Kiran Mazumdar and Chanda Kochhar Case

The report is aimed at comparing the two women business leaders: Mrs. Chanda Kochhar and Mrs. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw who have been successful in their respective fields. It intends to bring out various qualities demonstrated by the two leaders during their careers. It uses the different theories of leadership to comprehend their leadership styles based on the qualities demonstrated. Further, it analyses the different situations handled to draw parallel between them and concludes with which could be a better leadership style for a given situation.

Introduction

Mrs. Chanda Kochhar, an arts graduate, a cost accountant and a masters in management studies, joined ICICI Bank as a management trainee in 1984 and today she is at the helm of ICICI, the India’s largest private bank as its CEO and MD. She is known for the handling of 2008 financial crisis for the bank and bringing it back on the path of sustainable growth by decreasing expenses and increasing ROE (See Exhibit1). She, who is ranked as the most powerful business woman in India by Forbes, has received numerous awards and accolades during her journey till now, one of them being a receipient of Padma Bhushan award for her services to the banking sector.

Mrs. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, a bachelor in zoology and a brewmaster, worked in United Breweries, Jupiter Breweries Limited and Standard Maltings Corporation till 1977 and then started her own company named Biocon India in 1978. The Indian entrepreneur is currently the chairman and managing director of Biocon, a $900 billion biotechnology company. She is also the recipient of several prestigious awards including Padma Bhushan award and also features in Forbes list of world’s 100 most powerful women.

Methods

In order to study leadership aspects of the two business women, the aspects considered are the leadership qualities observed, the behavior and the leader-situation match. The trait theory of leaderships is considered to study the qualities to be focused on for understanding their leadership aspect. Further, the behavioural theories put forth by Ohio State Studies and Michigan’s Survey Research Center are referred to understand their leadership orientation. The aspect of leader-situation fit is studied in the light of findings of Fiedler’s contingency model regarding the performance of leader in different situations.

Findings

Having run all the businesses of ICICI during her career, Chanda Kochhar seems to be highly adaptable to business situations and she quotes in one of her interviews at World Economic Forum in Davos that she considers each challenge as an opportunity. The structured way of handling 2008 financial crisis using 3 step approach demonstrates her focused approach to accomplish organization’s task and her