Good, better, best!

The cover (The Best Companies To Work for in India, BT, January 25) was very well researched. Microsoft India topped the list for the second consecutive year, and rightly so. I’m sure the company will be able to meet the challenges, especially the ones related to HR. What really came as a surprise was the absence of companies like Tata, Reliance and Wipro. It’s pretty clear that the size of a company has nothing to do with how well the employees are treated or taken care of.

—Ramakant Sahay, through e-mail

Making Better Workplaces
Your cover story (BT, January 25) is timely, but raises a couple of questions. First, will these companies continue to be generous as the downturn worsens? Second, what about the vast majority of companies, including the top groups, whose working conditions aren’t even mentioned in the story? Also, a comparison with some companies abroad would have been interesting. I’ve enjoyed reading about the liberal attitude of these companies, but I disagree with the view that better working conditions alone will be sufficient. Salaries and partnership with employees are ultimately the only ways to take these companies to greater heights.

—Srikant Gokhle, through e-mail

The linear perspective
The cover on best companies is interesting, but linear in execution. One would have enjoyed reading about some other facets of these companies, rather than just how they are dishing out sops to their employees. It would have been interesting to read how workers have contributed towards higher financial goals for a particular company. And also, what do competitors and analysts think of these companies?

—Dependra Singh, through e-mail

So, the glass is half full, is it?
We saw the A-Star getting launched with a lot of fanfare—that, I think, is some enthusiasm (Defying the Downturn, BT, January 25)! Automotive industry is one of the worst-affected sectors in this slowdown, yet along with Maruti, others like Tata, Hyundai and Fiat India are also set to launch new cars. And interestingly, retail biggies like Future Group and RPG Group are opening stores. Such is the case in the financial services sector as well. While the Mumbai-based Centrum Group is opening offices in London and New York, UBS is going ahead with its launch of commercial banking operations in India. A slowdown is the best time when people can do with a bit of extra cheer.

—Amborish Biswas, through e-mail

In the name of the father
The Best Advice I Ever Got (BT cover story, January 11) speaks of the Indian business ethos—over 50 professionals recounted that the best advice they got was on life and not merely on how to run a business. And the source of such advice, in a majority of cases, happened to be their father or their family. After all, the road to business success in India is paved with many home truths.

—Raj Anand, through e-mail

Corrections
Apropos the feature on Microsoft India in Best Companies to Work For in India (BT, January 25), Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and not as mentioned. The error is regretted.

We had reported Infosys as having opted out of our survey of Best Companies to Work For in India. Instead, the firm had participated, but did not figure amongst the top quartile of companies that made it to the list.

In Trends ’08 Quotes of the Year (BT, The Best Advice I Ever Got, January 11), HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh’s quotes have been published out of context. The first quote in October ’08 was in the context of the immediate need, as the liquidity situation was extremely bad and would have led to defaults in the system had no action been taken; the second quote was with reference to a situation where banks were not lending because although liquidity was sufficient, they were being cautious.

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