entries received department-wise for Excellence in
Design
Number of Participants department-wise for Excellence in Design

34

Number of Entries selected for Evaluation Excellence in Design

Number of Entries received department-wise for New Business
Model
Number of Participants department-wise for New Business Model

36

Number of Entries selected for Evaluation New Business Model

Number of Entries received department-wise for Challenges
Worth Solving
Number of Participants department-wise for Challenges Worth
Solving
Number of Entries selected for Evaluation Challenges Worth
Solving

39

4.6

4.12
4.13
4.14
4.15
4.16
4.17
4.18
4.19
4.20

CHAPTER I

30
31

35
36

37
38

40
41
42

INTRODUCTION
Internal Communication (IC) is the function responsible for effective communication or trade
among participants within an organization. People at work communicate regardless of the
intentions of their managers or leaders. At TPL, the IC team plays the role of 'internal marketing'
(i.e., attempting to win participants over to the management vision of the organization); performs
'logistical' service as channel manager; and acts as a strategic adviser.
Campaigns form an important part of the IC strategy for effective communication in TPL.
Campaigns follow the AIDA model, i.e., grab Attention, instill Interest, create Desire and
instigate Action. TPL has initiated a number of campaigns in the past, and it still continues to
engage all the employees and spread awareness across all ROs (Regional Offices) and sites of the
organization. Each campaign has a specific theme, objectives and goals. The recent among them
has been the Innoways A Festival of Innovation campaign in the month of November.
What is Innovation? Innovation is not a single event or activity, it is a process. In terms of
business, innovation is the generation of fresh ideas, the ongoing development of products,
services and processes and their commercial application. Creativity is about generating new ideas
and the process of innovation involves making those ideas a reality. In business, innovation is
essentially the commercial exploitation of viable ideas. It involves the management of idea
generation, technical development, manufacturing and marketing of a new product, process or
service. Innovations can fall into one of three categories; incremental, complementary or
disruptive. Incremental innovations are small changes, additions and improvements that are
added to existing products and services. Incremental innovations are added to products to extend
the length of their lifecycle and keep them up to date. Complementary innovations are new
products or services that can be added to existing product lines. In contrast, disruptive (or radical)
innovations replace existing products by being significantly better than anything currently offered
in the market. They make existing products redundant and are adopted by the majority or even
the entirety of the market.

Why is Innovation important? Due to factors such as globalization and outsourcing, there is an
increased push to improve efficiency and effectiveness of organizations. Organizations need more
than good products to survive; they require innovative processes and management that can drive
down costs and improve productivity. Consumer expectations also drive the amount of innovation
in the market. Customers are used to products that continually improve and make their life easier.
Modern consumers are more informed and have more options in terms of what they buy and who
they buy it from. Innovation is important as it is one of the primary ways to differentiate your
product from the competition. If you can't compete on price, you'll need innovative products and
ideas to make your business stand out from the crowd. Being first to market with a new product
can provide you with a significant advantage in terms of building a customer base. However,
when investing in innovation, keep in mind that many businesses survive by copying and
adapting the innovations of others, and can benefit from your hard work. In a broader sense,
innovation is important to the advancement of society around the world. New and innovative
products can increase the standard of living and provide people with opportunities to improve
their lives. Breakthroughs in medicine and technology have significantly improved living
standards around the world. Innovation has also lead to significant improvements in the way
businesses operate and has closed the gaps between different markets.
Barriers to Innovation - The most common barrier to innovation in organizations is a leader or
manager that is not open to new ideas. This negatively impacts the team by discouraging creative
thoughts. Employees won't be motivated to come up with new ideas if nobody is going to bother
listening to them. There are also managers who listen to ideas but are reluctant to take them any
further, resulting in lost opportunities. Just because something hasn't been done before doesn't
necessarily make it a bad idea. Time and resources are also significant barriers to innovation.
Employees are often so busy with just doing their regular work that there is insufficient time and
incentive to generate new ideas. When ideas are generated, they are not taken any further due to
the potential risks associated with developing the idea. Generally, innovation is also seen to be
too expensive for small businesses to get involved in. However, there are cost effective ways to
generate new ideas and managers need to look at the potential benefits that come as a result of
investing in innovation. Often, organizations lack direction in terms of innovation. Whilst people

require freedom to be creative, some boundaries or guidelines can help focus their efforts and
motivate them to achieve outcomes. Without structures in place, the wrong ideas are be
prioritized and time and resources can be wasted. Organizations with the inability to implement
and commercialize new ideas are the biggest barrier to innovation. After spending the time,
resources and effort to develop an idea, they fail at the final step and the product is never
successful in the market. It takes careful management and planning, as well as commitment from
an organization, to generate profitable returns from good, innovative ideas.
Assessing Innovation Levels - To improve the level of innovation in your business, first you
need to assess where you currently stand. You should be aware of your strengths and weaknesses
and understand how they impact on what you are able to achieve. Firstly, you need to assess the
potential within your team for innovation. You need to ensure that you have people who are
creative, knowledgeable and motivated to develop new ideas. Identifying the people who are
likely to be creative will help you to delegate tasks effectively. Assessing your organizations level
of innovation means looking at your past successes and failures. Try to work out what made one2
project a success, where other similar projects didn't work out. Look for areas that you can
improve upon and try to learn from past mistakes. You should also look for ideas that didn't work
previously and see if they have any future potential. When assessing your organizations level of
innovation, also consider the amount of innovation coming from your competition as well as
what is happening in the market. An innovation audit takes into account the opinions of your
customers and your employees. Work out how much you have invested in innovation over a
period of time and compare that to the amount of return you have received from your investment.
The benefits of supporting an innovative culture in your organization will outweigh some of the
initial expenses and should help you to achieve your business goals.
Sources of Innovation - In business, innovation can come from a variety of different sources.
Sometimes it is the result of specifically focusing on creating new ideas, whereas other times it
can be unexpected and the result of a spontaneous reaction to a particular need. The main source
of business innovation is directly from employees. As they go about day to day operations,
employees identify areas that are in need of improvement or could be done differently. Often,
they will have their own ideas about solutions to problems or ways to address certain needs.

