Collaborative Group Discussion Activity | Handout # 3

Ms. Shefali Broacha is a multi billionaire businesswoman. Her grandfather started the family business back in 1920 at
a mere age of 15. By 1960, when he retired to spare time for his interest in writing, the business had expanded
beyond anyones imagination, and Shefalis father who was 30 years old at that time with a business degree from the
finest college in London, was ready to take charge. Shefali was born 2 years later in 1962. She took over the reins of
business from her father in 1995, at the age of 33. Under the leadership of Shefali, the business grew across
international borders. She took timely advantage of the e-commerce revolution and ventured into new businesses
supported by technology. This gave an overnight fillip to the familys business empire. Shefali was awarded the
prestigious Padma Shri award last year by the Government of India. She also acts as an advisor on various
government committees related to industrial issues.

Broacha familys business empire has a foothold in diverse industries like cosmetics, luxury hotels, readymade
clothing, print journalism, and multi-brand retail stores. All the businesses put together employ about 75,000
employees all over the world. So far, all the businesses functioned as stand-alone units under the overall umbrella of
the family name. Shefali Broacha has now decided to combine these businesses to form a conglomerate in order to
achieve greater economies of scale, and to be able to exploit more opportunities.

Among other things, she wishes to create a code of moral conduct for all employees in the conglomerate. A
centralized team at the headquarters will be responsible for the implementation of the code across all businesses
through various policies & programs. This initiative will not only strengthen the principles on which Shefalis
grandfather laid the foundations of this business, but will also earn the company greater goodwill and shareholder
trust. A rigorous implementation of some of these principles will also ensure compliance with legal requirements of
a changing world.

Based on her vision for the organization, Shefali has prepared a list of the following 8 principles. You are a member
of the team responsible for the implementation of the code from the centralised headquarters. In the beginning it
will not be advisable to launch all the principles, so Shefali has asked you to prioritize these principles depending
on your understanding of their importance in general and with respect to relevance for the Broacha familys business
conglomerate. Based on the order given by you, she will choose any number of principles as she deems fit. First rank
them individually and then try to arrive at a consensus on rankings as a group.


Respect for
Environment
A very high importance to environmental considerations will be given at all levels of decision
making even at the cost of monetary profit if required
Gender
Sensitivity
All offices will be made into safe workplaces, and strong grievance redressal channels will be
provided to the aggrieved. Special care will be taken during advertising campaigns to avoid
hurting the sentiments of any gender, or to perpetuate any form of gender stereotypes
Multiculturalism
High standards of tolerance and camaraderie among the entire workforce irrespective of religion,
race, colour, cast or creed to be encouraged at all tiers in the organization
Transparency
A policy of voluntary disclosure of information, financial or otherwise, with the shareholders,
clients, business partners, and the society at large
Social
Responsibility
Active contribution to the society in any way possible by the organization as a whole, and through
employees by encouraging participation in social works
Integrity
To convey our communicate to human values of trust and honesty, we will not work with any
organization that functions in any way contrary to our companys moral code of conduct
Fiscal Prudence
To show our respect for the trust that our shareholders have shown in us, we will exercise utmost
caution in every financial decision and make sure that wastage of every single penny of
shareholders money is strictly avoided across all our businesses
Care for
Employees
What we are today is all because of our employees. We thank them deeply & promise to continue
to work towards providing them with a good workplace, and due recognition of smallest of their
contributions to facilitate our growth in the years to come





CANDIDATE SHEET | Name: _______________________________________

Name
Your
Rank
Group
Rank
TO WHAT DEGREE DO YOU AGREE WITH THE GROUP RANK?
5
Yes, it
makes
sense
4
I agree
but am
not fully
convinced
3
It is ok but this
point could have
been discussed
further
2
I do not agree with
the decision but
agreed with it to
save time
1
This decision
is entirely
unacceptable
to me
Respect for
Environment

Gender Sensitivity
Multiculturalism
Transparency
Social
Responsibility

Integrity
Fiscal Prudence
Care for
Employees


1. What values or criteria were important to you while giving the rankings?



2. How similar or dissimilar was your outlook to that of your group? Please elaborate.









3. At some point someone elses opinion must have compelled you to reconsider your stand. How?









4. What, in your opinion, was the purpose of this activity?