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LANGUAGE THROUGH
PROSE
1.
HOW TO BE BETTER MANAGER
AN INTERVIEW WITH N.R. NARAYANMURTHY
INTERVIEWED BY
ANAND P. RAMAN
Summary
This interview
with N.R. Narayana Murthy, the
co-founder of Infosys, gives us
valuable lessons on how to be a better manager. Murthy talks about his
experiences, beliefs, and the values that helped him lead Infosys to great
success.
He believes
that a good manager should always focus on fairness, honesty, and hard work. A manager must lead by example
and be someone others can trust and respect. Murthy explains that a manager
should never expect others to do something they wouldn’t do themselves.
Integrity and discipline are very important for leadership.
Murthy also
says that managers should have a clear
vision and communicate it to their team. People will follow a leader who
explains where the company is going and how everyone can help. He believes in teamwork and respect for every individual.
Even junior employees can have good ideas, so managers should listen and
encourage everyone to contribute.
He also
stresses the need for merit-based
decisions. Promotions and rewards should be based on performance, not
personal connections. A manager should create a system where everyone feels
they are treated fairly.
Another
important point is learning from
mistakes. Murthy says that mistakes are part of growth. A manager should
accept mistakes, learn from them, and help others grow too.
Lastly, he
talks about being socially responsible.
A good manager must think beyond profits and consider the company’s role in
improving society.
In summary,
Murthy believes that being a good manager means being honest, fair,
disciplined, visionary, and caring — not just for the company’s success, but
also for its people and society.
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
I. Answer the
following questions in a sentence or two
1. Who conducted
the interview with Narayana Murthy for Harvard Business Review?
Ans:
The interview with Narayana Murthy was conducted by the editors of the Harvard
Business Review.
2. What
leadership principle does Narayana Murthy emphasize as key to build a
successful organization?
Ans:
Narayana Murthy emphasizes the importance of leading by example and practicing
fairness, transparency, and accountability in leadership.
3. Which global
IT company was co-founded by Narayana Murthy?
Ans:
Narayana Murthy co-founded Infosys, a global IT services company.
4. What key
cultural value does Narayana Murthy advocate for in organization?
Ans:
He advocates for a culture of openness and meritocracy, where ideas are valued
over hierarcy.
5. What is one
entrepreneurial challenge discussed by Narayana Murthy in the interview?
Ans:
One challenge he discusses is attracting and retaining talent while building an
organization from scratch with limited resources.
II. Answer the
following questions
1. Discuss the
role of ethical leadership in building a successful global organization, as
emphasized by Narayana Murthy in his interview with Anand P. Raman. Provide
examples from Infosys to illustrate your points.
Ans:
In his
interview with Anand P. Raman, Narayana Murthy highlights the importance of
ethical leadership in building a strong and respected global company. He
believes that leaders must follow values such as honesty, fairness, and
transparency. According to him, a leader should always do the right thing, even
when no one is watching. This creates trust within the company and with clients
around the world.
At Infosys, Murthy followed these principles by creating
clear rules and always being open about company actions. For example, Infosys
was one of the first Indian companies to follow high standards of financial
reporting. This helped build trust with investors and clients overseas. Murthy
also believed in treating everyone equally, from the top managers to the newest
employees.
Because of his ethical leadership, Infosys became known
as a trustworthy and professional company. This helped it grow quickly and win
business from clients in the US, Europe, and beyond. Murthy showed that doing
the right thing is not just good for personal values—it’s also smart for
business. His leadership style became a model for other Indian companies that
wanted to succeed globally.
2. Analyze how
Narayana Murthy’s focus on a purpose-driven culture and meritocracy contributed
to Infosys’s growth and global reputation. How can these principles be applied
to modern businesses?
Ans:
Narayana Murthy
strongly believed in creating a purpose-driven culture and a merit-based system
at Infosys. A purpose-driven culture means that the company should aim to do
more than just make money—it should also solve problems and help society. At
Infosys, this meant using technology to improve businesses around the world and
create jobs in India.