Encouraging employees to bring these ideas forward and then supporting their development can
significantly increase the amount of successful innovation in your business. Employees can also
be asked to specifically focus on innovation. Many businesses set aside time and conduct group
brainstorming' sessions to encourage the creativity and the generation of new ideas that the
business can investigate and pursue further. Another important but commonly overlooked source
of innovation are customers. Your customers know what they want and often have innovative
ideas about how their needs could be better met through new products and services. Taking the
time to listen to what your customers are saying can greatly increase the amount of innovative
3
ideas that flow into your business. Your business competitors can also be a source of innovation.
The important thing to remember is not to simply copy the products your competitors are
successful with, but to analyze them and work out what you could do better. Organizations invest
large amounts of resources into research and development in order to come up with a new idea
that they can make commercially successful. However, you can also conduct research on a small
scale by conducting customer and employee surveys or analyzing your past successes and
failures. Understanding how to identify and utilize the potential of these sources of innovation is
important to the success of any business in a competitive market. Avoid focusing on any one
source of innovation and try to be open to new ideas wherever they happen to come from.
Creating an Innovative Culture - Many businesses are not innovative because they lack the
culture, environment and people that provide a foundation for innovation to occur. Organizations
that are innovative, or have been in the past, often struggle to sustain their level of innovation
over a period of time. However, there are some simple and cost effective strategies you can
implement to help build an innovative culture in your organization. Recruiting the right people
will help to build an innovative culture. You need to make sure that you provide an opportunity
for people to be innovative. Encourage your team to question the way things are done and remind
them that there will be no ramifications for trying out something new. You also need to remain
open minded and appreciate every idea that your team brings forward, even though some ideas
will lack potential. At first, a new idea might not seem to have much potential or feasibility.
However, it is important to give each idea an "incubation period" in which it has time to sink in.
After a few days or even longer, an idea may start to make more sense as you develop it in your

mind. If possible, it could be a good idea to designate a specific innovation project manager and
innovation team. This allows them to dedicate their time and focus on achieving results for the
business and developing innovative ideas. Over a period of time, you should rotate the people
within the team to keep the ideas fresh.
Managing Innovative Projects - The effective management of an innovative project is crucial to
its success. A good manager will be able to take good ideas forward and work with the team to
develop a product with market potential. Even a great idea will fail to ever reach its potential if
each stage of the innovation process isn't managed in a coordinated manner. The first step of
managing innovative projects is to identify processes and policies that your team can follow
when implementing ideas. Some innovative ideas are easier and quicker to implement than
others. Developing a work plan for a new, innovative project can help you to focus your efforts
and work within a specified time frame. The plan should stretch from developing the idea to
implementation and evaluation. Controlling costs is an important part of effectively managing an
innovative project. The costs and resources involved in developing a new idea or innovative
4
product can quickly add up, so it is a good idea to develop budgets and constraints and ensure
that you stick to them. As a project manager, you need to delegate effectively and ensure that you
use the skills and experience of your team members to maximum effect.
Evaluating Innovative Projects - It is a well established fact that not all innovations will be a
commercial success. Even well planned and developed products can fail when first introduced to
the market, so it is important that you are able to identify what works and what doesn't. This
involves assessing the viability of a project during the early phases, knowing when to quit and
having exit strategies in place. Being able to step back and look at a project critically will help
you to determine its true viability. It is vital that managers know when to cease development on
an innovative project. The main problem is that many managers don't understand the concept of
sunk costs. They believe that if they have already spent one million dollars developing a new
product, they may as well commit another million to see the project through to completion. They
fear that if they stop the project half way through, they will have wasted the investment they have
put into the project. However, what they fail to realize is that if they do commit to finishing the
product and it fails at a later stage, they have wasted even more time and money into something

that had limited chance of success. A carefully prepared exit strategy will help when it comes to
abandoning an innovative project. Part of your exit strategy should include a process that
evaluates why a project didn't work and what could be done better next time. Avoid throwing out
or totally abandoning ideas as changes in the market and new technologies could make them
viable options.
Innovating the Business - Organizational innovation refers to being innovative in the way that
your business operates. It involves implementing new business methods and making structural
changes aimed at improving efficiency and effectiveness. Organizational innovation also includes
making improvements to the way you communicate and cooperate with your supply chain.
Businesses that don't implement innovative changes will find it difficult to grow and compete in
the long term. It can be difficult to implement organization wide improvements, as your
employees, buyers and suppliers may be prone to resisting change. Keeping people informed
about upcoming changes during the development phase can reduce this problem. By involving
5

people in the process, you give them the opportunity to provide their own ideas and feedback.
This may help them to accept any changes as they will feel that it is something they want rather
than something you are forcing upon them. It is vital that managers and businesses remain
flexible and adaptable when implementing innovative changes at an organization wide level.
Some changes may fail in practice so you need to be prepared to adjust your implementation
strategies and have a backup plan. However, you should avoid being pressured into dropping a
change simply because your employees reject it at first. If it will benefit the business in the long
term, you need to be committed and work through any issues.
Innovation has been in the DNA of the TATA Group right from its inception. Back then, the
spotlight of innovation was on the development and enhancement of humanity and social aspects
of the society. But after the economic liberalization in the early 1990s, a need was gradually felt
for innovation to drive business results. However, the seeds for the innovation movement were
sown in mid 2000s when Mr. Ratan Tata consciously took this initiative forward with the intent to
make the Tata group a world leader in Innovation, similar to Business Excellence. In June 2007,
Tata Quality Management Services formed the Tata Group Innovation Forum (TGIF), which is
spearheaded by Mr. R Gopalakrishnan, Director, Tata Sons. TGIF has played an instrumental role

in enabling the Tata group to imbibe global practices and key learnings from some of the best
minds on the subject of Innovation. The forum comprises senior leaders and experienced
practitioners from Tata companies. They provide directions to create an ecosystem that will aid
Tata companies in achieving their respective innovation goals.
Some of the renowned names, who have contributed to the learning, include Dr. Julian
Birkinshaw, Professor of Strategic and International Management, London Business School,
Professor Clayton Christensen, Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration,
Harvard Business School, Dr Henry Chesbrough, Faculty Director of the Garwood Center for
Corporate Innovation and Executive Director of the Program in Open Innovation, University of
6
California, Berkeley, William Ouchi, Sanford and Betty Sigoloff Distinguished Professor in

Corporate Renewal, Area Chair, UCLA Anderson, Dr James Canton, CEO and Chairman of the
Institute for Global Futures.
The end-result of this inventiveness of TGIF has resulted in the creation of a few tools on
innovation that are being used by Tata group companies. The tools are:
InnoMeter: InnoMeter is a tool that acts as a mirror for Tata companies, and as a result generates
enough creative tension for companies to initiate work on improving their innovativeness. The
tool has been created based on the knowledge and experience gained from the acclaimed
innovation expert, Dr Julian Birkinshaw. InnoMeter provides in-depth details to companies about
the Innovation process and culture along with the strategic drive provided to this subject.
InnoMultiplier: InnoMultiplier is a tool that helps identify the opportunities where a company
should spend its creative energy for innovation. It has been developed after taking inputs from
Clayton.
InnoVerse: InnoVerse is a web-based Innovation management system that makes the boundaries
of the Tata companies porous, thereby enabling creative ideas to flow across Tata companies. It
shrinks the Innovation cycle time in an interesting manner by empowering employees to select
good

ideas

for

implementation

in

an

open

and

transparent

manner.

