Eastern Condiments Private Limited The Changing Curry Company
By Sonia Mehrotra, Kavil Ramachandran
Ivey publishing | March 2017
Ivey publishing | March 2017
Citation
Mehrotra, Sonia., Ramachandran, Kavil. (2016). Eastern Condiments Private Limited The Changing Curry Company Ivey publishing .
Copyright
Ivey publishing, 2016
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Abstract
In 2015, Navas Meeran (46), Chairman, and Managing Director, Eastern Condiments Private Limited (ECPL), had taken an early sabbatical from company operations.
A year agoearlier,he had appointed his younger brother, Firoz Meeran, as the Managing Director of the company. ECPL, the flagship company of the INR 8.00 billion, family managed Eastern Group headquartered in Kochi, India,which was engaged in manufacturing and marketing of spices, blended spice powders, pickles, breakfast staples and beverages both in both the domestic and international markets. The company,started began as a small shopset up in 1961 by their father M.E. Meeranin 1961. It had grown to record revenues of INR 5.60 billion in 2014. Navas was had been instrumental in the growth and professionalization of the business by bringing in non-family professionals, introducing state-of-the-art systems and processes in manufacturing, and nurturing the values of compassion and loyalty as that his father hadfollowedinstilled across the organization by their father. Firoz had got involved in joined the business in 2008.
Though he was pleased happy with the company's business performance under Firoz's leadership, Navas was uncomfortable with the pace and process execution of major organizational changes brought about that by his brother had instituted in the past over the past one year. He was worried about Firoz’s aggressive approach; the speed of the internal changes made Firoz had made by him to tap the external market opportunities had resulted in 10 -15% attrition at all levels in the organization. Was it right for a traditional familyrun business bred on aculture of compassion and loyalty to make a sudden shift to ametrics-based performance culture? Should the focus not be on nurturing loyalty as an important component of company culture, along with competency and meritocracy,, for the longevity of a family run business? Will Would Firoz’s efforts to transform the company as into a professional organization ultimately sustain the growth of the business? Was there a need to both cultivate both, professionalism as well as and reward loyalty across the ECPL value chain? Can Could a company based out of atier two Tier 2 city like such as Kochi be able to attract high-quality talents easily? These were some of the questions that worried Navas.
The case is structured to achieve the following pedagogical objectives:
a) To understand the challenges of professionalization of a family run business.
b) To discuss the role of organizational values while achieving professionalization.
A year agoearlier,he had appointed his younger brother, Firoz Meeran, as the Managing Director of the company. ECPL, the flagship company of the INR 8.00 billion, family managed Eastern Group headquartered in Kochi, India,which was engaged in manufacturing and marketing of spices, blended spice powders, pickles, breakfast staples and beverages both in both the domestic and international markets. The company,started began as a small shopset up in 1961 by their father M.E. Meeranin 1961. It had grown to record revenues of INR 5.60 billion in 2014. Navas was had been instrumental in the growth and professionalization of the business by bringing in non-family professionals, introducing state-of-the-art systems and processes in manufacturing, and nurturing the values of compassion and loyalty as that his father hadfollowedinstilled across the organization by their father. Firoz had got involved in joined the business in 2008.
Though he was pleased happy with the company's business performance under Firoz's leadership, Navas was uncomfortable with the pace and process execution of major organizational changes brought about that by his brother had instituted in the past over the past one year. He was worried about Firoz’s aggressive approach; the speed of the internal changes made Firoz had made by him to tap the external market opportunities had resulted in 10 -15% attrition at all levels in the organization. Was it right for a traditional familyrun business bred on aculture of compassion and loyalty to make a sudden shift to ametrics-based performance culture? Should the focus not be on nurturing loyalty as an important component of company culture, along with competency and meritocracy,, for the longevity of a family run business? Will Would Firoz’s efforts to transform the company as into a professional organization ultimately sustain the growth of the business? Was there a need to both cultivate both, professionalism as well as and reward loyalty across the ECPL value chain? Can Could a company based out of atier two Tier 2 city like such as Kochi be able to attract high-quality talents easily? These were some of the questions that worried Navas.
The case is structured to achieve the following pedagogical objectives:
a) To understand the challenges of professionalization of a family run business.
b) To discuss the role of organizational values while achieving professionalization.