Tata Consultancy Services: Tackling Scandal in India

In June 2023, a recruitment scandal confronted India’s largest information technology (IT) outsourcing company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which had been integral to the nation's economic growth since 1968. TCS faced allegations of bribery involving nearly ₹1,000 million. The full extent of the fraudulent activities remained uncertain, but there was speculation that commissions amounting to ₹1 billion (approximately US$13.3 million) had changed hands. While the organization took measures to fortify its system and reinforce its commitment to a zero-tolerance policy against breaches of its code of conduct, the company’s chief human resource officer and executive director faced the dilemma of making an appropriate recommendation to the board of directors regarding strategies that would prevent a recurrence of such events. He had to decide whether TCS’s human resource (HR) practices for tightening corporate governance were adequate or whether there were additional improvements and steps the company could consider implementing.

This case is applicable to postgraduate-level human resource management, corporate governance, and organizational behaviour courses on organizational culture. It depicts the grave situation Indian companies face concerning corruption. In this instance, TCS demonstrated commendable resilience and a swift response in managing the situation, offering valuable insights for students and professionals to learn from. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:<br><br><ul><li>Identify different forms of corruption, and identify the factors contributing to its growth.</li><li>Explain the significance of corporate governance, and describe its structure. </li><li>Define code of conduct, and describe the process of implementing such a code.</li><li>Explain how to recognize and respond administratively to code-of-conduct violations.</li><li>Define the concept of human resource governance, and explain the importance of ethical leadership and organizational culture during moments of corruption.</li></ul>

• human resource governance
• corporate governance
• business ethics
• risk management
• organizational culture
• code of conduct
• recruitment scandal
• corruption cases
• ethical leadership
• governance strategies
• organizational behavior
• IT industry ethics
• HR management
• fraud prevention
• governance structure
• ethical standards
• compliance measures
• transparency practices
• long-term strategy
• governance challenges