InnoVista: InnoVista is a programme to capture all the innovations that happen in Tata
companies, and recognise the innovators. The programme also helps in building a culture of
accepting failures through one of its categories "Dare to Try" that recognises people for making
sincere

efforts

to

innovate

something

audacious,

even

though

it

failed.

InnoClusters: InnoClusters is a mechanism to bring several Tata companies together around a

chosen subject with a focus of jointly identifying opportunities to innovate and executing them.
7
Examples: Water, Information Technology, Plastics & Components, Nano Technology and
Engineering. On certain occasions, external entities too take part and collaborate with Tata
companies.
Not only does TGIF bring in external experts to enhance knowledge of the resources of the Tata
companies, the forum also reverses it by taking them to other geographical locations to enable the
stakeholders to learn how innovation is applied in other global companies. In the last five years,
Tata colleagues have visited industry leaders in countries such as the USA, Japan and Israel for
learning their techniques of applying innovation.

CHAPTER II
RESEARCH METHODOLGY
To determine the appropriate data for this research, both Primary and Secondary data sources
have been used. Primary data includes personal interview with Senior Officials and Secondary
data includes TPL in-house magazines, Innoways report, Internal Communication (IC) Reports,
HR Annual Reports, intranet-portal, articles and websites.
Both Quantitative Analysis and Quantitative Analysis have been used in this study. Quantitative
analysis has been the numbers, facts and figures, while Qualitative analysis has been the various
inferences and interpretations of the quantitative data and analysis based on interviews and
observations.
Various tables, percentages, pie-charts and bar graphs have been used to analyze and measure the
effectiveness of the Innovation Campaign at Tata Projects Limited.

Scope of the Study

The extent of the study is limited to a single company Tata Projects Ltd. This study involves
analyzing and measuring the effectiveness of innovation campaign in this company only.

CHAPTER III
9

COMPANY PROFILE
Tata Group: Leadership with Trust
The Tata Group is Indias largest and most respected business group. It has revenues of over $100
billion, over a 100 operating companies and presence across 7 business sectors including
engineering, communications and information technology, materials, services, energy, consumer
products and chemicals. It has operations in over 85 countries and employs over 4,50,000 across
the globe.
The Tata Commitment
The Group is committed to improving the quality of life of the communities it serves. It does this
by striving for leadership and global competitiveness in the business sectors in which it operates.
The practice of returning to society what it earns evokes trust among consumers, employees,
shareholders and the community. The Tata Group is committed to protecting this heritage of
leadership with trust through the manner in which it conducts its business.
Tata Projects Limited
Tata Projects is one of the fastest growing and most admired infrastructure companies in India. It
has expertise in executing large and complex Industrial Infrastructure Projects. The company has
structured its business into 7 business verticals namely Power, Transmission, Railways, Metals,
Oil & Gas,

Water and

Tata Projects
Limited

Quality

Strategic
Business Units
(SBU)

Corporate
Services
Department

(CSD)

Services.

Enabling
Services
Department
(ESD)

Figure 3.1 TPL Business Structure

10

Strategic
Business Unit
(SBU)
Transmission
Power
&
Generatio Railways Distribution
n (PG)
(T&D)

Metals &
Minerals
(M&M)

Oil, Gas &

Hydrocarb
on
(OG&H)

Water

Quality
Services
(QS)

Table 3.1 TPL

Department structure

ENABLING SERVICES DEPARTMENT (ESD)

Figure 3.2 TPL Strategic Business Unit structure

Construction Services (CS)

Contracts & Risks
Engineering
International
Business
Development
Supply Chain Management

Enabling Services

Department structure

CORPORATE SERVICES DEPARTMENT (CSD)

Table 3.2 TPL

11

Administration
Business Excellence (BE)
Corporate Affairs (CA)
Corporate
Social
Responsibility
(CSR)
Drinking Water Business
Environment, Health & Safety (EHS)
Finance & Accounts (F&A)
Human Resource Department (HRD)
Information Technology (IT)
Internal Audit
Legal
Management of Business Ethics
Quality Management
Strategy & Business Development
Technical Information Center

Corporate Services

Each vertical is a leader or is poised to lead in the markets in which it operates. Tata Projects
strives to simplify complexity and create world class projects on-time by leveraging its deep
12
understanding of technology, advanced construction practices and expertise acquired by
executing diverse projects. It has around 2700 employees and a presence across 32 countries.
Tata Projects is designed to deliver the most demanding and complex projects on time. They are a
customer centric organization, which seeks to build ensuring value for all their stakeholders. At
the core of this are their People, Practices and their belief in doing the right thing.
Vision:

To be Indias premier Engineering, Procurement and Construction company and be ahead of

expectations of all its stake holders.
Mission:

To make our clients successful, while creating stake holder value, with uncompromising

quality and safety standards.

To create a culture that excites our people in pursuit of excellence through innovation,

differentiation and continues learning.

To uphold Tata Groups cherished value of contributing to society to improve the quality
of life.

Values:

Good Corporate Citizenship

Humility & Willingness to learn
Concern for all stakeholders
Business with Ethics
Passion for Excellence
Team Work

Location:
13

Hyderab
ad (HO)

Regional Delhi
(RO)
Office

Regional
Office

TPL

Head
Office

MumbaiRegional
(RO)
Office

Kolkata
(RO)

Figure 3.3 TPL locations

People:
Tata Projects has a team of over 2700 full-time employees, including 1400 engineers, carefully
selected for their knowledge, capabilities, aptitude and value systems. Every member of the team
undergoes periodical training to ensure that they are abreast with the state-of-the-art technology
and latest construction practices.
Practices:
Engineering excellence, Supply Chain expertise and exceptional Construction Management are
the key strengths at Tata Projects.
Its three centres of engineering excellence are equipped with cutting edge tools, techniques and a
team of highly qualified engineers to create customized and value engineering solutions.

