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  • April 2011 (Revised July 2014)
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Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.: Driving Change Through Internal Communication

By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:26
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Abstract

Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL), confronted in 2003 with an urgent need to change how it operated externally, adopted a highly innovative approach to communicating internally. This case, set in 2010, presents an overview of the new, more interactive model of employee communication that HPCL introduced as part of its effort to adapt to increased market competition during the early 21st century. (HPCL, previously a wholly state-owned company within a state-controlled industry, had begun to operate in an increasingly privatized environment.) At the center of the new model was a series of "vision workshops"--structured conversations in which employees at all levels of the company took part in developing strategic and organizational visions for their regional offices, for their business units, and for the company as a whole. The case also discusses HPCL's use of digital technology to enhance employee communication; its leaders' increased emphasis on direct, "one-to-one" interaction with employees; and some of the consequences (both external and internal) of this more conversational model of organizational communication. As of 2010, HPCL was a Fortune Global 500 company, with more than 11,000 employees and with annual revenues of more than $23 billion. The question that company leaders now faced was whether HPCL's novel approaches to communicating with employees were appropriate to its next stage of internal development and external growth.

Keywords

Communication Strategy; Interpersonal Communication; Employee Relationship Management; Innovation and Management; Leading Change; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Corporate Strategy; India

Citation

Groysberg, Boris, and Michael Slind. "Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.: Driving Change Through Internal Communication." Harvard Business School Case 411-077, April 2011. (Revised July 2014.)
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About The Author

Boris Groysberg

Organizational Behavior
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Related Work

    • June 2014
    • Faculty Research

    Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.: Driving Change Through Internal Communication

    By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott and Robin Abrahams
    • April 2011 (Revised July 2014)
    • Faculty Research

    Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.: Driving Change Through Internal Communication

    By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind
Related Work
  • Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.: Driving Change Through Internal Communication By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott and Robin Abrahams
  • Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.: Driving Change Through Internal Communication By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind
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