Case Analysis on

Anuj Pathak Returns to India

Situation Analysis:

 Anuj Pathak, who completed his post graduate from Monash in 1999, worked as
consultant for different firms abroad before coming to India in 2014.

 He joined IFL as Head of Housing Finance division and was settling in the new
workplace and was keen to show results. One day, Vice President HR asked to meet
him. He mentioned that people think of him as cold hearted and extremely critical and
they have even asked for a department change for Anuj. HR asked him to reflect on
his style.

 Anuj couldn’t figure out where all of this was coming from. According to him, he had
been upfront and democratic in dealing with them. He is now reflecting whether his
decision to have a successful career in India will be shattered or can he recover.

Problem Analysis:

 The problem that Anuj faced was majorly due to his own perspective of how the
environment and people would be when compared to the working style of people
abroad.

 His theory of “One size fits all” was not reflecting well in the company’s performance.
He was also having a hard time in finding the perfect balance between work and his
family. His ill mother needed care for which he shifted to Mumbai. His daughters were
not able to adjust to the new school system and were having out of character anger
issues.

 Anuj’s definition of democratic functioning was often seen as having or revealing an

exaggerated sense of his own importance or abilities. What he perceived of others
doesn’t necessarily transform vis-à-vis.

 Indians tend to discuss their private life with the colleagues. Anuj has always worked
outside India and wasn’t aware of the cultural differences.

 Power distance was high between Anuj and the colleagues. He behaviour was close to
a cold hearted person.
  He assumed that what worked for him in the past will also work in Indian work culture
as well.

Decision Analysis:

1. Anuj could have switched to a new job in the Mumbai region. This wouldn’t have
solved the underlying problem that he was facing i.e lack of perspective.

2. Anuj could have tried to meet his team members outside work. He needed to shows
the “not the boss” side of him. This would have made employees more open and
comfortable in the office.

3. Go back abroad: This would have been opposite to why he came to India in the 1 st
place. So, this is not an option for him.

4. Open his firm: He already had a good track record and connections that he could have
leveraged to raise funds and this way he could have formed a new culture. The
problem is that forming a new team with the desired set of skills requires a lot of time
and effort and given the family constraints that he had, it looks unclear if he would
have succeeded.

Plan of action:

 In my opinion, his desired plan of action to ride the new Indian economic wave should
have been a mix of point 2 and 4 in respective order. First, he needs to get a hold of
his behaviour. He should reflect to as to where he went wrong. Understand the
cultural differences, maybe hire a specialist. He should try to open more about his
experiences abroad and share the success and failure stories with them. They need to
see him as a leader figure rather than an arrogant boss. Once in a while, take the team
out for lunch or engage in activities such as fun Fridays. This might help in breaking
the ice.

 Once he is able to successfully lead the company to new height, he can think of his
own venture. Success stories doesn’t spreads like a wildfire, it takes time. He should
build a good rapport outside his own workplace so that when the time comes to be in
the driver seat, he should have all the resources ready.