14

Tata Projects, Supply Chain expertise helps offer cost effective and optimized solutions. It has
mapped the best sources of supply and has established relationships with key vendors across the
globe.
Construction Management is an art that has been perfected at Tata Projects. It is a learning
organization that continuously strives to improve and innovate. This has led to development of
construction methods that have become the industry norms today. Tata Projects has developed
proprietary management techniques to ensure on-time project delivery.
Doing the right thing
Tata Projects resonates with the ethos of the Tata group. It leads with integrity and has established
uncompromising standards of safety and sustainability.
Quality & Safety
'Quality' & 'Safety' are given paramount importance. This has resulted in Tata Projects being
awarded several awards for safety, including 'Certificate of Merit' from 'Confederation of Indian
Industry' and 'Certificate of Excellent Safety Management' from SEPCO China. With over 79
million safe hours worked, the company has been appreciated by its clients as well. Tata Project's
quality certifications include:
i.

OHSAS 18001

ii.

ISO 14001

iii.

ISO 9001

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR):

Tata Projects undertakes a wide range of Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives which
include: employability skill training, basic education, providing safe drinking water and
community based activities.

Employability Skill Training wherein Tata Projects provides training to the

underprivileged and unemployed youth for developing their employability and promoting

entrepreneurship skills. This includes welding, electrical, bar bending, plumbing and

tower erection training.

Education initiative, Tata projects supports education around its project sites to children
from weaker section of society. It provides school infrastructure, books, uniforms,

scholarships and allied support. Over 10,000 students have benefited from this initiative.
15
Drinking water initiative by Tata Projects is aimed at providing safe drinking water
around its project sites. It supports setting of RO plants, installation of water tanks and

hand pumps.
Community Based Activities are undertaken for under-privileged communities residing
within 5km of Tata Projects sites. These include organizing livelihood training, medical
camps, old age home visits and tree plantation activities.

Some of their Clients:

Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd

Cairn Energy India Pvt Ltd

Tata Power Limited

Tata Chemicals

Suzlon Energy Limited

Reliance Industries

Jindal Group of Companies

Power Grid Corporation of India

Southern Railway

Tata Steel

Steel Authority of India Ltd

ONGC

Key Projects:

16

First 2X800 MW Super Critical coal fired thermal power plant for Andhra

Pradesh Power Development Company Limited at Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh,

India.
First 2X500 coal fired thermal power plant for Mahagenco at Bhusawal in

Maharashtra, India.
One of India's Largest Blast Furnace 1X4500 Cum of 3 MTPA integrated steel

plant at Nagarnar in Chhattisgarh, India for NMDC.

Second largest Blast Furnace in India 1X4060 Cum at Rourkela, SAIL.

Powergrid's largest contract 765 kV double circuit Nellore to Kurnool Transmission Line
in Andhra Pradesh (315 km).
First of its kind in India - 800 kV High Voltage Direct Current Transmission

Line for Powergrid from Saharsa to Gopalgunj (202 km).

Recent Awards:
Dun & Bradstreet infrastructure award for the Industrial Infrastructure Project

of the Year 2013

India's Most Admired Construction Company Award 2013 by Construction

o
World

Received the Construction Company of the Year Award from EPC World for

o
2011.

Bagged D&B-Axis Bank Infra Award 2011 for Exemplary Execution of Power

o
Plant.

Received the prestigious `Excellence in Product Innovation' Award from the

Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Received an award from the Confederation of Indian Industry for `Excellence

in Environment, Health and Safety Practices at Project Sites.

CHAPTER IV
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS

17

Celebrating the Spirit of Innovation 2012

TPLs Innovation Month (1st 31st October2012) culminated at the Corporate Office on 1 st
November. Over 40 entries were received. A jury comprising Mr. AK Sharma (Head, SBU PG),
Mr. K Satyanarayana (Head, Construction Services) and Mr. A Vidyasagar (Head, Engineering)
evaluated the entries and shortlisted five of them for presentation and 11 for walk around
display. The reception wore a festive look with colorful charts. Mr. Gopalakrishnan, Mr. Vinayak
Deshpande (MD), Mr. B Sudhakar (CHRO and CQSH) and other senior leaders listened with
appreciation as the employees presented their innovations. Mr. R Gopalakrishnan (Director, Tata
Sons) participated in the celebrations and distributed certificates and mementoes for the best
innovations.

*Source

Concreate
December 2012

Figure 4.1 Selected entries displayed as Charts

Innovation Month 2013

Tata Projects wanted to take the Innovation celebrations to the next level this year. After a few
hours of brainstorming among some of the senior employees, the brand name Innoways
nnovation + Ways, was finalized. There was drastic change from 2012 to 2013 as more than 500
entries were received this year, as against only 40 last year.

18

Innoways 2013
Innoways is an exciting, annual month long festival of innovation that showcases Tata Projects
innovations. The objective is to encourage, inspire and help create a culture, which will foster
innovation in the company. There is innovation happening widely within TPL and Innoways
provides the platform to showcase these innovations - big or small, thereby inspiring many
employees. The objectives of Innoways are:

Foster a culture that promotes innovations

Inspire and motivate the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of the employees

Showcase and recognize teams that successfully accomplish innovations

Be a source of new ideas and new business arenas for TPL.

