Passage 3 Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow.
Indra Nooyi: A Corporate Giant
Indra Nooyi has directed the company's global strategy
for over a decade and was the primary architect of its restructuring, including
the divestiture (restructuring/selling off subsidiary business) of its
restaurants into the successful Yum! Brands, inc. (incorporated-legally
established), the spin-off (creating another independent sub business) and
public offering of company-owned bottling operations into anchor bottler Pepsi
Bottling Group (PBG), acquiring Tropicana, and the merger with Quaker Oats that
brought the vital Quaker and Gatorade businesses to PepsiCo. She earned plaudits
(appreciation) for her strategic planning and vision.
Recently, Nooyi has been driving critical
cross-business initiatives to enhance operations and enable PepsiCo to meet the
changing needs of consumers and retailers, the company said. Speaking on behalf
of PepsiCo's board of Directors, Presiding Director Robert E Allen said: 'We
have seen first-hand the difference that Indra has made on the business and the
people, and we look forward to working even more closely with her to usher
(help) in the next generation of dramatic growth and advancement that has
been a hallmark (identity mark/symbol) of PepsiCo since its founding.'
On her
part, Nooyi described her elevation (advancement/progress)) as a
humbling experience. 'I am humbled by the opportunity to lead PepsiCo, and
profoundly grateful to follow in the footsteps of Steve Reinemund, Roger
Enrico, Wayne Calloway and Don Kendall. Steve has steered (directed) the
company to a strong and enviable position, and he will be a continuing source
of wisdom and perspective. I am equally
fortunate to have amazing partners, not only on the board and executive
team, but in the bright, talented colleagues around the world who deliver
the results every day and as committed as I am to continue capturing every
growth opportunity,’ Nooyi said.
There are many interesting aspects of Indra Nooyi's successful journey to the top of a prominent global corporation. one we'd like to take note of here is her explanation of how she was able to handle her official and personal responsibilities. She hired nannies (caretakers) and had a helpful family support system. PepsiCo, however, seems to have gone a good deal further, at least for its senior staffers, in creating a support system for their parental roles. Nooyi has said her nine-year old daughter would come from school and only had to call the office to say she wanted to come over to be near her mother; the office would arrange the details. She says it wasn't uncommon to find her daughter sitting with the company's founder-chief, or doing her homework in the offices of other executives; she talks of how it was usual for the entire senior team to lend a hand with others' children when the need arose, how the office telephone receptionist was trained to handle her children's queries and monitor their schedule when she herself would be travelling on work.
In sum, says Nooyi, rules two and three for how she has got to the top of the PepsiCo ladder (rule one being the pluses (+) of strong family ties) consist of co-opting (choosing/having) the 'entire ecosystem around you' to bring up your kids and for having a 'closed-loop'(fast response feedback connection link) system to keep you abreast (well-informed) of what's going on at home, thanks to the office. Put another way, the punishing (exhausting/demanding) output that helped get Nooyi to the top-never going home in the evening, answering e-mails promptly at 4 a.m. -was possible since her employers recognised that they couldn't expect her to optimally integrate her many roles with the office one, without making a sincere effort to meet her halfway.
This is far, far beyond what almost all employers,
state or private, in business or any other field of work, consider appropriate.
Yet, if you wish to foster and draw out the potential that, by definition,
exists in each human, workplaces have to change in this direction. Else, remain
satisfied with having worried, unsure employees, making unsatisfactory compromises
in all directions.
Questions and answers:
1.
List out some of the reasons for
Indra Nooyi's professional success.
ANS:
The reasons for Indra Nooyi's professional success are
:
a.
She could Manage a balance between
her personal and professional responsibilities as she got a strong support system at both places in her family
as well as at her workplace.
b.
Directed PepsiCo's global strategy
and restructuring.
c.
Initiated critical cross-business
initiatives.
d.
Earned plaudits for strategic
planning and vision.
2.
Give one example of each of the
activities that Indra Nooyi undertookand which led to her rise in Pepsi Co?
ANS: The activities
leading to her rise in PepsiCo are:
1. Strategic Restructuring: Divestiture of
restaurants into Yum! Brands, Inc.
2. Strategic Acquisitions: Acquiring Tropicana and
merging with Quaker Oats.
3.
What were the two main types of
support that Indra Nooyi received which enabled her to devote herself to her
career?
ANS:
The two types of support that Nooyi received which
enabled her career devotion are:
Family
Support: Hiring nannies and a helpful family system.
Workplace
Support: PepsiCo's arrangements for her daughter's needs and the same kind of support
from her colleagues.
4.
Why does Indra Nooyi describe her
experience as a humbling one?
Indra Nooyi describes her experience as humbling.
She feels privileged and grateful to lead PepsiCo and to follow the legacy of
previous leaders. She feels herself equally fortunate to have amazing partners,
not only on the board and executive team, but also having the bright,
talented colleagues around the world.
She also feels that the overall workplace environment
that she got has helped her growth as a successful leader.
5.
Explain the following phrases as they
have been used in the passage:
a.
Entire Ecosystem: The complete network of people and systems around her.
b.
Closed-loop: A self-sustaining system where information flows
continuously.
c.
Punishing Output: Extremely high productivity and work intensity.
d.
Optimally Integrate Many Roles: Efficiently balancing and performing
multiple responsibilities.
e.
Foster and Draw Out: Encourage and develop potential.
6.
Rewrite the following sentences in
indirect speech:
a. 'I
am humbled by the opportunity to lead PepsiCo and profoundly grateful to follow
the footsteps of Steve Reinemund, Roger Enrico, Wayne Calloway and Don Kendall.'
ANS:
Indra Nooyi said that she was humbled by the
opportunity to lead PepsiCo and profoundly grateful to follow in the footsteps
of Steve Reinemund, Roger Enrico, Wayne Calloway, and Don Kendall.
b. 'We
have seen first-hand the difference that Indra has made on the business and the
people, and we look forward to working even more closely with her to usher in
the next generation of dramatic growth and advancement that has been a hallmark
of PepsiCo since its founding.'
ANS:
Robert E. Allen stated that they had seen first-hand
the difference that Indra had made on the business and the people, and they
looked forward to working even more closely with her to usher in the next
generation of dramatic growth and advancement that had been a hallmark of
PepsiCo since its founding.
7.
'Recently, Nooyi has been driving
critical cross-business initiatives to enhance operations and enable PepsiCo to
meet the changing needs of consumers and retailers.' Rewrite this sentence in
past tense.
ANS:
Recently, Nooyi drove critical cross-business
initiatives to enhance operations and enable PepsiCo to meet the changing needs
of consumers and retailers.
8. The last paragraph of the passage is an example of:
a. illustration
b. conclusion
c. inference
d. statement
9. From the passage pick out one word/phrase that represents:
a. Time : Recently
b. Comment:
Punishing output
c. Conclusion:
In sum
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