He also believed in meritocracy, where people are
rewarded based on their talent, hard work, and performance—not based on
connections or background. Everyone at Infosys, from junior staff to senior
leaders, had equal chances to grow if they worked hard and delivered results.
This inspired young people in India and made Infosys a dream company for many.
These values helped Infosys grow quickly and gain respect
across the world. Clients trusted Infosys because it had skilled, honest people
and clear goals. The company created strong systems for training and
performance review, which made it stand out globally.
Modern businesses can follow the same approach. If they
give importance to purpose and merit, they will attract top talent and earn
long-term success. Purpose motivates people to do better work, and meritocracy
builds a fair, high-performing workplace where innovation thrives.
3. Evaluate the
entrepreneurial of Narayana Murthy as discussed in the interview. Highlight the
challenges he faced in scaling Infosys and the strategies he employed to
overcome them.
Ans:
Narayana
Murthy’s journey as an entrepreneur was full of challenges and learning. He
started Infosys in 1981 with just ₹10,000 and a small team of friends. At that
time, India had many rules that made doing business very hard. Getting
computers, hiring people, and getting foreign clients were all difficult tasks.
One major challenge was the lack of infrastructure and
global connections. Infosys had to prove that an Indian company could provide
world-class software services. Another challenge was attracting and keeping
talented people in the early days when they couldn’t offer high salaries.
Murthy faced these problems with patience and smart
strategies. He focused on building a strong team with shared values. He
encouraged transparency, teamwork, and long-term thinking. He also believed in
staying updated with global trends. Infosys started training employees and
maintaining high quality standards to impress foreign clients.
To build trust, Infosys became one of the first Indian
companies to list on NASDAQ and follow international accounting rules. These
steps showed the world that Infosys was serious and professional.
Through his leadership, Narayana Murthy turned Infosys
from a small start-up into a global IT giant. His story shows that with vision,
honesty, and hard work, big goals can be achieved.
Assignment
Topics
1. Analyze key
leadership traits highlighted in the interview and discuss how they can be
applied in modern management.
Ans: In the interview, Narayana Murthy talks about several
important leadership traits that helped him build Infosys. One key trait is leading
by example. He believes that leaders should follow the same rules they
expect others to follow. If a leader is honest, hard-working, and disciplined,
then employees will also behave that way.
Another trait is humility. Murthy says leaders
should stay humble and always be ready to learn. Even when Infosys became
successful, he stayed grounded and kept improving. He also showed courage—he
took risks and made tough decisions, like starting a tech company in a
difficult business environment.
He talks about the importance of fairness and transparency.
Treating everyone equally and being open about decisions builds trust among
employees and clients.
In modern management, these traits are still very useful.
Today’s workplaces need honest and fair leaders who care about people and
values. When leaders are transparent and respectful, it creates a healthy and
productive work environment. Also, humility and the willingness to learn are
important in today’s fast-changing world. Narayana Murthy’s leadership style
shows that strong values and people-focused leadership can lead to long-term
success in any time or place.
2. Compare
Narayana Murthy’s views on management with current trends in leadership and
management.
Ans:
Narayana
Murthy’s views on management are based on strong values like ethics, fairness,
and teamwork. He believes that leaders should be honest, treat everyone
equally, and build a company that helps society—not just one that makes money.
He also focuses on meritocracy, where people are rewarded based on
performance, not personal connections.
In today’s world, many of these ideas are still popular,
but there are also new trends in leadership. For example, emotional
intelligence and empathy are now considered important traits for
leaders. Modern leaders are expected to understand the feelings of their team
and support mental well-being. Murthy’s focus on fairness and respect fits well
with this.
Another new trend is flexibility and remote
work. Today’s leaders must manage teams in different locations and time
zones. While Murthy led in a more traditional office setting, his belief in
trust and open communication is very useful for managing remote teams too.
Also, modern companies focus a lot on innovation
and diversity. Murthy’s ideas about giving equal chances to everyone, no
matter their background, match this modern trend.
In short, Narayana Murthy’s values are timeless, and they
still guide many successful leaders today—just with some added focus on
emotions, innovation, and flexibility.