There are six categories in Innoways. These categories are derived in line with Tata Innovista.
They are:
Dare to Try (DTT) It is not necessary that all innovations seriously attempted will end
in success. Some attempts do not achieve the desired results. The DTT category
recognizes the most audacious, sincere and wholehearted attempts at innovation where
there was risk but the team displayed strong resolve to succeed but could not achieve the
desired results.
Promising Innovations This category is for innovations, which have been
implemented successfully and have achieved significant results that can be demonstrated
the Tata Projects operations.
The Leading Edge - Proven Technologies This category recognizes those new
technologies that have been developed and tested/piloted successfully by TPL but are yet
to be commercialized. These technologies hold a promise to deliver noteworthy
innovations.
Design Excellence Design is an important parameter on which end products are judged
by customers. It creates a form in the mind of the customer.
19
o Excellence in Touch Design: Touch Design Excellence recognizes design
superiority in defined and tangible form. The category not only judges the
differentiating use of design aesthetics i.e. graphics, textures, materials and
contours, in the product, but also focuses on the emotional response that the design
generates for better utility.
o Excellence in Feel Design: Design is a crucial paradigm on which planned spaces
are judged by occupants. The Feel Design Excellence recognizes design brilliance
in ambient and experiential form. The category not only judges the distinguishable
use of design aesthetics i.e. colors, motifs, shape and structure, of the space, but
also focuses on the outcomes that the design imparts for positive involvement.
New Business Model This provides employees an opportunity to showcase their
business-acumen to help in the organizations growth. This can be through identification
of an opportunity that has a business case or a sector where TPL can engrave its footprint.

 Challenges Worth Solving These are an open platform for the employees to provide
suggestions to overcome challenges that the Management of TPL finds most critical for its
operation.

20

Figure 4.2 Logos for each category

Pre-Event Stage and Event Stage Innovation month in Tata Projects this year was to be taken to the next level, in line with the Tata
Group Innovation Innovista.
Internal communications (IC) started a campaign on Innoways across the organization from the
last week of October 2013. The IC started off a teaser campaign through mailers with a one liner
This is your opportunity to take center stage. During the teaser campaign, IC used the images of
three personalities such as Albert Einstein, John Lennon and Steve Jobs. These three personalities
are known for innovation and trend setting. (Annexure 1).
In the fourth week of October all the stakeholders of the Innovation had a meeting with the Chief
Human Resource Officer (CHRO). The CHRO directed the IC to come up with a refreshing
communication plan, which would attract more number of entries.
Innovation at TPL is now known as Innoways, the festival of innovation and every medium of
communication conveyed the same message lets make innovation happen. The IC designed a
poster with the images of those three personalities and six categories of Innoways. The posters
were sent to all project sites, Regional Offices and inspection centres.

The IC ran an extensive campaign across the organization by using posters, mailers, web banners
and screen savers. The IC created a huge noise around the Innoways and moved all the opinion
leaders across the organization. (Annexure 1, 2 and 3).
SharePoint 2010 based platform and a benchmark process was developed to run and manage
Innoways online. This year Innoways - Festival of Innovation was launched on 1st November
2013. Finally, the campaign has garnered more than 500 entries. It is a remarkable achievement
as far as driving innovation at TPL is concerned. The campaign has set a record at TPL by
receiving an overwhelming response in the form of over 500 entries.
Detailed plans were prepared for each and every aspect of the entire campaign, right from its
promotion efforts to create and spread awareness among the entire organization, including all its
project sites and Regional Offices, to the ultimate reward and recognition mechanisms.
The below figure explains this process in great detail:

21

*Source Innoways Report 2013

Figure 4.3 Process flow of Innoways 2013

The plans of actions were drawn up for each of the six categories separately, as described in the
22

table below:
Category of Innoways

Actions planned

PROMISING
INNOVATION

Will be validated for replication across

organization
Changes will be incorporated in the respective
process through EPM
Communication & Awareness trainings will be
scheduled
Discussed in CoP for RCM/ PM forums

DARE TO TRY

Will be evaluated for feasibility

Teams will be formed to working
External trainings will be provided

DESIGN EXCELLENCE

Engineering team will validate and implement

them in the design database
White papers will be published and circulated
on the design for business development

NEW BUSINESS MODEL

Team shall be formulated

Idea provider would be part of the team
SLT member will mentor the team on each
business case
Detailed business case will be presented
before CLC
Upon approval for CLC, business case would be
discussed at Board.

CHALLENGES WORTH
SOLVING

Implementable ideas will be further evaluated

for detailed implementation steps
Solution provider will be part of team
Required Capex will be allocated for
implementation
Case study would be presented at BLC.

*Source Innoways Report 2013

Table 4.1 Plan of action for each category

23

The above plan helps in clarifying role ambiguities, if any, while precisely stating the planned
actions for each of the category for all the participants.
Criteria for Evaluation
Screening of Entries:
For screening of the entries, the following criteria have been used:
Innoways category of entry
Replication
Duplication
Impact
Relevance to organizational goals & KPMs
Customer impact
Selection of Evaluation Committee:
The Evaluation Committee constituted 5 members from diverse functions and
management roles. The members of the evaluation committee voluntarily agreed to
examine all the Innoways screened entries. The following is the evaluation criteria for
each of the six categories.
Evaluation criteria: *Source Innoways Report 2013
PROMISING INNOVATION:
S.No

Criteria

Points

Savings achieved

1 - 10 Scale

Replicable elsewhere

Yes - 10; No-0; with customization- 1 to 9

Efforts involved

1 High; 10 - Low

First time in TPL

Yes - 10; No-0

Table 4.2 Evaluation criteria for Promising Innovation

THE LEADING EDGE PROVEN TECHNOLOGY:
24

S.No

Criteria

Points

Potential Savings

1 - 10 Scale

Replicable elsewhere

Yes - 10; No-0; with customization- 1 to 9

Aligned to TPL goals

1 - 10 Scale

Table 4.3 Evaluation criteria for Leading Edge

EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN:
S.No

Criteria

Points

Design aesthetics

1 - 10 Scale

Customer
experience

Yes - 10; No-0; with customization- 1 to 9

Aid in Business
Development

1 - 10 Scale

Table 4.4 Evaluation criteria for Excellence in Design

NEW BUSINESS MODEL:

S.No

Criteria

Points

Concept

Yes 1; No - 0

Potential Impact

1 - 10 Scale

Aligned to TPL line of

Business

1 - 10 Scale

Table 4.5 Evaluation criteria for New Business Model

DARE TO TRY (DTT):

25

S.No

Criteria

Points

Concept

1 - 10 Scale

Potential Impact

Scale of 1 to 10 (1 is high & 10 low)

Efforts involved

1 High; 10 Low

Risk involved

Scale of 1 to 10 (1 is high & 10 low)

First time in TPL

Yes - 10; No-0

Table 4.6 Evaluation criteria for Date to Try

CHALLENGES WORTH SOLVING:

S.No

Criteria

Points

Benefit to the
organization

1 - 10 Scale

Efforts required

Yes - 10; No-0; with customization- 1 to 9

Is this practiced in
TPL

Yes 1; No 0

Replication

Yes 1; No 0

Table 4.7 Evaluation criteria for Challenges worth Solving

Post-Event Stage RESPONSE TO INNOWAYS:

Now that we have looked at all the dimensions involved in the planning stage and the event stage
of the campaign, it is now time to analyze the actual response to the Innovation campaign, in
terms of the number of entries received from TPL employees from across all its various project
sites, Regional Offices (Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata) and its Head Office (Hyderabad).
S. No
1.

