Tata Motors: nudging from the center
By Ernst & Young In the past few years, Tata Motors has transformed itself from a local Indian automotive company to a sizable global player. In 2004, it acquired the struggling South Korea-based Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company, and in 2008, it completed its acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover. Faced with a similar international span of assets, many other companies would have embarked on an ambitious period of integration, merging functions and imposing a new culture from the top down. But Tata Motors has taken a different approach, preferring to retain the autonomy of the acquired businesses. ``We wanted to be seen as a local company in South Korea and the United Kingdom rather than an Indian company entering these markets,’’ says Ravi Kant, vice chairman of Tata Motors. Managers at Daewoo and Jaguar Land Rover have considerable independence to make their own decisions, but within a set of parameters and accountability requirements that Tata Motors sets from corporate leadership. ``We see ourselves as facilitators,’’ says Kant. ``We want to preserve the independence