Tips from Top – “Organisation Culture”. Mr. Tojo Jose, C.H.R.O., Muthoot Fincorp

Organisation Culture: Acta Non Verba

The Department of Industrial and Management Engineering at IIT Kanpur hosted a seminar by Mr Tojo Jose, CHRO at Muthoot Fincorp Ltd. on the topic of organization culture. Organizational culture is a guiding factor that acts as the genetic code of any organization.

Mr Jose talked about how important it is for an individual to ensure that his/her values resonate with the values of the organization. The culture incompatibility can prove to be a menace for anyone working in an organization, even if the person has a good skill set. He talked about the articulated values like integrity and dignity that are implicit in nature and always keep our moral compass duly pointing north. The three C’s - Confront, Complaint and Conform - form the basis of how an employee identifies himself/herself with the organization. The confronting and complaining individuals often find it difficult to gel with the existing culture, and compromise forms the fourth C that often finds its place when individuals do not necessarily conform with the organization, but in the process of trying to fit in, compromise on various fronts.

Mr Jose further talked about the leadership development program of Muthoot Fincorp that inculcates desired values among the employees. The leaders from the organization interact with the employees to give them perspective. The right values are rewarded, which implies that the defaulters are punished and meanwhile, the organization looks for opportunities to reiterate the significance of the right attitude. The speaker also quoted various examples from his experience at BlueStar, the organization he worked before Muthoot FinCorp. Humility at senior management level is always a desired attribute and “Hire for Skill and Fire for attitude’’ is the caveat that Mr Jose brought to the fore.

Culture is something that people practice when nobody is watching. This statement struck a chord with the audience when he talked about the champions and the mediocre leaders. The business values that every employee possesses are integral to any organization and make a difference no matter where they are on the hierarchical ladder of the company. The speaker frequently called organization culture the gorilla in the room - unseen, but very much there. The interactive session held thereafter made the management students realize the importance of fitting in the jigsaw puzzle that any company offers and climbing up the corporate ladder with much ease. The session proved to be full of insights regarding the less evident aspects of the corporate world which would no doubt prove useful to every single attendee in their careers.