Category
Promising Innovation

No. of Entries received

220

26

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Dare To Try
Excellence in Design
New Business Model
Challenges Worth Solving
Leading Edge

10
6
6
315
-

TOTAL

557

*Source: Innoways Report 2013

Table 4.8 Over-all number of Entries received

Chart Title
Leading Edge
0
Challenges Worth Solving

315

New Business Model 6

Excellence in Design 6
Dare To Try
Promising Innovation

10
220

Figure 4.4 Over-all number of Entries received

The above table and figure clearly exhibit that the total number of entries received for Innoways
2013, was 557. The highest among them is 315 for Challenges Worth Solving category and the
next highest category is Promising Innovation with 220 entries. But, all the other categories
received a very small number of entries amounting to only 22 entries and it should also be noted
that Leading Edge category did not receive even one entry. This implies that a majority of the
TPL employees try to find new ways to improve their regular day-to-day operations. They find
and implement innovations on a small scale, which have more chances of being successful.
Hence, the success rate of innovations is pretty high. But very few of them actually brought

forward large scale ideas which could change the face of TPLs business in the long run. Coming
up with new technologies is nowhere in the picture.
S. No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Category

No. of Participants

Promising Innovation
Dare To Try
Excellence in Design
New Business Model
Challenges Worth Solving
Leading Edge

880
40
24
24
315
-

TOTAL

27

1283

*Source: Innoways Report 2013

Table 4.9 Total number of Participants

2%

25%

2%
3%

69%

Promising Innovation
Dare To Try
Excellence in Design
New Business Model
Challenges Worth
Solving
Leading Edge

Figure 4.5 Total number of Participants

The above figure displays that a majority of the participants, i.e., 69% of them had taken part
28in
the category of Promising Innovations. The second highest is Challenges Worth Solving, even
though it was an individual event, contrasting to all the other five categories. It also clearly

defines the number of participants required for each category - Promising Innovation, Dare To
Try, Excellence in Design and New Business Model categories had teams of 4 each, whereas
Challenges Worth Solving was an individual entry category.
Tables 4.8 & 4.9; and figures 4.4 and 4.5 reveal that the total number of employees participating
in Innoways was 1283, which is 48% of TPLs manpower. A majority of the entries have been in
the form of teams. This shows the great amount of teamwork, understanding and trust that the
employees have amongst them. It also brings forward the many independent individuals who
strive to improve their work and want to make a mark of their own at TPL. This over-whelming
response has in itself taken this years Innovation Campaign to a higher level, when compared to
last years receipt of just 40 entries.
After having a glance at the response to Innoways 2013 on a whole, let us now analyze this response
category-wise and department-wise.

PROMISING INNOVATION:

S. No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Department

No. of Entries received

Corporate Services
Enabling Services
Power Vertical
Process Vertical
Quality Services

30
33
62
79
16

TOTAL

220

*Source: Innoways Report 2013

Table 4.10 Number of Entries received department-wise for Promising Innovation

29

79
62

30

33
16

Figure 4.6 Number of Entries received department-wise for Promising Innovation

Figure 4.6 shows that the maximum number of entries for the category of Promising Innovation
has been received from the Process Vertical (SBU-M&M, SBU-Water, SBU-OG&H) and the next
highest is from the Power Vertical (SBU-PG, SBU-T&D, SBU-Railways). Entries from the
Corporate and Enabling Services have been average with 30 and 33 entries respectively. Entries
from SBU-QS have been the least. This discloses that the Process Vertical has been able to
generate more successful innovations for TPL.

S. No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Department

No. of Participants

Corporate Services
Enabling Services
Power Vertical
Process Vertical
Quality Services

120
132
248
316
64

TOTAL

880

*Source: Innoways Report 2013

Table 4.11 Number of Participants department-wise for Promising Innovation

30

7%
Corporate Services

14%
Enabling Services
15%

36%

Power Vertical

Process Vertical

28%

Quality Services

Figure 4.7 Number of Participants department-wise for Promising Innovation

It can be seen from figure 4.7 that 36% of the employees participated from the Process Vertical
and close to it is the Power Vertical with 28% of the employee participation. This shows the
initiative taking skills and the risk taking ability of the employees from SBUs. The Corporate and
Enabling Services department employees should be encouraged more to come up with innovative
solutions by taking inspiration from the others.

No. of
entries
Receiv
ed

22
0
62

No. of
entrie
s

Figure 4.8 Number of Entries selected for Evaluation - Promising Innovation

The above figure shows the number of projects screened for further evaluation by the evaluation
committee as per the set criteria for Promising Innovation (Table 4.2). After screening all the 220
31
entries received, only 62 of them, i.e., 28% of the entries received were taken to the next level for
evaluation. Given the criteria for evaluation, most of these rejected entries might not have been
able to achieve high levels of savings or are probably not applicable elsewhere. The reason may

also be because it was already implemented at TPL before or the entries did not seem to have the
required efforts to come up with new feasible ideas.

DARE TO TRY (DTT):

S. No

Department

No. of Entries received

1.

Corporate Services

2.
3.
4.
5.

Enabling Services
Power Vertical
Process Vertical
Quality Services

2
3
5
-

TOTAL

10

*Source: Innoways Report 2013

Table 4.12 Number of Entries received department-wise for Dare To Try

5
3
2

Figure 4.9 Number of Entries received department-wise for Dare To Try

It is evident from the above figure that out of the 10 entries were received for Dare To Try
32

category, 5 of them are from the Process Vertical (SBU-M&M, SBU-Water, SBU-OG&H) and 3
of them are from the Power Vertical (SBU-PG, SBU-T&D, SBU-Railways), 2 entries are from
Enabling Services. The entries for this category are very less maybe because most of the

innovations tried by the teams have been successful or the teams do not want to mention their
failures as it would affect their respective departments.
S. No

Department

No. of Participants

1.

