HBS’s Working Knowledge, Terror at the Taj

The following paragraphs were taken — with permission — from the Harvard Business School’s article in Working Knowledge, Terror at the Taj, that previews the business school’s case and faculty research.

On November 26, 2008, 175 people died in Mumbai, India, when 10 terrorists simultaneously struck sites. Of the five locations — all well-known landmarks — the beautiful domes of the hotel known as the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower would become most closely associated with the horrific attacks in the world’s collective conscience.

A new multimedia case by HBS professor Rohit Deshpandé offers a flip side to the nightmarish scenes that unfolded in real time on television screens around the globe. Produced in collaboration with Ruth Page and David Habeeb of the HBS Educational Technology Group, “Terror at the Taj Bombay: Customer-Centric Leadership” documents the bravery and resourcefulness shown by rank-and-file employees during the siege. (The case is not yet available to the public.)

Video interviews with hotel staff and senior executives, combined with security footage of the attack, create a documentary-like account of events that took place over the course of 59 hours. The case also covers the hotel’s history, its approach to training employees, the “guest is God” philosophy inherent in Indian culture, and the question of how the hotel will recover after the attacks.

Underlying this framework is a central conundrum: Why did the Taj employees stay at their posts, jeopardizing their safety in order to save hotel guests? And is this level of loyalty and dedication something that can be replicated and scaled elsewhere?

“Not even the senior managers could explain the behavior of these employees,” says Deshpandé. “In the interview, the vice chairman of the company says that they knew all the back exits — the natural human instinct would be to flee. These are people who instinctively did the right thing. And in the process, some of them, unfortunately, gave their lives to save guests.” A dozen employees died.

Executive Summary:

Under terrorist attack, employees of the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower bravely stayed at their posts to help guests. A new multimedia case by Harvard Business School professor Rohit Deshpandé looks at the hotel’s customer-centered culture and value system. Key concepts include:

• Underlying the case is a central conundrum: Why did the Taj employees stay at their posts, jeopardizing their safety in order to save hotel guests? And is this level of loyalty and dedication something that can be replicated and scaled elsewhere?
• Taj employees carry a sense of loyalty to the hotel, and a sense of responsibility to the guests.
• In India and the developing world, there’s a much more paternalistic equation between employer and employee that creates a kinship. Long length of service is recognized and rewarded by top management.

The above was taken with permission from Julie Hanna’s Working Knowledge article, HBS Cases: Terror at the Taj, for the Harvard Business School, which reflects faculty research. Read the rest of the article at Working Knowledge’s site.