HIDA JOURNAL 2014 SPRING No.4

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No.4 SPRING 2014 5[Date of interview: November 28, 2013; Interviewer: Satoru Mitani, Correspondent in New Delhi, India]Tokai Imperial Rubber India Ltd. (TIR)Mr. Tarun Lamba, an ex-participant from India, came to Japan as an engineer of Imperial Auto Industries Ltd. (IAI) in 1991. He revisited Japan in 1994 to learn business administration as an executive officer and a part of the company’s management team, and participated in the Management Training of HIDA (then AOTS; hereinafter referred to as HIDA).Currently Mr. Lamba plays an active role as IAI’s Director, and also spends busy days as an executive officer of Tokai Imperial Rubber India Ltd. (TIR, founded in November 2005 in Faridabad, Haryana, a city located just south of Delhi). TIR is a joint venture corporation of with IAI and Tokai Rubber Industries Ltd. (TRI), which is a Japanese automotive hose manufacturer.In this issue, we asked Mr. Lamba, who has greatly improved IAI’s performance and also expanded the joint business with a Japanese company after participating in training in Japan twice, about how he is making use of HIDA’s Technical and Management Training in his work.—After 20 years, HIDA’s Training Programs for human resource development flourish—Exterior of IAIBefore I came to Japan, my impression of Japan was a country with advanced machine automation. However, after arriving at Japan, I was quite shocked to find out that the country was full of caring, compassionate people rather than machines. People treated us foreigners without prejudice. For example, when I couldn’t find a way to a station, a passerby kindly took me to the station. I didn’t imagine things like this when I was in India. During my first visit to Japan, I learned mainly three things.Building of a trusting relationshipThe first thing is the importance of building a trusting relationship. When working with others, the most important thing is a trust. You cannot build a good, trusting relationship in any situation if you are late for an appointment or fail to keep your word. I learned a lot from Japanese people who work in an orderly manner with a sense of responsibility to build a trusting relationship. I was surprised to see a company which kept no attendance record of employees. It is unthinkable in India that workers come to office on time for work without attendance record. Sense of responsibility of individuals and strong trusting relationships make this possible. I felt this not only in organizations but throughout Japan. I think mindset like this has supported the growth of Japan. It may be difficult to change the entire nation of India, but I have worked hard to infuse such sense of values into our company after I returned home.Sharing of knowledge and experienceThe second thing is the importance of sharing the knowledge and experience we learn. In India, people are reluctant to share own knowledge with others even in own workplace. However, I learned that sharing of knowledge would produce a big result from observing Japanese people’s way of working.Accumulation of improvementsThe last thing is accumulation of small improvements. When I observed the way Japanese people work, they seemed to be motivated to make things better by diligently accumulating small improvements. In India, to make things better, we tend to think big investments. But I learned that small daily improvements made by individuals produce a big result without a big investment.These three things have a big effect on me internally. Working as a corporate manager, I always keep them in mind and practice them in our company. Especially, these things have been greatly helpful for establishing good relationship both within and outside our company as well as for motivating people. They are a major differentiating factor between us and other local companies in India.You participated in the Program for Indian Entrepreneurs (PIDE), a HIDA’s Management Training course, in 1994. Would you tell me why you decided to participate?When I participated in my first training in Japan in 1991, I only Mr. Tarun LambaYou came to Japan in 1991 as a participant of HIDA’s Technical Training, and returned home after three month training at an automaker in Shizuoka Prefecture. Would you tell me your impression of Japan at the time, and what you learned in the training?

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