Corporate Services

2.
3.
4.
5.

Enabling Services
Power Vertical
Process Vertical
Quality Services

8
12
20
-

TOTAL

40

*Source: Innoways Report 2013

Table 4.13 Number of Participants department-wise for Dare To Try

20%
50%

30%

Corporate
Services
Enabling
Services
Power Vertical
Process Vertical
Quality
Services

Figure 4.10 Number of Participants department-wise for Dare To Try

Figure 4.10 shows that 50% of the participants have been from Process Vertical, followed by 30%
33

from Power Vertical. This category involves failed attempts to innovate. Even though the
appreciating factor here is the efforts behind taking the initiative, many people are reluctant to
accept or own up to their failures as it would affect their reputation in the organization.
No. of entries
Received

1
0
10

No. of entries
Selected

Figure 4.11 Number of Entries selected for Evaluation Dare To Try

A total of 10 entries were received for this category and all 10 of them were taken to the next
level of evaluation. This maybe because all the entries were matching to the Evaluation Criteria
set for Dare To Try (Table 4.6). Their concept was new and had a high potential impact.
EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN:

S. No

Department

No. of Entries received

1.

Corporate Services

2.
3.
4.
5.

Enabling Services
Power Vertical
Process Vertical
Quality Services

3
3
-

TOTAL

*Source: Innoways Report 2013

Table 4.14 Number of Entries received department-wise for Excellence in Design

34

Figure 4.12 Number of Entries received department-wise for Excellence in Design

It is clear from the above figure that out of the 6 entries received for this category, 3 are from the
Power Vertical (SBU-PG, SBU-T&D, SBU-Railways) and the other 3 from the Process Vertical
(SBU-M&M, SBU-Water, SBU-OG&H). Since designs play a crucial role for success in EPC
companies, bringing in new aesthetics and feel to it will satisfy customers in the long run. It is
disappointing to see that there were no entries received from the Corporate Services department especially from the Engineering and Construction Services.
S. No

Department

No. of Participants

1.

Corporate Services

2.
3.
4.
5.

Enabling Services
Power Vertical
Process Vertical
Quality Services

12
12
-

TOTAL

24

*Source: Innoways Report 2013

Table 4.15 Number of Participants department-wise for Excellence in Design

35

Corporate Services
50%

Enabling Services
50%

Power Vertical

Process Vertical

Quality Services

Figure 4.13 Number of Participants department-wise for Excellence in Design

The above figure displays that 50% of the employee participation was from the Process
Vertical and the rest 50% was from Power Vertical. These employees have recognized that
design is an important parameter on which end products are judged by customers and that
it creates a form in the mind of the customer. They also identified that design is a crucial
paradigm on which planned spaces are judged by occupants. They focus more on
improving and updating the existing designs.

No. of
entries
Receiv
ed

6
6

No. of
entrie
s

Figure 4.14 Number of Entries selected for Evaluation Excellence in Design

Figure 4.14 shows that all the six entries received were taken to the next level of
evaluation on the basis of evaluation criteria for Excellence in Design (Table 4.4).
36This

category not only judges the differentiating use of design aesthetics, but also focuses on
the emotional response that the design generates for better utility.
NEW BUSINESS MODEL:

S. No

Department

No. of Entries received

1.

Corporate Services

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Enabling Services
Power Vertical
Process Vertical
Quality Services
Project Sites

1
1

TOTAL

*Source: Innoways Report 2013

Table 4.16 Number of Entries received department-wise for New Business Model
4

Corporate Services 0 Power Vertical

0

0 Quality Services

Figure 4.15 Number of Entries received department-wise for New Business Model

It is seen from the above figure that a total of 6 entries have been received in this category, 4 from
the Corporate Services department and 1 each from the Quality Services and Project Sites.
37

Coming up with a new business model plan in itself is a huge initiative involving a lot planning
while weighing the pros and cons. Also receiving an entry from the project site is laudable.
S. No

Department

No. of Participants

1.

Corporate Services

16

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Enabling Services
Power Vertical
Process Vertical
Quality Services
Project Sites

4
4

TOTAL

24

*Source: Innoways Report 2013

Table 4.17 Number of Participants department-wise for New Business Model

17%
17% 67%

Corporate
Services
Power Vertical
Quality
Services

Enabling
Services
Process Vertical
Project Sites

Figure 4.16 Number of Participants department-wise for New Business Model

Figure 4.16 reveals that 67% of the employee participation has been from the Corporate Services
department. This means that new business ideas have come mostly from the teams of the
planning department. This category involves investing huge amounts of time and efforts to38
come
up with feasible plans that can help TPL foray into new untapped sectors. Attempting for this
category will boost the self-confidence and affiliation towards TPL as these employees would be
helping the organization grow in a totally new and different direction, if successful.

No. of
entries
Receiv
ed

6
5

No. of
entrie
s

Figure 4.17 Number of Entries selected for Evaluation New Business Model

The above figure reveals that out of the 6 entries received for this category, 5 of them were taken
to the next level of evaluation after preliminary screening on the basis of the set evaluation
criteria for New Business Model (Table 4.5). The entries had an appealing concept and had high
potential impact. The main judging criterion was if this new business model can be aligned to
TPL line of business. The new business idea should not be too vague or totally disconnected from
the existing line of business but should be complementary to them. Its success rate, risk factors,
financial investments and profitability rate should be thoroughly analyzed and listed down in
detail while bringing forward a new business proposal.
New Business Model is the most significant category as it involves ideas that have a local,
regional, national, international and an over-all global impact on TPL while all the other
categories involve innovations or attempts to innovate on the operations of work.
CHALLENGES WORTH SOLVING:
39

S. No

Department

No. of Entries received

1.

Corporate Services

26

2.
3.
4.
5.

Enabling Services
Power Vertical
Process Vertical
Quality Services

53
66
123
47

TOTAL

315

*Source: Innoways Report 2013

Table 4.18 Number of Entries received department-wise for Challenges Worth Solving
123

66
53

47

26

Figure 4.18 Number of Entries received department-wise for Challenges Worth Solving

Figure 4.18 clearly shows that this category has received a fairly distributive number of entries,
when compared to entries of all the other categories. The highest entries received, 123, were from
the Process Vertical (SBU-M&M, SBU-Water, SBU-OG&H), followed by the Power Vertical
(SBU-PG, SBU-T&D, SBU-Railways) with 66 entries and closely behind it from the Enabling
Services department with 53 entries.
S. No

Department

No. of Participants

1.

Corporate Services

26

2.
3.
4.
5.

Enabling Services
Power Vertical
Process Vertical
Quality Services

53
66
123
47

40

TOTAL

315

*Source: Innoways Report 2013

Table 4.19 Number of Participants department-wise for Challenges Worth Solving

15%
Corporate Services

39%
Power Vertical

8% Enabling Services
17%

Process
21% Vertical

Quality Services

Figure 4.19 Number of Participants department-wise for Challenges Worth Solving

It is seen from the above figure that39% of the employee participation has been from the Process
vertical and 21% from the Power Vertical. Enabling Services department managed to get 17% of
participation by the employees while Quality Services got 15%. This shows that most of the
employees strive to independently come up with new and better solutions to overcome the
challenges that they face in the day to day functioning of operations.
41

No. of
entries
Receiv
ed

31
5
76

No. of
entrie
s

Figure 4.20 Number of Entries selected for Evaluation Challenges Worth Solving

The above figure reveals only 35 entries, amounting to only 24%, were taken for the next level of
evaluation out of 315 entries received, on the basis of the evaluation criteria set for Challenges
Worth Solving (Table 4.7). The entries selected were beneficial and were not practiced at TPL
before. These innovations will also help all the employees to overcome the challenges faced by
them in their respective areas of work.
Post Evaluation
Reward & Recognition:

All employees of all the selected projects on Innovation were rewarded under Take-Up

(Tarakki Ke Uss Paar) reward scheme.

Selected innovation was published in the In-house magazine Concreate.
Selected Innovation was sent for participation in the Tata Group Innovista.

About 50 innovative ideas from the entries received managed to stand out in one way or the
other. The winners received certificates and awards. Innoways Report 2013 was made and
presented to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) at a meeting (Annexure 4).

CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

42

Innoways has been successful in achieving its objectives, which is in line with Tata Groups
objectives - to foster the culture of innovation, encourage and motivate the innovative spirit
among all TPL employees. This is evident from the over-whelming response from the employees
by receiving more than 500 entries from the period of 1st November to 25th November 2013.
Since I have been a part of Innoways 2013, right from its planning, execution and evaluation
stages, I have drawn inferences and interpretations on the basis of my observations. After
analyzing the entire data, it can be concluded that Innoways 2013 received the maximum number
of entries from the Process Vertical (SBU-M&M, SBU-Water, SBU-OG&H) and from the Power
Vertical (SBU-PG, SBU-T&D, SBU-Railways). Since the main bread-earners for TPL are the
SBUs, it has been a great achievement in terms of giving them an opportunity to share their
successful new ideas, which can be implemented to the benefit of these SBUs, and ultimately to

the betterment of the organization. But, Tata Projects Limited, being a major player in the EPC
(Engineering, Procurement and Construction) industry, received very little participation from the
Enabling Services department. It also received very few entries from the project sites.
Another successful area of Innoways 2013 has been the positive response to the communication
campaign. The teaser campaign, which was launched in October, managed to grab the attention
and increased the curiosity levels of all the employees when the mailers were sent to them
(Annexure 1). Even during the campaign, i.e., between 1 st November and 25th November 2013,
mailers of successful stories of innovations implemented at TPL were shared (Annexure 2), to
encourage employees to share their innovations. After the closing date of entries, a thank you
mailer was also sent to all the participants (Annexure 3).
Any corporate campaign is successful when each and every employee fully understands and
believes in it. People need to make up their own mind that this is a better and smarter way to
work. Effective internal communications is not about telling people, its about involving them,
which is exactly what Innoways 2013 Campaign managed to do. It has been a great success
because all the employees had that connect and affiliation towards the entire concept and theme
of Innovation, which encouraged them to participate and showcase their creative 43
side and
business acumen.
The feedback collected informally from employees at random clearly suggests that the
participants loved the concept from teasers to reward stage. They felt that it is a wonderful way to
bring out the latent potent talent from employees which encourages teamwork and a sense of
contributing to organizations growth in truest sense. The over-riding feeling was to do much
better in the next campaign.
The organizing committee also was very happy with the response to Innoways 2013. They have
set higher targets for the next innovation campaign and are aiming at atleast 75% of employee
participation.
Thus, it can be seen that Tata Projects Limited is trying to build an innovative culture, in the
existing systematic structure of the organization. Innovative and creative people, but who work

within the framework, could be brought into the organization right from its recruitment phase.
Workshops involving creative thinking and doing creative activities for the existing employees
can be conducted. This will help them look at their same routine work and operations with a new
perspective, encouraging them to find new ways to deal with them.
Finally, it can be concluded by stating that Innoways 2013 has been a huge success compared to
the inaugural campaign last year. Be it in terms of curiosity and excitement, number of entries,
number of shortlisted ideas, the number of award winners or in terms of the overall value and
sense of belonging and a sense of pride in being part of successful innovative stories that enhance
Tatas image as one of Indias leading innovative companies.

44

ANNEXURES
Annexure -1

Teaser Campaign Mailer 1

Teaser Campaign Mailer 2

ii

Teaser Campaign Mailer 3

Teaser Campaign Mailer 4

iii

Annexure -2
During Campaign Mailer
Sharing the success story of the innovation implemented at Nagarnar project site.

iv

Annexure -3

Post Campaign Mailer

Annexure 4
Innoways Report 2013 few glimpses

vi

WEBLIOGRAPHY AND
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

http://www.tataprojects.com/index.html
https://tplnet.tataprojects.com/Pages/Home.aspx
http://www.tataquality.com/Index.aspx
http://toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au
http://thebusinessexperienceshow.wordpress.com/2013/02/0

5/7-reasons-why-innovation-is-important/
6. http://www.inventium.com.au/wpcontent/uploads/2013/03/Innovation-in-Organisations-APSShelley-Logan.pdf
7. http://www.innovationforgrowth.co.uk/whyisinnovationimportant.pdf
8. http://www.seap.usv.ro/annals/ojs/index.php/annals/article/viewFile/332/342
9. http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s9221.pdf

10. https://lgbtmap.org/file/communications-campaign-best-practices.pdf
11. Concreate, December 2012, Vol 1, Issue 1
12. Innoways Report 2013